45. 



ADONIS VERNALIS. 



Spring Adonis, 



POLYANDRIA. PoLYGYNIA. 



Class 13. Order 7. 



Adonis : from Adonis in the Heathen mythology, famed as being 

 the favourite of Venus. 



Linn. gen. n. 698. Linn. spec. 7/1. syst. .514. 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Cal. Perianth five-leaved ; leaflets obtuse, concave, a little coloured, 

 deciduous. Cor. Petals five to fifteen, oblong, obtuse, shining. 

 Stam. Filaments very short, subulate. Anthers oblong, inflex. 

 Pist. Germs numerous, in a head. Styles none. Stigmas acute, 

 refle.K. Per. none. Recept. oblong, spiked. Seeds numerous, 

 irregular, angular, gibbous at the base, reflex at the top, a little 

 prominent^ naked. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 



Flowers twelve-petaled ; heads of seeds ovate. 



Root herbaceous ; stem from twelve to eighteen inches in 

 height, closely set with deeply pinnated leaves, and termi- 

 nated by a solitary yellow flower, the calyx of which is of a 

 rich brown : the exterior part of the petals, towards their 

 points, partaking of the same colour ; the interior of the same 

 of a bright yellow. 



