Of the order Polygonaceæ, which includes the docks, knot grasses, buckwheats, and sorrels, we have two sea-side representatives, both belonging to the typical genus Polygonum. These are the sea-side Knot Grass (P. maritimum) and Ray’s Knot Grass (P. Raii). The plants of this order are herbs, characterised by their alternate leaves with sheathing stipules; and small flowers, usually bisexual, often with a coloured perianth. Most of the species are remarkable for their astringent and acid properties. In the genus Polygonum the flowers are usually in spikes or racemes; the perianth funnel-shaped, regular, and five-cleft. The stamens vary from five to eight in number, and the styles number two or three. The fruit is a small angular nut, usually enclosed in the perianth.
The sea-side Knot Grass is very common on some parts of the shore, where it grows from one to three feet long, and flowers in August. The stem is recumbent, tough and woody, bearing fleshy glaucous leaves with curled edges. It may be further distinguished from the other knot grasses by its long stipules, with freely-branching veins, and by the length of the fruit exceeding that of the perianth. As in the other knot grasses, the flowers arise from the axils of the leaves.
Ray’s Knot Grass is very much like the common knot grass so abundant in all waste places, the leaves being flat; and the stipules, shorter than in the last species, having but few veins; but while in the latter the fruit is shorter than the calyx, in P. Raii it is longer. This species is found on many sandy shores, and flowers in July and August.
The order Chenopodiaceæ is particularly rich in sea-side plants, more than a dozen of the British species growing almost exclusively near the shore. They are mostly inconspicuous plants, with small flowers which are sometimes unisexual. The perianth is deeply divided, and the stamens are inserted in its base, opposite the divisions. The ovary is free, containing a single ovule.
The typical genus (Chenopodium) contains the weeds designated by the name of Goosefoot, all characterised by their straggling stems and small flat leaves. One species (C. botryoides) is common on some sandy shores. It is a small weed, its prostrate stem measuring only a few inches in length. The leaves are triangular and fleshy, and the flowers are arranged in dense leafy clusters. A variety of the Red Goosefoot (C. rubrum) is also found on the coast. It is of a reddish colour, with rhomboid leaves and short crowded spikes of flowers.
On muddy shores we meet with the Common Beet (Beta maritima), the leaves of which are often cooked and eaten where the plant is abundant; and it is this species from which the different varieties of garden beet and mangold wurzel have been produced by cultivation. There are two distinct varieties of the wild plant. In one the root and leaves are of a purple colour, while in the other they are of a yellowish green. The former has been cultivated for its root, while the latter is sometimes grown for the leaves. In the wild state it has many stems, the lower parts being more or less procumbent, and the leaves are fleshy, gradually narrowing down into the stalk. The flowers, which are arranged in long, simple, leafy spikes, are bisexual, with a five-parted perianth, five stamens inserted opposite each segment, in a fleshy ring and a flattened one-celled ovary which develops into a one-seeded utricle.
In similar situations we meet with two species of Sea Purslane (Obione), in which the flowers are unisexual, both male and female flowers being on the same plant. They are also distinguished from most other Chenopods by the perianth adhering to the wall of the ovary. The Shrubby Sea Purslane (O. portulacoides) is, as its name implies, a shrubby plant. It grows to a height of eighteen inches or two feet, bearing silvery oval lanceolate leaves and sessile fruit. The other species referred to—the Stalked Sea Purslane (O. pedunculata)—is herbaceous, with oval, mealy leaves, and stalked fruit.
The Oraches (genus Atriplex) resemble the Purslanes in the granular mealiness of the foliage, and the two are so closely allied that they are often placed in the same genus. Oraches are most readily distinguished among the Chenopods by the two bracts which enclose the fruit and enlarge after flowering; and, like the Purslanes, they have unisexual flowers, both male and female being on the same plant. Three of our five British species are sea-side plants. The Frosted Sea Orache (A. arenaria) grows on sandy shores, about six or eight inches in height, and flowers during late summer and autumn. It may be known by its buff-coloured stem, with triangular or rhomboidal, jagged, silvery leaves, and clusters of sessile flowers in the axils of the leaves. Another species (A. Babingtonii) may be seen on both rocky and sandy shores, usually from one to two feet in height, and flowering from July to September. Its stem is procumbent, green with reddish stripes; leaves oval-triangular, lanceolate towards the top, three-lobed at the base of the stem, light green, with a mealy surface; flowers in terminal clusters as well as in the axils of the leaves. A third species—the Grass-leaved Orache (A. littoralis) grows in salt marshes. All its leaves are grass-like and entire, and the stem is generally marked with reddish stripes as in A. Babingtonii. The flowers, too, are in sessile axillary clusters only. This plant reaches a height of from one to two feet, and flowers in the late summer.
