Begin to Code with JavaScript 1st Edition Miles

pdf download

https://textbookfull.com/product/begin-to-code-with-
javascript-1st-edition-miles/

Download more ebook from https://textbookfull.com

We believe these products will be a great fit for you. Click
the link to download now, or visit textbookfull.com
to discover even more!

Begin to Code with Python Rob Miles

https://textbookfull.com/product/begin-to-code-with-python-rob-
miles/

Source Code Analytics With Roslyn and JavaScript Data

Visualization Mukherjee

https://textbookfull.com/product/source-code-analytics-with-
roslyn-and-javascript-data-visualization-mukherjee/

Reactive Programming with RxJS 5 Untangle your

asynchronous Javascript code 1st Edition Sergi Mansilla

https://textbookfull.com/product/reactive-programming-with-
rxjs-5-untangle-your-asynchronous-javascript-code-1st-edition-
sergi-mansilla/

Refactoring JavaScript turning bad code into good code

First Edition Burchard

https://textbookfull.com/product/refactoring-javascript-turning-
bad-code-into-good-code-first-edition-burchard/
MASTERING JAVASCRIPT DESIGN PATTERNS create scalable
and reliable applications with advanced Javascript
design patterns using reliable code 3rd Edition Tomas
Corral Cosas
https://textbookfull.com/product/mastering-javascript-design-
patterns-create-scalable-and-reliable-applications-with-advanced-
javascript-design-patterns-using-reliable-code-3rd-edition-tomas-
corral-cosas/

Models to Code: With No Mysterious Gaps 1st Edition

Leon Starr

https://textbookfull.com/product/models-to-code-with-no-
mysterious-gaps-1st-edition-leon-starr/

Beginning Functional JavaScript. Functional Programming

with JavaScript using EcmaScript 6 1st Edition Anto
Aravinth

https://textbookfull.com/product/beginning-functional-javascript-
functional-programming-with-javascript-using-ecmascript-6-1st-
edition-anto-aravinth/

Simplifying JavaScript Writing Modern JavaScript with

ES5 ES6 and Beyond 1st Edition Joe Morgan

https://textbookfull.com/product/simplifying-javascript-writing-
modern-javascript-with-es5-es6-and-beyond-1st-edition-joe-morgan/

Beginning Functional JavaScript: Functional Programming

with JavaScript Using EcmaScript 6 1st Edition Anto
Aravinth

https://textbookfull.com/product/beginning-functional-javascript-
functional-programming-with-javascript-using-ecmascript-6-1st-
edition-anto-aravinth-2/
Begin to Code with JavaScript

Rob Miles
BEGIN TO CODE WITH JAVASCRIPT

Published with the authorization of Microsoft Corporation by:

Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright © 2022 by Pearson Education, Inc.

All rights reserved. This publication is protected by copyright, and permission

must be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction,
storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information
regarding permissions, request forms, and the appropriate contacts within the
Pearson Education Global Rights & Permissions Department, please visit
www.pearson.com/permissions

No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained
herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book,
the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is
any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information
contained herein.

ISBN-13: 978-0-13-687072-2

ISBN-10: 0-13-687072-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021941656

ScoutAutomatedPrintCode

TRADEMARKS

Microsoft and the trademarks listed at http://www.microsoft.com on the

“Trademarks” webpage are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All
other marks are property of their respective owners.
WARNING AND DISCLAIMER

Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as
possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on an
“as is” basis. The author, the publisher, and Microsoft Corporation shall have
neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss
or damages arising from the information contained in this book or from the use
of the programs accompanying it.

SPECIAL SALES

For information about buying this title in bulk quantities, or for special sales
opportunities (which may include electronic versions; custom cover designs; and
content particular to your business, training goals, marketing focus, or branding
interests), please contact our corporate sales department at
corpsales@pearsoned.com or (800) 382-3419.

For government sales inquiries, please contact

governmentsales@pearsoned.com.

For questions about sales outside the U.S., please contact

intlcs@pearson.com.

Editor-in-Chief

Brett Bartow

Executive Editor

Loretta Yates

Development Editor

Rick Kughen

Sponsoring Editor
Charvi Arora

Managing Editor

Sandra Schroeder

Senior Project Editor

Tracey Croom

Copy Editor

Rick Kughen

Indexer

James Minken

Proofreader

Scout Festa

Technical Editor

John E. Ray

Editorial Assistant

Cindy Teeters

Cover Designer

Twist Creative, Seattle

Compositor

Danielle Foster
Graphics

Danielle Foster
To Imogen
About the author

Rob Miles spent more than 30 years teaching programming at the

University of Hull in the United Kingdom. He now runs a company
promoting community uptake of computer technology. He’s a Microsoft
MVP with a passion for programming and creating new things. If he had
any spare time, he’d spend it writing even more code. He loves building
devices and then switching them on to see what they do. He reckons that
programming is the most creative thing you can learn how to do. He
claims to know a lot of really good jokes, but nobody has ever heard him
tell one. If you want an insight into the Wacky World™ of Rob Miles, you
can read his blog at www.robmiles.com and follow him on Twitter via
@RobMiles.
Contents at a glance

