Plants -- Identification; Wild flowers -- Great Britain
Our last example of this genus--the Bell Heather or Fine-leaved Heath
(_E. cinerea_)--is, perhaps, the commonest of all, for it abounds on the
moors and heaths of nearly all parts of Britain. It is a very tough and
wiry shrub, from one to two feet high, with narrow leaves in whorls of
three or four, and smaller leaves in their axils. The flowers vary in
colour, being either purple, crimson, rose, or occasionally white. They
are in dense, leafy racemes, not one-sided, but rather regularly
whorled. The time of flowering is from July to September.
In the same order is the Common Ling (_Calluna vulgaris_)--a straggling
shrub, from one to three feet high, bearing rose-coloured, lilac or
white flowers from July to September. This shrub may be identified at
once by its leaves, which are very small, and closely overlapping in
four rows. Its flowers are small, drooping, shortly stalked, each with
two pairs of small bracts at its base; and are arranged in irregular,
leafy racemes on the topmost branches.
Still in the same order (_Ericaceæ_), but quite distinct from the
Heaths, are a few moorland shrubs the berries of which are largely eaten
by the country-folk. They belong to the genus _Vaccinium_, and have
scattered, deciduous or evergreen leaves. We have noticed that in the
heaths the ovary is superior, but in the present genus it is inferior;
that is, it is situated below the calyx and corolla, which parts are
attached to its upper border. The calyx has four or five lobes; and the
corolla, which is bell-shaped or pitcher-shaped, has the same number of
lobes or teeth. The stamens, eight or ten in number, are usually
rendered peculiar by the tubular bristles that extend upwards from the
anther cells. The berries are globular or nearly so, and contain several
seeds. Some species of this genus are rare, but three, at least, may be
included here. They are--
1. The Whortleberry or Bilberry (_Vaccinium Myrtillus_).--A smooth
shrub, from six to eighteen inches high, common everywhere except in
some of the eastern counties, flowering from April to June. Its stem is
erect or spreading, branched, green, and sharply angular. The leaves are
shortly stalked, ovate, serrate, seldom more than an inch long; and the
flowers are nearly globular, with small teeth, drooping on short stalks,
and placed singly in the axils of the leaves. They are of a greenish
rose or flesh-colour, often tinged with red, and have a very waxy
appearance.
2. The Great Bilberry or Bog Whortleberry (_Vaccinium uliginosum_).--A
smaller and more woody shrub, from six to ten inches high, growing only
in the moorland bogs of North Britain. Its stem and branches are round
or scarcely angular, and usually procumbent and crooked. The leaves are
small, obovate or round, entire, thin, deciduous, with the veins
strongly marked on the under side; and the flowers are globular, of a
pale pink colour, smaller than those of the last species. This species
flowers during May and June.
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