CLASS X. ORDER II.l CHRYSOSPLENIUM. 597 



Habitat. — Open fields in a sandy soil ; rare. About Eldon, Suffolk. 

 — Ray. Norfolk and Suffolk, and near Forfar, Scotland. — Mr. D, Don. 

 Perennial; flowering from August to October. 



This little plant is more frequent on the Continent than with us, 

 growing in open sandy fields and amongst corn. In the autumn, the 

 leaves, as well as the stems, change to a reddish brown colour. Several 

 other species of the genus are described, but none of them are applied 

 to any particular use, but are considered as troublesome weeds. 



GENUS VII. CHRYSOSPLE'NIUM.— Linn. Golden 

 Saxifrage. 



Nat. Ord, SAXIFBA'GEiE. Juss. 



Gen. Char. Perianth single, four or five-cleft, irregular, somewhat 

 coloured. Stamens eight or ten, inserted into a glandular disk 

 Styles two, spreading. Capsule of one cell, with two beaks at the 

 apex. Seeds numerous. — Named from ;j^^ycTo?, gold ; and a-'JvXnv, 

 the spleen ; from the supposed virtues of the plant in curing 

 diseases of the spleen. 



1. C. alternifo'liunif Linn, (Fig. 677.) Alternate-leaved Golden 

 Saxifrage. Leaves alternate, sub-reniform, crenaled, the lower ones 

 on long footstalks. 



English Botany I. 54 —English Flora, vol. ii. p. 260.— Hooker, 

 British Flora, vol. i p. 194. — Lindley, Synopsis, p. 66. 



Root fibrous. Stem procumbent at the base, and somewhat creeping, 

 putting out fibrous roots from the axis of the leaves and branches, 

 smooth, fleshy, angular, about three inches high, leafy at the base and 

 summit, with only one or two on the intermediate part of the stem. 

 Leaves roundish, heart-shaped or kidney-shaped, the upper ones mostly 

 wedge-shaped, the margin deeply and somewhat doubly crenated, 

 yellowish green above, pale and polished beneath, and scattered over 

 on both sides, with rather stout bristles, the lower ones on long foot- 

 stalks, the upper on short ones. Flowers terminal, sessile, or on short 

 peduncles, in a sub-corymbose or umbellate manner, bright yellow, the 

 perianth single, four, rarely five-cleft, into acutely pointed irregular 

 sized segments, longer than the tubular base. Stamens eight or ten, 

 with slender short flaments, inserted into the glandular disk. Anthers 

 roundish, of two cells. Styles two, short, spreading, persistent, and 

 forming beaks upon the top of the single celled capsule, which is 

 surrounded with the perianth. Seeds small, numerous. 



Habitat. -^Boggy places and amongst wet rocks; rare, Cheshire., 

 Mr. W. Wilson. Norfolk ; several places about Mansfield, Notting- 

 hamshire; more frequent in the North of England and Scotland, but 

 not common ; near Belfast, Ireland. — Mr. Templeton. 



Perennial : flowering in Mf»y and June. 



4 X 



