846 MELAMPYRUM. C^LASS Tir. ortjer u. 



English Botany, t. 2737.— English Flora, vol. iii. p. 121.— Hoolier, 

 British Flora, ed 4. vol. i. p. 23G.— Lindley, Synopsis, p 190.— R. 

 Crista-Galli, /3. Linn. 



Root of branched spreading fibres. Stem erect, angular, much 

 branched from the base upwards, bushy, smooth or hairy about the 

 joints', pale green, mostly spotted or strealied with purple, from one to 

 two feet high. Leaves opposite, numerous, sessile, oblong lanceolate 

 or lanceolate, with a long tapering point, the servalures coarse, deep, 

 acute, the margin obtuse, somewhat recurved, rough, paler beneath 

 and reticulated, as in the last species. Inflorescence solitary axillary 

 flowers, more or less closely crowded on the top of the stems into a 

 spike-like form. Bracteas with a broad heart-shaped almost colourless 

 base and tapering green point. Calyx large, ovate, compressed, some- 

 what inflated, bladdery, ribbed and reticulated with veins, smooth or 

 hairy, the teeth four, nearly equal, ovate, acute. Corolla yellow, the 

 tube pale, about as long as the calyx, curved about the middle, 

 ascending, the upper lip laterally compressed, concave, rounded, 

 obtuse, having on each side an ovate purple tooth, mostly hairy on the 

 back, the lower lip much shorter, spreading, of three shallow lobes. 

 Stamens inserted into about the middle of the tube. Filaments 

 slender, curved beneath the upper lip. Anthers of two pointed very 

 hairy purple lobes. Style slender, slightly protruded beyond the 

 corolla. Capsule large, enveloped in the enlarged persistent calyx, 

 roundish ovate, compressed, with a deep furrow in the middle, ter- 

 minating in a point, the base of the style, thin, smooth, dry, and 

 membranous. Seeds numerous, roundish, kidney-shaped, with a 

 narrow pale membranous margin. 



Habitat.— Corn fields in the North of England. 



Annual; flowering in July. 



This is distinguished from the last species by its larger, stouter, 

 much more branched and bushy habit, the pale almost colourless 

 bracteas, the curved tube, and much larger purple lateral teeth of the 

 corolla, and the much narrower border to the seeds. It is a common 

 plant in Italy, and other parts of the Continent, especially in corn fields 

 and waste places. 



GENUS XXV. MELAM'PYRUM.— Linn. Coiv-Wheat. 



Nat. Ord. ScnopiiULARiA'cEiE. Lind. 



Gen. Char. Calyx tubular, four toothed. Corolla with the upper 

 lip laterally compressed, and the margin rolled back, the lower 

 one trifid. Capsule oblong, oblique, two celled, single seeded, 

 opening on one side. Seeds gibbous at the base. — Name from 

 /x£Xa5, black ; and ■7tv^o<;, wheat ; the seeds resemble grains of 



