UMBELLIFEROUS TRIBE 51 



\vc caiiiiol praise their flavcnr ver}' highly, yet they are much liked by 

 country children, who eat them in their uncooked condition as they would 

 a chestnut, which fruit they are not unlike in flavour. The Italians and 

 Spaiiiards both call the plant Casfugiia di terra ; and it is the Terre noix of the 

 French, the Erdnuss of the Germans, and the Ardnoot of the Dutch. The old 

 writers recommended the powdered loot as a remedy for cough. They called 

 the tui)ers Ground-nuts and Kipper-iuits. 



13. Burnet Saxifrage {PimpiueUa). 



1. Common Burnet Saxifrage (P. .sruZ/ya^a). — Root-leaves pinnate; 

 leaflets roundish, sharply serrate or cut ; stem-leaves twice pinnate, with 

 linear segments. Plant perennial. The lower lea^^es of this herb are so like 

 those of the Common Burnet, as to deserve the allusion to that plant con- 

 tained in its name ; those of the root are on long stalks, and those of the 

 stem are often very much divided. The stem is round, one or two feet high, 

 the flower-stalks usually smooth, though occasionally downy. The small 

 greenish-white flowers appear in July and August. 



The Burnet Saxifrage is common on dry pastures, and is often to be seen 

 among the turf of those rounded hills which so often occiu^ in our chalk 

 districts. It is remarkable for varying much in the shape of its foliage, 

 owing to some circumstances of soil or season ; hence the earlier botanists 

 classed as distinct species forms now known to be mere varieties ; and we 

 had formerly P. major, P. minor, and P. dissedum. The root, which is of an 

 astringent nature, is very pungent and even acrid in flavour. Country 

 people consider it a cure for the toothache ; and a decoction of the plant has 

 also been long in use as a cosmetic, and probably would not be altogether 

 useless in the removal of freckles and sunburn. This root is mvich infested 

 by a species of coccus, from which a red colouring matter may be procured. 

 The French call the plant Le Boucage ; it is the PimpineUa Manca of the 

 Spaniards, and is termed by the Germans Kleine bibernel. 



2. Greater Burnet Saxifrage (P. magna). — Leaves all pinnate; 

 leaflets egg-shaped, serrate, somewhat cut, the terminal one 3-lobed ; fruit 

 smooth. Plant perennial. This species is much larger than the last, and 

 has an angled stem marked with lines. It occurs in bushy wastes on chalky 

 and limestone soils, but is not so frequent as the Common Burnet Saxifrage. 

 Its white flowers appear in July and August. 



The well-known anise used in medicine is often procured from a species 

 of the PimpineUa, which is cultivated in Malta and Spain, whence the seeds 

 are imported into this country. These are also used in flavom^ing liqueurs, 

 in some sorts of digestive bread, and various articles of confectionery ; and 

 the leaves are employed in garnishing dishes, and are put into soups and 

 sauces. 



14. Water Parsnip (Siuiu), 



I. Broad-leaved Water Parsnip (S. laUfdlivm). — Stem erect; leaflets 

 unequally lobed, and serrated ; umbels stalked, at the summit of the stem ; 

 bracts of involucres narrow, and pointed. Plant perennial. This is a large, 

 stout, conspicuous plant, standing up three, foiir, or even five feet in height 



7—2 



