^8 SWISS FLOWERS. 



9. Fumitory and Corydalis. 



(PLATE VIIL) 

 This family is now divided into two, and several of the 

 plants we used to know by the name of Fumitory have to 

 be called Corydalis. The division is made according to the 

 seed, that of the Fumitory being like a roundish nut, while 

 the Corydalis has a pod with many seeds. By this arrange- 

 ment the Corydalis has the most showy flowers, as our wild 

 Fumitories^ though curious, are rather insignificant com- 

 mon weeds. The family is so remarkable in the shape of 

 its flower, that it is impossible to mistake it when once it 

 has been well noticed. The two sepals are scarcely more 

 than a scale. The four petals are very unequal ; the outer 

 are lengthened into a spur, and the two inner, sometimes of 

 a different, or a deeper, colour than the rest of the plant, are 

 joined together at their tips almost in the fashion of a pair 

 o£ sugar-tongs ; these tips are a little spread out, and enclose 

 the six stamens, which are united in two sets of three each. 

 The plants are generally tender, that is, break easily. 

 C. solida and C. lutea are reckoned among English plants, 

 but the former is rather a doubtful na.tive. C. lutea is often 

 seen climbing among walls and rubbish, and is found abun- 

 dantly among the stone dividing-fences of Derbyshire. 

 Both are common in our gardens, as is also C. cava (Fig. 9), 

 a species of a more graceful shape and of a brighter hue, 



