314 



UMBELLIFERjE. LXXIII. CNIDIUM. LXXIV. PETITIA. 



Parsley-like Cnidium. PI. 2 feet. 



4 C. VENOSUM (Koch, umb. p. 109.) stem terete, smooth, 

 straight, hardly branched above ; leaves pinnate : leaflets pinna- 

 tifid or bipinnatifid : segments linear, or oblong-linear, acutish, 

 quite entire or trifid ; involucra wanting or of few leaves ; leaves 

 of involucels setaceous, about equal in length to the umbellules. 

 I/ . H. Native of Germany, about Halle and Witenberg ; and of 

 Caucasus and Siberia, in rather moist places. Seseli venosum, 

 Hoffm. fl. germ. p. 144. Seseli dubium, Schkuhr, handb. l.p.217. 

 Schultes, syst. 6. p. 399. Seseli saxifragum, Schott. barb. p. 307. 

 Selinum pratense, Spreng. fl. hal. p. 92. t. 2. Seseli selinoides, 

 Besser. cat. hort. crem. p. 1 30. Seseli alpinum, Bieb. fl. taur. 

 no. 587. ex suppl. p. 243. ? Selinum lineare, Schum. enum. 

 pi. sseland, 1. p. 95. Sheathes of leaves oblong ; superior ones 

 close. Involucra of few leaves. Leaves of involucra and in- 

 volucels entire. There are varieties of this with more or less 

 dissected leaves. Perhaps the German plant and the Siberian 

 are the same. 



Veiny Cnidium. Fl. Ju. Jul. Clt. 1817. PI. 1 to 2 feet. 



5 C. ANO'MALUM (Led. fl. ross. alt. ill. t. 311. fl. alt. 1. p. 

 330.) stem furrowed, glabrous, twiggy ; leaves pinnate ; leaflets 

 bipinnately cut : segments cut or nearly entire, acute ; leaves of 

 involucra oblong-linear, entire, pinnatifid, or bipinnatifid. $ , H. 

 Native of Altaia, in fertile humid meadows, in the valleys of 

 the rivers Tscharysch ; and Kotsun, near Alexandrowsk. Gmel. 

 fl. sib. 1. p. 190. t. 42. and 43. There is also a stemless 

 variety found at the fountains of the river Tschegan. Root 

 fusiform. Leaves pale green, glabrous. Involucra and invo- 

 lucels of many leaves ; those of the involucels are oblong, entire, 

 and ciliated, and about equal in length to the umbellules. Pe- 

 tals white. Fruit beset with glittering atoms ; vittae 1-3 in each 

 furrow, and 2 in the commissure. Stylopodium pulvinate. Calyx 

 5-cleft. 



Anomalous Cnidium. PI. 1^ to 2 feet or more. 



6 C. CUNEA'TUM (Led. fl. ross. alt. ill. t. 312. fl.alt. 1. p. 331.) 

 stem furrowed, glabrous, branched : superior branches verticil- 

 late or opposite; leaves bipinnate : lower leaflets ternate : upper 

 ones 2-3-parted, or cut, cuneated ; leaves of involucrum oblong- 

 elliptic, a little toothed at the apex ; leaves of involucels broad, 

 elliptic, entire, mucronate. <J . H. Native of Siberia, in mea- 

 dows at the river Kerlyk, but rare. Root fusiform. Leaves 

 pale green, glabrous. Rays of umbel 12-20. Calyx with 5 

 minute teeth. 



CHneate-leafletted Cnidium. Fl. July. PI. 1 to 1J foot. 



7 C. FONTANE'SII (Spreng. umb. spec. p. 41.) stem striated, 

 dichotomous at the apex ; leaves ternately decompound ; leaflets 

 rather trifid : segments linear, bluntish; leaves of involucra and in- 

 volucels many, linear, acuminated. H.. H. Native of Algiers, in 

 fields near Sbiba. Laserpitium peucedanoides, Desf. fl. atl. 1. p. 

 254. t. 7 1 . Laserp. Fontanesii, Pers. ench. 1 . p. 3 1 3. Laserp. At- 

 lanticum, Poir. suppl. 3. p. 304. Ligusticum Fontanesii, Spreng. 

 in Schultes, syst. 6. p. 565. Perhaps the furrows of the fruit 

 are furnished with 1 or many vittae, and therefore may be either 

 a species of Ligusticum or Cnidium ; but the habit is that of 

 Cnidium. 



Desfontaines Cnidium. PI. 1 to 2 feet. 



8 C. SUFFRUTICO'SUM (Cham, et Schlecht. in Linnaea. 1. p. 

 387.) stem shrubby, naked, decumbent ; branches erect, leafy ; 

 leaves ternately decompound ; leaflets short, rather trifid ; 

 sheathes of leaves permanent. I? . G. Native of the Cape of 

 Good Hope, in sand by the sea-side. Conium suffruticosum, 

 Berg. cap. p. 77. The habit of this plant is very different from 

 all the other species. 



