Grasses, Sedges, Rushes And Ferns Of The British Isles

By N. Barrie Hodgson

This vintage book contains a comprehensive guide to the various different kinds of sedges, grasses, rushes and ferns native to the British Isles. It provides detailed descriptions of the different types of flora treated, as well as information on habitats, natural history, uses, and much more. This profusely-illustrated volume is highly recommended for those with an interest British botany, and it is not to be missed by collectors of allied literature. Contents include: 'Grasses (Gramineae)', 'Sedges (Cyperaceae)', 'Rushes (Juncaceae)', 'Ferns (Pteridophytes)', 'Horsetails (Equisetum)', and 'Club-Mosses (Lycopodium)'. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, high-quality, modern edition complete with the original text and images. This book was first published in 1925.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blakiston Press
• Release date: Dec 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473347922

Book preview

GRASSES

THERE exists no family of plants which are produced so abundantly as those known to us as Grasses, for their presence is much in evidence everywhere, covering the surface of our Islands with the familiar green carpet, whether it be on mountainside, in meadows, pastures or fields, on every piece of waste land and along roadsides, clothing the moors of the North to the Downs of the Southern Counties.

Because Grasses are the hardiest of the British Flora they are able to flourish in situations where few other forms of vegetation could exist, and were it not for this fact, the countryside would indeed be bare and colourless.

Economically, Grasses rank the highest in the vegetable kingdom to the agriculturalist, being essential for the maintenance of cattle, sheep and horses, both in the fresh green state and also when dried in the form of hay for winter feeding ; they are, therefore, cultivated extensively to meet this demand and, in consequence, we have vast acreages of luscious meadows containing very many species seen to perfection in May and June before the tall stems and stately flower-heads fall to the mowing machines to be dried and stacked.

Grasses also constitute one of the most vital commodities for the sustenance of man himself, for the seeds are highly nutritious and, when cultivated, produce the foundation of man’s essential food, for our very familiar fields of barley, rye, wheat and oats are but highly cultivated examples of the wild grasses.

For centuries the grasses containing the largest quantities of nutritious properties have been produced under the most ideal conditions, but it is not always easy to recognise them in comparison with the wild varieties, yet they are, nevertheless, one and the same species.

For instance, a vigorous crop of barley or oats, if examined closely, will reveal the strong, thick stems, broad leaves and large flower-heads of each individual plant standing very erect and of somewhat coarse growth. The wild counterpart of either of these plants is of a very different character, for the stems are very subtle and slender, the leaves narrower and more pliable, while the flower-head produces far fewer and smaller seeds, and the whole plant is, of course, of considerably smaller stature. Yet if both cultivated and wild specimens are compared, it will be found that the structure is similar and the individual characteristics are identical. Grasses do, therefore, constitute the most important and essential forms of vegetation in Britain for the existence of man and agricultural requirements.

Grasses, in common with nearly all other plants, possess a liking for suitable types of soil and for different environments according to their individual habits, so that those growing in dry, open situations will probably not exist in damp, shady woods where species of quite a different type will occur, and likewise the moisture-loving grasses which develop to perfection in the most shaded and sheltered spots, would hardly ever be met with on the side of a dry, exposed mountainside. Very many species require an amount of water and these will haunt the marshes, the riversides and ditches and are, usually, altogether larger plants than those which prefer dry ground. There exists also a considerable difference in size between the various species, for whereas some when fully developed will only be but three to four inches in height, others will exceed six feet and although they differ to a large extent in appearance they all possess certain basic, structural points in common.

The stems, for instance, of all the species are hollow, except in some instances where the stems are leafy and the joints of the stems at the point where the leaf sheaths fasten, are solid ; the leaves are narrow and long, being different from those of most other forms of vegetation and the flower-heads usually borne at the extremities of the tall stems and consisting of delicate, small flowers and seeds. The differences between each variety of Grass must be sought in the detailed design of each plant and its distinguishing features examined in order to identify it, and eventually classify it so as to name it correctly.

The classification of Grasses is comparatively simple when the flower-heads are in evidence, but many of these only occur for a comparatively short period, so when not in bloom, the plants will have to be examined more closely and the individual characteristics carefully noted. There are several means of establishing their identity, such as by the nature of the roots, the type of stems, whether erect, prostrate, jointed, slender or thick, smooth, rough or hairy ; the shape and size of the leaves, whether sharply pointed or with blunt points, whether broad at their base or strap-shaped, that is, having the margins parallel, whether smooth, rough, hairy, flat or curled, and whether springing from the root or from the stems in dense clusters, or wide-spreading, the colour and time of year when found in bloom. These are some of the more general and obvious means of identification, but the differences between some closely allied species requires a more detailed examination and the flower-head will always provide this certain and very sure means of arriving at the correct classification.

The flower-head of a Grass is termed an ear, or more scientifically, a panicle. The number of flowers and seeds produced by different Grasses varies considerably, some panicles developing into large objects with an abundance of flowers, whilst in others they appear in only very moderate proportions. The flowers are usually small and are known as spikelets, sometimes occurring on long stems, sometimes with only short footstalks, whilst others are fastened direct to the main stem.

These spikelets often appear somewhat insignificant objects, but in reality are highly complicated structures containing all the essential parts which go to make up the intricate construction of a flower produced by any other plant. The blossoms of many of our wild flowers are large and can, therefore, be easily dissected and the various organs readily found and recognised, but those of most of our Grasses are small, requiring the aid of a pocket lens if one would wish to study their make-up with a view to establishing the identity of the plant. These small spikelets vary widely in their individual composition and no two species contain spikelets exactly alike, and even the seeds of each Grass when enlarged will be seen to possess their own characteristic construction.

A spikelet, before opening, is entirely covered by two tiny sheaths called the outer glumes which open in due course, revealing the flower or floret, consisting of two sheaths somewhat similar to the outer glumes, but termed the flowering glumes, and inside these again are the anthers, stigma and the barren floret. In some varieties of Grasses there is an awn, which usually springs from the back of the flowering glume and this invariably constitutes a valuable means of identification ; some having very long awns such as the Wild Oat, others short ones like the Fescue Grasses, while others again, such as the Meadow Soft Grass, possess no awns at all. The anthers, or flowering portion of the spikelets, are sometimes much in evidence, and their varied shape and colouring help in distinguishing the various species ; these are often covered with pollen, giving to the spikelet a very attractive appearance, the whole head being densely clothed with anthers and pollen, some bright yellow, others red or pink, or different shades of brown and many and various tints of purple.

The situation in which a Grass is found often serves as a useful guide to its identity, but there are many species whose habits are such that they appear to grow in almost any situation, in which case the environment should never be taken as a certain means of recognition. The roots of some varieties are small and they require so little nourishment that they are able to grow on old walls and buildings, and, in fact, anywhere that there exists but the smallest quantity of soil. Others prefer to grow in very sandy places and it is these varieties that are so often observed covering the sand dunes around the coasts, in fact, there are very few places where this large family of plants will not be found, for there seems to be a variety of Grass to suit almost any type of soil, and which will flourish in practically any situation throughout the British Isles.

SWEET VERNAL (Anthoxanthum odoratum)

(Plate 1, Fig. 1)

It is largely owing to its agricultural value that this grass is found so abundantly in meadows and pastures and it appears to grow in almost any type of soil and in any situation. It contains in its flowering head an oily substance which gives off a particularly pleasant odour, and because the smell is much stronger when the plant is dry, rather than