Plants -- Identification; Wild flowers -- Great Britain
One of the Mints--_Mentha Pulegium_ (order _Labiatæ_)--well-known as a
garden herb under the name of Pennyroyal, is to be found on damp heaths.
Though not very common, it is widely distributed, occurring in nearly
all parts of Great Britain. It is very aromatic, and is largely
cultivated for use as a remedy for colds. The flowers are of a lilac
colour, arranged in dense, distant whorls in the axils of the upper
leaves. The calyx is downy without, hairy at the throat within; and the
corolla has almost equal lobes, the upper of which is notched. The plant
flowers in August and September.
In the same order is the Wild Thyme (_Thymus Serpyllum_)--a little,
wiry, prostrate plant, with an aromatic odour, very abundant on the dry
heaths of most parts of Britain, flowering from June to August. Its stem
is thin but hard, and much branched, the numerous flowerless branches
usually forming a dense tuft close to the ground. The flowers are
purple, in whorls of five or six in the axils of the upper leaves. The
calyx is lipped, of a deep red colour, and its mouth is closed with
hairs after the corolla is shed. The corolla is of a paler colour, and
indistinctly divided into two lips, the upper of which is erect and
notched, while the lower is cleft into three lobes. The time of
flowering is from June to August.
The Wood Sage or Wood Germander (_Teucrium Scorodonia_) is very abundant
on damp heaths, and is also commonly seen in hedgerows and on banks,
especially in hilly and heathy districts. It is an erect plant, from one
to two feet high, with a hard, hairy, slightly-branched stem. Its paired
leaves are stalked, ovate or cordate, toothed, downy, and much wrinkled
like the leaves of the true Sages. The flowers are yellowish white,
arranged in pairs on terminal and axillary racemes, with a small bract
at the foot of each short flower-stalk. Although not very conspicuous,
they are very attractive to bees, providing abundance of nectar. There
is no true upper lip to the corolla, the upper part being deeply cleft,
with a small lobe on each side; and the stamens and stigma project
beyond the petals. This plant flowers during July and August.
[Illustration: THE WILD THYME.]
On moist heaths, especially in the west of Britain, we commonly meet
with the Lesser Skull-cap (_Scutellaria minor_), another of the
Labiates. It is a little plant, seldom more than six inches high, with
pale pink flowers that bloom from July to October. The stem is rather
slender, and branched; and the paired leaves are broadly ovate below,
narrower above, obtuse, very shortly stalked, and either entire or
slightly toothed. The flowers are only a quarter of an inch long,
shortly stalked, and usually placed singly in the axils of the leaves.
The calyx has two lips, the upper of which bears, on the middle of its
back, a prominent hollow scale; and the corolla has a long tube with two
small lips, the lower of which is divided into three lobes.
[Illustration: THE AUTUMNAL LADY'S TRESSES.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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