UMBELLIFEROUS TRIBE. 24:7 



together by botanists, so as to form but a few genera, 

 whereas they have been divided into as many as 267 ; 

 and, as all these agree in the more important parts of 

 fructification, the distinctions of the genera are neces- 

 sarily founded on differences so minute, that, in the 

 case of other plants, they would perhaps be considered 

 sufficient to do no more than distinguish species. To 

 the young botanist, therefore, the study of the Umbelli- 

 ferse is unusually difficult ; all the more important dis- 

 tinctions being founded on the ripe fruit, namely the 

 number, position, and shape of the ridges the presence 

 or absence of vittce and the form of the albumen. As it 

 would be absurd, in a work professing to be a popular 

 description of British Wild Flowers, to attend solely, or 

 even in any great degree, to these characters, it has 

 been thought desirable to limit the number of species 

 described to those which are of most common occurrence, 

 and to notice any peculiarity in growth, which, though 

 not strictly admissible into a systematic description, 

 may assist the student in discovering the names of the 

 plants he may meet with. For a fuller list, and for 

 more accurate information, he is referred to works of a 

 professedly scientific character, such as Hooker s British 

 Flora, and Babingtons Manual of British Botany. 



Among the large number of species of which this 

 tribe is constituted, one would naturally expect to find 

 plants varying greatly in their properties. And such 

 is the case to a certain extent ; the roots, leaves, and 

 seeds are variously employed ; some as food and condi- 

 ments, others, as medicine, while others are highly poi- 

 sonous. Yet, when considered with reference to their 

 properties, they may be conveniently arranged into 4 

 groups ; all the members of each group being remark- 

 ably similar. The first comprises plants which abound 

 in an acrid, watery juice, which is more or less narcotic 

 in its effects on the animal frame, and which, therefore, 

 when properly administered in minute doses, is a valu- 

 able medicine. Among these, the most important is 