The Prickly Salt Wort (Salsola kali) is a very common sea-side plant on some of our coasts, and may be recognised at a glance by its general form and habit. The stem is very much branched and prostrate, forming a very bushy plant about a foot in height. It is also very brittle and succulent, furrowed and bristly, and of a bluish-green colour. The leaves are fleshy, awl-shaped, nearly cylindrical, with a spiny point, and little prickles at the base. The flowers are axillary and solitary. This plant and its exotic allies are very rich in alkaline salts, particularly carbonate of soda, and were formerly the principal source from which this compound was obtained.
Our last example of the sea-side chenopods is the Glass Wort (Salicornia), which thrives in salt marshes. In this genus the stem is jointed and the flowers bisexual. The Jointed Glass Wort (S. herbacea) is common in most salt marshes, where its erect, herbaceous, leafless stem may be seen growing to a height of a foot or more. The joints are thickened upwards, and shrink to such an extent when dry that the upper part of each segment of the stem forms a membranous socket into which fits the base of the next segment above. The flowers are arranged in dense tapering spikes, also jointed, with a cluster of three flowers on the two opposite sides of the base of each segment. Each flower is composed of a perianth, closed with the exception of a small aperture through which the stigma and, later, the stamens protrude. The Creeping Glass Wort (S. radicans) has a woody procumbent stem, with the joints only slightly thickened, and the spikes do not taper so much as in S. herbacea. Both these plants yield considerable quantities of soda, and they are named ‘Glass Wort’ because they formerly constituted one of the sources from which soda was obtained for the manufacture of glass.
We now come to those flowers in which both calyx and corolla exist, and shall deal first with the division Gamopetalæ or Monopetalæ, in which the petals are united.
Our first example of this division is the Seaside Plantain (Plantago maritima), of the order Plantaginaceæ. This is a stem-less herbaceous plant, with ribbed leaves and small green flowers, common on many parts of the coast, and also found on the mountains of Scotland, flowering throughout the summer. It may be distinguished from the other plantains by its narrow fleshy leaves. As in the other species, the flowers form a cylindrical spike.
The order Plumbaginaceæ contains several sea-side plants, including the Sea Pink or Thrift (Armeria maritima) and the various species of Sea Lavender (genus Statice). They are characterised by a tubular membranous calyx, persistent and often coloured, a regular corolla of five petals united at their bases, five stamens opposite the petals and attached at the base of the ovary, and a free one-celled and one-seeded ovary. The well-known Sea Pink, with its compact head of rose-coloured flowers, in bloom throughout the spring and summer, and linear one-veined leaves, may be seen on most of our coasts, as well as on high ground in inland districts. The Sea Lavender, of which there are four British species, have their flowers arranged in spikes. The commonest species (Statice limonium) may be found principally on muddy shores. Its leaves are narrow and one-ribbed, and the bluish-purple flowers arranged in short dense spikes, the flower stalk being branched only above the middle. One variety of it has its flowers in a loose pyramidal cluster, while another bears its spikes in a compact level-topped corymb with short firm branches. Another species (S. bahusiensis) is characterised by long spikes of distant flowers, the stalk being branched from near the base. The Upright Sea Lavender (S. binervosa) of rocky shores has the stalk branched from the middle, with, usually, nearly all the branches flowering, though there are varieties in which the flowers are differently arranged. The Matted Sea Lavender (S. caspia) grows in salt marshes on the east coast of England. Its flower stalk is branched from the base, but the lower branches are barren and tangled, while the upper bear small crowded lilac flowers. The leaves of the last two species are spatulate in form.
The Bittersweet or Woody Nightshade (Solanum Dulcamara) of the order Solanaceæ is common in hedgerows and waste places almost everywhere, but a variety of it (marinum) has its habitat along the coast. It may be distinguished from the normal form by its prostrate branched and non-climbing stem, and by its fleshy leaves. The latter are all cordate, while in the normal the upper leaves are auricular. The order to which Solanum belongs is characterised by a regular five-cleft calyx and corolla, four or five stamens attached to the corolla, and a superior two-celled ovary. The flowers are in axillary cymes, and the fruit is a berry.