Suffruticose Cnidium. Shrub decumbent. 



9 C. DIFFU V SUM (D. C. prod. 4. p. 153.) stem diffuse, striated ; 

 leaves pinnate ; leaflets pinnatifid : segments cuneated, bluntly 





toothed at the apex ; peduncles opposite the leaves ; leaves of 

 involucra numerous, linear, rather membranous. Q. H. Na- 

 tive of Bengal. Ligusticum diffusum, Roxb. hort. beng. p. 

 21. Smith, in Rees' cycl. 21. no. 11. Willd. mss. in Schultes, 

 syst. 6. p. 655. Athamanta diflfusa, Wall. mss. Petals white, 

 obcordate. Ribs of fruit prominent, rather crested, roughish 

 from short down : vittae 1 in each furrow. 

 Diffuse Cnidium. PI. 1 foot. 



10 C. CARVIFOLIUM (Bieb. suppl. p. 212.) stem nearly simple ; 

 leaves pinnate ; leaflets cuneiform, pinnatifid : segments linear, 

 bluntish ; involucra of 1-2 elongated, somewhat pinnatifid leaves. 

 1. H. Native of Caucasus. Laserpitium Caucasicum, Bieb. 

 fl. taur. 1. p. 222. Said to be allied to Laserpitium Dauricum, 

 and Meum mutellinum. Leaves of involucels subulate, shorter 

 than the umbellules. Stylopodium and styles dark purple. 



Caraway-leaved Cnidium. Fl. Ju. Jul. Clt. 1820. PI. 1 to 2 ft. 



11 C. MEIFO'LIUM (Bieb. suppl. p. 212.) stem unknown; 

 leaves pinnate : leaflets profoundly pinnatifid :segments linear- 

 subulate ; involucra and involucels of many subulate, reflexed 

 leaves. I/ . H. Native of the Alps of Caucasus. Involucrum 

 of 6-8 leaves. Involucels longer than the flowers. Flowers of 

 a beautiful rose colour. 



Meum-leaved Cnidium. PI. 1 to 2 feet ? 



12 C. CANADE'NSE (Spreng. in Schultes, syst. 6. p. 415. ex- 

 clusive of many of the synonymes) stem angular, flexuous ; 

 leaves bipinnate, shining ; leaflets many-parted : segments lan- 

 ceolate ; involucra and involucels of few leaves. 3. H. Na- 

 tive of North America, at the mouths of large rivers from Ca- 

 nada to Carolina ; at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, in Canada. 

 Selinum Canadense, Michx. fl. bor. amer. 1. p. 155. A'pium 

 bipinnatum, Walt, carol, p. 115. The fruit is unknown, and 

 therefore it is a doubtful species of Cnidium. Flowers white. 



Canadian Cnidium. Fl. Ju. Aug. Clt. 1817. PI. 2 feet. 

 Cult. See Seseli, p. 311. for culture and propagation. 



LXXIV. PETI'TIA (in honour of M. Felix Petit, author of 

 a memoir on the genus Althenia, and who first made known the 

 present plant by a figure and description). Gay, in ann. Sc. nat. 

 26. p. 219. 



LIN. SYST. Pentdndria, Digynia. Calyx toothless. Petals 

 lanceolate, entire, with an involute point. Fruit oblong, crowned 

 by the reflexed styles ; transverse section roundish-elliptic, fur- 

 rowed on both sides, from the raphe being nearly central, not 

 marginal ; mericarps rather convex on the back, with 5 con- 

 tiguous, thick, elevated, wingless, bluntly keeled ribs, therefore 

 the transverse section is triangular, spongy inside ; lateral ribs 

 not broader than the rest, nor marginal. Vittae solitary in the 

 furrows, which are narrow, and twin in the commissure. Seed 

 adhering to the tegument, compressed, not angular. A glabrous, 

 green, biennial herb : with a very long, branched, thick root, 

 which is spongy inside, and intercepted by transverse, mem- 

 branous dissepiments. Stem short, nearly simple, thick, fistu- 

 lar, leafy at the base, striated above, and scabrous at the striae. 

 Leaves tripinnate ; sheaths large ; rachis smoothish ; lobes 

 linear, scabrous on the margins, and on the dorsal nerve, mu- 

 cronate at the apex. Umbels terminal, of many rays : rays 14- 

 33, very rough, and very unequal : central ones much the 

 shortest. Involucra wanting, rarely of 2 leaves ; involucels of 

 from 4-12 linear-subulate, quite entire leaves, which are much 

 shorter than the umbels. Flowers greenish. Stylopodium large. 



1 P. SCA'BRA (Gay, 1. c.). $ . H. Native of the Eastern 

 Pyrenees, in the valley called d'Eynes, at a place called La 

 Cueillade de Nouri, among the debris of schistous rocks, at the 

 elevation of 7200 feet, a little below the limits of perpetual 

 snow, Selinum scabrum, Lapeyr. abr. 1813. p. 147. Spreng. 

 2 



