102 TETRANDRIA MONOGYNIA. cL. IV. 



1. E.JiliftJrme. Least Gentian. Marsh Centaury. Leaves sessile ; 



stem thread-like, forked ; flowers on long stalks. Stem about three or 



four inches high, erect, round, branched : leaves chiefly radical, lance- 

 shaped : flowers small, erect, yellow. Annual : flowers in July : grow* 

 on sandy bogs, in the south of England, and in some parts of Ireland : 

 rare. Eng. Bot. vol. iv. pi. 235. Eng. Fl. vol. i. p. 212. 247. 



8. PLANTA'GO. PLANTAIN. 



Calyx inferior, of one leaf, four-cleft, permanent. Corolla of 

 one petal, tubular, membranous, permanent ; tube swelled ; limb 

 four-cleft, reflected. Filaments thread-like, arising from the tube, 

 exceedingly long ; anthers oblong, compressed, two-celled. Ger- 

 men inferior, egg-shaped. Style thread-shaped, half as long as 

 the stamens; stigma hairy, acute. Capsule egg-shaped, two- 

 celled. Seeds oblong, sessile. Name of doubtful origin. 71. 



1. P. major. Greater Plantain. Leaves egg-shaped, smooth, on longish 

 stalks ; flower-stalks round ; spike long and tapering ; seeds numerous. 



Root of long fibres : leaves broad, with seven ribs: stalk from nine 



to eighteen inches high, somewhat rough with short hairs. Perennial : 

 flowers in June and July : grows in pastures and by way-sides : not un- 

 common. Eng. Bot. vol. xxii. pi. 1558. Eng. FL vol. i. p. 213. 248. 



2. P. media. Hoary Plantain. Leaves egg-shaped, downy, on very 

 short stalks ; flower-stalks round ; spike cylindrical ; seeds one in each 



cell. Root somewhat woody: leaves hoary, with seven ribs: stalk 



about six inches high, downy. Perennial : flowers in June and July : 

 grows in pastures and by way-sides : common in some parts of England 

 and Ireland, rare in Scotland. The leaves of this and the preceding 

 species are by the common people frequently applied to wounds. Cattle 

 generally reject them. Eng. Bot. vol. xxii. pi. 1559. Eng. FL vol. i. 

 p. 214. 249. 



3. P. lanceoldta. Ribwort Plantain. Leaves lance-shaped ; flower- 

 stalks deeply furrowed; spike egg-shaped. Leaves tapering at the 



base into a broad stalk : hairy at its insertion : stalk about a foot high : 

 spike dark brown. Perennial : flowers from May to August : grows in 

 pastures, meadows, on banks, by way-sides, ficc. : common. Eng. Bot. 

 vol. viii. pi. 175. Eng. FL vol. i. p. 214. 250. 



4. P. maritima. Sea Plantain. Leaves linear, channelled, nearly 

 entire : flower-stalks round, longer than the leaves ; spike cylindrical. 



Roots large, long, somewhat woody : leaves woolly at the base : 



stalk from three to ten inches high. Perennial : flowers in June and 

 July : grows in the clefts of rocks, in dry pastures, among sand and 

 stones, on the sea-shore, and upon the higher mountains of Wales and 

 Scotland : common. Eng. Bot. vol. iii. pi. 175. Eng. Fl. vol. i. p. 215. 



251. 



5. P. Cordnoptis. Buck's-horn Plantain. Leaves pinnatind ; flower- 

 stalks round. Root tapering : leaves cut laterally into numerous linear 



segments, hairy, lying flat on the ground : stalk from two to six inches 

 high : capsule four-celled. Annual : flowers in June and July : grows 

 in sandy and gravelly ground, chiefly near the sea : common. Eng. 

 Bot. vol. xiii. pi. 892. Eng. FL vol. i. p. 216. 252. 