Convolvulaceæ is represented on sandy shores by the Sea-side Bindweed (Convolvulus Soldanella), a small species, with pinkish purple flowers, the prostrate stem of which rarely measures more than a foot in length. The plants of this order are generally climbing plants with alternate leaves and regular showy flowers. The calyx is composed of five sepals, the corolla of four or five lobes, and the stamens are attached to the corolla. The ovary is superior, two- or four-celled, and the fruit a capsule. The above species may be recognised by its reniform leaves (sagittate in the others), which are also fleshy.
To the order Gentianaceæ belong the Centaury (Erythræa), three out of the four British species of which grow on sandy shores. In the flowers of this order the calyx has from four to ten lobes; the stamens also number four to ten, and are alternate with the lobes of the corolla. The ovary is one- or two-celled, and the fruit is a berry with many seeds. The leaves are usually opposite and entire, and the flowers are generally showy, regular, and solitary. Erythræa has a funnel-shaped corolla, five stamens, and two stigmas, on a deciduous style; and in all our species the flower is rose-coloured. The Dwarf Centaury (E. pulchella), which is common on some sandy shores, is much smaller than the species that thrives in pastures, being only two or three inches in height. Its stem is also more freely branched, and its flowers are axillary and terminal. The Tufted Centaury (E. littoralis) and the Broad-leaved Centaury (E. latifolia) occur in similar situations, but are comparatively rare. They are both small species, the former with an unbranched stem, narrow leaves, and corymbose inflorescence; and the latter with branched stem, broad elliptical leaves, and flowers in dense forked tufts.
The extensive order Compositæ contains comparatively few sea-side plants, and, in dealing with these, we pass to another division of the monopetalous flowers, in which the ovary is inferior and the stamens are on the corolla. The order includes those herbaceous plants in which sessile flowers are collected together into compound heads (capitula) surrounded by a whorl of bracts. The corolla is either tubular or strap-shaped (ligulate), the stamens four or five in number, and the fruit one-seeded, usually crowned with the limb of the calyx in the form of a scaly feathery or hairy pappus.
The Little Lettuce (Lactuca saligna) is found in chalky pastures near the east and south-east coasts, growing to a height of about a foot, and bearing heads of yellow flowers in July and August. All the flowers are ligulate and perfect, the pappus is composed of silvery hairs, and the fruit is compressed and beaked, the beak being twice as long as the fruit. The leaves are smooth, linear, and sagittate, terminating in a sharp point. The Sea-side Cotton Weed (Diotis maritima) is occasionally met with on sandy shores, and may be recognised by its dense coating of downy hair, its sessile obtuse leaves, and heads of yellow flowers forming a corymb. The heads are discoid, and the fruit has no pappus. The Sea Wormwood (Artemisia maritima) is a common sea-shore composite, bearing drooping heads of reddish-white flowers in August. This is another of the downy species, its pinnatifid leaves having quite a woolly appearance. The capitulum contains but few flowers, all of which are perfect; and the fruit has no pappus. A variety of this plant is sometimes seen, with dense erect capitula. The Sea Aster or Michaelmas Daisy (Aster tripolium) of salt marshes may be known by the yellow discs and purple rays of its flower heads, which are arranged in a corymb. The florets of the ray form a single row, and the fruit has a hairy pappus. The leaves of this plant are spatulate and fleshy. A variety occurs in which the purple florets of the ray are absent. The Golden Samphire (Inula crithmoides) is a very local sea-side plant, being found principally on the south-west coast. Its leafy stems grow to a height of a foot or more, and bear yellow heads of flowers that radiate in all directions. The leaves are linear, acute, and fleshy, and the bracts are linear and imbricated. Our last example of the sea-side composites is the Sea-side Corn Feverfew or Scentless Mayweed, which is a variety of Matricaria inodora of waste places. The leaves are sessile and pinnatifid, with very narrow segments, and the white flowers grow in solitary heads. The maritime variety differs from the normal form in having fleshy leaves.
We next deal with another very extensive order (the Umbelliferæ), which, however, has only three or four representatives on the shore, and these introduce us to the last great division of the flowering plants, namely, the Polypetalous Dicotyledons, in which the petals are not united. Of these we shall first deal with that subdivision in which the stamens are attached at the side of or upon the ovary.
