288 SOLANACE.E. [Atropa. 



slender. Sepals |-| in., broadly ovate. Corolla 1 in., greenish-purple ; 

 lobes subequal, spreading, obtuse. Filaments subequal, tip incurved ; 

 anthers pale, included. Berry spheroidal, obscurely 2-lobed. — A sedative, 

 poisonous in overdoses. 



Order LIV. PLANTAGlNE'iE. 



Annual or perennial scapigerous herbs. Leaves usually all radical with 

 parallel ribs, rarely cauline and opposite or alternate. Scapes axillary. 

 Flowers small, green, usually spiked, regular bisexual (1 -sexual in Litto- 

 rella). Sepals 4, persistent, imbricate in bud. Corolla hypogynous, 

 salver-shaped, scarious ; lobes 4, spreading, imbricate in bud. Stamens 

 4, inserted on the corolla-tube (hypogynous in Littorella), filaments capil- 

 lary, indexed in bud, pendulous in flower, persistent ; anthers large, 

 versatile, deciduous. Ovary free, 2-4-celled (1-celled <and 1-ovuled in 

 Littorella) ; style filiform, with 2 lines of stigmatic hairs ; ovules solitary and 

 basal, or many peltately attached to the septum. Fruit a 1 -4-celled, 1- 

 or more-seeded, membranous circumsciss capsule (bony and indehiscent in 

 Littorella), seed-bearing septum free. Seeds usually peltate, albumen 

 fleshy ; embryo transverse, cylindric, cotyledons oblong or linear, radicle 

 nferior. — Distrib. All temp, regions ; genera 3 ; species about 50. — 

 Affinities. Doubtful ; probably reduced form of Scrophularinece. — 

 Properties. Mucilaginous. 



Terrestrial. Flowers spiked, 2-sexual 1. Plantago. 



Aquatic. Flowers few, 1-sexual 2. Littorella. 



1. PLANTA'GO, L. Plantain, Rib-grass. 



Flowers 2-sexual, in terminal spikes or heads, anemophilous, usually 

 proterogynous. Sepals 4. Stamens 4, inserted on the corolla. Ovary 

 2-4-celled. Capsule circumsciss. Seeds with a mucilaginous testa. — 

 Distrib. Of the Order ; species about 48. — Etym. The old Latin name. 



1. P. ma'jor, L. ; leaves petioled oblong or ovate-oblong toothed 3-7- 

 ribbed, scape short not furrowed, spike very long, sepals free, capsule 2- 

 celled 8-16-seeded, seeds flat in front. 

 Pastures and waste places, N. to Shetland ; ascends to 2,000 ft. in Northumbd. ; 



fl. May-Sept. — Glabrous or hairy. Rootstock stout, truncate. Leaves 2-5 in., 



petiole broad, short, teeth very irregular. Scape about as long as the leaves ; 



spike slender, longer than the scape ; bracts equalling the calyx, oblong-ovate, 



concave, obtuse, glabrous. Sepals \ in., obtusely keeled, margins scarious. 



Corolla-tube glabrous. Filaments short ; anthers purple. Seeds black, rough. 



— Distrib. Europe, N. Africa, N. and W. Asia, Himalaya ; introd. in N. 



America.— Seeds used for feeding cage-birds. 

 Var. P. interme'dia, Gilib., is a dwarf very downy form with ascending 



