RUSH TRIBE 289 



17. Narthecium (Bog Asphodel) 



1. N. ossify agum (Bog Asphodel). The only British specie-. 

 An elegant little plant, 6-8 inches high, with tufts of narrow, sword- 

 shaped leaves, like those of the Iris, and a tapering spike of star-like 

 bright yellow flowers. The name ossifragum, bone-breaking, was 

 given to this plant from its being supposed to soften the bones of 

 cattle that fed on it. Other plants have had the same properties 

 assigned to them, but there is little doubt that in every case the 

 diseases in question are to be traced to the noxious exhalations 

 from the bogs in which the plants grow, rather than to the plants 

 themselves. Common in bogs. Fl. July to September. Per- 

 ennial. 



Natural Order LXXXVI 

 JUNCACE.E. Rush Tribe 



Calyx and corolla alike, of 6 usually chaffy pieces ; stamens 6, 

 inserted into the base of the petals and sepals, or sometimes 3, 

 inserted into the sepals ; anthers turned inwards ; ovary superior ; 

 style 1 ; stigmas 3 ; capsule 3-valved, usually many-seeded. A 

 tribe of marsh or bog plants, with cylindrical or flat leaves, some- 

 times filled with pith ; the flowers are usually small, and of a 

 brownish-green hue. Scientifically they are near the Lily Tribe, 

 but they bear a strong superficial resemblance to the Sedges and 

 Grasses. This tribe, which is spread over all parts of the globe, is 

 not a large one. The true rushes are for the most part social 

 plants, and are often of considerable use in fixing the soil of marshes 

 and bogs. The stems of the common species are used for making 

 mats and the wicks of candles. The tall aquatic plant usually 

 called the Bulrush, belongs to the Sedge Tribe, the Club-rush to 

 the Order Typhace.e, and the Flowering Rush to the Order Buto- 

 mace.e. 



1. J uncus (Rush). Perianth chaffy ; filaments smooth ; stigmas 

 3 ; capsule 3-celled, 3-valved ; seeds numerous. (Name, the Latin 

 name of the plant, and that from jungo, to join, the stems having 

 been woven into cordage.) 



2. Luzula (Wood-rush). Like Juncus, except that the capsule 

 is i-celled and only 3-seeded. (Name supposed to have been 

 altered from the Italian lucciola, a glow-worm, from the sparkling 

 appearance of the heads of flowers when wet with rain or dew.) 



