PLATE LVllI. 



1. VALERIANA RUBRA. 



RED VALERIAN. 



This genus contains plants of the liardy herbaceous perennial 

 kind. 



It belongs to the class and order Triandria Monogynia, and ranks 

 in the natural order o^ Aggregatcc. 



The characters are: that there is scarcely any calyx; a superior 

 margin: the corolla a nectariferous tube on the lower side, oibbous: 

 border five-cleft: segments obtuse: the stamina three, or fewer (in 

 one species four): filaments awl-shaped, erect, length of the corolla: 

 anthers roundish: the pistillum is an inferior germ: style filiform, 

 length of the stamens: stigma thickish: the pericaipium a crust not 

 opening, deciduo+is, crowned: the seeds solitary, oblong. 



The species cultivated are: 1. V. riihra. Common or Broad- 

 leaved Red Valerian; 2. V. fingiint/fo/ia, Narrow-leaved Red Valerian; 

 3. F. Calcitrapri, Cut-leaved Valerian; 4. V. Plui, Garden Valerian; 

 5. V. tripferis, Three-leaved Valerian; 6. V. montana. Mountain \^alc- 

 rian; 7. V. Ccltica, Celtic Valerian; 8. V. fuberosa. Tuberous-rooted 

 Valerian; 9. V. Fipriiaica, Pyrenean Valeriaii; 10. T. olitor/a. Com- 

 mon Corn-Salad, or Lamb's Lettuce. 



The first has woody perennial roots, as thick as a rnan's linger, 



spreading very wide: the stems about three feet high, round, smooth, 



grayish, iiollow: at each joint are two (sometimes three) smooth, 



spear-shaped leaves, near three inches long, and an inch broad; the 



"upper part sends out branches by pairs, which, with the principal 



stem, are terminated by red flowers growing in corymbs. It is a 



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