/ 
116 ORD. VI. Usmbellatee. 
IMPERATORIA OSTRUTHIUM. COMMON MASTERWORT. 
SYNONYMA, Imperatoria. Pharm. Edinb. J. Bauh. iii. 137. 
Gerard Emac. 1001. Haller. Stirp. Helv. No.805. Imperatoria 
major. Bauh. Pin. 156. Imperatoria sive Astrantia vulgaris. 
Park. Theat. 942. Common Masterwort, by some erroneously 
Pellitory of Spain. aii. Hist. 436. Magistrantia. Camer. Epit. 
. §92. Imperatoria Ostruthium. Withering. Bot. Arr. Lightfoot. 
Flor. Scot. Smith. Brit. 
Class Pentandria. Ord. Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 356. 
= = rr vey t 
Ess, Ch. Fructus subrotundus, compressus, medio gibbus, margine’ 
cinctus. Petala inflexo-marginata. 
Imperatoria Ostruthium. L. Sp. Pl. 371. 
‘THIS is‘ the only Imperatoria described by Linnzus. . The root 
is. perennial, large; fleshy, succulent, round, tapering, rough, 
articulated, externally brown, internally whitish; creeping,, and 
sends off many lateral fibres: the stalk is thick, striated, round, 
jointed, and rises about two feet in height: the leaves are com- 
. pound, and proceed alternately from long footstalks, which supply- 
the stalk with a sheathy covering at each articulation; the simple 
leaves are ovato-elliptical, pointed, irregularly serrated, and. placed 
in treble ternaries, and the terminalleaf is. commonly cut into 
three lobes: the general umbels are large, flat; and terminal; ,the 
partial umbel convex and unequal; there is no general involucrum; 
the partial involucrum consists of one or two slender leaves, nearly: 
of the length of the radii; each flower is composed of five oval 
petals, which are of equal size, white, notched, and having their 
points bent inwards; the five filaments are tapering, white, erect, 
and longer than the corolla; the anthere-are double; the germen 
NL ec aelitiy 
