CHAP. XLI. 



LEGUMINA^CEyE. GENl'STA. 



583 



* 24. G. scARio'sA Viv. The scax'ious-margined-leaved Genista. 



Identification. Viv. Ann. Bot., 1. p. 2. 175. ; Fragm. Fl. Ital., 1. p. 5. t. 8. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 150. : 



Don's MilL, 2. p. 152. 

 Synonymes. G. januensis Viv. Cat., p. 10., Bert. PI. ; G. geimensis Pers. Ench., No 5. 

 Engraving. Frag. Fl. Ital,, 1. t. 8. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. The whole plant perfectly glabrous. Stem ascending. Younger branches 3-siiicd. 

 Leaves simple, lanceolate, or the lowest obovate, dry and shriveled in the margin. Flowers in 

 racemes. Corolla twice thelength of the calyx. Legume linear, including 4 — 7 seeds, some of the 

 intervals between them constricted. [Dec. Prod. ,9.. p. 150.) An upright shrub, a native of Liguria 

 and of the kingdom of Naples. Introduced in 1821 and flowering in June and July. 



J: 25. G. anxa'ntica Ten. The Anxantic Genista. 



Identification. Ten. Fl. Nap. Prod, p. 41. ; Fl. Nap., 2. p. 127. t 66. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 150. ; Don's 



Mill, 2. p. 152. 

 Sytionyme. G. ams&ntica Tenore. 

 Engravings. Fl. Nap., 2. p. 127. t. 66. ; Swt. Fl-Gar., 2d ser. t. 266. ; and out figs. 274, 275. 



Sjjec. Char., Sj-c. The whole plant is 

 274 perfectly glabrous. Stems spread- 

 ing. Branches angled. Leaves 

 simple, ovate-elliptical, rather coria- 

 ceous, veiny. Flowers in racemes. 

 Corolla thrice as long as tlie calyx ; 

 and about 8 lines long. Legume con- 

 taining 8 — 1 seeds. (Dec. Prod., ii. 

 p. 150.) A diffuse shrub, a native 

 of the kingdom of Naples. Litro- 

 duced in 1818, and flowering in June 

 and July. There are plants of this species in the Chelsea and other bo- 

 tanic gardens. It is well adapted for ornamenting rockwork, from its trail- 

 ing habit, and profusion of yellow flowers. 



Ji 26. G. tincto^ria L. The Dyer's Broom, or Green Weed. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 998. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 151. ; Don's MilL, 2. p. 152. 



Synonymes. Base Broom, Green Weed, Green Wood, Dyer's Weed, and Wood-waxen ; Genet des 



Teinturiers, Genet de Siberie, Fi: ; farbender Ginster, Ger. 

 Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 44. ; and out fig. 276. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Root creeping. Stems almost 

 upright. Branches round, striated, upright. 

 Leaves simple, lanceolate, rather glabrous, j 

 Flowers glabrous, in spiked racemes. Legume y 

 glabrous. (Dec. Prod.,\i. p. 151.) A creeping- 

 rooted low shrub, common in Europe, in grassy 

 fields, and in woods and copses, particularly 

 in dry gravelly or sandy soils ; flowering in 

 July. It is very common in pastures in many 

 places both in England and Scotland; and, 

 when cows feed on it, it is said by Ray to give 

 a bitter taste to their milk. All parts of this 

 plant, and especially the branches, and leaves, 

 have long been used by dyers for producing yellow, especially for dyeing 

 wool that is afterwards to be dyed green with woad (/satis tinctoria L.). 

 We are not aware that the Genista tinctoria is in cultivation, as a dyer's 

 plant, either in Britain or on the Continent; but, in Suffblk and Norfolk, 

 and probably other counties, the wild plant is collected in quantities, and 

 sold to dyers. The ashes afford an alkaline salt, which is employed as a 

 diuretic in dropsy and other diseases. In Britain, the principal use of the 

 plant, when in a state of cultivation, is as an ornamental shrub. 



Varieties. 



J* G. f. 2 latifolia Dec. — Leaves broad-lanceolate. (Dec. Prod.) A native 



of Auvergne, on the Golden Mount. (Don\s Mil/.) 

 ju G. /. 3 hirstita Dec. — Leaves somewhat villosc. Branches upright. A 



native of sunnv meadows. 