Part 1: The world of JavaScript

Chapter 1 Running JavaScript

Chapter 2 Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

Chapter 3 Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

Part 2: Coding with JavaScript

Chapter 4 Working with data

Chapter 5 Making decisions in programs

Chapter 6 Repeating actions in programs

Chapter 7 Creating functions

Chapter 8 Storing data

Chapter 9 Objects

Part 3: Useful JavaScript

Chapter 10 Advanced JavaScript

Chapter 11 Creating applications

Chapter 12 Creating games

Contents

Introduction

Part 1: The world of JavaScript

1 Running JavaScript

What is JavaScript?

JavaScript origins

JavaScript and the web browser

Our first brush with JavaScript

Tools

Getting Git

Getting Visual Studio Code

Getting the sample files

Working on files with Visual Studio Code

What you have learned

2 Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

HTML and the World Wide Web

Fetching web pages

What is HTML?

Display symbols

Lay out text in paragraphs

Create headings

Use preformatted text

Add comments to documents

Add images to web pages

The HTML document

Linking HTML documents

Making active web pages

Using a button

Reading input from a user

Display text output

Egg timer

Adding sound to the egg timer

Controlling audio playback

An image display program

What you have learned

3 Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

Putting on the style

Splashing some color

Work with fonts

Text alignment

Make a ticking clock

Create a ticking clock

Margins around text

Creating style classes

Formatting parts of a document using <div> and <span>

Cascading styles

Color highlighting using selectors

What you have learned

Part 2: Coding with JavaScript

4 Working with data

Computers as data processors

Programs as data processors

JavaScript as a data processor

Process data with expressions

Data and information

Variables in programs

JavaScript identifiers

Performing calculations

Whole numbers and real numbers

Real numbers and floating-point numbers

Creating random dice

Working with text

JavaScript string delimiters

Escape sequences in strings

Working with strings and numbers

Converting strings into numbers

Make an adding machine

Making applications

Calculating a pizza order

Converting between Fahrenheit and centigrade

Adding comments

Global and local variables

Global variables

What you have learned

5 Making decisions in programs

Boolean thinking

Boolean values in JavaScript

Boolean expressions

Logical operators

The if construction

Adding an else part

Use decisions to make an application

Build the user interface

Add the code

Using the switch construction

What you have learned

6 Repeating actions in programs

App development

Adding data attributes to HTML elements

Using an unordered list as a container

The JavaScript for loop

Work through collections using for-of

Building web pages from code

Deleting elements from a document

What you have learned

7 Creating functions

What makes a function?

Give information to functions

Arguments and parameters

Multiple parameters in a function

Using references as function arguments

Arrays of arguments

Returning values from function calls

Add error handling to an application

Local variables in JavaScript functions

What you have learned

8 Storing data

Collections of data

Ice Cream Sales

Creating an array

Processing data in an array

Build a user interface

Arrays as lookup tables

Creating fixed with layouts

What you have learned

9 Objects

Make a tiny contacts app

Prototype HTML

Prototype style sheet

Prototype JavaScript
Storing contact details

Finding contacts

Displaying contacts

Saving a contact

Finding a contact

Use an object to store contact details

Use an object in the Tiny Contacts program

Store data in JavaScript local storage

Use JSON to encode object data

Use property accessors

Use a data schema

Build HTML from a schema

Build a data object from a schema

Improving the user interface

Add “Super Search” to Tiny Contacts

What you have learned

Part 3: Useful JavaScript

10 Advanced JavaScript

Manage errors with exceptions

Catching exceptions

Class design

Fashion Shop application

Object-oriented design

Store data in a class hierarchy

Add a method to give an object a behavior

Overriding methods in subclasses

Static class members

Data storage

Build a user interface

Exploring the Fashion Shop application

What you have learned

11 Creating applications

Data analysis

Fashion Shop stock list

Fashion Shop data analysis

Work with array methods

Read the weather

Fetch data from a server

Node.js

Create a web server with Node.js

Node package manager

Deploying a Node.js server

What you have learned

12 Creating games

Use the HTML Canvas

Canvas coordinates

Computer art

Draw images on a canvas

Animate images

Control gameplay

Window events
Control object position with a keyboard

Use keydown and keyup events

Create game objects

Game sprites

The game object

Starting the game

Add a cheese sprite

Add a Cracker sprite

Add lots of crackers

Catch the crackers

Add sound

Adding scores

Add a killer tomato

Create timed sprites

Complete the game

Add a start screen

Start the game running

What you have learned

Index
Introduction

Programming is the most creative thing you can learn how to do. Why? If
you learn to paint, you can create pictures. If you learn to play the violin,
you can make music, but if you learn to program, you can create entirely
new experiences (and you can make pictures and music, too, if you want).
Once you’ve started on the programming path, there’s no limit to where
you can go. There are always new devices, technologies, and
marketplaces where you can use your programming skills.