The most obvious characteristic of the Umbelliferæ is that implied in the name—the arrangement of the flowers in that form of inflorescence, called the umbel, in which the pedicels all branch from one point in the main stalk, and are such that the flowers are all approximately on a level. The flowers are mostly small and white, with five sepals (when present), five petals, and five stamens. The inferior ovary is two-celled, bearing two styles; and the fruit separates into two dry one-seeded carpels that are ribbed longitudinally.
Our first example of this group is the Sea Carrot, a variety of the Wild Carrot (Daucus carota). In the ordinary form, which is so common in fields, the leaflets are pinnatifid, with acute segments; and the central flowers of each umbel are purple, while the outer ones are white. The umbel, when in fruit, is concave above. The maritime variety differs from this in having fleshy leaves, and the umbel convex above when in fruit. The Sea Samphire (Crithmum maritimum) grows on the rocks close to the sea, and thrives well where there is hardly a vestige of soil. It usually grows to a height of seven or eight inches, bearing greenish-white flowers surrounded by a whorl of very narrow leaves. The other leaves are glaucous and bi-ternate, the leaflets being narrow, fleshy, and tapering towards both ends. On cliffs near the sea, especially in chalky districts, we meet with the Fennel, with its finely-divided leaves, split up into numerous capillary leaflets, and its small yellow flowers without bracts. It may be distinguished from other closely-allied plants by the form of the fruit, which is flattened at the sides. It is grown in some parts for use as a potherb, and an aromatic oil is also obtained from the seeds. The plant grows to a height of four or five feet, but there is a smaller variety known as the Sweet Fennel, and distinguished by the stem being compressed at the base. Our next example of the Umbelliferæ is the Sea Holly (Eryngium maritimum), easily distinguished from the other umbellifers by its spiny glaucous leaves, and the thistle-like heads of blue flowers surrounded by a whorl of spiny bracts. Its fleshy creeping roots were formerly gathered largely for the purpose of converting them into the once-prized ‘candied eryngo root,’ which is still prepared in a few of the fishing villages of our coast. The lower leaves of this plant are spinous and very glaucous, and the upper ones palmate. The venation is particularly strong and durable, so that the leaves and flowers are used largely by the sea-side cottagers in the construction of skeleton bouquets and wreaths. Another plant of the same genus—The Field Eryngo (E. campestre)—is occasionally seen on sandy shores. It differs from the last in having ternate radical leaves with pinnatifid lobes, and the upper leaves, bi-pinnatifid. Our last example of the sea-side umbellifers is the Wild Celery (Apium graveolens) of salt marshes and ditches. This is the plant from which our highly-valued garden celery has been produced, and it is remarkable that this sweet crisp and wholesome vegetable has been derived from a wild plant of coarse taste and odour, the acrid sap of which is highly irritating if not dangerous. The plant may be known by its furrowed stem, and ternate leaves, the leaflets of the lower leaves being round and lobed, while those of the upper ones are notched. The umbels are sessile or nearly so, the flowers have no calyx, and the fruit has five prominent ridges.
On the sandy shores of the south-western counties we may meet with the very local Four-leaved Allseed (Polycarpon tetraphyllum) of the order Illecebraceæ. It is a small plant, only four or five inches in height, with the lower leaves in whorls of four and the upper ones in opposite pairs. The flowers are minute, and are disposed in small dense clusters.
Another rare species is the shrub known as the English Tamarisk (Tamarix anglica), which is our only representative of the order Tamariscaceæ. There is some doubt, however, whether even this is indigenous to Britain, though it occurs in a wild state on the coast. It is a very twiggy shrub growing from six to ten feet in height, with minute scale-like, acute leaves, and slender spikes of small pinkish-white flowers.
We now pass to the large order of Leguminous plants, characterised by their stipuled leaves, and irregular papilionaceous flowers. The latter usually have five united sepals, five petals forming an irregular, butterfly-like corolla, ten stamens, and a superior ovary that develops into a pod.
Of these the Starry-headed Trefoil (Trifolium stellatum) is very partial to the sea shore, though it is sometimes found some distance inland. The genus to which it belongs is so called on account of its trifoliate leaves which are characteristic of the clovers, trefoils, and vetches, and which have stipules adhering to the petioles. The species under notice receives its name from the star-like arrangement of the long teeth of the hairy calyx. The stem of the plant is procumbent, usually about six or eight inches long, with cylindrical and terminal heads of yellowish-grey flowers.
