Lepidlntn.'] viii. chucifeii.e (olivek). (VJ 



A large genus diffused through the temperate and warmer regions both of the Old and 

 New World. Tea species are enumerated iu the ' Flora Capensis.' 



Cotyledons 3-partite. Erect glabrous annual \. L. sativum. 



Cotyledons entire. 



liadicle incumbent. Puberulous erect or diffuse. Leaves linear or 



lanceolate 2. L. ruderale. 



Radicle accumbent. Glabrous, erect. Leave.'* oblanceolate, upper 



narrower 3. Z. Armoracia. 



*1. L. sativum, Lbm. ; DC. Syst. Veg. ii. 533. An erect glabrous an- 

 nual. Leaves entire or variously lol)ed or pinnatisect, often with linear seg- 

 ments ; the lower petiolate, the upper linear or linear-oblong, sessile. Sili(pias 

 obovate- or broadly elliptico-rotundate, emarginate (occasionally with 3 valves), 

 slightly but thickly winged above. 



Nile Ijand. Abyssinia, Schimper ! Kordofan, Kotschy ! 



Common Cress. Everywhere cultivated, and often a weed of waste places. 



2. L. ruderale, Linn. ; DC. Syst. Veg. ii. 540. A more or less mi- 

 nutely puberulous annual or, in mountainous situations, tufted perennial. 

 Stem branched erect or diffuse. Radical leaves more or less pinnatifid or in- 

 cised; canline linear or linear-lanceolate, incised dentate or entire. Racetnes 

 ebracteate. Pedicels rather exceeding or equalling the silieule,' spreading. 

 Silicules compressed ovate or rotundate-ovate, scarcely emarginate. Style 

 very short. Radicle incumbent. — L. intermedium. Rich. Fl. Abyss, i. 21. 



Nile Iiand. Abyssinia, Billon ! Petit ! 

 Iioiver Guinea. Angola, Dr. Welwitsch ! 



Var. alpigenum {L. alpigenum, Kich. Fl. Abyss, i. 22). Biennial from a tufted stock. 

 Radicle obliquely incumbent. Abyssinia, Petit. 



This alpine variety much resembles some Tibetian forms of L. ruderale. Three at least 

 of the Cape species of Lepidium maintained by Sonder in ' Flora Capensis ' are reduced to 

 L. ruderale, Linn., by Drs. Hooker and Thomson (Jouru. Linn. Soc. v. 174). 



5. Ij. Armoracia, Fisch. et Mey. Index Sem. 1842, 77. An erect, 

 branched, glabrous herb, 1-2 ft. high. Radical leaves not seen ; canline 

 rather coriaceous, oblanceolate, narrowed into the petiole, serrate or dentate- 

 serrate above ; the upper linear-lanceolate or quite entire. Racemes erect, 

 ebracteate. Pedicels equalling the silicides, which are broadly elliptical- 

 rotundate, scarcely emarginate. Style very short. Stamens 2 or 3, accord- 

 ing to Fischer and Meyer, and Richard. Radicle accumbent. — L. abyssinica, 

 Hochst. in PI. Schimp. Abyss.; Rich. Fl. Abyss, i. 21. 



Nile Iiand. Abyssinia, Schimper I 



This may prove a form of L. latifolium, Linn. 



16. THLASPI, Linn. ; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. PI. i. 01. 



Sepals small, erect. Silicules laterally compressed, oblong, obcordate or 

 obovoid, emarginate or rarely acute; valves keeled or winged; sejituni 

 narrow, membranous ; stigma entire, obtuse, subsessile (in the following 

 species). Seeds 2-8 in each cell, not margined; cotyledons accumbent.— ' 

 Annual or perennial, usually glabrous or glaucous herbs. Radical leaves en- 



