abounding ina yellowish juice. Stems about a foot long, 
terete, branched, glaucous, as is the whole plant, and bear- 
ing several distantly-placed leaves. Leaves: all of them 
on long, flat, linear footstalks, especially the radical ones, 
tripinnatifid, the segments linear, acute, the ultimate ones 
trifid at the point. Peduncles axillary and terminal, long, 
terete, terminating in a cup-shaped, fleshy receptacle. 
Flowers large, beautiful. Calyx mitriform, thin, membra- 
naceous, acuminated at the top, separating transversely 
from the thickened margin of the receptacle at its base, and 
like the calyptra of a Moss, which it very much resembles, 
falling off quite entire, or with one or two short fissures, 
previous to the expansion of the bud. Petals four, spread- 
ing, inserted within the margin of the receptacle, and bear- 
ing some of the stamens upon the very short claws, obcor- 
date, waved, and crenate or notched at the margin, of a 
beautiful bright yellow colour, at the base deep orange, 
gradually melting into the yellow. Stamens about thirty, 
partly inserted on the thickened inner margin of the recep- 
tacle, and partly accrete with the claws of the petals. Fla- 
ments short: Anthers long, linear-lanceolate, golden yellow, 
the cells opening longitudinally, and occupying the mar- 
gins of the anthers. Pistil inserted at the very base of the 
hollow receptacle. Germen subcylindrical, but tapering 
upwards, and bearing four filiform glandular stigmas, two 
opposite ones shorter than the other two. A section of the 
germen exhibits two opposite, lougitudinal, parietal, rows 
of seeds, placed where the sutures of the valves of the cap- 
sule will appear*. Ovules very numerous, but many prov- 
ing abortive. Capsule a long, siliquiform, straight, capsule, 
generally curved after the valves have separated, attenuated 
at both extremities, and surrounded at the base with the 
persistent, cup-shaped receptacle, with ten deep sulci, the 
corresponding ridges forming distinct ribs; bursting, from 
the extremity to the base, into two equal valves, and exhi- 
biting, attached to the margin of these valves, by means of 
slender 
———————— 
* The peculiar situation of these seeds or ovules within the germen, corre- 
sponding as to situation with the shorter, or abortive stigmas, has led Mr- 
Liyotey (in the Bot. Register) to form a new theory of the structure of the 
fruit of the Crucirer#, in which the two stigmas are, contrary to the us 
structure in fruits, opposite to the receptacle of seeds (placenta): and it hence 
appears to him, that their fruit is “formed of four confluent pistilla, of which 
two are placentiferous, and furnished with stigmata, and two destitute of ple 
cent and stigmata, but separable, in the form of valves. 2 
