BROOM-RAPE TRIBE 207 



old quarries and among ruins. It is said that rabbits can eat the 

 leaves of this plant with impunity to themselves, though they render 

 their flesh dangerously poisonous for human food by the indulgence. 

 It is said that in a case of poisoning from this plant the best " first 

 aids " to administer are a powerful emetic, a dose of magnesia, and 

 the prevention of dozing. Fl. June to August. Perennial. 



3. Hyoscyamus (Henbane) 



I. H. niger (Common Henbane). The only British species. An 

 erect, branched, herbaceous plant 2-3 feet high, with large viscid, 

 hairy leaves, and numerous funnel-shaped, cream-coloured flowers 

 with purple veins and a dark eye. The flowers are arranged in 

 rows along one side of the stem, and are succeeded by 2-celled cap- 

 sules, which are enclosed by the calyx and covered by a lid which 

 falls off when the seeds are ripe. The whole plant has a disagree- 

 able smell, and is dangerously narcotic, especially at the time when 

 the seeds are ripening. An extract is used in medicine, and is often 

 of great service, producing the effect of opium without the un- 

 pleasant symptoms which frequently follow the administration of 

 that drug. The capsules and seeds of Henbane, smoked like 

 tobacco, are a rustic remedy for toothache ; but convulsions and 

 temporary insanity are said to be sometimes the consequences of 

 their use. Common in waste places, especially near the sea. 

 Fl. June, July. Annual or biennial. 



Two other genuses are represented in Britain, though neither is 

 indigenous if even truly naturalized. They are : 



Datura Stramonium (Thorn-apple). A stout, rather handsome 

 weed 1-2 feet high, with large leaves angularly lobed and large white 

 flowers, standing erect on short stalks in the angles of the stems, 

 followed by ovate, spinous capsules. The plant has an offensive 

 smell when bruised. Waste ground ; rare. Fl. June, July. Annual. 



L. barbarum (the Duke of Argyll's Tea-tree). A straggling shrub 

 with smooth, rather fleshy leaves, purple flowers, and small scarlet 

 fruits. Cottage gardens, hedges, and waste places, chiefly in the 

 eastern counties near the sea. Fl. June to August. Shrub. 



Natural Order LVII 

 OROBANCHACE^E. Broom-rape Tribe 



Calyx variously divided, not falling off ; corolla irregular, usually 

 2-lipped, imbricated in the bud ; stamens 4, 2 long and 2 short ; 

 anthers often pointed or bearded at the base ; ovary in a fleshy disk, 

 many-seeded ; style 1 ; stigma 2-lobed ; capsule 2-valved ; seeds 

 small, numerous, attached to the valves of the capsule in 2-4 rows. 



A tribe of herbaceous plants, distinguished by a stout succulent 



