210 CLASS PENTANDRIA. 



family, has two species in North America with smooth leaves. 

 The Mouse-ear (Myosotis), is valued for its medicinal proper- 

 ties ; a species, the arvernis or Forget-me-not, is an interesting 

 little blue flower. The Gromwell (Lithospermum), is a rough 

 plant with white flowers ; the bark of the plant contains so much 

 silex or flinty matter, as to injure the sickles of the reapers, 

 when it grows in the field with the grain. The name Litho- 

 spermum, is from the Greek lithos, a stone, and sperma, a seed, 

 in allusion to the hardness of the seeds. The Borago, which 

 gives its name to Jussieu's Natural family, including rough 

 leaved plants, is an exotic, very common to our gardens. The 

 corolla is wheel-shaped, of a beautiful blue Colour, having its 

 throat closed with five small protuberances ; the same is obser- 

 vable in the cynoglossum and some others of this class ; the 

 stamens are attached to the tube of the corolla ; you must take 

 off" the corolla carefully and you will see both the little scales 

 which choked up the throat of the corolla, and the manner in 

 which the five stamens grow to it. 



The Lurida, from lurid, signifying pale or livid, are in the 

 28th natural order of Linnaeus ; this order is by Jussieu inclu- 

 ded under his 41st, the Solaneae. The general characters of 

 these plants are, monopetalous corollas, of a lurid or pale ap- 

 pearance ; five stamens attached to the base of the corolla, and 

 alternating with its divisions ; the leaves are alternate. The 

 common Potatoe (SOLANUM tuberosvm), is of this natural fa- 

 mily ; the flowers of this plant are large and the organs very 

 plain for analysis. There is a peculiarity in the appearance of 

 the anthers which it is well to notice ; they are of an oblong 

 form, thick and partly united at the top, forming a cone, and 

 instead of opening at the side, as anthers usually do, they open 

 at the top by two pores. The potatoe was not known in 

 Europe, until after the discovery of America. In the year 

 1597 Sir Walter Raleigh on his return from this country, dis- 

 tributed a number of potatoes in Ireland, where they became 

 numerous, and the cultivation of them soon extended into Eng- 

 land. It is said that the root of the potatoe is white or red 

 according to the colour of the flower. The little green balls, 

 upon the stalks of the potatoe, are the pericarps, and contain 

 the seed ; but this plant is usually produced from the root. 

 The little knobs or eyes which you may notice upon the pota- 

 toes, are each one a kind of germ or bud ; and in planting 

 potatoes the whole root is not put into the ground, but cut into 

 as many pieces as there are eyes, each one of which, produces 



Luridee or Lurid plants Potatoe. 