Think of this book as your first step on a journey to programming

enlightenment. The best journeys are undertaken with a destination in
mind, and the destination of this journey is “usefulness.” By the end of
this book, you will have the skills and knowledge to write useful
programs and make them available to anyone in the world.

But first, a word of warning: I would not say that learning to write
programs is easy. This is for two reasons:

If I tell you that it’s easy, and you still can’t do it, you might feel bad about
this (and rather cross with me).

If I tell you it’s easy and you manage to do it, you might think that it isn’t
worth doing.

Learning to program is not easy. It’s a kind of difficult that you might not
have seen before. Programming is all about detail and sequencing. You
must learn how the computer does things and how to express what you
want it to do.

Imagine that you were lucky enough to be able to afford your own
personal chef. At the start, you would have to explain things like, “If it is
sunny outside, I like orange juice and a grapefruit for breakfast, but if it is
raining, I’d like a bowl of porridge and a big mug of coffee.” Occasionally,
your chef would make mistakes. Perhaps you would get a black coffee
rather than the latte that you wanted. However, over time, you would add
more detail to your instructions until your chef knew exactly what to do.

A computer is like a chef who doesn’t even know how to cook. Rather
than saying “make me a coffee,” you would have to say, “Take the brown
powder from the coffee bag and add it to hot water.” Then you would
have to explain how to make hot water and how you must be careful with
the kettle and so on. This is hard work.

It turns out that the key to success as a programmer is much the same as
for many other endeavors. To become a world-renowned violin player,
you will have to practice a lot. The same is true for programming. You
must spend a lot of time working on your programs to acquire code-
writing skills. However, the good news is that just as a violin player really
enjoys making the instrument sing, making a computer do exactly what
you want turns out to be a very rewarding experience. It gets even more
enjoyable when you see other people using programs that you’ve written
and finding them useful and fun to use.

How this book fits together

I’ve organized this book in three parts. Each part builds on the previous
one with the aim of turning you into a successful programmer. We start
off discovering the environment in which JavaScript programs run. Then
we learn the fundamentals of programming and we finish by making
some properly useful (and fun) programs.

Part 1: The world of JavaScript

The first part gets you started. You’ll discover the environment in which
JavaScript programs run and learn how to create web pages containing
JavaScript programs.

Part 2: Coding with JavaScript

Part 2 describes the features of the JavaScript that you use to create
programs that work on data. You will pick up some fundamental
programming skills that apply to a wide range of other languages and
that get you thinking about what it is that programs actually do. You’ll
find out how to break large programs into smaller elements and how you
can create custom data types that reflect the specific problem being
solved.

Part 3: Useful JavaScript

Now that you can make JavaScript programs, it’s time to have some fun
with them. You’ll discover how to create good-looking applications, learn
how to make programs that are secure and reliable, and finish off with a
bit of game development.

How you will learn

In each chapter, I will tell you a bit more about programming. I’ll show
you how to do something, and then I’ll invite you to make something of
your own by using what you’ve learned. You’ll never be more than a page
or so away from doing something or making something unique and
personal. After that, it’s up to you to make something amazing!

You can read the book straight through if you like, but you’ll learn much
more if you slow down and work with the practical parts along the way.
Like learning to ride a bicycle, you’ll learn by doing. You must put in the
time and practice to learn how to do it. But this book will give you the
knowledge and confidence to try your hand at programming, and it will
also be around to help you if your programming doesn’t turn out as you
expected. Here are some elements in the book that will help you learn by
doing:

MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN

Yes, the best way to learn things is by doing, so you’ll find “Make
Something Happen” elements throughout the text. These elements offer
ways for you to practice your programming skills. Each starts with an
example and then introduces some steps you can try on your own.
Everything you create will run on Windows, macOS, or Linux.

CODE ANALYSIS

A great way to learn how to program is by looking at code written by

others and working out what it does (and sometimes why it doesn’t do
what it should). The book contains more than 150 sample programs for
you to look at. In this book’s “Code Analysis” challenges, you’ll use your
deductive skills to figure out the behavior of a program, fix bugs, and
suggest improvements.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG

If you don’t already know that programs can fail, you’ll learn this hard
lesson soon after you begin writing your first program. To help you deal
with this in advance, I’ve included “What Could Go Wrong” elements,
which anticipate problems you might have and provide solutions to those
problems. For example, when I introduce something new, I’ll sometimes
spend some time considering how it can fail and what you need to worry
about when you use the new feature.
PROGRAMMER’S POINTS

I’ve spent a lot of time teaching programming, but I’ve also written many
programs and sold a few to paying customers. I’ve learned some things
the hard way that I really wish I’d known at the start. The aim of
“Programmer’s Points” is to give you this information up front so that you
can start taking a professional view of software development as you learn
how to do it.

