DISTINCTIONS OF UMBEI/LATE PLANTS. 73 



leaves and seeds of the cow-parsnep, Herac'leum 

 Sphondyl'ium, another umbellate plant, which is 

 a troublesome weed in our meadows; and the 

 Kamschatkans and Russians peal its stalks and 

 eat them. 



But do you think you can distinguish an umbel- 

 liferous plant from any other, by the description 

 that I have given you ? Go out, and try if you 

 can find one. 



EDWARD. 



Here, mamma, are two, from the side of the field, 

 next the road. 



MOTHER. 



You have made a very good attempt, my dear ; 

 and are right in one of them, the Shepherd's needle, 

 Scan'dex Pec'ten. And I am not surprised at your 

 taking the other for an umbelliferous plant, as it 

 certainly has the general appearance of one. It is 

 the common Elder, Sambu'cus ni'gra. But if you 

 look again, you will find that it has not exactly the 

 structure which I have described to you; for* 

 though all the principal ribs grow from the same 

 stalk, like those in the umbel of the shepherd's 

 needle, there are no umbellules, the smaller stalks 

 not being regularly arranged. 



The character of the umbelliferous tribe is in 

 part, also, taken from the structure of the flower 

 itself. In umbellate plants, the corolla has five 



