262 BOEAGINE^E 



exceeds three inches in length ; the stems spread almost on the ground, and 

 terminate in little clusters, with one solitary, distant flower in the axil of the 

 upper leaf. The flowers are of uniform blue, the buds never tinged, as in 

 most of the Scorpion-grasses, with pink. When the flowers first appear they 

 are closely nestled among the leaves, but the stem shortly lengthens into 

 clusters, and before June the plant has withered away. Mr. Bowman has 

 remarked, that the flowers do not expand till, by the uncurling of the raceme, 

 they are brought into a perpendicular position, but continue open till the 

 next two or three above them are expanded. 



8. Yellow and Blue Scorpion-grass {M. versicolor). — Calyx with 

 spreading, curved bristles, closed when in fruit ; cluster on a long, leafless 

 stalk ; stalk of the fruit erect ; limb of the corolla shorter than the tube ; 

 leaves narrow, oblong, somewhat acute, upper ones frequently opposite ; 

 annual. This plant, which is not uncommon on banks and fields, often grows 

 on a more moist soil than the last species, though sometimes, like it, on dry 

 sunny places. It is a very distinct species, varying in height according to the 

 soil, from three to six inches, and blossoming in April and June. The stem is 

 leafy below and naked above, and its little cluster is coiled up very closely while 

 in bud, opening into most lovely little flowers, which are very singular as to 

 colour, being at first yellow, then turning blue. It is interesting to notice 

 how the calyx becomes converted into a seed-capsule, covered with hooked 

 hairs, which catch in the fur of mammals, and so detach the calyx from the 

 plant and disperse the highly-polished nutlets. This applies only to the 

 terrestrial species ; those that grow in the water do not have the hairs of the 

 calyx hooked, the seeds being efficiently distributed by water-carriage. 



6. Alkanet (Anchusa). 



1. Common Alkanet (A. officimlis). — Leaves lanceolate, rough and 

 hairy : flowers in one-sided spikes ; bracts egg-shaped and pointed ; calyx 

 segments longer than the tube. This is a rare plant of waste grounds. Its 

 stem is one or two feet in height, and its deep purple flowers expand in June 

 and July. Though so unfrequent in our country, this Alkanet shows its 

 richly tinted flowers in abundance in the southern parts of France, in Ger- 

 many, and Switzerland, where it is to be seen everywhere, on uncultivated 

 fields, roadsides, and old walls. A large quantity of gum is contained by the 

 roots, which when boiled yield a demulcent medicine, once very popular both 

 in this country and on the Continent. 



The roots of most of the Alkanets furnish some slight degree of red colour- 

 ing matter, but this abounds in the roots of the species called A. Undoria, 

 which is the Common Alkanet, or Orcanette, used by druggists ; and the red 

 colour obtained from them is employed for giving its hue to lip-salves, oil, and 

 wax. It is also commonly extracted for imparting a colour to wine sold 

 under the name of port, and also in staining corks. This species is a native 

 of Italy, Spain, and the south of France, and is also cultivated in the last- 

 named country for various uses. Among the Romans the roots of the 

 Alkanet were in great request in staining wool, previously to giving it that 

 rich purple hue so prized in ancient Rome. The colouring matter of the 

 Alkanets has been called by some chemists pseudo-alkannin, and though found 



