206 LOBELIACE^ 



' ' Calm and deep peace on this high wold, 



And on tliese dews that drench the luize, 

 And all the silvery gossamers 

 That twinkle into gi'een and gold." 



The Sheep's-bit is often found growing there among furze and heather, from 

 June to September ; for it flourishes in profusion on the gravelly or heathy 

 soil of sunny slopes, having dense hemispherical heads of flowers of a bright 

 blue colour, with a leafy involucre below them, on stems from six inches to 

 two feet high, several of which arise from the crown of the root. These 

 flowers are somewhat like those of the Scabious ; but the plant may be 

 distinguished from those of that genus by the anthers being united at their 

 l)ase. The French call this Sheep's-bit Jasione / the Dutch, Schaapskruid. 

 It grows on dry places in Sweden, where it is termed Mouke ; and the 

 Spanish and Portuguese call it Jasione. It has, in the union of its anthers, 

 an affinity with the compound flowers, from which it is distinguished, how- 

 ever, by its two-celled capsule. It has a disagreeable odour, which when the 

 plant is bruised becomes more powerful ; the whole herb is milky, and is 

 sometimes eaten by sheep. Linnaeus says that these animals are very fond 

 of its flowers. 



It varies very much in size, according to the degree of dryness in its 

 habitat. 



Order XLVIII. LOBELIACEi^— LOBELIA TRIBE. 



Calyx growing from the ovary, 5-lobed or entire ; petals united, in- 

 serted in the calyx ; stamens 5, free from the corolla, and alternating with 

 its lobes; anthers united; ovary inferior, of 1 — 3 many -seeded cells, opening 

 at the top. The plants composing this order are either herbs or small shrubs, 

 with alternate leaves, and without stipules. They contain a bitter milky 

 juice, which in the plants of Avarm regions, where the species are more 

 abundant, becomes very acrid. By some authors this is regarded as a sub- 

 order of Campanulacese. 



Lobelia. — Corolla 2-lipped, the upper part split to the base of the tube ; 

 upper lip smaller and erect, lower spreading, 3-cleft. Named in honour of 

 Matthias Lobel, a Flemish botanist. 



Lobelia (Lobdia). 



I. Acrid Lobelia (L. nrens). — Stem nearly upright ; lower leaves 

 inversely egg-shaped, stalked, slightly toothed ; upper ones lanceolate, 

 sessile, serrated; perennial. This is a very rare plant, found, indeed, 

 only on heathy land in Cornwall and Dorset. It has a leafy, somewhat 

 rough stem, a foot or more high, and the light bluish-purple flowers are 

 downy externally. They grow in erect, leafy, lax clusters, and expand in 

 June and July. It is a noxious plant, full of a milky acrid juice, which will 

 raise a blister on the skin, though neither of our native species can at all 

 compare with several well-known foreign Lobelias in this respect. Some of 

 these have highly poisonous juices. Thus L. longifldra, of the West Indies, 

 even destroys horses feeding upon it, and is hence called Chatia cavallo. It 



