UMBELLIFER^. 151 



contiguous and jirominent ; wing ahont half tlie breadth of the solid 

 portion. Plant pale yellowish-gTccn, glabrous. 



Master-wort^ Herb Gerard. 



French, Imperatoire Commune. German, Meisterwurz. 



The common name of this species is a translation of its old Latin name, 

 Imperatoria, and was probably given to it after some emperor unknown, but 

 understood by the herbalists as indicating the masterly virtues of the plant. 

 The root is warm and aromatic, and has been recommended in many disorders. 

 When chewed, it excites a coi)ious flow of saliva, occasioning a warm and not 

 disagreeable sensation in the gums, and on this account has been recommended for 

 toothache. As we might expect, its very evident qualities found for it a great repu- 

 tation in the ancient practice of pharmacy, and we read of most wonderful cui-es being 

 wrought by its agency in the pages of old writers. Gerarde tells us that the roots and 

 leaves stamped, " dissolve and cure pestilential carbuncles and botches. It helpeth 

 greatly such as have taken great squats, bruses, or falls from some high place, cureth 

 the bitings of mad dogs, and of all other venomous beasts." 



" Herbe Gerard, with his roots stamped and laid upon members that are troubled 

 or vexed with the gout, swageth the ])aine, and taketh away the swelling and inflam- 

 mations thereof." We might muliply tlie list of virtues ascribed to this plant ; but as 

 we now believe them to have been in great measure imaginary, we forbear. 



GENVS XXVII.—V ASTINAOA. Linn. 



Calyx-limb obsolete or of 5 small teeth. Petals suborbicular, 

 entire, with a truncate involute lobe. Cremocarp oval or orbicular, 

 flattened from back to back of the mericarps, surrounded by a 

 rather narrow flat border ; columella free, bipartite ; mericarps 

 flattened from back to front, with the 3 dorsal ridges filiform, the 

 lateral pair developed into a narrow wing ; interstices each with a 

 single vitta tapering at each extremity and reaching nearly, but not 

 quite, to the base of the mericarp. Involucre none or of few leaves. 



Herbs with pinnate leaves, with subsessile or shortly-stalked 

 lobed or dentate leaflets, and large compound umbels of rather 

 small bright-yellow flowers. 



The name of this genus of plants is derived from the Latin word jjastus, food, or 

 from pasco, I eat. Some authors give as the derivation the word pasiinum, a dibble, in 

 reference to the form of the root. 



SPECIES L-PASTIN AC A SATIVA. Linn. 

 Plate DCXII. 



miot, El. Gall, et Germ. Exsicc. No. 1882 and 2842. 



Stem sulcate. Leaves pinnate ; leaflets oblong or ovate, often 

 slightly lobed or cut, serrate. Involucre and involucels none. 



