ANT 



ANT 



oblong, the two lowermost gaping : the corolla 

 is inonopetaloiis and ringcnt : the tube oblong, 

 .swelling, and opening above with a mouth 

 having two lips, the upper one two-parted and 

 reflex on eaeh side, the uiuler one tritid and ob- 

 tuse : the palate convex, usually closed by a 

 prominency between the lips, produced from the 

 under lip, the throat being concave beneath, hav- 

 intr a prominent nectarium at the base ot the 

 corolla, produced downwards and prominent : 

 the stamina consist of two short and two long 

 filaments, inclosed under the upper lip ; the an- 

 thera converging: thepistillum a roundish germ, 

 style simple, of the length and in the situation 

 of the stamens: the stigma obtuse: the peri- 

 carpium a roundish capsule, obtuse, two-celled, 

 of different form and aperture in the different 

 species : the seeds numerous : the receptacles 

 uniform, solitary, and athxed to the partition. 



The species of most importance for cultiva- 

 tion are : \.A. linaria. Common Yellow Toad- 

 Flax ; 2. yl. cyvihctlaria, Ivy-leaved Toad-Flax; 

 3. A. tnphylhtm, Three-leaved Toad-Flax; 4. 

 Jl. pnrpurtiim, Purple Toad-Flax ; 5. A. Mon- 

 spessularium, Montpellier Toad- Flax; 6. yl. 

 sparteum. Branching Toad-Flax ; 7- A. trhte, 

 Dark-flowered Toad-Flax ; 8. A. pelisserianum, 

 Violet-coloured Toad-Flax; 9. A. vmltkaule. 

 Many stalked Toad-Flax ; 10. A. AIphmm,A\- 

 pine Toad-Flax ; 11. A. Dalmaticum, Dalma- 

 tian Shrubby Toad-Flax ; 12. yl. genistcefoUum, 

 Broom-leaved Toad-Flax ; \3. A. mcijus, Great 

 Toad-Flax, or Snap-Dragon ; 14. A. helli- 

 difoUum, Daisy-leaved Toad-Flax, or Snap- 

 Dragon. 



The first species has a hard woody creeping 

 perennial root : the stems several, from one to 

 two feet in height, full of leaves, round and 

 smooth : the leaves pointed, smooth, and of a 

 blueish colour, growing without order: the 

 flowers yellow with the palate orange, villose, 

 in a thick terminal spike : the nectary long and 

 aw I-shaped : the upper segment of the calyx a 

 little longer than the rest : the two lower ones 

 gaping, widest : the capsule cylindric, splitting 

 at the top into several equal divisions. It grows 

 bv road-sides, and flowers from June to Au- 

 gust. By culture the flowers become larger and 

 liner. 



The second species has a fibrous perennial 

 root, inserting itself so into the crevices of walls 

 and rocks as scarcely to be eradicated : the stalks 

 are numerous, growing in a tuft, creeping at 

 bottom, branched, round, purplish and stringy : 

 the leaves roundisli, shining, somewhat fleshy, 

 some opposite, others alternate, frequently pur- 

 plish : lobes of the lower ones blunt, upper 

 acute, the smallest only three-lobed ; the pe- 



tioles long and grooved above : the peduncles- 

 from the axils, one-flowered, round, a little 

 longer than the petioles : the tube of the corolla 

 short : the upper lip purple, with two deeper 

 veins; segments of the lower whitish : the pa- 

 late yellow : the mouth or entrance into the tube 

 villous and safl'ron-coloured : the nectary jiurple 

 and conical, the length of the calyx : the germ 

 purple : the capsule wrinkled, opening at top 

 into several segments : the seeds are black, 

 roimdish and wrinkled like the nut of the wal- 

 nut. The whole plant is smooth, but has a 

 disagreeable smell. 



There is a variety with a white flower. 



The third is an annual plant, which rises with 

 an uprieht branching stalk near a foot and half 

 hiiih, with oval, smooth, gray leaves, placed 

 often by threes, and sometimes by pairs, opposite 

 at the joints ; the flowers grow in short spikes at 

 the top of the stalks ; they are shaped like those 

 of the common sort, but have not such long 

 tubes ; they are yellow, with saffron-coloured 

 chaps. Jt flowers in July and August, and the 

 seeds ripen in autumn. Itgrows naturally in Sicily. 



There are varieties of this with a purple stan- 

 dard and spur ; and with purple flowers. 



In the fourth species the root is perennial : the 

 stem two feet high, round and smooth : the 

 leaves smooth, and marked with three nerves un- 

 derneath, spreading, alternate : the lower ver- 

 ticillate : the racemes are terminal, simple, 

 erect, long, with pedicels longer than the 

 flower : the calyx minute : the corolla all pur- 

 ple, paler without, with the palate pubescent at 

 the edge ; spur the length of the corolla, bend- 

 ing outwards : the capsule subglobular : the seeds 

 three-sided-angular, or a little compressed : the 

 angles acute, margined, smooth, and vermi- 

 cularly wrinkled between them ; the colour of 

 smoke. It is a native of Italy. 



The fifth has a perennial root, from which 

 arise many branching stalks near two feet high, 

 with very narrow leaves growing in clusters, and 

 of a grayish colour. The flowers are produced 

 in loose spikes at the end of the branches ; they 

 are of a pale blue, and have a sweet smell. 

 These appear in June ; and there is often a suc- 

 cession of flowers on the plants till winter : the 

 bractes are lanceolate, one at the base of each 

 peduncle : the corolla pale blue, with darker 

 spots ; spur nearly as long as the body of the 

 corolla : the calyx very small, and the segments 

 acute. 



In the sixth species the stem is a foot high, 

 quite smooth, panicled, erect, but not very stiff, 

 with wand-like branches. Primordial leaves, 

 before the stalk shoots up, ternate, oblong ; the 

 rest alternile, awl-shaped, channelledj smooth. 



