COMMON TLBA'BANK—Ftilicaria 



dysenterica. 



C7as5STNGENESiA. OrcZe;' SuPERFLUA. A'af. Orf?. Composite. 

 CoMPOU^'D Flowers. 



Whenever we see this yellow star with its 

 pale green woolly leaves springing up in pro- 

 fusion among the grass or green herbage, we 

 may feel assured that water is near. The 

 stream may be wandering on silently, or the 

 stagnant pool be hidden among the trees 

 and bushes ; but this plant is the undoubted 

 indication of moist land, and by its side we 

 shall find the blue blossoms of the Brooklime, 

 or the waving flower of the Yellow Iris, or the 

 beautifully fringed bloom of the Buck-bean, or 

 some of the many flowers peculiar to the well- 

 watered soil. This plant received its name 

 from the belief that its smoke, while burning, 

 drives away fleas, gnats, and other insects. Its 

 juice, too, is considered by country people to 

 possess some medicinal virtues. It is saltish, 

 and somewhat pungent in flavour, and a de- 

 coction made from the plant is acid in the 

 throat, and astringent in its property, turning 

 green with vitriol of iron ; while the infusion 

 becomes black, by an admixture with this 

 vitriol. 



