Plants -- Identification; Wild flowers -- Great Britain
The other Tare referred to is the Slender Tare (_V. tetrasperma_), found
principally in the South of England. It owes its specific name to the
fact that its pods usually contain four seeds. It is more slender and
much less branched than the Hairy Tare, and its leaves have generally
only from three to five pairs of leaflets. The flowers are pale blue,
appearing from June to August, and are generally solitary or in pairs,
on peduncles which are about as long as the leaves. The pods are smooth.
[Illustration: THE BIRD'S-FOOT TREFOIL.]
The same genus includes the Tufted Vetch (_Vicia Cracca_)--a very common
plant on hedgerows and bushy waysides, where it climbs over the
neighbouring plants and shrubs, covering them with its dense racemes of
bluish-purple flowers from June to August. Its climbing stem is very
weak, but it often grows to a length of six feet or more, supporting
itself by means of the branched tendrils at the tips of its leaves. The
leaves are pinnate, with about ten pairs of narrow, pointed, silky
leaflets, usually from half an inch to three-quarters in length; and at
the base of each leaf-stalk is a pair of narrow, half arrow-shaped
stipules. The racemes are one-sided, on rather long stalks, with from
ten to thirty flowers, each nearly half an inch long. The pods are
smooth, flattened, about an inch long, containing from six to eight
seeds.
[Illustration: THE HERB BENNET OR GEUM.]
Of the order _Rosaceæ_ we have several summer wayside flowers, our first
example being the Common Avens, also called the Wood Avens and the Herb
Bennet (_Geum urbanum_), which is common on banks and hedgerows. This is
an erect, hairy plant, from one to two feet high, with yellow flowers,
from a half to three-quarters of an inch across, on erect stalks. The
numerous carpels ripen into a head of one-seeded achenes, on each of
which the persistent style forms a curved, hooked awn that readily
clings to the hair or wool of animals, thus providing an effectual means
by which the seeds are distributed. A variety of the Common Avens occurs
with drooping flowers.
[Illustration: THE DOG ROSE.]
[Illustration: THE SILVER WEED.]
The Dog Rose (_Rosa canina_) is one of the prettiest and most abundant
flowers of our hedgerows, and may be seen in bloom throughout June and
July. The bush has a thick, woody stock; and weak, straggling stems,
often reaching a height of six or eight feet, armed with equal, curved
prickles. The flowers are pink or white, with a calyx consisting of a
globular tube, contracted at the top, and five spreading segments; a
corolla of five petals; numerous stamens; and an ovary of several
one-seeded carpels with free styles. The carpels are very hairy, and are
enclosed within the tube of the calyx, which becomes red and succulent
as the fruit ripens; but the calyx segments usually fall before the
ripening is complete.
[Illustration: THE AGRIMONY.]
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