III, POLYANDRIA. 211. MALVA. Styles numerous; outer calyx of 3 leaves; capsules whorled, single-seeded. I. PENTANDRIA. 209. ERODIUM. 1. E. cicutarium, stems procumbent, hairy; stalks many-flowered; leaves pinnate, leaflets sessile, pinnatifid, cut; stamens simple. Hemlock Stork's-bill Hab. Dry sandy pastures and waste grounds, common. On the Links from Spittal southward, the variety with white flowers is the most common; but remote from the sea, the flowers are invariably rose-coloured. JuneAug. each Among the numberless instances of obvious design in the structure of the seeds and seed-vessels of plants, few are, perhaps, more remarkable, or more strikingly display themselves as the workmanship of an intelligent Artificer, than that which we meet with in the seeds of E. cicutarium. The seeds surround the pistil at its base; seed is covered with a coat peculiar to itself; which, after having inclosed the seed, runs out, in the form of a narrow appendage, to the extremity of the style, to which it is slightly connected along its whole length, and which has five grooves to receive the five seeds with their appendages. Each of these appendages has the property of contracting itself into a spiral form when dry, and of again extending itself into a right line when moist. In short, it is a spiral spring, which lengthens or contracts itself as it happens to become wet or dry. This power first exerts itself when the seed and its appendage become dry by maturity, when it gradually separates the seed from its parent plant. The seed, thus disengaged, is continually contracting and dilating itself, as the weather changes from wet to dry, and from dry to wet; and by this means is kept in motion, till it is either destroyed by the vicissitudes of the seasons, or meets with some crevice in the earth, or some light porous spot, into which it can easily insinuate itself, and from thence, in due time, produce a new plant. See WITHERING, iii. 753. II. DECANDRIA. 210. GERANIUM. 1. G. sylvaticum, stem erect; leaves about 7-lobed, cut and serrated; stalks 2-flowered, somewhat corymbose; flowers large, light purple, veined; stamens awl-shaped, fringed; capsules hairy all over. Wood Crane's-bill. Hab. Wood's about Houndwood and Renton, Berwickshire. Banks of Wooler Water above and below Langley-ford. June, July. Y 2. G. pratense, leaves in about 7 deep segments, sharply pinnatifid and serrated; stalks 2-flowered; flowers larger, blue; stamens smooth, much dilated at the base; capsules hairy all Meadow Crane's-bill. over. Hab. Road-sides, and banks of rivers and ditches, frequent. 3. G. Robertianum, stem spreading, red; leaves somewhat pedate, pinnatifid, 5-angled; stalks 2-flowered; flowers purple; calyx with 10 angles; capsules wrinkled, simply keeled. Stinking Crane's-bill, or Herb-Robert. Hab. Woods, and rough stony places frequent. May- This herb has a strong disagreeably pungent smell, especial- 4. G. lucidum, shining, smooth; leaves 5-lobed, rounded ; stalks 2-flowered; flowers small, rose-coloured; calyx pyramidal, transversely wrinkled; capsules wrinkled, triply keeled. Shining Crane's-bill. Hab. Rocky banks of the Eye opposite Netherbyres, Rev. 5. G. molle, stems spreading, downy; stalks 2-flowered, alternate, opposite to the leaves, which are rounded, many-lobed, notched and downy; flowers small, purple, with cloven petals; capsules numerously wrinkled, smooth; seeds without dots. Hab. Cultivated and waste grounds, very common. April O 6. G. pusillum, stalks 2-flowered; flowers bluish-purple, the petals notched, and scarcely extending beyond the calyx; leaves kidney-shaped, palmate, cut, downy; capsules keeled, even, clothed with erect hairs; seeds without dots; anthers only 5. Small-flowered Crane's-bill Hab. Gravelly fields and waste grounds. "Hedges near 7. G. dissectum, stalks 2-flowered; flowers small, purplish, the petals cloven, rather shorter than the much awned calyx; leaves in 5 deep laciniated segments; capsules hairy; seeds reticulated. Jagged-leaved Crane's-bill. Hab. Road-sides and pastures, particularly in new_pas. tures on a gravelly soil, common. May, June. O 8. G. sanguineum, stalks single-flowered; flowers large, crimson; leaves roundish, in 5 or 7 deeply separated, 3-cleft lobes; capsules even, bristly at the summit; seeds minutely wrinkled. Bloody Crane's-bill. Hab. On the Links of Holy Island, Winch. Sea-banks at Hudshead; and on the Links from Scrammerston southwards, abundant, and highly ornamental. JulySept. 7 III. POLYANDRIA. 211. MALVA. 1. M. sylvestris, stem upright, herbaceous, much branched; leaves with 7 acute lobes; footstalks and flowerstalks hairy; flowers large, purple, veiny. Common Mallow. Hab. Waste places and road-sides. June-Aug. 2 The leaves boiled are in common use amongst the poor as a poultice, to which they ascribe many opposite virtues. It is as good and cheaper than one of bread and milk. 2. M. rotundifolia, stems prostrate, scarcely branched; leaves roundish heart-shaped, bluntly 5-lobed; stalks when in fruit bent downwards; flowers small, pale lilac. Dwarf Mallow. Hab. Waste ground near villages. June-Sept. O 3. M. moschata, stem erect; radical leaves kidney-shaped, cut, the rest in 5 deep pinnatifid jagged segments; calyx hairy, its outer leaves linear-lanceolate; flowers large, rose-coloured. Musk Mallous. Hab. Meadows rare. Fishwick Mains on the Tweed; foot of Foxburnheugh, Berwickshire, Mr W. Baird. On the plain between Edrington Mill and the Whiteadder, sparingly. Aug. G 3 CLASS XVII. DIADELPHIA. "Then names are good, for how, without their aid And some new source of homage for her King." CRABBE. I. HEXANDRIA. 212. FUMARIA. Calyx of 2 leaves; corolla ringent, prominent, and bearing honey at the base; each filament with 3 anthers. II. OCTANDRIA. 213. POLYGALA. Two segments of the calyx like wings; standard of the corolla cylindrical; capsule of 2 cells and 2 valves; seeds solitary, crested. |