754 | ORD. XLVI. Liliacee. VERATRUM ALBUM. 
Ctass Polygamia. Ord. Monoecia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 1144. 
Ess. Gen. Ch. Hermaphrod. Cal. 0. Cor. 6-petala. Stam. 6. 
Pist. 3. Caps. 3, polysperme. OL EEYS : 
Mase. Cal. 0. Cor.6-petala. Stam.6. Pist. rudimentum. 
Sp. Ch. V. racemo supradecomposito, corollis erectis. 
THE root is perennial, about an inch thick, externally brown, 
internally white, and beset with many strong fibres: the stalk is 
thick, strong, round, upright, hairy, and usually rises four feet in 
height: the leaves are numerous, very large, oval, entire, ribbed, 
| plaited, without footstalks, of a yellowish green colour, and sur- 
round the stem at its base: the flowers are both hermaphrodite 
and male, of a greenish colour, and L-appeat froin J price to August, 
hed ter tkes> the lite flowers 
are ‘eithout calyces: the corolla consists of ‘six petals, which are 
oblong, or lance-shaped, veined, persistent, of a pale green colour: 
the filaments are six, closely surrounding the germens, shorter 
than the corolla, and terminated by quadrangular anther: the 
germens are three in ea@ch flower, erect, oblong, ending in short 
hairy styles, which are crowned with flat spreading stigmata: the 
capsules are three, oblong, compressed, erect, two-celled, opening 
inwardly, and containing many oblong compressed membranous 
seeds. The male flowers differ from these only in “gerey the 
ermens, 
This plant is a native of italy; enresteae, Koski and Fists: 
its first cultivation in this country is ascribed to Gerard, and of 
course was previous to the year 1596. 
The BaasGoges Awnes Of the Greek writers is by many iajyplosed to be 
our Heleborus albus; but this opinion, like many others respect- 
ing the identity of the ancient nomenclature of plants with that of 
the-modern, seems drawn rather from the similarity of their effects 
upon the body, than from an agreement in their botanical SeIP 
