726 



V AL 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAl; 



V A L 



carp: coriaceous, compressed, reflexed. Seed : single, glo- 

 bular. . Male Floiver: one on each side of the hermaphro- 

 dite. Calix : scarcely any, in place of it the germen. Co- 

 rolla: one-petalled, flat, three-parted, or four-parted; seg- 

 ments ovate, acute. Stamina: filamenta four or three, length 

 'jf the corolla; antherse small. Pistil: germen small, infe- 

 rior; style and stigmas obsolete, and scarcely to be observed. 

 Pericarp: abortive, but a slender oblong rudiment adheres 

 to the side of the hermaphrodite. Seed: none. Observe. 

 The male flowers are trifid in the first and fifth species ; 

 quadrifid in the sixth and seventh. ESSENTIAL CHARAC- 

 TER. Hermaphrodite. Calix: none. Corolla : four-parted. 

 Stamina: four. Style: bifid. Seed : one. Male. Calix: 

 none. Corolla : three or four parted. Stamina : four or 

 three. Pistil: obsolete. The species are, 



1. Valantia Muralis; Wall Crosswort. Male flowers trifid, 

 placed upon the smooth germen of the hermaphrodite ; root 

 annual; stem and leaves smooth. Native of Italy, on the 

 whole coast of Tuscany, especially in dry rocky places ; also 

 on old walls at a distance from the coast, as in the Farnese 

 garden, and Dioclesian's baths at Rome. It is found on the 

 sandy shores of the County of Nice ; and in the south of 

 France, about Nemours, Magnol, and Montpellier. 



2. Valantia Hispida; Bristly Crosswort. Male flowers 

 trifid, placed upon the hispid germen of the hermaphrodite ; 

 root annual ; stems hispid ; leaves rugged. Native of the 

 south of France, and of Barbary, near Algiers. 



3. Valantia Filiformis ; Least Crosswort. Capsules longer 

 than the pedicel, cylindrical, hairy, unarmed; leaves lan- 

 ceolate, smooth, subciliate. Annual. Native of the Canary 

 islands: it flowers in July. 



4. Valantia Cucullaria ; Hooded Crosswort. Each of the 

 fructifications covered with an ovate bracte, which is bent 

 down. It flowers in May and June. Native of Turkey in 

 Asia. 



5. Valantia Aparine; Smooth-seeded Crosswort. Male 

 flowers trifid, pedicelled, placed on the peduncle of the her- 

 maphrodite ; stems branched, procumbent, angular : angles 

 toothletted, rough ; leaves mostly in sixes, linear, toothed at 

 the edges, blunt, with a point; corolla white. Native of Ger- 

 many, France, Sicily, and Barbary. 



6. Valantia Articulata ; Jointed Crosswort. Male flowers 

 quadrifid; peduncles dichotomous, leafless ; leaves cordate ; 

 root annual. Native of Egypt, Syria, and Barbary. 



7. Valantia Glabra; Smooth Crosswort. Male flowers 

 quadrifid; peduncles dichotomous, leafless; leaves oval, cili- 

 ate. Native of the south of Europe. It flowers in July. 



8. Valantia Hypocarpia. All the flowers quadrifid below 

 the germen ; peduncles naked, one-flowered ; stem herba- 

 ceous, from one to three feet high, loose, branched, grooved, 

 rugged ; branches opposite, numerous, divaricating, subdi- 

 vided, patulous, loose, hirsute ; flowers peduncled, axillary, 

 small, yellow; berries two, connate, .fulvous, small, one- 

 seeded. Browne and Pursh make this plant a species of 

 Rubia. Native of Jamaica, in the cool mountains. 



Valentinia; a genus of the class Octandria, order Monogy- 

 nia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth one-leafed, 

 spreading, concave, coloured, five-parted ; segments obtuse, 

 concave, entire. Corolla: none, unless the calix be taken 

 for it. Stamina : filamenta eight, awl-shaped, erect, a little 

 shorter than the calix ; antheree roundish. Pistil: germen 

 roundish, superior; style length of the stamina, round, thick; 

 stigma headed. Pericarp.- capsule berried, roundish, open- 

 ing into three or four parts, which afterwards roll back, one- 

 celled, pulpy within. Seeds : four, oblong. ESSENTIAL 

 CHARACTER. ^ Calix : five-parted, .^coloured, spreading. 



