350 PENTANDRIA—MONOGYNIA. Erythra?a. 



1. E. Centaurium. Common Centaury. 



Stem nearly simple. Panicle forked, corymbose. Leaves 

 ovate-lanceolate. Calyx half the length of the tube ; its 

 segments partly combined by a membrane. 



E. Centaurium. " Fers. Syn.vA. 283." Hook. Scot.79. 



E. vulgo Centaurium minus. Renealm. Spec. 77. t. 7^. 



Chironia Centaurium. Curt. Loncl. fasc. 4. t. 22. With. 255. Fl. 



Br.2o7. EngI.Bot.v.G.t.4\7. IVoodv.Med. Bot. t. 157. Willd, 



Sp.Pl.v.X. 1068. 

 Gentiana Centaurium. Linji. Sp. PL 332. Huds. 102. Bull. Fr. 



t.2h3. Fl.Dan. t.6\7. 

 G. n. 048. Hall. Hist. v. 1. 288. 

 Centaurium minus. Bank. Pin. 2/8. Raii Syn. 286. Tillands Ic. 



t.29. Trag.Hist.l39.t. 140. Camer. Epit.42G.f. Fuchs. Hist. 



387./. 

 C. parvum. Ger. Em.D47.f. Matth. Valgr.v.2.\9.f. 



In dry gravelly pastures. 



Annual. July, August. 



Root small, tapering. Stem about a foot high, leafy, sometimes 

 branched at the upper part, and, when very luxuriant, from the 

 base also. Radical leaves obovate, numerous, depressed ; the 

 rest acute, ovate, or elliptic-lanceolate ; all three-ribbed, bright 

 green. Fl. nearly sessile, from the forks and terminations of a 

 corymbose, more or less dense, repeatedly subdivided, leafy or 

 bracteated, pawicZe. Brac'eas opposite, awl-shaped. CrtL slender, 

 partly membranous, sometimes more than half as long as the 

 pale greenish tube of the corolla, whose limb is of a most ex- 

 quisite and brilliant pink, rarely white ; expanded only in sun- 

 shine, and closing as soon as gathered. Anth. yellow, spiral, 

 with 3 convolutions, after bursting. Style rather oblique, if not 

 curved or deflexed. Caps, slender, brown, invested closely with 

 the permanent dilated tube of the corolla. 



A celebrated stomachic and tonic, now left to rustic practitioners. 



2. E. lit tor alls. Dwarf Tufted Centaury. 



Stem simple, straight. Leaves linear-obovate ; obscurely 

 three-ribbed. Flowers densely corymbose, nearly sessile. 

 Calyx as long as the tube ; its segments combined below. 



E.littoralis. HooA:. ScoL 80. 



Chironia littoralis. Turn, and Dillw. Guide, 469. Winch, v. 2. 



pre/. 3. 

 Ch. pulchella. Don H. Brit. 7. 

 ;3. Ch. Centaurium 3 variety 1st. Fl. Br. 1393. 

 On the sandy sea coasts of Scotland, Northumberland, Lanca.shire^ 



and Wales. 