“Programmer’s Points” cover a wide range of issues, from programming,

to people, and to philosophy. I strongly advise you to read and absorb
these points carefully—they can save you a lot of time in the future!

What you will need

You’ll need a computer and some software to work with the programs in
this book. I’m afraid I can’t provide you with a computer, but in the first
chapter, you’ll find out how you can get started with nothing more than a
computer and a web browser. Later, you’ll discover how to use the Visual
Studio Code editor to create JavaScript programs.

Using a PC or laptop

You can use Windows, macOS, or Linux to create and run the programs in
the text. Your PC doesn’t have to be particularly powerful, but these are
the minimum specifications I’d recommend:

A 1 GHz or faster processor, preferably an Intel i5 or better.

At least 4 gigabytes (GB) of memory (RAM), but preferably 8 GB or
more.
256 GB hard drive space. (The JavaScript frameworks and Visual
Studio Code installations take about 1 GB of hard drive space.)
There are no specific requirements for the graphics display, although a
higher-resolution screen will enable you to see more when writing your
programs.

Using a mobile device

You can run JavaScript programs on a mobile phone or tablet by visiting

the web pages in which the programs are held. There are also some
applications that can be used to create and run JavaScript programs, but
my experience has been that a laptop or desktop computer is a better
place to work.

Using a Raspberry Pi

If you want to get started in the most inexpensive way possible, you can
use a Raspberry Pi running the Raspbian operating system. This has a
Chromium-compatible browser and is also capable of running Visual
Studio Code.

Downloads

In every chapter in this book, I’ll demonstrate and explain programs that
teach you how to begin to program—and you can then use that code to
create programs of your own. I’ve made a few video walkthroughs for
some crucial tasks. The book text will contain screenshots that you can
use, but these can go out of date. Follow the links to the walkthroughs to
get the latest steps to follow. You can download the book’s sample code
and video walkthroughs from the following page:

MicrosoftPressStore.com/BeginCodeJavaScript/downloads

Follow the instructions you’ll find in Chapter 1 to install the sample

programs and code. You’ll discover how to use GitHub to make your own
copy of the sample programs. You can then use GitHub to publish
JavaScript-enabled web pages for anyone in the world to view. You will
need to connect to the Internet and create a free GitHub account to do
this. You can browse the GitHub site and all the examples here:

www.begintocodewithjavascript.com

Video walkthroughs

You can also find the walkthroughs here:

https://bit.ly/3wEn6zX

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Mary for the cups of tea and Immy for the distraction.

Errata, updates, and book support

We’ve made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this book and its
companion content. You can access updates to this book—in the form of a
list of submitted errata and their related corrections—at

MicrosoftPressStore.com/BeginCodeJavaScript/errata

If you discover an error not already listed, please submit it to us at the

same page.

