Plants -- Identification; Wild flowers -- Great Britain
One of the most conspicuous flowers of the summer is the Common Ragwort
(_Senecio Jacobæa_). It belongs to the same genus as the Groundsel, but
differs in having very showy, terminal corymbs of large, bright yellow
flowers with spreading rays. Its erect stem does not branch, as a rule,
except near the top, and reaches a height of from one to three or four
feet. The outer bracts of the involucre are small and few in number, and
both these and the inner ones are generally tipped with black.
Occasionally we may meet with plants of this species in which the
flower-heads have no ray, but in general the ray is well-formed, and
consists of about twelve narrow or oblong florets.
[Illustration: THE WORMWOOD.]
The Common Feverfew (_Matricaria Parthenium_ or _Chrysanthemum
Parthenium_) is a very abundant wayside flower, of which a double
variety is commonly grown in gardens. The plant reaches a foot or more
in height, and flowers freely from July to September. The stems are
erect and branched; and the leaves are stalked and pinnately divided
into ovate or oblong, lobed, toothed segments. The numerous flower-heads
are arranged in a corymb, and are about half an inch in diameter, with
white ray and yellow disc. The plant may be distinguished from similar
species of the same genus by the little toothed border on the summit of
the ripe fruits, and by the strong and somewhat pleasant odour of all
its parts.
[Illustration: THE RAGWORT.]
Even more common, in most places, is the Corn Feverfew or Scentless
Mayweed (_M. inodora_), which flowers from June to the end of the
summer. Its stem is erect, with spreading branches; and the sessile
leaves are two or three times divided into narrow, almost hair-like
segments. The flower-heads are much larger than those of the last
species, sometimes reaching a diameter of about two inches, and are
solitary. The involucre is brown, with a membranous edge; the ray
white, and the disc yellow. It is sometimes confused with the Wild
Chamomile, but may be distinguished by the shape of the receptacle,
which is hemispherical, and not so conical as in _Chamomilla_.
[Illustration: THE SCENTLESS MAYWEED.]
[Illustration: THE YARROW OR MILFOIL.]
Our last example of the Composites of the wayside is the Yarrow or
Milfoil (_Achillea millefolium_)--a plant that might be mistaken by the
beginner for one of the Umbellifers when seen at a distance; but a
closer examination will show not only that the level-topped
inflorescence is a dense, terminal corymb, but also that the flowers are
collected into little heads, each of which consists of a few white or
pink, pistillate ray-florets, surrounding a little cluster of tubular,
perfect, yellow florets of the disc. The leaves are narrow oblong, and
very finely cut into many hair-like, branching segments. The whole plant
has a strong and rather pleasant odour. It grows from six to eighteen
inches high, and flowers from June to September.
XIII
WASTES AND WAYSIDES IN SUMMER (_Continued_)
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