The Rough-podded Yellow Vetch (Vicia lutea) is somewhat rare, and occurs principally on very rocky coasts. In common with the other vetches it has pinnate, tendrilled leaves, without a terminal leaflet, one stamen free and the rest united into a bundle, and a long, slender, hairy style. Its stem is tufted and prostrate, averaging about a foot in length, the leaflets long and narrow, and the yellow flowers sessile and solitary. The teeth of the calyx are unequal, and the pods hairy and curved.
The Sea-Side Everlasting Pea (Lathyrus maritimus) is a much commoner plant of the coast, and may be readily recognised by its general resemblance to the garden sweet-pea. The genus to which it belongs is closely allied to the vetches, but may be distinguished by the style, which is flattened below the stigma, hairy on the inner or upper side, but quite smooth on the outer side. The sea-side species has an angled (but not winged) stem, from one to three feet long, compound tendrilled leaves with many oval leaflets, and large oval or cordate stipules. Its purple flowers are in bloom during July and August. A variety of this plant (acutifolius), with a slender straggling stem and narrow acute leaflets, occurs on some parts of the Scottish coast.
The Geraniaceæ is represented at the sea-side by the Sea Stork’s-bill (Erodium maritimum), which, however, is by no means a very common flower. Its relationship to the other stork’s-bills and the crane’s-bills may be readily proved by the five persistent sepals, five distinct clawed petals, the five to ten stamens attached under the ovary (for we have now reached that division of the polypetalous exogens distinguished by this mode of insertion of the stamens), and the five carpels surrounding a long beak resembling that of the stork and the crane. The plant may sometimes be seen on sandy shores, averaging a foot in height, though very variable in this respect, and displaying its pretty pink flowers during the whole of the summer. The principal features by which it is to be distinguished from the two other British plants of the same species are its ovate or cordate leaves with very short petioles, and the presence of only one or two flowers on each peduncle.
Passing now to the Sea Mallow (Lavatera arborea), we are dealing with another rather rare plant, of the order Malvaceæ, sometimes met with on rocky coasts, chiefly, it appears, on the north coast of Cornwall and Devon. This is a very shrubby plant, as its specific name implies, and it is sometimes popularly known as the Tree Mallow on that account. It has a very woody stem, growing to a height of four or five feet, and bearing seven-pointed, downy leaves, and solitary, axillary, purple flowers. As in the other mallows, the flowers have five petals, which are curiously twisted when in the bud, five sepals, a large number of stamens united into a tube, and an ovary of many cells, but it may be distinguished from the other species of the order by its three-lobed bracts. The plant is found principally in wild, uncultivated spots, but is commonly grown as a garden plant by the cottagers of villages in the south-west, and under cultivation it frequently grows to a height of nine or ten feet, with a tree-like stem three or four inches in thickness; and it produces such a quantity of fibre that its cultivation for manufacturing purposes has been suggested.
We now come to another of the very extensive orders, at least as far as British plants are concerned, although it contains only a few sea-side species. We refer to the Caryophyllaceæ, containing the pinks, campions, catchflies, chickweeds, &c. The chief features of the order are jointed, herbaceous stems, opposite leaves, and regular white or red flowers with four or five sepals and petals, eight or ten stamens, and a capsular fruit opening at the top with teeth.
One of the commonest species we have to consider is the Sea Campion (Silene maritima), common on nearly all coasts, and often growing in small crevices of the bare rocks quite within the reach of the spray of storm-waves. In common with the other members of its genus it is characterised by a tubular calyx of united sepals, ten stamens, and a three-celled capsule opening at the top with six teeth; but it may be known at once by its small size, being only a few inches in height, and its solitary flowers with calyx much inflated and the corolla only shortly cleft.
