THE EARLIER COROLLIFLOR^ 341 



The Earlier Corolliflorae 



There is little to claim attention in the Orders of this 

 Class until we reach the Composite. One might almost 

 think that nature was gathering her forces for the prodigal 

 luxuriance of the coming jungle. Among the Valerianeae 

 (an order characterised by opposite leaves, flowers in 

 corymbose cymes or terminal glomerules, corolla inserted 

 on the ovary, with a 3-5-lobed limb, and one to three 

 stamens), the genus Valeriana is useful in a rough, blatant 

 style for out of the way corners. The corolla is funnel- 

 shaped with five lobes, and the calyx on maturity 

 developes a pappus or feathery crest above the fruit ; 

 the stamens are three in number. The plant has a bitter 

 taste and a strong scent and contains a principle which 

 acts strongly on the nerves and is used as an antispas- 

 modic, or a counteragent to epilepsy. 



V. montana (PI. XL1X) and V. tripteris (PI. XL1X) 

 are close akin. The stem leaves of the first are of a clear 

 and shining green, entire, ovate-lanceolate, superficially 

 toothed, flowers rose in a somewhat loose cyme. The 

 leaves of tripteris are ashy-gray, heart-shaped, coarsely 

 toothed, the cauline divided into three toothed segments, 

 of which the terminal is by far the largest. Both species 

 are found on cool, damp rock-slopes in our mountain 

 districts. 



V. saliunca, found sporadically in the central Alps, 

 forms dwarf, close tufts and bears flowers in small, dense 

 capitules. The garden Valerian par excellence is Cen- 

 tranthus ruber*, which, in three colours pure white, 



