152 FAMILIAR WILD FLO WEES. 



arrangement : nine of the ten united: into one brotherhood, 

 and the tenth isolated. The pod is small, only contains 

 some two or three seeds, and is enclosed within the calyx ; 

 a little gentle vivisection with a sharp penknife will 

 readily bring it to light when the flowering-time is over, 

 and when we may fairly judge that the plant ought some- 

 how to be in fruit, if we could only find it. 



The commonest English name, the kidney-vetch, bears 

 reference to an old belief in the healing-powers of the plant, 

 and in the specific name, Tulneraria. from the Latin 

 vulmis, a wound, we see an allusion to its supposed 

 vulnerary qualities ; probably its soft and downy flower- 

 heads suggested the idea that they might be efficacious in 

 stopping bleeding, and another old name, " staunch," seems 

 to indicate its utility in this direction, but we greatly 

 doubt whether any one ever really used it for such a purpose. 

 The generic name of the kidney- vetch, Antkyllis, is Greek 

 in origin, and refers to the down-covered calyces. 



