56 CAPER FAMILY. 



18. LEPIDIUM, PEPPERGRASS. (A Greek word, meaning little 

 from the pods.) Our common .-pccit , have incised or pinnatitid luaves, and 

 verv small white or whitish tlowcr-. i 



L. Virginicum, Wiu> 1'. A common weed byroad-ides, with petals, 

 and ti-uallv only i' stamen- : tin- little pods orbicular and scarcely margined a, 

 the notched top ; seeds tl.it, tin 1 radicle against tin 1 edge of the cotyledons. 



L. rudcrale, introduced from Eurii|if, i- much less common, motx, 

 branched. \viih mi petal-, smaller scarcely notched pod.-, ami turgid seeds, th 

 radicle against tin- hack of one of the cotyledons. 



L. sativum, GAKDI-;X 1'. Cult, as a cress, has petals, and the larger ovnte 

 pods are winged and -lightly notched at the top. 



19. ALYSSUM, MAD WORT. ( Name refers to being a fancied remedy for 



canine niadiie--. ) Cult, for ornament ; from En. 



A. maritimum, SWI.I.T AI.YSSI-M. A s]ireading little plant, from Eu- 

 rope, fl. all >iiiiinier in gardens, or in the greenliouM 1 in winter, green or slightly 

 hoary, with lanceolate or linear entire leaves tapering at the !>ase, and small 

 white honey-scented (lowers, in at length elongated racemes, the round little 

 pods with a single seed in each cell. A variety much used 1'ur borders has 

 paler and white-edged leaves. 



A. saxatile, ROCK A. Low, hoary -leaved, with abundant bright yellow 

 flowers, in spring ; cult, from Europe. 11 



20. ISATIS, WO AD. (Name of obscure derivation.) <?) One common 

 species of Ku., 



I. tinctbria, DYER'S WOAD. Rather tall, glabrous and glaucous, with 

 the stem-leaves lanceolate and entire, sessile and somewhat sagittate ; the ra- 

 cemes of small yellow flowers panieled, succeeded by the hanging samara-like 

 closed pods ; H. in carlv summer. Old gardens, formerly cult, for a blue dye. 



21. CAKILE, SKA-Hi ICKKT. (An old Arabic name.) 



C. Americana, AMI.RICAV S. A fleshy herb, wild on the shore of the 



sea and (ireat Lakes, with ohovate wavy-toothed leaves, and purplish flowers. 



22. RAPHANUS, RADISH. (Ancient Greek name, -aid to refer to the 

 rapiil germination of the seeds.) @ All from the Old World. 



R. satlVUS, RADISH. Cult, from Kn. : with lyrate lower leaves, purple 

 and whitish flowers, and thick and pointed closed pods ; the seeds separated by 

 irregular fleshy false partitions : cult, for the tender and fleshy pungent root' 

 inclined to run wild. 



R. caudatUS, RAT-TAIL R., from India, latelv introduced into gardens, 

 rather as a curiosity, is a probable variety of the Radish, with the narrow pod 

 a foot or so long, eaten when <jrecn. 



R. Raphanistrum, Wn.n R. or JOINTKD CHAULOPK. Troublesome 

 weed in cult, lields, with rough Ivrate leaves, yellow petals changing to whitish 

 or purplish, and narrow lonu'-beakcd pods, which are divided across betweeH the 

 <'\er;il ~ecds so a> to become necklace-form. 



11. CAPPARIDACE.S1, CAPER FAMILY. 



In our region these arc In-His, rcsombliiifj Orucfferee, hut with 

 stamens not tetradynamous and often more than f>, no partition in 

 the pod (which is tlii'ivt'iiiv 1-cellcd with two parietal placenta 1 ), and 

 kidney-shaped seeds, the embryo rolled up instead of folded to- 

 gether: the. leaves commonly palmately compound, and the herbage 

 hitter and nauseous instead of pungent. But in warm regions the 

 Cress-like pungvnry sometimes appears, as in capers, the pickled 

 llower-huds of CAITAKIS SPINOSA, of the Levant. This and its 

 near relatives are trees or shrubs. 



