PLANTAGINACB.E, PRIMULACE^. 91 



ORDER LIV. PLANTAGINA'CE^E3. (PLANTAIN FAMILY. ) 



Herbs, with the leaves all radical, and the flowers in a close 

 spike at the summit of a naked scape. Calyx of 4 sepals, per- 

 sistent. Corolla 4-lobed, thin and membranaceous, spreading. 

 Stamens 4, usually with long filaments, inserted on the corolla. 

 Pod 2-celled, the top coming off like a lid. Leaves ribbed. The 

 principal genus is 



PLANTA'GO, L. PLANTAIN. BIB-GBASS. 



1. P. major, L. (COMMON P.) Spike long and slender. Leaves 

 5-7-ribbed, ovate or slightly heart-shaped, with channelled petioles. 

 Pod 7-16-seeded. Moist ground about dwellings. 



2. P. Kamtscha'tica, Hook. (P. Rugelii, Decaisne, in Ma- 

 coun's Catalogue.) Kesembling small forms of No. 1, but pod 

 4-seeded. 



3. P. lanceola'ta, L. (RIB-GRASS. ENGLISH PLANTAIN.) 

 Spike thick and dense, short. Leaves 3-5-ribbed, lanceolate or 

 lanceolate-oblong. Scape grooved, long and slender. Dry fields 

 and banks. 



4. P. corda'ta, Lam. Tall and glabrous. Bracts round-ovate, 

 fleshy. Pod 2-4-seeded. South-western Ontario. 



5. P. marit'ima, L., var. juncoi'des, Gr., with very narrow 

 and slender spike, and linear fleshy leaves, is found on the sea- 

 coast and Lower St. Lawrence. 



ORDERLY. PRIMULA'CE^Sl. (PRIMROSE FAMILY.) 



Herbs with regular perfect flowers, well marked by having a 

 stamen before each petal or lobe of the corolla and inserted on the 

 tube. Ovary 1 -celled, the placenta rising from the base. Style 



1 ; stigma 1. 



Synopsis of the Genera. 



1. Prini'ula. Leaves all in a cluster at the root Flowers in an umbel at 



the summit of a simple scape. Corolla salver-shaped. Stamens 5, 

 included. 



2. Trienta'lis. Leaves in a whorl at the summit of a slender erect stem. 



Calyx usually 7-parted, the lobes pointed. Corolla usually 7-parted, 

 spreading, without a tube. Filaments united in a ring below. Flowers 

 usually only one, white and star-shaped. 



