112 ENGLISH BOTANY. 



base, erect or ascending, usually branched in large plants, and some- 

 times witli a few flowering branches below the umbel. Leaves 

 alternate, strapshaped or linear-strapshaped, abruptly acute or truncate 

 and apiculate, entire. Umbel-rays 3, rarely 4 or 5, two to six times 

 2 -furcate. Bracts lanceolate or triangular-lanceolate, unequally rounded 

 at the base, and sometimes subhastate, from the presence of a tooth a 

 little above the base, otherwise entire, acute. Involucral glands sub- 

 lunate, with long slender diverging cusps. Capsule globular, trigonous ; 

 cocca rounded on the back, and each with a narrow slightly raised 

 band of elevated points on each side of the faint dorsal furrow. 

 Seeds rectangular-ovoid, keeled on the back, rugose, witli very nume- 

 rous irregularly disposed transverse foveae having irregular ridgelikc 

 tubercles between them, pitchy black, tinged with ashy-white, with a 

 small conical hooded caruncule. Plant glabrous; leaves thin, pale 

 green, scarcely glaucous. 



A weed in cultivated fields, waste ground, and gardens, and gene- 

 rally distributed m England and the south of Scotland ; rare north of 

 the Tay, and absent from the northern counties. Rather local, but 

 widely distributed in Ireland. 



England, Scotland, Ireland. Annual. Summer, Autumn. 



A slender plant, sometimes with the stems erect, sometimes spreading, 

 especially when the stems are numerous from one root. The stems 

 are 3 to 18 inches high. Leaves ^ to 1 inch long. Umbel frequently 

 occupying half the whole height of the stem, but sometimes not above 

 a quarter of it. Capsule -y^^ ^^^^^^ long. 



In this plant the leaves are sometimes acute and sometimes trun- 

 cate and mucronate, Avhen it becomes E. retusa, D.C. (non Forsk. 

 nee Cav.). This form occurs in Britain, as well as the type, but I 

 have not seen the form described with leaves 3-lobed at the apex, 

 which is E. rubra, D.C. (non Cav.). 



Dwarf Spurge. 

 French, Euphorhe fluet. German, Kleiue Wolfsmilcli. 



Section IV.— LATHYRIS. Gren. and Godr. 



Leaves opposite, decussate, without stipules. Flowering stem 

 umbellate at the apex. Involucral glands lunate, with blunt ascending 

 cusps. 



