GAMOPETALiE 163 



with two to five lobes, sometimes two-lipped, the odd 

 sepal posterior, persistent in fruit, free, inferior. 

 The corolla is gamopetalous, hypogynous, two-lipped, 

 personate, the lower lip spurred, with a short tube, 

 deciduous. There are two stamens opposite the 

 lateral sepals, hypogynous, or epipetalous, the anther- 

 stalks short and arching, with one-celled, unilocular 

 anthers. The ovary is free, one-celled, unilocular. 

 The style is thick and short, or wanting. The stigma 

 is two-lobed, the posterior one functionless. There 

 are many ovules. The fruit is a capsule with many 

 seeds, the placenta large and central, with the ovules 

 buried in it. The capsule opens by two to four 

 valves. The seeds contain no albumen. 



The group includes no plant of economic import- 

 ance. Butterwort was formerly employed as rennet. 



BuTTERWORT {Piitguicula vulgaris). 



In the Butterwort (hence Pingtiicula) , so called 

 from the greasy fleshy leaves, which were formerly 

 used to curdle milk, we have an example of an 

 insectivorous plant. 



Darwin has described an allied species so well that 

 his remarks may with advantage be quoted here. 

 In his ' Insectivorous Plants ' he says, " It bears on 

 an average eight rather thick, oblong, light-green 

 leaves, having scarcely any foot-stalk. A full-sized 

 leaf is about ij in. in length and | in. in breadth. 

 The young central leaves are deeply concave, and 

 project upwards, the older ones towards the outside 



