393 



LEONTICE. 



LEPIDIUM. 



394 



JTtnguicula tulgaris. 



1, an anther; 2, the glandular ovary, with a two.lobed stigma, of which one 

 of the lobes is much larger than the other. 



an oblique rhombic priam. Cleavage very perfect, parallel to the 

 lateral planes. Colour white, yellowish, and more rarely brownish. 

 Streak white. Fracture uneven. Frequently coated with brownish 

 or black powder. Hardness 3'0 to 3'5. Lustre pearly, especially on 

 perfect cleavage planes; on the fractured surface vitreous. Trans- 

 lucent on the edges. Specific gravity 2.25. Found near Wolfsteiu in 

 Rhenish Bavaria. The following is its analysis by Dr. Delf : 



Silica 56-128 



Alumina 22-980 



Lime 9'251 



Water and LOBS 11-641 



-100 



LEONTICE, a genus of Plants belonging to the natural order 

 Serbmdaceii, the root of one species of which is used at Aleppo as a 

 substitute for soap, and U regarded by the Turks as a corrective of 

 overdoses of opium. 



LEONTODON, a genua of Plants belonging to the natural order 

 Coinpositir. The heads are many-flowered ; involucre double, the 

 inner row erect, outer of few short lax or adpressed imbricated 

 phyllariea ; fruit sub-compressed, muiicated, and suddenly contracted 

 above, produced into a filiform beak. 



L. Taraxacum, Dandelion, is a well-known plant found in dry 

 places, in bogs or damp places. It has runcinate toothed leaves; 

 fruit linear, obovate, blunt, and squamosely muricated at the summit, 

 longitudinally striated with a long beak ; stalks single-headed, radical ; 

 florets yellow; leaves all radical, very variable, glabrous or slightly 

 hispid. 



The following varieties are considered as species by De Candolle, 

 but are described merely as varieties by Babington. L. Taraxacum 

 of Smith is known by the outer scales being linear, deflexed. T. Icevi- 

 gatum has its outer scales erect, patent, ovate. T. erythroipermum has 

 the outer scales lanceolate, depressed, or patent. L. palustre with the 

 outer scales ovate, acuminate. 



The root, leaves, and flower stem (scape) of the Dandelion contain 

 much milky juice ; but the root only is employed in medicine : though 

 the leaves by blanching can be rendered fit for use as a salad, 

 retaining then only a moderate degree of bitterness. The root of 

 plants which are three or four years old should alone be collected, and 

 at Midsummer; as young plants or roots collected in spring merely 

 contain a reddish mucilaginous juice, while those of older plants taken 

 up in summer have a brown, bitter, and saline juice. Those from 

 rich soil are not so potent as those from a poorer land. The root 

 icay either be speedily and carefully dried for preservation, or the 

 expressed juice may be inspissated, and so form what is termed the 

 extract. 



The chemical constitution is a peculiar bitter principle, grumous 

 sugar, and inulin, and probably some important salts. 



Either an infusion, decoction, or extract possesses sedative, deob- 

 struent, and diuretic properties. In chronic subacute inflammation 

 of the stomach or liver, enlargements of the liver, or spleen, it proves 

 more beneficial than almost auy other vegetable remedy. In many 

 cases of dropsy, particularly connected with obstructien of tho liver, 

 it has often succeeded when all other diuretics have failed. It is very 

 extensively employed in Holland to obviate the effects of the inter- 

 mittent)! or agues common there, and with the greatest advantage. 

 Tho extract, unless very carefully prepared, soon ferments and spoils. 



There are 14 European species of this genus described in Wood's 

 ' Tourist's Flora." 



LEONU'RUS (from AeW, a lion, and ovpd, a tail), a genus of Plants 

 belonging to the natural order Labiatce. The anthers approximate 

 in pairs, with parallel cells and naked valves. The upper lip of the 

 corolla is nearly flat, the lower one trifid, with the middle lobe 

 obcordate. The calyx is tubular and 5-toothed ; the nuts flatly 

 truncate. 



