PETALOIDE.5i;. 



675 



as this is commonly combined with acridity, they are not gene- 

 rally available as food, although some are stated to be thus 

 employed in Africa. 



Crocus saiivus. — The SafEron Croci;s is the Karcom of the Bible. The 

 dried stigmas of this plant ^vith the end of the style {fig. 1036) constitute 

 Hay Saffron, or when pressed together they form Cake Saffron. The latter, 

 however, is not now found in the shops ; the substance sold under that 

 name being the compressed florets of Carthamus tinctorius (see Carthamus). 

 SafEron contains a colouring principle called pohjchroite. The dried stigmas 

 of some other species, as C. aureus, C. odorus, C. Uiteus, C. vernus, &c., are 

 sometimes employed for the preparation of saffron in certain parts of the 

 Continent, &c. Saffi-on is much used as a flavouring agent on the Continent 

 and in the East. In this country it is principally employed as a colouring 

 agent in pharmacy, in certain nervous affections, and as an emmenagogue. 

 Bird-fanciers also use it, as they believe it assists the moulting of birds. 



Iris, Flower de Luce. — The rhizomes of several species are more or less 

 purgative and emetic. The so-called orris-root of the shops is in reality 

 the dried scraped rhizomes of /. florentina, I. pallida, and /. germanica. 

 These rhizomes possess a violet odour, and are principally used in perfumery, 

 for imparting a pleasant odour to the breath, and by the French, especially, 

 for making issue-peas. The roasted seeds of /. Pseud-acorus, the Yellow 

 Flag of this country, have been recommended as a substitute for coffee, 

 but they are altogether wanting in the important properties of that 

 beverage. 



Natural Order 254. Amaryllidace^.. — The Amaryllis Order 

 {figs. 1039-1042). — Bulbous or fibrous-rooted plants, without 

 any aerial stem, or sometimes with a woody one. Leaves 

 with parallel straight venation, linear-ensiform. Flowers usually 



Fig. 1039. 



Fig. 1040. 



Fig. 1039. Diagram of the flower of the Spring Snowflake (Leucojiim 

 vernwm), yvith. six divisions to the perianth arranged m two whorls, 



six stamens, and a 3-celled ovary with axile placentation. Fig. 



1040 The perianth of the Daffodil {Narcissus Pseudo-narcissus) lut 

 open in a vertical manner, t. Tube hearing six stamens. I. Lnnb of 

 the perianth, n. Corona. 



on scapes, and spathaceous (fig. 376). Perianth regular or nearly 

 so (figs. 376 and 1039), petaloid, superior {fig. 1041), with 6 

 divisions, and with {figs. 485 and 1040, n) or without a corona 

 {fig. 1041). Stamens 6, inserted on the segments of the peri- 

 xx2 



