H Y i) 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



n Y D 



granulations- Seeds: solitary, oblong. ESSENTIAL CIIA- 

 RACTER- Cahx: none. Petals: three. Nectary: none. 



Berry: composed of one-seeded acini, or granulations. 



The only known species is, 



1. Hydrastis Canadensis; Canadian Yellow Root. The 

 root is composed of thick fleshy tubers, of a deep yellow 

 colour within, but covered by a brown skin, sending out 

 fibres from every part in the spring. It sends up one or two 

 stalks, about nine inches high, at their first appearance of a 

 light green, but afterwards changing to a purplish colour, 

 and hairy towards the top. Each stalk has one or two 

 leaves, the lower petioled, but (he upper embracing; and is 

 terminated by one flower, which is white, and of very short 

 duration, seldom continuing above three or four hours after 

 its expansion. The fruit is red and succulent, a compound 

 berry, like the Raspberry and Mulberry, but not the least 

 resembling the Strawberry in structure. It flowers in May 

 and June ; and is a native of Canada. This plant not increas- 

 ing much, is rather uncommon in the English gardens: it 

 delights in great shade and moisture; and when planted in 

 dry ground, or much exposed to the sun, it rarely lives through 

 one summer. In a moist loamy soil and shady situation, 

 it will flourish, if left undisturbed three or four years. 



Hydrocharis ; a genus of the class Dioecia, order Ennean- 

 dria. GENERIC CHARACTER. Male. Calix: spathe three- 

 flowered, two-leaved, oblong : perianth proper three-leaved ; 

 leaflets ovate-oblong, concave, membranaceous at the edge. 

 Corolla: petals three, roundish, flat, large. Stamina: fila- 

 menta nine, awl-shaped, upright, in three rows, the middle 

 one puts forth an awl-shaped stipe from the inner base, like 

 a style, which is placed in the centre; the two others are 

 connected at the base, so that each inner filament coheres 

 with each outer ; antherae simple. Pistil : the rudiment of 

 a germen in the centre. Female. Calix: spathe none ; flow- 

 ers solitary. Perianth: as in the male, superior. Corolla: 

 as in the male. Pistil: germen roundish, inferior; styles 

 six, the length of the calix, compressed, bifid, channelled; 

 stigmas bifid, acuminate. Pericarp : capsule coriaceous, 

 roundish, six-celled. Seeds: numerous, very small, round- 

 ish. KSSINTIAL CHARACTER. Male: spathe two-leaved. 

 CWur.-trifid. Corolla : three-petalled. Filamenta: the three 

 inner style-bearing. Female. Calix: trifid. Corolla: three- 

 petalled. Styles: six. Capsule: six-celled, many-seeded, 

 inferior. The only known species is, 



1. Hydrocharis Morsus Ranee : Frog-bit. Root of many 

 long, thick, white fibres ; leaves at each joint of the stalk six 

 or eight together, floating, roundish, kidney-shaped, fleshy, 

 smooth, thick, perfectly entire, almost transparent, reddish 

 underneath, marked with a few circular and many transverse 

 veins: they arc about an inch and half in diameter, and 

 when dry, on removing the outer skin, a most beautiful close 

 net-work of veins is seen. Leaf-stalks and flower-stalk each 

 from six to seven inches long ; the latter upright, in the male 

 producing three or four flowers, in the female only one ; 

 corolla white, with a yellow bottom, a little wrinkled and 

 tender ; calix yellow. There is a variety with a double, very 

 sweet-smelling flower, found by Mr. Ray in a ditch by the 

 side of Audrey Causeway, close to the great wooden bridge 

 in the Isle of Ely. Hill and Meyrick inform us, that the 

 leaves of these plants are of a very cooling nature, and are 

 often externally applied by the country people for swellings 

 and inflammations. It flowers from June through the autumn. 

 Native of most parts of Europe, in deep ditches, and slow 

 streams with a muddy bottom; multiplying itself greatly by 

 runners, which shoot out to a great length, and at the joints 

 drop down long roots which penetrate deeu into the mud. 