For additional book support and information, please visit

http://www.MicrosoftPressStore.com/Support

Please note that product support for Microsoft software and hardware is
not offered through the previous addresses. For help with Microsoft
Random documents with unrelated
content Scribd suggests to you:
these often close their petals on the Fig. 277.—Expanded
approach of night, thus protecting their Spikelet of the Oat
pollen during the period in which their G. glumes; P.e, outer
fertilisers sleep. Others, fertilised by pale; P.i, inner pale; A,
nocturnal insects, always spread their awn; F.S, a sterile flower.
The stamens and the
petals during the night, and generally feathery stigmas of the
protect their pollen from waste by fertile flower are also
sleeping throughout the day. As a rule, shown
too, these night-bloomers have large and
pale-coloured petals that are more easily seen by night; they also
evolve a powerful scent to aid the insects in searching them out.
It will be seen that the economic relationship existing between
flowers and insects is a mutual one, the latter visiting the former in
order to obtain food, while the former derive in return the advantage
of a direct transfer of pollen from flower to flower.
It is a well-known fact that the self-fertilisation of a flower often
results in the development of very weak seedlings as compared with
those that are produced by crossing; and it often happens that the
pollen of a flower is incapable of producing the least effect when
deposited on the stigma of the same bloom. In some cases the
contact of the pollen of a flower with its own stigma will even act as a
poison, causing the whole to shrivel and die; and truly wonderful are
the varied means by which flowers contrive to secure a cross-
fertilisation. It is here that the work of the wind and insects proves so
valuable to flowers; but, in addition to this, a very large number of
flowers are absolutely incapable of self-fertilisation, for the anthers
and the stigma are not mature at the same time, or they exist in
separate flowers, either on the same plant or on distinct plants of the
same species. It is most interesting and instructive to study the many
contrivances by which flowers compel certain insects to convey the
pollen exactly in the way that best serves their purpose, sometimes
even entrapping them after they have been allured, and not allowing
them to escape until they are thoroughly dusted with the pollen which
they are required to convey; but it is hardly our province to enter
more fully into this matter in these pages.
An examination of the grasses will show at once that they are
adapted for fertilisation by the wind. The flowers produce no nectar;
and, consistently, develop no bright petals and evolve no odours to
attract insects. On the other hand, their anthers produce abundance
of lightly-adhering pollen, and are mounted on long filaments which
hold them well exposed to the wind; and the stigmas are well
adapted for catching the scattered grains, being long and protruding,
and often covered with sticky hairy or feathery appendages.
Although the flowers of grasses are generally wanting in attractive
colours, the clusters of blossoms are often very graceful and pretty,
especially when the large anthers, covered with bright-yellow pollen,
dangle in the breeze.
We will now briefly describe the principal British grasses that grow
chiefly or exclusively in the immediate neighbourhood of the sea.
The Sea Hard Grass (Lepturus filiformis) is a perennial species, usually
about six inches in height, very common on some sandy coasts, and
found in flower during the hottest months of the summer. The flowers
are arranged in simple spikes, on slender erect stems; and the
glumes, which are united at their bases, enclose a single bloom.
In similar situations we may find the Sea Lyme Grass (Elymus
arenarius), a tall species, often reaching a height of four feet, with
glaucous rigid leaves. The flowers are arranged in a simple spike, but
the spikelets are clustered two or three together. This species flowers
in August.
Of the well-known Barley Grasses there is one species (Hordeum
maritimum) that has its habitat along the coast. Like the others of its
genus, the spikelets are arranged in threes, each bearing a single
flower, and the pales have long slender processes (awns) which
constitute the so-called beard. It also resembles the common Meadow
Barley Grass in having the middle flower of each three perfect, while
the two laterals are abortive, but may be distinguished by its rough
and bristly glumes, and the semi-oval form of the pales of the lateral
flowers. It is a somewhat stunted species, sometimes only five or six
inches in height, and may be found in flower about Midsummer.
The Brome Grasses have also a representative of a sea-loving nature,
which is to be found in fields near the cliffs. It is the Field Brome
Grass (Bromus arvensis), an annual grass that grows to a height of
two or three feet. Brome grasses generally are known by their loose
panicles of flowers, lanceolate and compressed spikelets, and awned
florets enclosed in unequal glumes; and B. arvensis may be
distinguished by its hairy leaves and stem-sheath, and the drooping
panicle with the lower peduncle branched.
Among the Meadow Grasses we have three
or four coast species. In these the florets are
in panicles and are not awned. The outer
glumes are keeled and traversed by several
veins; and the lower pales are also keeled,
with five or more nerves. The Sea Meadow
Grass (Poa maritima) grows in salt marshes
near the sea, its erect rigid panicles reaching
a height of about eight or ten inches. It has a
creeping root, and its leaves are curved
inward at the margins. The Procumbent
Meadow Grass (P. procumbens) and a variety
of the Reflexed Meadow Grass (P. distans)
are also plentiful in salt marshes. The former
may be known by the short rigid branches of
its panicle and the five ribs of the lower
pales; and the latter is much like P. maritima, Fig. 278.—The Sea Lyme
but grows taller, and its spikelets are Grass
crowded. The Wheat Meadow Grass (P.
loliacea) grows on sandy shores. Its spikelets are arranged singly and
alternately along the central axis, and the upper glume reaches to the
base of the fourth floret. This species flowers in June, but the other
three of the same genus bloom from July to September.
The reader is probably acquainted with the Fescue Grass, with its
awned flowers arranged in one-sided panicles. There are no less than
seven species, one of which—the Single-husked Fescue (Festuca
uniglumis)—grows on sandy shores, flowering in June and July, and
reaching a height of from nine to twelve inches. The panicles are
upright and unbranched, and the species may be readily known by
the flowers, which are compressed, with long awns, and with the
lower glumes wanting.
Knappia agrostidea is a dwarf species, rarely exceeding four inches in
height, that is found on certain sandy shores, but is very local. Its
flowers are arranged in a simple spike, the spikelets being solitary and
unilateral, with only a single flower, and the pales are shaggy. The
plant has several stems which bear short, rough leaves.
The Mat Grass or Sea Reed (Ammophila arundinacea) is common on
many sandy coasts, where it grows to a height of three or four feet,
and flowers in July. The white flowers are clustered in dense
cylindrical, pointed spikes; and the leaves are of a glaucous green
colour, rigid, and curved inward at the edges.
Dog’s-tooth Grass (Cynodon dactylon). This species has a creeping
root, and the leaves are downy on the under side. The flowers are
arranged in a compound spreading spike, of three to five parts, and
the spikelets are of a purplish colour, ovate in form, and arranged in
pairs. The glumes are equal in size. It is found on sandy shores,
grows to a height of about six inches, and flowers in July.
A species of Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea) is also to be seen on
sandy coasts. Unlike the other species of the same genus, its flowers
form an erect spreading panicle, and the glumes are not keeled. It is
also taller than the common canary grass of waste places, often
reaching a height of three feet, and is commonly known as the Reed
Canary Grass.
 Fig. 279.—Knappia Fig. 280.—The Dog’s-Fig. 281.—The Reed
agrostidea tooth Grass Canary Grass