L. cardiaca, Mother-Wort, is a bitter herb, with a pungent 

 unpleasant smell. The stems rise from two to three feet in height ; 

 they are wand-like, downy, purplish, and quadrangular. The leaves 

 are long-stalked, somewhat downy, and of a dark-green colour. The 

 lower leaves are the broadest, and deeply jagged, the upper ones 

 3-lbed, and those about the summit lanceolate and undivided. The 

 corolla is of a purple colour, and externally hairy ; the calyx rigid 

 and pungent. It is found in hedges and waste places ia Great Britain, 

 all over Europe, and the middle of Asia. The reputed tonic powers 

 of this herb as a remedy in .palpitations of the heart and cardialgia, 

 or heartburn, are now disregarded : from being used however in the 

 last complaint it derives its name. It has been extolled by the 

 Russians as an antidote to canine madness, and bees are fond of the 

 honey contained in its flowers. 



L. marrubiastrum has elongated pubescent branches, oblong-ovate 

 deeply-toothed leaves, the calyx nearly glabrous, and the corolla 

 small, white or pale-red, and shorter than the calycine teeth, which 

 are subulate, spiny, and diverging. It is found in waste places 

 throughout Europe and Asiatic Russia. 



There are 8 species of Leonwus described by botanists as growing 

 chiefly in Europe and the north of Asia. None of them are very 

 ornamental, and being biennial plants the seeds only require to be 

 sown in the open ground. 



(Don, Dicklamydeous Plants; Liudley, Flora Medico, ; Babington, 

 Manual of British Botany.) 



LEOPARD. [FELIDJS.J 



LEOPARD'S BANE. [ARNICA.] 



LEPADITES, one of the many names of the supposed bivalvular 

 opercula of Ammonites, found at Solenhofen, termed Trigonellites by 

 Parkinson, Solenites by Schlottheim, and Aptyc/tus by Meyer. 



LEPAS. [ClKRIPEDIA.] 



LEPEDOLITE, Lilac Mica, a Mineral which occurs massive, and 

 is usually composed of small flexible thin scales. The fracture is 

 uneven. Colour pearl-gray, peach-blossom, rose- and purple-red, and 

 greenish. The scales, which are sometimes hexagonal, are translucent. 

 Specific gravity 2'85. Before the blow-pipe it melts into a spongy 

 semi-transparent white globule. It is found in granite near Roseua 

 in Moravia, at Perm in Russia, at the Isle of Uton in Sweden, and in 

 North America. 

 Analysis by Dr. Turner of the red variety from Moravia : 



Silica 50-35 



Alumina 28-30 



Potash 9-04 



Lithia . . . ". . . . . 4-49 

 Oxide of Manganese ..... 1-23 



Fluoric Acid and Water 5'20 



98-61 



LEPI'DIUM (from \eirts, a scale, in allusion to the form of tho pods, 

 which resemble little scales), a genus of Plants belonging to the natural 

 order Crucifeite, and the tribe Lepidinece. It has a roundish or oblong 

 pouch, either notched or entire, compressed valves, keeled or winged 

 at the back. There is but one seed in each cell ; the filaments are 

 simple The species consist of herbs, some of which are shrubby, with 

 small white flowers. This genus is divided into seven sections, the 

 first of which, Cardaria, is so called from the heart-shaped form of 

 the silicles. To this section belong 



L. Draba. It has oblong leaves, entire or toothed, the lower ones 

 narrowed into a foot-stalk, the stem-leaves sagittate and amplexicaule, 

 the style as long as the dissepiment. It is native in the south of Europe 

 from Spain to Tauria, and from Greece to Paris. It was introduced 

 into Great Britain probably by foreign seed, and is now found in the 

 hedges of Kent. 



L. sativum, Common Garden Cress, belongs to the section Cardamom 

 of this genus. It has orbicular pods, variously cut winged leaves, and 

 smooth branches. It is native of Persia and the island of Cyprus in 

 corn-fields. There are three varieties of the species : the Broad-Leaved 

 Cress, which is cultivated chiefly for rearing young turkeys ; the 

 Curled Variety, which is sometimes used as a salad, but is considered 

 preferable as a garnish ; and the Common Plain-Leaved Cress, which 

 forms one of our earliest spring salads, and has a peculiarly warm and 

 grateful relish. All the varieties are raised from seed, of which 0113 

 ounce will serve for a bed 4 feet square. Cress should be raised four 

 or five times a month, so as to have the crops delicately young' in 

 succession. When raised in the open garden it should be sown early 

 in March, and if the weather be cold it should be covered either with 

 matting or a frame during the night. Cress is often raised on porous 

 earthenware vessels of a conical form, having small gutters on the sides 

 for retaining the seeds. These are called pyramids : they are some- 

 what ornamental in winter, and afford repeated gatherings. This 

 species is the fieiriStov of Diosoorides, 2, 203. 