Ih/drocotyle ; a genus of the class Pentuixlria, order Diiiy- 

 nia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: umbel simple; invo- 

 lucre commonly four-leaved, small ; perianth scarcely any. 

 Corolla: universal uniform in figure, not in situation ; florets 

 ail fertile ; proper five-petalled ; petals ovate, acute, spread- 

 ing, entire. Stamina: filamenta five, awl-shaped, shorter than 

 the corolla; antherse very small. Pistil: germen upright, 

 compressed, orbiculate, inferior, peltate; styles two, awl- 

 shaped, very short; stigmas simple. Pericarp: none; fruit 

 orbiculate, compressed, transversely bipartite. Seeds: two, 

 semi-orbiculate, compressed. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. 

 Umbel: simple, with a four-leaved involucre. Petals: entire. 

 Seeds: semi-orbiculale, compressed. The species are, 



1. Hydrocotyle Vulgaris ; Common Marsh Pennywort. 

 Leaves peltate, crenate ; umbels live-flowered. Roots peren- 

 nial, capillary, whitish; stems creeping, round, smooth, strik- 

 ing root at the joints ; leaves smooth, glossy, bright green, 

 about an inch in diameter; leaf-stalks about, two inches Ions; 

 common peduncles single, axillary from the base of ihe leaf- 

 stalks, which are terminated by two umbels or glomerules, 

 one springing out of the other, each containing from four or 

 five to six and nine florets, which are very small, reddish 

 white, or rose-colour, on very short pedicels; seeds of a pale 

 brown colour. The rot in sheep has been vulgarly attributed 

 to this plant, whereas it is pretty certain that neither sheep 

 nor any other quadruped ever eat it. It flowers with us from 

 May or June through July or August; and is a native of the 

 marshes all over Europe, and also of Jamaica and Japan. 

 There is a variety of this species, called the Italian Floating 

 Hydrocotyle, which has very slender simple fibres, collected 

 into a head, issuing from the joints of the stems, and fasten- 

 ing themselves into the mud. It is a native of Italy. The 

 flowers of these plants being small and hidden by the leaves, 

 are not much remarked, though they are abundant in their 

 season; but the plant is easily known by the petiole of the 

 leaf being inserted into the middle of it, a circumstance 

 uncommon in European plants. Gerarde calls it Water Pen- 

 nywort, Sheep-killing Penny-grass, and Penny-rot; the Ger- 

 mans call it, Wassernabel, Sumpsnabel ; the Dutch, Water- 

 navel; the French, Hydrocotle Commune, le Goblet, I'Ecnelle 

 d'Eaux, I'Herbe dcs Patatjons; and the Spaniards, Sombrero 

 d'Agua. 



2. Hydrocotyle Umbellata ; Nuvdirort. Leaves peltate, 

 crenate-gashed ; umbels many-flowered. Liuneus d sc 



it as so like the common sort that it has been confounded 

 with it; but it differs in having the scape twice as long as 

 the leaves, and more than twenty florets in a simple umbel. 

 Native of the marshes of Jamaica. 



3. Hydrocotyle Americana ; American Navelwort. Leaves 

 kidney-form, sublobate, crenate. It has the appearance and 

 size of the first species. Native of North and South America, 

 and the East Indies. 



4. Hydrocotyle Hirsuta ; Hairy Navelwort. Hirsute: 

 leaves kidney-form,; lobate, crenate; whorls four-flowered. 

 Native of Hispaniola. 



5. Hydrocotyle Asiatica. Leaves kidney-form, toothletted. 

 Native of the East Indies, Japan, and the Cape. 



6. Hydrocotyle Chinensis. Leaves linear ; umbels many- 

 flowered. Native of China. 



7. Hydrocotyle Villosa. Leaves cordate, entire, villose. 

 Root fibrous; peduncles several, filiform, shorter than the 

 leaves, one-flowered. Native of the Cape. 



8. Hydrocotyle Glabra. Leaves obovate, smooth ; stems 

 creeping; flowers axillary, peduncled. Native of the Cape. 



9. llydrocotyle Virgata. Leaves linear, smooih. Native 

 of the Cape. 



