UMBELLIFEROUS TRIBE 73 



eaten by sailors, who, in returning from long voyages, happened to land on 

 the south-west coast of the Isle of Anglesey, where the plant is abundant. 



******* i-Vwe'^ oblong, usuaUi/ more or less beaked. 



33. Shepherd's-needle {Sahidix). 



Common Shepherd's-needle (<S'. pMen-veneris). — Beak much longer 

 than the roughish fruit, compressed and fringed with fine stiff hairs ; leaves 

 thrice pinnate, segments short and slender. Plant annual. A common and 

 a troublesome weed is this plant, for it is found in almost every corn-field, 

 from May to September, and in some fields seems almost as al)undant as the 

 corn itself. Those who are at all observant of wild floAvers recognise it at 

 once by the shape of its beaked fruits. The flowers grow in small umbels, 

 and are white ; and one would not suppose, from their size, that they could 

 produce the bunches of long, sharp-pointed fruits, which we may often see 

 at the same time on another part of the plant. These fruits are bright 

 green, some of them two or three inches long, and sharp enough to merit the 

 names applied to the plant, of Shepherd's-needle, Pucker-needle, and Venus's- 

 comb. The plant is from three or four inches to a foot high, of uniform 

 bright green colour. It is quite Avholesome, and was formerly used as a 

 pot-herb. It is supposed to be the same species as that which the ancient 

 Grreeks used as food. 



34. Beaked Parsley (Anthriscm). 



1. Wild Beaked Parsley (A. sylvestris). — Stem hairy below, smooth 

 above, swelling a little below each joint ; leaves twice pinnate ; leaflets 

 pinnatifid ; fruit linear, beaked, and smooth. Plant perennial. This is the 

 first of all our umbelliferous plants to lend its white umbels to grace the 

 hedges or field-borders. As early as the end of March, the flowers appear, 

 their clusters drooping at first, but afterwards becoming erect. The stem is 

 three or four feet high, furrowed and branched, and having many leaves, 

 The whole plant is somewhat aromatic, and is eaten in some parts of the 

 kingdom, where it is called Wild Chervil ; but being a favourite food of 

 rabbits, it is more frequently gathered for their use than for that of man. 

 It is not unfrequent, and it continues in flower till June, when its oblong 

 fruits with very short beaks may be seen, and the foliage has assumed the . 

 dark, somewhat dull green which the plant has when fully grown. It 

 aff"ords good herbage for cattle, and is a favourite food of kine. Though the 

 foliage is wholesome for man, yet the roots are poisonous, and, when they 

 have been eaten as parsnips, have in some cases proved fatal. Professor 

 Burnett remarks, that it is a plant of good omen ; for, as it will grow only 

 on rich ground, it is an index of the nature and condition of the soil. The 

 flowers give a good yellow dye, and the leaves afford a bright green tint. 



2. Garden Beaked Parsley, or Chervil {A. cerefolium). — Stem hairy 

 above the joints only ; umbels lateral and sessile ; leaves thrice pinnate ; 

 leaflets pinnatifid; fruit large, linear, smooth, with a beak about half its 

 length. Plant annual. The white flowers of this plant appear from May to 

 June. It is not truly wild, though growing in many hedges in this kingdom, 

 and in the neighbourhood of gardens. It was once much esteemed as a pot- 



II.— 10 