The Sea Sand Wort (Spergularia marina) is another common plant of the coast, recognised by its slender, creeping stems; linear, stipuled, fleshy leaves, convex below and blunt at the apex; and its pinkish-white flowers. The Sea Purslane (Honckenya peploides), belonging to the same order, is also a creeping plant, with ovate, acute fleshy leaves, flowering from May to August. It is the only British plant of its genus, and may be distinguished from others by the absence of stipules, distinct sepals, petals entire, ten stamens, and from three to five styles. The flowers are white, solitary, and sessile. The one remaining species of the sea-side Caryophyllaceæ is the Sea Pearl Wort (Sagina maritima). This plant is closely allied to the last, being a creeper with exstipulate leaves and distinct sepals, but its flowers are reddish white, on erect peduncles, with very small petals. The leaves, too, are linear, fleshy, and obtuse. There are three distinct varieties of this plant, two of which have erect stems with short internodes, while the third is procumbent with long internodes; and in all three the capsules are shorter than the sepals.
A variety of the Common Milk Wort (Polygala vulgaris)—order Polygalaceæ—is moderately common on sandy shores. The ordinary form of the species, which is so common on heaths, is a small plant with a woody stem, small ovate leaves crowded below, and opposite lanceolate leaves above. The flowers are irregular with five persistent sepals, two larger than the others; three to five petals, the lowest keeled, and all united to the tube formed by the eight stamens, which are divided above into two bundles; and the fruit is a flat capsule with two one-seeded cells. The flowers are very variable in colour, being white, pink, lilac, or blue; and the seeds are downy. The sea-side variety (oxyptera) has smaller flowers than the normal form, and the wings of the calyx are narrower.
One species of Pansy (Viola Curtisii) is occasionally to be met with on sandy shores, and may be at once recognised as one of the Violaceæ by its irregular spurred corolla, its five persistent sepals, and the three-parted, one-celled ovary. The flowers are variable in colour and size, the prevailing tints being blue and yellow, and the diameter of the corolla occasionally reaching to one inch. It has a creeping woody rootstock, and a rough angular stem; and the petals are generally but little longer than the sepals.
The Shrubby Mignonette (Reseda suffruticulosa), of the order Resedaceæ, is a common sea-side plant that grows to a height of one or two feet on sandy shores, bearing spikes of white flowers in July and August. The order is characterised by alternate exstipulate leaves, persistent calyx with four or five sepals, corolla of from four to seven petals, many stamens, and a three-lobed, one-celled ovary. The sea-side species is very much like the wild mignonette so common in chalky districts, but differs in having all its leaves pinnate, waved, and glaucous, with linear segments; and in having five equal sepals and petals. In a variety of the species, however, the sepals and petals are six in number.
The Crucifers are fairly well represented by coast plants, there being several maritime species of the order. The Cruciferæ are named from the nature of the corolla, the limbs of the four petals of which are arranged so as to resemble the Maltese cross. The flowers have also four sepals, six stamens, two of which are shorter than the other four, and the fruit takes the form of a two-celled pod or pouch which opens by the separation of its two valves from the central partition.
Our first example is the Wild Cabbage (Brassica oleracea), which, although so unlike the cabbage of our gardens, is really the parent of all the cultivated varieties, including the cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, &c. It is a biennial plant, with fleshy lobed wavy leaves that are covered with bluish bloom, and a fleshy cylindrical root. It grows erect to a height of one or two feet, bearing yellow flowers during the summer months. An allied species (B. monensis), with a prostrate stem and deeply-divided leaves, occurs locally on the sandy shores of the Isle of Man.
Two species of Stock (Matthiola) are to be found on the coast, both being characterised by purple flowers. The Great Sea Stock (M. sinuata) is a rare plant growing on the shores of Wales and Cornwall, and may be known by its herbaceous stem and narrow downy leaves; and the other species—the Hoary Shrubby Stock (M. incana)—is also a rare plant, found principally on the cliffs of the Isle of Wight, and is the parent of the Brompton Stocks of our gardens. The latter has a branched woody stem and narrow leaves. Both species grow to a height of about eighteen inches, and the latter flowers in May and June, while the former is in bloom during the hottest summer months.
The Hare’s-ear Treacle Mustard (Erysimum orientale) is a rare crucifer, frequenting the cliffs of the southern and eastern counties. It grows to a height of one to two feet, and bears its white flowers about midsummer. It has glaucous leaves, and the fruit-pods are quadrangular in form.
The Common Scurvy Grass (Cochlearia officinalis) is abundant on many shores, and its fleshy leaves, once highly valued as an antiscorbutic, are still used for salad by the cottagers near the sea. It generally grows to a height of six or seven inches, and displays its white flowers during late spring and early summer. The root-leaves are cordate in form, and the upper ones are sessile and angled, half embracing the stem. The fruit is a rounded pouch. A variety (danica) with stalked, deltoid leaves and an oval veiny pod, is plentiful in some places.
