i6o 



SAXIFRAGACE^E. 



[CLASS 



Herbs. Flowers regular. Stamens definite. Pistil syncarpous, 

 styles 2 or more. 



Type Meadow Saxifrage (Saxifraga granulata). 

 A small perennial herb, with a rhizome bearing minute 

 granular bulbs, erect stem, and terminal white flowers. 



OBSERVE the glandular radical leaves of Sundew 

 (Drosera). Both the glands and the blade of the leaf 

 exhibit an obscure " irritability," closing over and clasping 

 small insects which may happen to stick to the viscid tips 

 of the former. An allied American herb, the " Venus' 

 Fly-trap" (Dioncza muscipuld), exhibits this irritability in 

 a much higher degree, the two terminal lobes of the 

 radical leaves clasping together instantaneously when any 

 one of the three short bristles on the middle of either of 

 the lobes is touched. 



Observe, also, Hydrangea hortensis in cultivation, 

 showing enlargement of the lobes of the calyx at the 

 expense of the essential organs. The pale or reddish 

 colour of the flowers passes into a blue tint in a soil 

 containing oxide of iron. 



29. Natural Order Umbelliferas. The Umbellate 

 Family. 



DISTRIBUTION. Most numerous in Southern Europe 

 and temperate Asia, though with many species in North 

 America, cooler inter-tropical regions, and the South 

 Temperate Zone. British genera 37, species 57. 



