48 UMBELLIFER^ 



to the King that he was depriving the cheese of its greatest excellence. On 

 this the monarch ate it freely, and liked it so well that he ended by asking 

 the prelate to send him annually a supply of the curd so flavoured ; and, lest 

 the merchants should accidentally pack cheeses which were without the 

 parsley seeds, he directed that the cheeses should always be cut in two 

 pieces, in order that the seeds might be seen, while the halves were after- 

 Avards to be fastened together with a skewer. 



2. Corn Parsley {P. sigetiim).- — Lower leaves pinnate; leaflets nearly 

 sessile, egg-shaped, lobed, and serrated; upper leaves entire or 3-cleft; 

 umbels very irregular ; fruit strongly ribbed. Plant biennial. This is the 

 truly Wild Parsley, easily distinguished by its slender, branched, tough, and 

 wiry stem, which is from one to two feet high, and by its small pinnated 

 leaves. In August and September it has umbels of little whitish flowers, the 

 rays of the umbel being few and unequal in length. The few small stem- 

 leaves are all that are to be seen in autumn, as those of the root soon wither 

 away. The schoolboy gathers this, with various other somewhat similar 

 plants, all of which he calls Wild Parsley, for the food of his tame rabbits ; 

 but its scanty foliage does not furnish a large supply. 



7. HoNEWORT (Trinia). 



Common Honewort (T. vulgdris). — Leaves thrice pinnate and shining; 

 leaflets very narrow, often threadlike ; involucre none, or of one leaf ; ribs 

 of the fruit blunt ; root perennial. This is a rare plant, inhabiting dry lime- 

 stone hills, and is found on St. Vincent's Rocks, near Bristol, and a few other 

 spots in this kingdom. The white flowers appear in May and June, and 

 have their stamens and pistils in different blossoms, and on separate plants. 

 The stem is branched and erect, about six or eight inches high ; the root is 

 spindle-shaped, and crowned with the remnants of former leaves. The 

 herbage is glaucous green. 



8. Marshwort (Helosciddium). 



■ L Procumbent Marshwort {H. nodifl&rum). — Stem procumbent at 

 the base and rooting ; leaves pinnate ; leaflets egg-shaped, unequally and 

 bluntly serrated ; umbels opposite to the leaves. Plant perennial. Vai'ieties 

 occur of this herb, in one of which the umbels are longer than the flower- 

 stalks, or nearly sessile, and the leaflets bluntly serrate ; and in the other 

 the umbels are shorter than the flower-stalks, the leaflets smaller, and more 

 sharply serrated. The streams and rivulets which wander through our 

 o-reen meadows or woods, or lie beneath the shadowing hedgerows, have 

 usually a wealth of vegetation all their own. This is a plant which he who 

 well knows these spots always expects to find there ; its branches overtopping 

 the plants which lie on the flat surface of the shallow waters, or growing on 

 the moist soil of their margin. Country people call it Fool's Water-cress, 

 and doubtless it may be sometimes gathered carelessly instead of that whole- 

 some salad herb ; for although when in flower it is quite unlike the Water- 

 cress, yet when out of bloom it has some slight resemblance to it. Its 

 pointed and serrated leaves are a good distinction ; and it has its distinct 

 features in the umbelliferous growth of its flowers, its hollow stem, and its 



