POLYANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 



262. ACTiEA. Bane-berries. 



Linn. Gen. 26.1 . Juss. 235. Fl. Br. 562. Lam. t. 448. Gcertn. t. 114. 

 Christophoriana. Tourn. t. 154. 



Nat. Ord. Multisiliquce. Linn. 26. Ranunculacece spurice. 

 Juss. 61. DeCand. Syst. v. 1. ord. 1. 



Cal. inferior, of 4 roundish-oblong, concave, obtuse, deci- 

 duous leaves. Pet. 4, alternate with the calyx, oblono- or 

 obovate, with claws, deciduous. Filam. numerous, about 

 30, cyhndrical, swelling upwards. Anth. of two lobes, 

 sessile on the inner side of the summit of each filament. 

 Germ, superior, ovate. Style none. Stigma round, thick, 

 obliquely depressed. Berry nearly globular, with a late- 

 ral furrow, smooth, of one cell, not bursting. Seeds nu- 

 merous, semiorbicular, depressed, ranged vertically over 

 each other in two rows. 



Perennial herbs, natives of cold countries, with compound 

 or lobed, cut leaves, and clustered vfh'iie Jiovoers. Ber- 

 ries black, red, or white. Qualities fetid, nauseous, and 

 dangerous. The many styles, and c'A\)sxi\ixv fruit, of Ci- 

 micifuga may surely keep that genus distinct ; but De- 

 Candolle thinks otherwise. 



1 . A. spicata. Black Bane-berries. Herb Christopher. 

 Cluster dense, ovate. Petals the length of the stamens. 

 A. spicata. Linn. Sp. PI. 722. Willd. v. 2. 1 139. Fl. Br. 562. Engl. 



Bot.v.\3.t.9]S. Hook. Scot. 167. DeCand. Sijst. v. \. 384. Fl. 



Dan. t. 498, not 589, as in Willdenow and DeCandolle. Bull. 



Ft. t. 83. M^ahlenb. Lapp. \bO, a not /3. 

 A. n. 1076. Hall.Hist.v.2.24. 

 Christophoriana. Rail Syn. 262. Get. Em. 979. f. Clus. Hist. 



V. 2. 86. f. Tillands Ic. 1 48./. 

 Napellus racemosus. Dalech. Hist. 1747./. 

 Aconitura racemosum, Actsea quibusdam. Bauh. Hist. v.3.p. 2. 



660. f. 

 In bushy mountainous lime-stone situations, rare. 

 In the north-west corner of Yorkshire, as about Malham Cove, 



Clapham, Askrigg, and the base of Ingleborough hill ; found 



by several botanists in Ray's time, and by others in our days. 



The Rev. Mr. Wood of Leeds noticed it about Thorpe Arch. In 



a wood at Whitly Hall, near Huddersfield, Yorkshire. Mr. 



Roberts Leyland. 

 Perennial. May, June. 



B 2 



