WAYSIDE WEEDS. 203 



for the spirillum of gout, asafoetida ; for still more pesti- 

 lent bacteria, still stronger odours will be indicated. 



Many of the Riviera Wayside Weeds are less 

 striking than those already mentioned, but not less 

 interesting. Oxalis corniculata, though but a lowly 

 herb, would almost be called a " flower " in our own 

 country, where it is at home on the south coast. 

 There are plants of the same genus very common in 

 gardens here, and so often met with in the open country 

 that I suppose they must be pretty well established. 

 The flowers are white or red or yellow, and showy 

 enough to be above the rank of Weeds. One species, 

 I think it is O. cernua, has eatable tubers. This Oxalis 

 is cultivated to a certain extent on the Riviera ; I have 

 seen patches of it here and there ; and the tubers are for 

 sale in many of the vegetable shops. They resemble 

 potatoes, but are smaller and yellowish in colour ; they 

 cannot be said to have any particular flavour. 



Mr. Bicknell (" Flora of Bordighera ") confirms 

 my statement that 0. cernua is naturalised here. It 

 is commonly met with (he says) under olives and 

 lemons along the Riviera, and is well established in 

 various places near Bordighera and Ventimiglia, in 

 Val Borghetto, and above Ospedaletti on the road to 

 Coldirodi. The same author quotes Professor Henslow 

 to the effect that this is a remarkable instance of a 

 plant having undergone a complete change of season 

 in flowering. 0. cernua is a native of the Cape of 

 Good Hope, and flowers in the Winter, i.e. July : but 

 throughout the whole of the Mediterranean border, 

 where it has been dispersed since 1806, it blossoms 

 from November to April. 



Oxford Ivy (Linaria Cymballaria) is not included 

 by Ardoino in the Flora of the Riviera, but it grows 



