334 THESIUM. [CLASS V. ORDER I. 



\ery variable, for some useful end; and that every weed, however 

 insignificant in its appearance, will point out the perfection given 

 to his works by the all-wise Author of creation. 



GENUS XLIII. THE V SIUM. LINN. Bastard Toadflax. 

 Nat. Ord. SANTALA'CE.*:. R. BROWN. 



GEN. CIIAII. Perianth four or five-cleft. Petals wanting. Stamens 

 opposite the segments of the calyx, surrounded with a small fascicle 

 of hairs. Style long. Stigma simple, obtuse. Fruit a single 

 seeded dry or fleshy drupe, crowned by the persistent calyx. 

 Name of doubtful origin. 



1. T. linophyMum, Linn. (Fig. 402.) Lint-leaved Bastard Toadflax. 

 Stem and branches paniculated ; leaves linear, lanceolate, three nerved ; 

 brauteas ternate ; fruit nearly globose. 



English Botany, t. 247. English Flora, vol. i. p. 338. Hooker, 

 British Flora, vol. i. p. 124. Lindley, Synopsis, p. 208. T. pratense, 

 Ehrh. 



Root woody, yellow, branched, bearing several stems. Stem erect, 

 or spreading, smooth, striated, or angular, branched and leafy, from 

 twelve to eighteen inches high. Leaves numerous, alternate, linear, 

 lanceolate, obtusely pointed, three ribbed, the margins smooth, or 

 roughish towards the point, about an inch long, of a pale green colour. 

 Inflorescence terminal, paniculated, racemes of numerous flowers, 

 mostly turned to one side, erect, spreading when in fruit, each partial 

 footstalk having at its base a bractea of three irregular sized leaves, 

 one mostly much larger than the two others, obscurely, three ribbed. 

 Flowers pale, yellowish, or white, the perianth with a short tube, 

 the segments four or five oblong obtuse or acute ones, margins 

 entire, or irregularly toothed. Stamens inserted into the base of each 

 segment, surrounded with a few short hairs. Style simple, as long 

 as the perianth. Stigma obtuse, capitate. Fruit somewhat globose, 

 strongly ribbed, a single seeded drupe, crowned by the persistent 

 perianth. Seed roundish. 



Habitat. Elevated chalky pastures ; not unfrequent in Cambridge- 

 shire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Dorsetshire; Ramar Hills, near Dorking, 

 Surrey. J. S. Mill, Esq. 



Perennial; flowering in July. 



