FUMITORY. 155 



The leaves are what is termed twice-pinnate. In a pinnate 

 leaf several lateral leaflets are given off on either side 

 of the central leaf -stem, and when these lateral members 

 are in like manner cut up into subordinate leaflets, the 

 form is bi-pinnate, or doubly feathered. The leaflets vary 

 greatly in appearance ; in some plants they are long and 

 narrow, and in others flat and broad, and all the foliage is 

 of a pale bluish-green tint. The flowers are arranged in 

 racemes, the flower-bearing stems being either terminal or 

 opposite the leaves. Before development the buds are 

 closely packed together, but as the flowers open the stem 

 elongates, causing a considerable interval between the 

 blossoms. This early crowding and subsequent elongation 

 may be noticed in our illustration. The sepals, two in 

 number, are very small. The four petals of which the 

 quaint-looking corolla is composed are arranged in two 

 pairs, though they are all more or less united; and the 

 curious prolongation or spur of the flower must be duly 

 noted. The stamens, six in number, are arranged in two 

 bundles of three each. The form of the seed-vessel may 

 be seen in our figure ; when we open the small globular 

 fruits, we find that each contains a single seed. Some of 

 the old herbalists compare the flowers to little birds, and 

 one of the German names for the plant is the Tauben- 

 /i-rojtp, tauben being the Teuton for doves ; while a 

 provincial English name for the fumitory is wax-dolls. 

 In Wales it is the Mwg y ddaear cyffredin, and in 

 Ireland the Cuman Scarraigh. There is a curious 

 uniformity in the meaning of many of its names, and yet 

 when we endeavour to analyse the significance that runs 

 through them all we find a wide divergence. The generic 

 name, Fumaria, is derived from the Latin word fuiitus, 