Corolla: none. Capsule: berried, four-seeded, pulpy. 

 The only known species is, 



1. Valentinia Ilicifolia. A shrub, two or three feet high, 

 branched, of a rigid habit, without thorns, the branches 

 smooth. Leaves alternate, ovate-lanceolate, three inches 

 long, waved and spiny at the edge, smooth, and very stiff; 

 flowers scarlet-coloured, terminating in a sort of umbel; 

 fruit at first white, afterwards scarlet. Native of Hispaniola, 

 on the most barren rocks towards the ocean ; and in the 

 island of Cubu, about the Havanna, flowering in January. 



Valeriana; a genus of the class Triandria, order Monogynia. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: scarcely any; a superior 

 margin. Corolla: one-petalled, irregular; tube nectariferous, 

 on the lower side gibbous; border five-cleft; segments obtuse. 

 Stamina: three, or fewer, (in one species, four;) filamenta 

 awl-shaped, erect, length of the corolla; antherse roundish. 

 Pistil: germen inferior; style filiform, length of the stamina; 

 stigma thickish. Pericarp : a crust not opening, deciduous, 

 crowned. Seeds: solitary, oblong. Observe. A wonderful 

 diversity of the parts of fructification is found in this genus, 

 as to their number and form in different species. The margin 

 of the calix is scarcely observable in some, but is five-cleft in 

 others. The tube of the corolla in some is oblong; in the 

 two first it is furnished with a melliferous spur ; in others it 

 is very short. The border in some is equal, in others two-lip- 

 ped, with the upper lip bifid. Stamina in most three ; in some 

 two or one only; in the Siberian species four; in others the 

 sexes are distinct. Stigma in some trifid ; in others emargi- 

 nate ; in others globular. Pericarp in some scarcely any ; 

 in others a thick capsule; in others two-celled. Seed in 

 some crowned with down, in others without any, and of 

 various forms. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: none. 

 Corolla: one-petalled, gibbous on one side of the base, 

 superior. Seed: one. This genus consists of herbaceous 

 plants, perennial or annual, with an upright round stem, 

 and opposite leaves; the flowers are terminal, numerous, 



opposite, corymbose, or panicled. The species are, 



* Valerians with a single downy Seed. 



1. Valeriana Rubra; Common or Broad-leaved Red Vale- 

 rian. Flowers one-staminfid, tailed; leaves lanceolate, quite 

 entire. Roots perennial, woody, as thick as a man's fin- 

 ger, spreading very wide ; stems about two feet high, round, 

 smoothish, grayish, hollow. The upper part sends out 

 branches by pairs, which, with the principal stem, are ter- 

 minated by red flowers growing in corymbs. The whole 

 herb is very smooth and even. The colour of the flowers ia 

 usually a deep rose, but varies to full flesh-colour and white. 

 Native of France, Italy, Switzerland, the Levant, and 

 Barbary. It is frequent in Devonshire and Cornwall, both 

 among rubbish and upon walls ; and has been also seen 

 growing on Ely minster, and the walls adjoining. It flower* 

 all the summer and autumn after May. Propagation and Cul- 

 ture. Part the roots of this and the next species, in autumn, 

 or sow the seeds, soon after they are ripe, in a shady border; 

 where they will sometimes come up in the same autumn, 

 especially if the season prove moist, otherwise they will not 

 appear till the following spring. When the plants are fit to 

 remove, transplant them into beds, at about nine inches or 

 a foot asunder : water and keep them clean, and transplant 

 them in autumn where they are to remain. They are too 

 large for small gardens. When the seeds light upon the 

 joints of old walls or buildings, the plants will thrive as well 

 as in the ground, and will continue much longer : the seeds 

 therefore may be scattered on grottos and rock-work, where 

 the plants will flower from May till the frost stops them, 

 and till that time make a good appearance. 