On some coasts we find the Sweet Alyssum (Koniga maritima)—a naturalised plant with procumbent stem, narrow lanceolate, acute leaves, and white flowers. It may be recognised by its compressed, pointed pouch with one-seeded cells. This species flowers towards the end of the summer.
The Sea Radish (Raphanus maritimus) is a much larger plant, growing three or four feet in height. In common with the Wild Radish of our corn-fields, it has a tapering pod divided into one-seeded joints, but it may be distinguished from the latter by its superior height and the deeply-divided radical leaves. Its flowers are always yellow, while in the field species they may be either yellow or white; and the style is also shorter, being about the same length as the last joint of the pod.
On sandy shores the Sea Rocket (Cakile maritima) is commonly seen, and is readily distinguished by its zigzag branches, deeply-lobed, smooth, fleshy leaves of a glaucous colour, and its succulent pod, which is divided into two one-seeded cells by a horizontal partition. It grows from one to two feet high, and bears pretty lilac flowers about midsummer.
Our last example of the crucifers is the Sea Kale (Crambe maritima), a hardy perennial, commonly seen growing among the sand and shingle of the shore, which is the parent of the sea kale now so commonly cultivated in our market gardens. It may be readily recognised by the fine glaucous bloom of its stem, and its broad wavy toothed leaves of a glaucous grey colour. It grows to a height of about eighteen inches, and bears white flowers in June. The fruit is a two-jointed pouch, the upper being rounded and one-seeded, while the lower is stalk-like and barren. This plant is particularly common in the south-west of England, where the leaves are sometimes blanched for food by burying them in the sand.
One of the most striking plants of the coast is the Yellow Horned Poppy (Glaucium luteum) of the order Papaveraceæ, which contains the well-known poppies of corn-fields. The general characteristics of the order are two deciduous sepals, four petals, many stamens inserted below the ovary, and the ovary one-celled with membranous divisions. The plants of this species usually contain a milky juice, have alternate leaves without stipules, and the flowers, which are regular, generally nod when in bud. The Horned Poppy is a very conspicuous plant, usually growing quite alone on some inaccessible portion of the cliff, or among the pebbles or shingle not far from high-water mark. Its stem is glaucous and branched, and the large waved and deeply-cut leaves, which clasp the stem, are also of a glaucous hue. The flowers are rendered conspicuous by their large yellow petals, which, however, last only for a day, and are succeeded by the hornlike seed-pods that sometimes reach a foot in length.
We will conclude our list of sea-side flowers by a brief mention of the Lesser Meadow Rue (Thalictrum minus), a variety of which (maritimum) grows on sandy shores. The Meadow Rue belongs to the Ranunculaceæ, as may be seen from the fruit of several distinct carpels, each containing a single seed, the corolla of distinct petals, and the numerous stamens inserted below the carpels. The normal form of the Lesser Meadow Rue, which grows freely in some chalky pastures and thickets, has leaves three or four times pinnate, and lax panicles of drooping flowers without any petals. The sea-side variety differs from this in having the stem leafless at the base, and the panicles leafless and broad. The flowers are greenish white, and bloom in July and August.
To assist the reader in the identification of sea-side flowers we append a list of the orders to which they belong, together with the principal distinguishing characteristics of each.
I. MONOCOTYLEDONS
A. GLUMIFERÆ
Flowers without a Perianth, enclosed in Glumes
1. Gramineæ—Grassy plants with hollow stems enclosed in split sheaths. Flowers generally bisexual with (usually) three stamens.
2. Cyperaceæ—Grassy plants with solid stems and entire sheaths. Flowers arranged in spikelets, unisexual or bisexual, with from one to three stamens.
B. PETALOIDÆ
Perianth Petaloid
3. Juncaceæ—Rushes, with narrow leaves and small brown flowers. Perianth 6-partite, with scarious segments. Stamens usually 6; ovary superior; fruit a 3-valved capsule.
4. Naiadaceæ—Aquatic herbs with inconspicuous, unisexual or bisexual flowers. Perianth absent or scale-like. Stamens as many as the segments of the perianth. Fruit of from one to four carpels—superior.
5. Alismaceæ—Aquatic plants with radical net-veined leaves, and (generally) conspicuous, white, bisexual flowers. Perianth 6-partite. Stamens 6. Fruit of many carpels—superior.
