382 LIGUSTICUM. [".ASS v. ORDEa II. 



Habitat. Chalky pastures ; very rare. Gogmagog hill, Cambridge- 

 shire ; between St. Albans and Stony Stratford. Hudson. 

 Perennial ; flowering in August. 



The whole plant has a bitter pungent taste, but is not applied to any 

 particular purpose. It is found of very variable sizes, and with the 

 leaves more or less deeply cut and divided. A variety is mentioned by 

 De Candole not more than a foot high, with the stem clothed with 

 Lair, and small and more divided. 



GENUS LXVI. LIG'USTICUM. LINN. Lovage. 



GEN. CHAR. Calyx margin of five teeth, or obsolete. Petals obovate, 

 notched, with an inflexed point and very short claw. Fruit 

 roundish, or the sides slightly compressed. Carpels with five 

 sharp equal winged ridges, the lateral ones forming the margins. 

 Channels with many vittce. Albumen half round. General in- 

 volucre various, partial of many segments. Named from Liguria, 

 in Italy, the native country of the old Ligusticum Levisticum. 

 1. L. Sco'ticum, Linn. (Fig. 444.) Scottish Lovage. Stem round, 

 striated, slightly branched ; leaves twice ternate ; leaflets subrhomboid 

 toothed, smooth ; general involucre of about six linear segments. 



English Botany, t. 1207. English Flora, vol. ii. p. 82. Hooker, 

 British Flora, vol. i. p. 133. Lindley, Synopsis, p. 118. 



Root tapering. Stem round, smooth, finely striated, slightly 

 branched above, solid. Leaves mostly radical, alternate, large, on 

 footstalks, with a dilated base, with purplish membranous edges some- 

 what sheathing the stem, thrice ternate, leaflets large, somewhat 

 fleshy, of darkish green, smooth, not glossy, of a somewhat rhomboid 

 shape, cut deep and somewhat irregularly serrated or toothed, finely 

 netted with veins on the under side, the terminal leaflet mostly three 

 cleft, and sometimes the lateral ones also. Umbels terminal, large, the 

 general of numerous nearly equal angular rays, the partial also nu- 

 merous, angular, as long as the fruit. General involucre of about six 

 narrow linear ribbed spreading segments, the partial of numerous 

 linear ones. Flowers numerous, white or greenish, sometimes pink. 

 Calyx margin of five lanceolate teeth. Petals equal, obovate, notched 

 with a small inflexed point, narrowed at the base into a short claw, 

 and slightly rolled inwards. Stamens on slender incurved filaments, 

 with ovate reddish anthers. Styles short. Stigmas small, obtuse. 

 Disk fleshy, convex. Fruit large, elliptical, roundish on a transverse 

 section, or the sides slightly compressed. Carpels with five equal 

 sharp winged ridges. Channels smooth, with about six slender simple 

 ritta. Albumen half round. 



