326 POPULAR FIELD BOTANY. 
to the flower of the valerian. It was formerly used medi- 
cinally. 
SYNGENESIA. SUPERFLUA. 
CoROLLIFLORA. ASTERACES. 
GNAPHALIUM. (Cupwzep.) 
Generic Character. Jnvolucre often with coloured membranous 
scales. Seed-vessel rough or feathery. Leaves all clothed with 
a white, soft down or wool. 
This is a curious genus of plants ; some of them greatly 
resemble the garden flowers called ‘ Everlasting,” and the 
leaves are very white, from a soft down which covers them, 
The flower we call “ Everlasting,” and the French “ L’um- 
mortelle,’ a native of Africa, is a species of this genus ; its 
botanic name is “ Gnaphalium orientale.’ We have one 
species, the flower of which almost exactly resembles it, the 
G. margaritaceum ; but it 1s not common. 
GnapHatium pioicum. Mountain Cudweed. Abundant 
on mountain heaths, but not common in other places. It 
is a pretty species, the flowering stem from four to eight 
inches high, and bearing several heads of flowers, the scales 
of which are often rose-coloured. The leaves are mostly 
near the root, small, and very white beneath. 
