STONECROP TRIBE 21 



4. Stonecrop (SMum). — Sepals and petals 4 — 5 ; stamens 8 — 10, 

 spreading ; carpels 4 — 5. Name from the Latin sedeo, to sit, from the lowly 

 growth of the plants. 



1. TillJa. 



Mossy Tillaea (T. muscusa). — Stems branched, and bending down at 

 the base ; leaves opposite, oblong, concave ; flowers generally 3-cleft. Plant 

 annual. This little Tillsea, though quite distinct from the pearlworts, is 

 much like them. The small greenish-white flowers expand in May and 

 June, and have a reddish tinge at the tips of the petals ; the calyx leaves 

 are sharply pointed. It is a plant of sandy heaths, bub of rare occurrence, 

 its range in this country extending only from Norfolk to Devon. 



2. Pennywort (CotyUdon). 



Wall Pennywort (C. vmhilicus). — Leaves circular, on central stalks, 

 and with rounded notches on their margins, generally more or less concave 

 above ; upper bracts very small and entire. Plant perennial. This singular- 

 looking plant has spikes of long drooping bell-shaped flowers, with the 

 corolla cleft nearly to the middle. They are of greenish-white colour, ap- 

 pearing from June to July. The plant owes its name of Pennywort to the 

 round leaves ; it is also in some country places called Penny -pies, or Kidney- 

 wort. It is Le Cotylei, or Cotylier, of the French. The glossy root-leaves are 

 pellate — that is, the leaf-stalk is in the centre of the underside. On the 

 upper surface they are somewhat sunk in the centre, and in some of the 

 species cultivated in our gardens they are much more so, forming little cups 

 or vases. The stem-leaves are spoon-shaped. The plant is very succulent, 

 and the flowering stem is from half a foot to a foot and a half high. 



This Pennywort is very common in some parts of the kingdom, especially 

 in the western counties, but there are many districts where it is scarcely ever 

 seen. The Rev. W. T. Bree remarks, that he scarcely remembers ever 

 finding it in Warwickshire, except on the ruins of Maxstoke Priory, and 

 there but sparingly ; while in Cornwall, some parts of Somersetshire, and in 

 the county of Wicklow, as well as in North Wales, it is abundant on rocks, 

 walls, and banks. It is rare in Kent, but the author once received a specimen 

 of the plant from the wall of Maidstone Church. Its ordinary place of 

 growth is the old wall, roof, or stone dyke, and it is very luxuriant on moist 

 rocks in mountainous countries. When its flower-spikes cover the face of a 

 stone-built hedge, as may commonly be seen in Cornwall, its appearance 

 is very striking. There the root-leaves often attain a diameter of four 

 inches. 



A species called Cotyledon lutea is sometimes enumerated among our native 

 flowers, but it is not a British plant. 



3. HousE-LEEK {Sempervivum). 



Common House-leek (S. ted&rum). — Leaves thick, fleshy, fringed 

 with delicate hairs; flowers containing 12 perfect, and 12 imperfect stamens. 

 Plant perennial. Tufts of juicy leaves of the House-leek, forming large 

 verdant patches on the cottage-roof or wall-top, though not so frequent as 



