104 THE FJLAX FAMILY. 



P. zondle, or "horse-shoe," distinguished by the broad, pui-ple, arch-like band 

 upon ever}' leaf. The beautiful pale-green, slender-stemmed species, well named 

 the " ivy-leaved," is the P. peltdtum. and the little lemon-scented geranium, with 

 pinnatifid leaves, the P. quercifoUum. The cuticle of the geranium petal, when 

 put in water, and moderately magnified, is one of the richest microscopic objects 

 that flowers afford. 



The favourite hardy spscies are the indigenous G. sanguineum or "crimson 

 crane's-bill," (Curtis, iv. 033.) with large, round, flat, deep-hued flowers, solitary 

 on the peduncles, an exceedingly handsome plant, flowering from July to October; 

 the G. Lancastriense, or " Lancashire crane's-bill," a charming variety of the 

 sanguineum, the petals flesh-coloured and laced with red, and taking its name 

 from the Isle of Walney, beyond Morecambe Bay, which was once esteemed its 

 native place; the G. striatum, or pencilled geranium, resembling the Lancastriense 

 in the veining of its petals, but larger in growth, and with smaller blossoms ; and 

 lastly, the Iberian, or G.Ibericum, closely resembling the indigenous G. pratense, 

 but with the leaves less divided. The G. lucidum (Curds, iii 514.) and a few 

 others occur in curious gardens, but only the four first-named are very general. 



IX.— THE FLAX FAMILY. Lmdcecs. 



Herbaceous or undershrubby plants, the common species delicate 

 and slim. Leaves small, simple, entire, usually narrow, and always 

 without stipules. Flowers regular, of three, four, or five extremely 

 fugitive petals, usually blue or white, occasionally red or yellow. 

 Sepals and stamens corresponding in number with the petals ; styles 

 several, and distinct ; stigmas capitate ; capsule nearly globular, 

 separating into as many pieces as there are styles, without leaving a 

 central pillar, and containing two flat and inverted seeds in each 

 compartment. 



Europe and the North of Africa are the principal stations of this 

 family, which is scattered, however, nearly all over the globe. The 

 tenacity of the fibres of the stems, exhibited in linen and the finer 

 descriptions of string ; and the mucilaginous character of the seeds, 

 familiar in the domestic applications of linseed, which is the produce 

 of the same plant that yields the flax of the weaver, and which sup- 

 plies also the linseed oil of commerce, render the principal species 

 highly interesting and important, while a few others are useful in 

 medicine, as bitters. 



Five grow wild, or have become naturalized in England, and three 

 of them near Manchester. 



