CLASS V. ORDER V. 1 LINUM. 455 



vaiiahle lengths, the filaments slender, awl-shaped, with ovate blue 

 anthers. Styles long, swollen upwards. Sl'ujmas feathery. Capsule 

 globose, smooth, pointed, the hardened base of the style bursting, 

 with ten valves, ten celled, each cell single seeded. 



Habitat. — Sandy and chalky pastures, especially near the sea. 

 Kent, Sussex, Norfolk, Suffolk, near Liverpool ; Truro, Falmouth, and 

 other places in Cornwall ; Plymouth. — Mr. Banks. Near Valebrook 

 Farm, Hastings. — Dr. Bromfield. 



Perennial ; flowering in July and August. 



This species is nearly allied to the last, but is readily distinguished 

 by its calyx, smaller flowers and leaves, and the less branched fewer 

 flowered stems; and the whole plant is mostly smaller than either of 

 the above species. 



** Leaves opposite. 



'1. L. cathar'ticum, Linn. (Fig. 518.) Purging Fla.v. Stem forked 

 above; leaves oblong, opposite, smooth ; sepals oblong, acute, ciliated 

 with glandular hairs ; petals acute. 



English Botany, t. 382. — English Flora, vol, ii. p, 119. — Hooker, 

 British Flora, vol. i. p. 150. — Lindley, Synopsis, p. 54. 



Jtoot very small, tapering. Stem very slender, solitary, or numerous, 

 erect, or bent at the base, round, smooth, from four to twelve inches 

 high or more, simple below, branched above in a forked manner, with 

 a solitary flower, on a slender footstalk from the angle of each division, 

 and a pair of leaves. Leaves smooth, dark green, frequently just above 

 the root they are numerous, crowded, alternate, and opposite, short, 

 obtuse, those of the stem opposite, oblong, obtuse, single ribbed, those 

 of the branches oblong lanceolate, the margins slight, cartilaginous, 

 and roughish. Flowers solitary, on a slender footstalk. Calyx of five 

 oblong acutely pointed sepals, green, with a stout midrib, the margin 

 with a narrow membranous border, ciliated with glandular hairs. 

 Corolla of five white ovate acute petals, twice as long as the calyx. 

 Stamens on short filaments, with small yellow anthers. Styles short, 

 with capitate stigmas. Capsule globose, smooth, as long as the calyx, 

 tipped with the pointed base of the hardened style, opening with ten 

 narrow lanceolate valves, ten celled, and each cell single seeded. 



Habitat. — Road sides and pastures ; abundant. 



Annual ; flowering in June and July. 



Purging Flax is a pretty little plant; its slender branches hang 

 gi-acefully, drooping before its small star-like flowers have expanded, 

 and then becomes erect. It has a bitter disagreeable taste, and acts as 

 a cathartic ; a handful infused in half a pint of boiling water is suffi- 

 cient for a grown up person. It is frequently administered by the 

 country people, and in small doses it is said to give tone to the stomach 

 and bowels. 



