io8 CALYCIFLOR^E 



damp woods. Easily distinguished, at all seasons, by the strong 

 perfume of its buds and leaves. Fl. April, May. Shrubs. 



4. R. Alpinam (Tasteless Mountain Currant). The stamens and 

 pistils on separate plants ; the flowers grow in erect clusters, with 

 very long bracts at the base of each. It grows in mountainous 

 places ; is perhaps truly wild in the north of England, and is found 

 also in Scotland ; rare. Fl. April, May. Shrub. 



Natural Order XXXV 

 SAXIFRAGACEiE. The Saxifrage Tribe 



Sepals 5 or rarely 4, more or less united at the base ; petals 

 equalling the sepals in number, inserted between the sepals, rarely o ; 

 stamens equalling the petals or twice as many ; ovary 2 or 4-celled 

 or i-celled ; styles equalling in number or twice as many as the cells ; 

 seeds numerous. This Order, though it contains some such shrubs 

 as the Hydrangeas and Deutzias, is principally composed of herba- 

 ceous mountainous plants, with tufted foliage and glandular stems. 

 They abound in temperate and cold climates, but are not found in 

 tropical countries. The genus Saxifraga is an extensive one, and 

 contributes greatly to the beauty of the vegetation high up in the 

 mountains ; but some species grow on old walls, by the sides of 

 rivulets, and in moist meadows. Chrysosplenium (Golden Saxi- 

 frage) has no petals. Few of the plants belonging to this tribe are 

 applied to any use. Most of them have slight astringent properties, 

 and some few are bitter and tonic. 



1. Saxifraga (Saxifrage). Calyx in 5 divisions ; petals 5 ; 

 stamens 10 ; styles 2 ; capsule 2-celled, 2-beaked, opening between 

 the beaks ; seeds numerous. (Name in Latin signifying rock- 

 breaker, many of the species growing in the crevices of rocks.) 



2. Chrysosplenium (Golden Saxifrage). Calyx in 4 divisions ; 

 petals o ; stamens 8 or rarely 10 ; styles 2 ; capsule 2-beaked. (Name 

 from the Greek, chrysos, gold, and splen, the spleen, from some 

 imaginary virtues of the plant.) 



3. Parnassia (Grass of Parnassus). Calyx deeply 5-cleft ; petals 

 ) ; stamens 5, with 5 fringed scales interposed ; stigmas 4 ; capsule 

 i-celled, with 4 valves. (Name from Mount Parnassus, but on what 

 account is uncertain.) 



1. Saxifraga (Saxifrage) 



1. 5. oppositifolia (Purple Mountain Saxifrage). Stems prostrate, 

 branched, perennial, forming tufts ; leaves egg-shaped, opposite. 

 A pretty plant, forming low tufts, seldom above an inch in height, 

 and bearing in the early summer large, handsome, magenta-purple 