6. Liliaceæ—Herbs with narrow leaves and showy, bisexual flowers. Perianth 6-partite. Stamens 6. Ovary superior, 3-celled. Fruit a berry or capsule.
II. DICOTYLEDONS
A. CALYX, OR COROLLA, OR BOTH ABSENT
7. Euphorbiaceæ—Herbs with entire leaves and (generally) a milky juice. Flowers small, unisexual, diœcious (male and female flowers on separate plants), sometimes enclosed in calyx-like bracts. Perianth 3- or 4-partite or absent. Stamens one or more. Ovary inferior. Fruit separating into carpels elastically.
8. Eleagnaceæ—Shrub with silvery scales, alternate, entire leaves, and small, unisexual flowers—the staminate flowers in catkins. Sepals of male flowers 3 or 4. Stamens 4 to 8. Ovary superior. Fruit indehiscent (not splitting).
9. Polygonaceæ—Herbs with sheathing stipules, alternate leaves, and small (generally) bisexual flowers. Stamens 5 to 8. Ovary superior. Fruit indehiscent.
10. Chenopodiaceæ—Herbs with jointed stems and small unisexual or bisexual flowers. Stamens usually 5, sometimes 1 or 2, opposite the sepals. Ovary superior. Fruit indehiscent.
B. PLANTS WITH BOTH CALYX AND COROLLA
a. Corolla Monopetalous
1. Ovary Superior and Stamens generally on the Corolla
11. Plantaginaceæ—Herbs with radical entire leaves, and spikes of small, green flowers. Calyx 4-cleft. Corolla 4-lobed, scarious. Stamens 4. Ovary 2- to 4-celled. Fruit many-seeded.
12. Plumbaginaceæ—Herbs with radical or alternate leaves, and (generally) regular, blue flowers. Calyx tubular, scarious. Corolla of 5 petals, united below. Stamens 5, opposite the petals, attached below the ovary. Ovary 1-celled and 1-seeded.
13. Primulaceæ—Herbs with (generally) radical leaves and conspicuous, regular flowers. Calyx 4- to 7-cleft. Corolla 4- to 7-cleft. Stamens 4 to 7, generally opposite the petals. Ovary 1-celled. Fruit a capsule with many seeds.
14. Solanaceæ—Herbs with alternate leaves and axillary clusters of regular flowers. Calyx 5-cleft. Corolla 5-cleft. Stamens 4 or 5. Ovary 2-celled. Fruit a berry.
15. Convolvulaceæ—Climbing herbs with alternate leaves and showy, regular flowers. Sepals 5. Corolla 4- or 5-lobed. Stamens 4 or 5. Ovary 2- to 4-celled. Fruit a capsule.
16. Gentianaceæ—Herbs with opposite entire leaves and solitary regular flowers. Calyx 4- to 10-lobed. Corolla 4- to 10-lobed. Stamens 4 to 10, alternate with the lobes of the corolla. Ovary 1- or 2-celled. Fruit a capsule.
2. Ovary Inferior and Stamens on the Corolla
17. Compositæ—Herbs with flowers (generally yellow or white) collected into compact heads. Calyx absent or represented by a pappus. Corolla tubular or ligulate. Stamens 4 or 5.
b. Corolla Polypetalous
1. Stamens Perigynous (around the Ovary), or Epigynous (upon the Ovary)
18. Umbelliferæ—Herbs with (generally) compound leaves, and small, white, umbelled flowers. Sepals (if present) 5. Petals 5. Stamens 5. Ovary inferior. Fruit of two adhering carpels.
19. Illecebraceæ—Small herbs with sessile, entire leaves, and small flowers. Sepals 4 or 5. Petals 4 or 5 or absent. Stamens 1 to 5. Ovary superior.
20. Tamariscaceæ—Shrub with small, scale-like leaves, and lateral spikes of small regular flowers. Sepals 4 or 5. Petals 4 or 5. Stamens 4 or more.
21. Leguminosæ—Herbs or shrubs with alternate, stipuled, pinnate or ternate leaves, sometimes tendrilled, and irregular flowers. Sepals 4 or 5. Corolla of 5 petals, papilionaceous (butterfly-like). Stamens usually 10. Ovary superior. Fruit a pod.
2. Stamens Hypogynous (attached below the Ovary)