The Sea Cat’s-tail Grass (Phleum arenarium) is common on many

coasts. It is much smaller than the common species of Cat’s-tail,
being generally less than a foot high. The spike is of an elongated
oval form, blunt at the tip and narrow at the base; and the glumes
are narrow, pointed at both ends, and fringed. Each spikelet has but
one flower.
In salt marshes we occasionally meet with the Perennial Beard Grass
(Polypogon littoralis), but it is somewhat rare. It has a creeping root,
and the flowers form a somewhat dense spike-like panicle. The
glumes have a slender awn. It grows to a height of one to two feet,
and flowers in July.
The Tuberous Fox-tail Grass (Alopecurus bulbosus) is another rare
grass of the salt marshes, where it grows to the height of twelve to
sixteen inches, flowering in May and June. The genus to which it
belongs is very closely allied to Phleum, but may be distinguished by
having only one pale to each flower, and this species has a long awn
attached to the back portion. The panicle, too, is cylindrical and
slender, the glumes quite free and abruptly pointed, and the awns
longer than the pales.
The last of the sea-side grasses are two rare species of Cord Grass
(Spartina), both of which are found in salt marshes. In these the
inflorescence is a compound spike, with one-sided spikelets inserted
in a double row. The glumes are keeled and pointed; the pales cleft,
pointed and without awns; and the styles two in number, very long.
The only British species of the genus are the two (S. stricta and S.
alternifolia) referred to above. They both grow to a height of about
eighteen inches, and flower in late summer. In the former the spikes
number two or three, and are longer than the leaves; and the outer
glume is hairy, with a single nerve. The latter, which is the rarer of the
two, bears several spikes, shorter than the leaves; and the outer
glume has five nerves.
Certain of the sedges (order Cyperaceæ) are also more or less
familiar to the sea-side naturalist, and must therefore receive a small
share of our attention. In general terms these are grasslike,
monocotyledonous plants, the stems of which are solid, jointed, and
frequently angular. The leaves are very similar to those of grasses,
except that the sheaths, which surround the stem, are not split. The
flowers are generally arranged in a spike, overlapping each other, and
each one supported on a scale-like bract. In some sedges the flowers
are perfect, each one possessing both stamens and pistil; but in some
species the flowers are unisexual, some bearing stamens and no
pistil, and others pistil only. The stamens are generally three in
number, the ovary is superior, and the stigmas either two or three.
Sedges abound in moist places, some being peculiar to salt marshes,
while others grows on sandy shores; and a few of the British species
of the latter habitat are often so abundant that their creeping roots
bind the sand together, effectually holding it in place while the
surrounding portions of the beach are mercilessly driven by the wind.
A few of the sea-side sedges belong to the genus Carex, in which the
flowers are imperfect, and the fruit is enclosed in the outer parts of
the flower. C. extensa thrives in salt marshes, growing to a height of a
foot or more, and flowering about midsummer. Its fertile flowers form
oblong erect spikelets, while the barren spikelets are solitary. The
bracts are long and leafy, with short sheaths surrounding the stem.
The leaves are curved in at the edges, and the fruit is oval and
ribbed, with a short straight beak.
On sandy shores the Sea Sedge (C. arenaria) is often common, and
its underground stems are used for sarsaparilla. It is a perennial
species, growing to a height of about nine inches, and flowering in
June and July. The flowers grow in an oblong interrupted spike, the
upper spikelets being barren, and the intermediate ones barren at the
tip. The fruit is oval, veined, and winged.
Another species of this genus—the Curved Sedge (C. incurva) —is
sometimes to be seen on sandy shores, but it is rare, and is also a
very small sedge, growing only to a height of about three inches. It
derives its specific name from its curved stem, and may be further
distinguished by its channelled leaves and the globular mass of
spikelets which are barren on the top.

