Plants -- Identification; Wild flowers -- Great Britain
The Early Winter Cress is a very similar plant, flowering at the same
time, but is of a more slender habit, and has narrower leaves, the upper
of which are pinnately divided. The flowers are also larger, and
arranged in a closer raceme; and the fruit is longer, but not thicker
than the pedicel. This species is cultivated as a salad, and frequently
occurs as a garden escape.
Two species of _Sisymbrium_ are also very common--the Garlic Mustard
(_S. alliaria_), also known as Sauce Alone and Jack-by-the-Hedge; and
the Thale Cress or Wall Cress (_S. Thaliana_). The first named is one of
the commonest of our hedgerow flowers. It grows to a height of one or
two feet, and bears, from April to June, a corymbose cluster of pure
white flowers, each about a quarter of an inch in diameter. The stem and
leaves, when crushed, emit a distinct odour of garlic. The former is
slightly branched; and the leaves are large, stalked, broadly cordate,
with many prominent veins, coarsely toothed, and of a delicate green
colour. The fruits are erect, about two inches long, on short pedicels.
The Thale Cress grows on dry banks and walls, and displays its minute
white flowers from April to the end of the summer. The stem is erect,
slender and branched, from six to ten inches in height; and the leaves,
which are nearly all radical, are simple, oblong-lanceolate, toothed
and downy. The fruits of this species are erect, narrow, with four
obscure angles, and about twice as long as their stalks.
The Rape or Cole-seed (_Brassica napus_) is a cruciferous weed commonly
occurring in cultivated ground, and often cultivated for its seeds. It
grows from one to two feet high, and bears corymbose clusters of yellow
flowers during May and June. Its root is fusiform (spindle-shaped), and
all its leaves are smooth and of a sea-green colour. The lower leaves
are lyrately pinnate, with toothed edges; and the stem leaves are
ovate-lanceolate, acute, embracing the stem. The pods spread as they
ripen.
The Wild Turnip (_Brassica Rapa_) is a very similar plant, producing its
yellow flowers from April to July. Its root is tuberous and fleshy. The
lower leaves are hairy and rough, and not of the glaucous green
characterising the last species, while the upper leaves are glaucous and
smooth.
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