316 



PHY 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



PHY 



plants live three, four, or at the utmost eight months. Bien- 

 nial plants continue sixteen, eighteen, and even twenty-four 

 months. Many herbaceous plants grow a few years, but 

 several a long series of years. There are some shrubs and 

 trees which can live eight, ten, a hundred, even a thousand 

 years. With us the Oak and Lime-tree attain to the greatest 

 age. The former may live six or eight centuries, and above; 

 and stems, almost as old, have been seen of the latter. But 

 the trees which in our globe arrive at the greatest age, are 

 beyond doubt the Adansonia digitata, the Pinus cedrus, 

 and the different species of Palm. The Adansonia probably 

 lives longest of all, as its age is computed to be one, if not 

 many, thousand years. 



Phyteuma; a genus of the class Pentandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth one- 

 leafed, five-parted, acute, from erect spreading, superior. 

 Corolla: one-petalled, wheel-shaped, spreading, five-parted; 

 segments linear, acute, recurved. Stamina: filamenta five, 

 shorter than the corolla; antheree oblong. Pistil: germen 

 inferior, roundish; style filiform, the length of the corolla, 

 recurved; stigma bifid, or trifid, oblong, revolute. Pericarp: 

 capsule roundish, two-celled or three-celled, opening on both 

 sides by a lateral hole. Seeds: very many, small, roundish. 

 ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Corolla: wheel-shaped, with 

 linear segments, five-parted. Stigma: bifid or trifid. Capsule: 

 roundish, two-celled or three-celled, inferior. All the Euro- 

 pean species of this genus are hardy plants, which will thrive 

 in the open air. They are propagated by seeds, which should 

 be sown in autumn, for, if they are kept out of the ground 

 till the spring, they frequently fail, or at least lie a year in 

 the ground. The seeds should be sown on a bed of fresh 

 undunged earth, where they are designed to remain, for 

 they do not thrive so well when they are transplanted ; there- 

 fore the best method is to make small drills across the bed 

 about eighteen inches asunder, and sow the seeds therein ; 

 then cover them lightly over with earth, for if they be buried 

 too deep they will rot in the ground. In the following spring 

 the plants will come up, when they should be diligently 

 weeded, which is all the care they require; only they should 

 be thinned where they are too close, so as to leave them six 

 or seven inches apart in the rows ; and afterwards they require 

 no farther attention, except weeding. In June they will 

 flower, and in favourable summers ripen their seeds. As 

 they do not continue above two or three years, there should 

 be seeds sown every other year to continue the sorts. They 

 are plants which require little trouble to cultivate them, and 

 their flowers make a pretty variety in large gardens, therefore 

 they may be allowed a place amongst other hardy flowers. 

 The species are. 



1 . Phyteuma Pauciflora. Head somewhat leafy ; bractes 

 ovate, ciliate; all the leaves linear-lanceolate, subcrenate. 

 This is a very small perennial plant; head single, thin, having 

 not more than twenty large blue flowers; teeth of the calix 

 the length of the germen. Native of the south of Europe. 



2. Phyteuma Scheuchzeri. Head somewhat leafy; bractes 

 linear, longer than the head; leaves lanceolate, toothed; 

 root-leaves sometimes elliptic and blunt, or obsoletely cor- 

 date. Native of the Swiss and Piedmontese mountains. 



3. Phyteuma Michelii. Head roundish ; bractes oblong- 

 lanceolate; leaves linear, rigid, almost entire. Native of the 

 mountains of the Valais and Tuscany. 



4. Fhyteuma Hemisphaerica; Grass- leaved Rampion. Head 

 roundish; bractes ovate; leaves linear, almost quite entire, 

 scarcely shorter than the stem. It resembles the preceding, 

 but differs in having the leaves longer, flaccid, and more 

 lanceolate. Native of the south of Europe. 



5. Phyteuma Comosa ; Glaucous Rampion. Flowers in a 

 sessile terminating bundle; leaves toothed; root-leaves cor- 

 date; root biennial, or perennial. It varies with all the 

 leaves spatulate and blunt. This is a beautiful plant, re- 

 markable for its glaucous herbage, and purple inflated flowers. 

