THE ART ALBUM OF NEW ZEALAND FLORA. 



21 



GENUS VI. 

 LEPIDIUM {Linn.) The Lepidium. 



Gkneiuc Ciiahactee. — Ilerlis sometimes with an almost 

 woody stem, toothed, or pinnatifid leaves, and white, some- 

 times" unisexual flowers. Stamens, 4 or 6. Pods, broad, 



nnich flattened laterally, (pbtuse, winged urlieeled at tlie baek ; 

 Cells 1-secded. Cotyledons incumbent. — Uaiutbook of New 

 Zealand Flora^ p. 14, 



Description, etc. — An extensive genus spread throughout the temperate regions 

 of the earth, and common in England. To this genus the Garden Cress helongs, L. 

 sdticum ; also the L. ruderale, a common Australian and European annual, with linear 

 leaves. The New Zealand species consist of: — (1). L. oleraceum, leaves more or less 

 toothed; (2). L. sisymbrioides, leaves pinnatifid ; (3). L. ikcisum, leaves pinnatifid. 



1. LEPIDIUM OLERACEUM {Forst) The Esculent Lepidium. 



Specific Charactee. — Sub-erect, perennial, glabrous, 

 10-18 in. high ; Stem, stout, woody, scarred, branched, smel- 

 ling disagreeably when bruised. Leaves, obovate-cuneate or 

 oblong-spathulate, 1-3 in. long, lower serrate, upper more 



entire. Flowers, numerous, white, small, l-androus. Pods 

 on slender spreading pedicels, ovate, sub-acute, J in. long, not 

 n'inged on baek. — Uandbuuk of New Zealand Flora, p. 14. 



Description, etc. — This plant is confined to New Zealand, and is to he found 

 growing m sheltered places on the sea shores throughout the Islands. It is a good anti- 

 scorhutic, and was eagerly sought after hy early voyagers as a remedy for the dreaded 

 Scurvy, with which the crews w^ere so frequently affected. The Maoris call it " Nan ;" and 

 it is stated that they formerly cultivated it as a pot herl). When hroken or hruised, the 

 plant emits a strong and unpleasant odour. The natives of the Society and Sandmch 

 Islands make use of Z. piscidium for catching fish, it, in common with several other 

 plants, possessing the property of intoxicating them, so that they float upon the surface 

 in a helpless, insensible state, and are then easily taken. L. saticum, the common 

 Garden Cress, is a hardy annual, whose native country is stated to he Persia. This has 

 been in cultivation in England since 1548. It is very generally cultivated and esteemed 

 as a plant most useful for making small salads. 



OTHER SPECIES OF LEPIDIUM. 

 2. L. SISYMBRIOIDES. 

 An erect, slender plant, a span high. Leaves small, linear, pinnatifid. Flowers 

 small, white. Eound in the Middle Island on dry, grassy flats and plains. 



