COMMON CENTAURY.— ^ry//^;-^^ 



CentaunvM. 



Class Pentaxdria. Ordei^ Monogtxia. Nat. Orel Gentiane^. 

 Gentian Teibe. 



Those who have ever tasted the fohao^e of 

 this plant, will not be surprised to find that 

 it was formerly classed with the Gentians, and 

 called the Gentian Centaury. The Gentians 

 possess the most powerful bitter principle of 

 any of our native plants, nor is the Centaury 

 scarcely less characterised by its bitterness, 

 and its flavour is more disagreeable than that 

 of the Gentian. Baron Haller tells us that 

 the ancients called our pretty red flower, the 

 Gall of the earth. The name of the genus is 

 taken from the Greek w^ord Red, which is the 

 colour of the flowers of most of the species. 

 The common kind is very frequent on dry 

 pastures, in woods, and on rocks or chalk chff's, 

 flowerhig during July and August, and growing 

 to eight or ten inches, or sometimes a foot in 

 height. The leaves around the root are much 

 broader than those of the stem, and the clus- 

 ters open only in fine weather, and before 

 twelve o'clock, after which time they gradually 



