Flowers Shown to the Children Part 2

The Horned Poppy has two green sepals which are very rough and hairy.

They cover the flower so long as it is in bud, but whenever the flower begins to expand these sepals burst open, and as soon as the yellow petals have smoothed out their crinkles in the sun these little green coverings fall off.

The leaves of this Poppy are thick and leathery, and are covered with hairs which make them look grey.

These leaves have no separate stalks, but grow close to the stem as if they were clasping it.

2. ROCK ROSE

This is a delicate little branching plant which trails in summer-time along the ground, on gra.s.sy hills, and among rocks and gravel.

The flowers grow singly on short stalks, and each flower has five bright yellow petals which lie flat open. These petals are not stiff and glossy like those of the b.u.t.tercup, but soft and easily crinkled like the Poppy petals.

If you touch very lightly the yellow stamens in the centre of the flower, they will spread out and lie down.

The Rock Rose has five little green sepals. Three of these have their tips slightly tinged with pink, and these pink-tinged sepals are large enough to cover the flower when it is in bud. The other two are much smaller, with sharply-pointed tips, and they grow at the end of the little flower-stalk behind the pinky sepals.

The leaves of the Rock Rose are long and narrow with smooth edges, and they grow opposite each other on the stem.

These leaves are always dark green above, but underneath they are covered with fine white woolly down, and if you hold them up to the light you will see that the edges are fringed with soft hairs.

3. OPPOSITE-LEAVED GOLDEN SAXIFRAGE

This small plant grows in damp places by the side of ditches and on wet rocks. It is commonest in the north of Britain, but in spring you will find its soft stems creeping close to the ground in the south of England also.

The Golden Saxifrage has no petals. The yellow flowers grow at the end of the stem in small cl.u.s.ters, which are sunk among the leaves.

Each flower has a yellow calyx tube, which is divided at the mouth into four parts. These divisions are yellow inside, but on the outside they are green.

There is a ring of tiny stamens standing out all round the mouth of the calyx tube, and in the very centre of the flower stands a fat seed-vessel, like a beak, which splits open into halves when the seeds are ripe.

The leaves of the Golden Saxifrage grow in pairs on each side of a pale green, juicy stem.

This stem is covered with clear white hairs. The leaves are pale green and are round in shape, with crinkled edges. They are very soft, and, like the stem, they have fine white hairs all over them.

When you gather a handful of the Golden Saxifrage you find a great many slender white roots hanging from the stem wherever it has lain along the ground.

PLATE IV: 1. COMMON WHIN OR GORSE. 2. BROOM. 3. NEEDLE WHIN.

1. COMMON WHIN OR GORSE

This is a shrub children like better to look at than to gather. It is very common on heaths and banks and in dry fields, and it blooms in early summer.

The flowers are curious, because the five petals are so strangely shaped. One broad petal stands up highest and is called 'the Standard.'

Then there are two narrow petals at the side; these are called 'Wings.'

And in between these narrow petals there are two joined together like a tiny boat, which are called 'the Keel.'

There is a bunch of curved stamens with their slender stalks all joined together at the bottom into a green tube.

Amongst these stamens you can see the tip of the seed-vessel.

When the flower is in bud it is enclosed in a rough, yellowish-green covering which has many black hairs all over it. This covering usually opens in two pieces, and these pieces remain below the flower until it is withered.

Instead of leaves the Gorse has many sharp p.r.i.c.kly spikes or leaf-thorns. You will notice that there are many of these sharp spikes which have little groups of two or three shorter spikes branching from them, and each branch ends in a sharp spike.

2. BROOM

This is one of our most beautiful spring shrubs. It grows on heaths and by the roadside, and sometimes you will see a low hill covered with it, and glistening like gold in the suns.h.i.+ne.

The flowers are very like those of the Common Whin, but they are much larger, and the yellow colour is deeper and more golden.

The petals are shaped the same as in the Common Whin, and if you look at the green tube into which the stamens are joined, you will see that it has a curious green thread at the end which is twisted into a curl. The seeds are in this tube, and when the petals and stamens have all fallen off, this tube becomes a flat green pod tinged with purple. The curly green thread still remains at the end.

There are green sepals at the back of the flower which form a cup. This cup looks as if it was only in two pieces; but, as in the Common Whin, it is really made up of five sepals, and you can often see five little teeth at the mouth which show where each sepal begins.

The leaves of the Broom are very small, and they grow in groups of three. Those close to the flowers have no stalks, but the others have each a stalk with the three little leaves at the end.

3. NEEDLE WHIN

The Needle Whin is not so well known as the Common Whin or the Broom, though it belongs to the same family. It is very common, and you will find plenty of it in spring and early summer growing close to the ground among the heather.

The flowers are pale yellow, with six petals very like those of the Common Whin or the Broom, only much smaller. You find five or six flowers growing close together on a trailing woody stem.

Each flower sits in a green cup, which is made up of five sepals joined together. Round the mouth of the cup are five sharp teeth, and you can see, much more clearly than in the Common Whin or in the Broom, where each separate sepal begins.

After the petals and stamens fall off, the seed-vessels grow into large, fat pods which are commonly tinged with purple.

If you are not in the country until the petals have fallen, you will easily recognise the Needle Whin by these fat pods. Sometimes five or six or more grow near the top of each short stem.

The leaves of this tiny Whin are very small and have scarcely any stalks. Growing up the main stem are many very fine spines or leaf-thorns, as sharp as needles.

From these the plant gets its name.

PLATE V: 1. ST. JOHN'S WORT. 2. COMMON AVENS. 3. TORMENTIL.

1. ST. JOHN'S WORT

This is a tall, handsome plant, whose flowers appear late in summer among low-growing bushes or on the hedge-banks.

Each flower has five pale yellow, pointed petals, which open like a star. On these petals there are often many small black dots.

The flowers grow on short stalks, which always rise between a small green leaf and the stem. These flower-stalks are in pairs, exactly opposite each other on each side of the stem.

Inside the flower there are a great many stamens. These stamens are grouped in bunches, and do not form a ring all round the centre as in many flowers.