Fig. 282.—Male and Female Flowers of Carex, magnified

Some of the so-called rushes belong to the same order as the sedges,
and a few of these are more or less restricted to the neighbourhood
of the sea. The Salt-marsh Club Rush (Scirpus maritimus), as its name
implies, is to be found in marshes near the sea. It is very variable in
height, ranging from one to three feet, and displays its dense terminal
cluster of spikelets in July and August. In this genus all the flowers
are perfect, the glumes imbricated and bristled; and the present
species may be distinguished by the glumes being divided into two
sharply pointed lobes. A variety of S. lacustris may also be found on
the sea shore, but it is somewhat rare. It has a leafless glaucous
stem, and flowers arranged in compound spikes. The glumes are
rough, and contain a compressed fruit.
A very small species of the Spike Rush (Eleocharis parvula), growing
only one or two inches high, is sometimes found on the muddy shores
of Ireland. It has perfect flowers, in a single terminal spikelet. The
leaves are very narrow, growing from the base of the plant; and the
round stem is enclosed in a single leafless sheath.
The true rushes belong to the order Juncaceæ. These have fibrous
roots and narrow leaves, and bear clusters of brown flowers. The
perianth consists of six parts, and the stamens are usually six in
number. The ovary is generally three-celled, developing into a three-
valved capsule. The Lesser Sea Rush (Juncus maritimus) is common
in salt marshes, growing to a height of two or three feet, and
flowering in July. It has a rigid leafless stem, bearing lateral clusters
of flowers. The segments of the perianth are very narrow and sharp,
and the seeds are enclosed in a loose testa. Closely allied to this
species is the Great Sea Rush (J. acutus), which grows three or four
feet high on sandy shores. In general characteristics it resembles J.
maritimus, but the segments of the perianth are oval and have thin
transparent margins; and it is a much rarer species.
 Fig. 283.—The Sea Fig. 284.—The Curved Fig. 285.—The Great
Sedge Sedge Sea Rush

We now pass to the peculiar Sea Grasses or Grass Wracks (Zostera)

which grow in salt water. They belong to the order Naiadaceæ, and
are characterised by cellular leaves with parallel veins, and
inconspicuous unisexual or bisexual flowers. The perianth, when
present at all, consists of two or four scale-like parts, and the
stamens correspond in number with these. The ovary is free, and the
carpels, one or more in number, contain each a single ovule. In
Zostera the flowers are imperfect, and seem to grow in the slit of the
leaf. There are two species, both of which grow in shallow water close
to the shore, often in such dense masses that they impede the
progress of boats. They have long creeping stems that lie buried in
the sand, giving off numerous root-fibres, and send up to the surface
slender branches that bear grass-like leaves. The flowers are
unisexual, and are arranged in two rows on the same side of a
flattened stalk that is enclosed in a sheath formed by short leaves.
They have no perianth, the male flowers being composed of a single
anther, and the female of a one-celled ovary containing a single ovule,
and surmounted by a style with two long stigmas.
There are two species—the Broad-leaved Grass Wrack (Z. marina)
with leaves one to three feet long and traversed by three or more
parallel veins, and the Dwarf Grass Wrack (Z. nana), the leaves of
which are less than a foot long, with veins numbering one to three.
There is a variety of the former, however, named Angustifolia, in
which the leaves are much narrower than usual, and the veins fewer
in number.

Fig. 286.—The
Broad-leaved Grass Fig. 287.—The Sea-side Fig. 288.—The Common
Whack Arrow Grass Asparagus

