70 



SAPONAEIA VACCAB1A.-I. 



COW-WORT. 



Gypsopkila, vaccaria. — Sibth. and Sm. 

 Vaccaria pyramidata. — RcHB. 



Stem,. — Stiff, erect, smooth, leafy below, ending in dichotamous panicles, 

 with a single flower stem from the division — the joints are enlarged. 



Leaves. — Sessile, ovate, and slightly connate below, becoming more lanceo- 

 late and acute above, of a pale glaucous green. 



Flowers. — Rose coloured, numerous, on long stems, and loosely panicled. 



Cahix. — Membranaceous, pyramidal and swollen, smooth, with projecting 

 angles of a brighter green and five equal teeth. 



CaroUa. — Limb oval and slightly five-toothed without scales, half the 

 length of the calyx. Stamens, ten. Styles, two. 



Capsule, a round oval one-celled opening with four valves at the top. 



Seeds, rotind and black — nearly smooth externally. 



The whole plant is smooth and hairless, of a pale glaucous green. It is an 

 annual, and grows from 18 to 36 inches in height. 



The Saponaria vaccaria derives its specific name from the fact that cows 

 are fond of it, and it is said to increase the quantity of milk they give. — For the 

 same reasons the English name " Cow-wort " is now given to it. — It is a weed of 

 the cornfields, and common throughout Continental Europe, particularly in 

 France, Germany, Switzerland, and the Levant. It is said also to be common in 

 Central Asia. 



It has been several times observed in Britain as a weed of cultivated land, 

 introduced as is supposed, with the seeds of clover, vetches, flax, &c. — The 

 earliest record of its occurrence is in Cowell's "Floral Guide to East Kent" 

 where it is stated to have been found in 1832 by Mr. Francis at a spot east of the 

 pier at Heme Bay. It was gathered on a newly repaired towing path near Ware 

 mill in 1841, and plentifully about Ware, by Mr. Ansell in 1845. (Flora Hert- 

 fordiensis). In July, 1842, Mr. Wilson detected it in a field of flax at Alves, in 

 Morayshire, along with C<i?ne?i'n(i Sa<w'a. (Botanical Chronicle). The Rev. W. M. 

 Hind found a single plant in a chalk-pit at Pinner in 1862. Mr. Buxton found it 

 in 1863 on a i-ubbish heap four miles from Southport in Lancashire. In July 

 1864 it was found growing in a field of vetches between East Mailing and Town 

 Mailing. (Botanical Chronicle). In 1865 it was found at Mitcham and Wands- 

 worth, in Surrey, by Dr. Henry Trimen, F.L.S. Mr. W. Bean found a few 

 plants in a cultivated field near Scarborough, Yorkshire (no date). Watson's 

 _" Cybele Britannica " says it has occurred in Berkshire (no date) : and in Surrey 

 it is stated to have been " plentiful for several years " about Wandsworth and 

 Battersea. In Herefordshire it was first noticed by C. G. Martin, Esq., about 

 three weeks since, growing in considerable abundance over a field of vetches near 

 Widemarsh Common, Hereford. It has also been found this year growing at St. 

 AusteU, in Cornwall, by Miss Coode. 



It is now, as you see, in full seed and since it ripens its seed so readily 

 there seems good reason to beHeve that it may become perfectly naturalised in 

 England. 



It is not included in the London Catalogue of Plants, nor is it even alluded 

 to in the beautiful Edition of Sowerby's " English Botany," by Mr. Boswell Syme, 

 now nearly completed. 



Martin. 



The illustration opposite is very kindly presented to the Club by Mr. 

 1- 