 Native of Monte Baldo, arid the Tyrolese and Carniolian 

 mountains. 



6. Phyteuma Orbicularis; Round-headed Horned Rampion. 

 Head roundish ; leaves serrate ; root-leaves cordate. The 

 long woody root branches near the surface into several divi- 

 sions, each bearing a dense tuft of petioled, smooth, veiny, 

 serrate, or rather crenate, leaves ; the stem is about a foot 

 high, crowned with a dense head of dark blue flowers. 

 Every part of the flower remains permanent, though faded, 

 till the seeds are dispersed, or longer. The herb is milky, 

 but not acrid. Native of the south of Europe; and of Eng- 

 land, on chalk downs, as about Leatherhead ; on Epsom 

 downs ; on the South Downs; near Maple Durham, in Hamp- 

 shire; near Sutton and Dorking; on Beacon-hill near Fever- 

 sham in Kent ; also between Kingsbury and Harrow; and 

 between Harrow and Pinner in Middlesex; and between 

 Selbury Hill and Beacon Hill in the way to Bath. It flowers 

 in July and August. 



7. Phyteuma Nigra. Head ovate ; bractes bristle-shaped ; 

 leaves simply toothed; root-leaves cordate; stem-leaves lan- 

 ceolate, embracing. This plant is a native of Bohemia, and 

 is quite singular, in the dark violet-colour of the flower, the 

 bristle-shaped bractes, and the shape of the leaves. 



8. Phyteuma Betoniccefolia. Spike, oblong; leaves simply 

 crenate; root-leaves lanceolate, cordate; stem-leaves lance- 

 olate. Native of Dauphiny. 



9. Phyteuma Spicata; Spiked Horned Rampion. Spike 

 oblong elongated ; styles somewhat hairy, trjfid; root-leaves 

 cordate, doubly toothed; root yellow on the outside, white 

 within, having some ovate little tubers hanging to it at bot- 

 tom-; flowers sessile; corolla blue. The whole plant abounds 

 with a milky juice. The root is eaten boiled ; and bees are 

 fond of the flowers. Native of Germany, Switzerland, Aus- 

 tria, France, and Italy. 



10. Phyteuma Ovata. Spike ovate; styles hirsute, longer 

 than the flower, emarginate, bifid; root-leaves cordate, dou- 

 bly toothed. Stem from eighteen inches to two feet in height, 

 not branched; flower deep violet. Native of Bohemia, 

 Switzerland, and Piedmont. 



11. Phyteuma Lobelioides. Leaves linear-lanceolate, tooth- 

 letted, hispid; stem panic-led; flowers germinate, peduncled, 

 scattered. It resembles the preceding very much; flowers 

 narrower. Native of Armenia. 



12. Phyteuma Lanceolata. Leaves linear-lanceolate, very 

 finely toothletted, rugged ; stem branched at the base ; 

 branches very simple, leafy; flowers scattered, germinate, 

 sessile. Native of Armenia. 



13.' Phyteuma Rigida. Leaves linear-lanceolate, obscurely 

 toothletted, smoothish; stem quite simple, leafy; flowers 

 scattered ; peduncles three-flowered. It resembles the pre- 

 ceding very much. Native of the Levant, 



14. Phyteuma Amplexicaulis; Toothed Rampion. Leaves 

 embracing, cordate-ovate, doubly serrate; flowers scattered. 

 Stem round, smooth, simple, leafy; flowers on the upper part 

 of the stem, distant, peduncled, large, bright blue. Native 

 of the Levant. 



15. Phyteuma Pinnata; Winged-leaved Rampion. Leaves 

 pinnate ; flowers in cymes. Stem somewhat branched, smooth, 

 grooved ; flowers the largest of any of the species, in many- 

 flowered, scattered, alternate cymes, disposed on the upper 

 naked part of the stem. Native of Candia or Crete. 