The order Alismaceæ, which contains the water plantains, arrow-

heads, and other semi-aquatic plants, has a representative of marine
tendencies in the Sea-side Arrow Grass (Triglochin maritimum). The
flowers of this order are bisexual, with six stamens and a six-parted
perianth. The fruit consists of many carpels; and, although the plants
are monocotyledons, their leaves have netted veins; and altogether
they somewhat resemble the ranunculaceous exogens. The Sea-side
Arrow Grass is abundant in some salt marshes, growing to a height of
about a foot, and produces loose simple spikes of green flowers all
through the summer. The leaves are radical, narrow and fleshy; and
the ovary consists of six carpels.
Of the interesting order Liliaceæ we have only one plant of the coast,
and even that—the Asparagus—is not by any means generally
common. It is the same plant that is so largely cultivated as an article
of diet, and which is so highly valued on account of its diuretic
properties. It is moderately common on parts of the south coast,
particularly in the Isle of Portland and in West Cornwall, and its
general appearance is so graceful that it is largely employed as an
ornamental garden plant. The stem is erect and freely branched,
bearing feathery bunches of bristled leaves and pale-yellow axillary
flowers. As is the case with the Liliaceæ generally, the flowers are
bisexual, with a six-parted perianth, six stamens, and a three-celled
superior ovary; and the last named, in the Asparagus, forms a bright-
red berry in the autumn.
We have now to leave the monocotyledonous plants and pass on to
the dicotyledons, which form the most highly developed of the
primary divisions of the vegetable kingdom. A few of the general
characteristics of this group have already been given, but we must
now look rather more closely into the nature of the plants included.
The class receives its name from the presence of two cotyledons or
seed-leaves in the embryo plant, and is also known as the Exogenæ
because the stems increase in thickness by the addition of zones of
woody tissue at the exterior. When the young dicotyledonous plant
first appears above the ground, the two cotyledons, which formerly
served to shelter the immature bud, usually appear as tiny fleshy
leaves; but these soon wither away, while the bud produces the more
permanent leaves that are of a very different structure. A section of
the stem will reveal distinct pith, wood, and bark, the wood being
more or less distinctly divided into wedge-shaped masses by rays
from the pith; and, in the case of perennial stems, the wood is
arranged in concentric rings, the number of which correspond
approximately with the years of growth. The leaves of exogens have
their veins in the form of a network, and the parts of the flower are
generally arranged in whorls of two or five or of some multiple of
these numbers.
The flowers always have stamens and pistil, but in some these organs
exist in separate flowers, either on the same plant, or on different
plants of the same species, and the ovules are nearly always
contained in a case called the ovary.
Dicotyledons are divided into three main groups, the division being
based on the structure of the flowers. They are the Apetalæ in which
the petals are absent, but the perianth is frequently petaloid, though
it is occasionally also absent; the Gamopetalæ, in which the petals are
united; and the Polypetalæ, in which the petals are always distinct.
Dealing with these divisions in the above order we come first to the
Spurges, three species of which occur on sandy shores. They belong
to the order Euphorbiaceæ, which includes, in addition to the
spurges, a number of herbs, trees, and shrubs with entire leaves
often a milky juice, and small flowers, sometimes enclosed in calyx-
like bracts. The flowers may have one or several stamens, and the
perianth, if present, consists of three or four parts; but perhaps the
best distinguishing feature of the order is the nature of the fruit,
which separates elastically into three carpels.
The Sea Spurge (Euphorbia Paralias) is
commonly seen on sandy shores, where its
yellow flowers bloom in late summer and in
autumn. It may be distinguished among the
numerous species of the genus by its narrow
oblong imbricated leaves, of a tough leathery
nature, the broad heart-shaped bracts, and
the wrinkled capsules containing smooth
seeds. The Portland Spurge (E. portlandica)
is a similar plant, found in similar situations, Fig. 289.—The Sea
and flowering from May to September. Its Spurge
leaves are oval and narrow, obtuse, and of a
glaucous colour, and the bracts are more triangular than those of the
last species. The capsules are slightly rough, as are also the seeds.
There is yet another sea-side spurge—the Purple Spurge (E. peplis)—
a somewhat rare plant, found on some of the sandy shores of the
south of England. It grows to about eight or nine inches in length,
and blooms in late summer, the flowers, like those of most of the
spurges, being yellow. The stem is of a glaucous colour, and trails
along the ground; the leaves are opposite and somewhat heart-
shaped, and the flowers solitary. This species may be distinguished
from other spurges by its stipuled leaves.
On sandy cliffs we sometimes meet with the Sea Buckthorn
(Hippophaë rhamnoides)—a spiny shrub, ranging from about two to
seven feet in height, the bark of which is covered with a silvery scaly
scurf that forms a beautiful object for the microscope. It is the British
representative of the Oleasters (order Eleagnaceæ). The leaves are
alternate, lanceolate, with a silvery surface; and the flowers are small,
green and unisexual. The male flowers grow in catkins, each arising
from a scaly bract, and have a green perianth. The female flowers
have a tubular perianth, and a free one-celled ovary. The latter forms
a hard nut-like fruit, which is surrounded by a succulent mass formed
by the former. This shrub flowers in the spring, while the leaves are
still very small.

Fig. 290.—The Purple Spurge Fig. 291.—The Sea Buckthorn

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 Fig. 292.—
sometimes grown for the leaves. In the wild Chenopodium
state it has many stems, the lower parts botryoides
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.
 Fig. 293.—The Frosted Sea
Fig. 294.—The Prickly Salt Wort
Orache

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 Fig. 295.—The Creeping
sides of the base of each segment. Each Glass Wort
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.

Fig. 297.—The Sea Lavender

Fig. 296.—The Sea-side Plantain

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
Fig. 298.—The Dwarf herbaceous plants in which sessile flowers
Centaury 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
Fig. 299.—The Sea
Samphire 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. Fig. 300.—The Sea-side
Everlasting Pea
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.

Fig. 301.—The Sea Stork’s-bill

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.

Fig. 302.—The Sea Campion

Fig. 304.—The Shrubby

Fig. 303.—The Sea Pearl Wort Mignonette
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.
 Fig. 306.—The Isle of Man
Cabbage

Fig. 305.—The Wild Cabbage

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
Welcome to our website – the ideal destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. With a mission to inspire endlessly, we offer a
vast collection of books, ranging from classic literary works to
specialized publications, self-development books, and children's
literature. Each book is a new journey of discovery, expanding
knowledge and enriching the soul of the reade

Our website is not just a platform for buying books, but a bridge
connecting readers to the timeless values of culture and wisdom. With
an elegant, user-friendly interface and an intelligent search system,
we are committed to providing a quick and convenient shopping
experience. Additionally, our special promotions and home delivery
services ensure that you save time and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Let us accompany you on the journey of exploring knowledge and

personal growth!

textbookfull.com