TETRADYNAMIA—SILIQUOSA. Dentaria. 185 



2 feet high, branched, spreading, leafy. Leaves stalked, spread- 

 ing ordeflexed, large, undulated and toothed, of a leathery tex- 

 ture ; the lowermost somewhat lyrate ; the rest roundish, acute. 

 Clusters terminal, collected into dense panicles. Fl. large, 

 white. Pouches smooth, the size of Black Currants. 

 This is now becom.e a frequent culinary herb. Its young shoots, 

 which are very hardy, are earlier than Asparagus, and nearly as 

 good. They are best raised under tall earthen pots perforated 

 at the top, but succeed tolerably if covered up with clean sand. 



TETRADYNAMIA SIIJQUOSA. 

 331. DENTARIA. Coralwort. 



Linn. Gen. 337. Juss. 239. Fl Br. 696. DeCand. Syst. v. 2. 271. 

 Tourn. t. 110. Lam. t. 562. 



Cal. equal at the base, erect ; leaves ovate-oblong, con- 

 verging lengthwise, obtuse, deciduous. Pet. obovate, 

 obtuse, horizontal, with erect claws shorter than the ca- 

 lyx. Filam. awl-shaped, simple, distinct. Anth. arrow- 

 shaped, erect. Germ, oblong. Sfi/le short and thick. 

 Stigma obtuse, scarcely notched. Pod sessile, lanceo- 

 late, compressed laterally, tapering upwards ; valves flat, 

 without ribs, narrower than the partition, bursting elas- 

 tically iVom the base, and mostly revolute. Seeds ovate, 

 not bordered, inserted alternately in a single row ; their 

 stalks dilated and winged; cotyledons accumbent, rather 

 thick. 



Smooth, upright, unbranched herhs^ with fleshy, horizontal, 

 scaly or toothed roots. Leaves mostly alternate, palmate 

 or pinnate. Ft. large and handsome, jiurplish, or whitish. 



We are nnich obligeil to Prof. DeCandolle, for finding a 

 character in the lanceolate pod^ and dilated slalhs of the 

 seeds, by which this genus may be kept separate fVom 

 Cardamifie, the habit, magnitude, beauty, and peculiar 

 kind oi^ root, nuu'king it so distinctly. Some of the spe- 

 cies are among the finest alpine plants, at least of this 

 natural order. 



