132 CONSERVATIVE ORGANS. 



tritious secreted mattei 



[LECT. iv. 



and by its shape, it is 



well calculated to penetrate the ground. The Ra- 

 dish, Raphanus sativus ; and the Beet, Beta vul- 

 garis ; are the best examples of this form of root. 

 b. The Abrupt or truncated root (Radix 

 c. prcemorsa *) (fig. c ) is ori- 



ginally an entire conical root ; 

 but after some time the lower 

 extremity decays and drops, 

 as if it had been bitten off, 

 while numerous lateral rootlets 

 are protruded from the remain- 

 ing portion. Such is the case 

 in the root of the larger Plan- 

 tain, Plantago major, and in 

 that of Scabiosa succisa, which, according to 

 Gerarde-f*, received its common appellation 

 Devil's Bite, Morsus Diaboli (fig. c), from a su- 

 perstitious opinion connected with this appear- 

 ance of the root. 



A curious modification of the Abrupt root 



* " Pramorsa, quae deorsum truncata est, nee attenuate 

 " apice terminatur ; ut Scabiosa, Plantago, Valeriana" Phil. 

 Bot. 80. 9. 



f The old herbalist's words are, " The greater part of the 

 " root seemeth to be bitten away : old fantasticke charmers re- 

 " port, that the devil did bite it for envie, because it is an herbe 

 " that hath so many good vertues, and is so beneficial to man- 

 kinde." Vide Herbal, p. 726. 



