16 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



name points to the dioecious character of its blossoms. The 

 red-berried bryony is not only the sole species indigenous to 

 England of the genus, but this genus is the only one 

 having a British representative in the order Cucurlitacea, 

 an order that is chiefly tropical in its range. Most of the 

 plants of the order are African in their habitat, but it 

 includes such well-known cultivated species as the various 

 forms of cucumber, gourd, melon, and pumpkin. Almost 

 all the species aborfnd in a bitter and laxative principle. 



The berries of the bryony are poisonous, and although 

 the plant has been at one time a good deal used in rustic 

 medicinal practice, it is a dangerous thing to meddle with. 

 Its violent and powerful action has caused it in France to 

 receive the name of Navet (hi (liable, a sufficiently expres- 

 sive indication of the peril of having any dealings with it. 



