CATPIARTTC 'FLkX.—Zinum cat/iarticum. 



Class Pentandria. Ordeo^ Pentagynia. Nat. Orel. Line^. 

 Flax Tribe. 



This little flower is very plentiful on dry 

 grassy spots, during June and July, but is so 

 inconspicuous as to be often overlooked, its 

 stem being seldom more than five or six inches 

 high. It is a pretty slender plant, and small 

 as it is, is not without its uses. In country 

 places it is often called Mill Mountain, and 

 an infusion, made either from the fresh or 

 dried plant, is an old medicine for rheumatism, 

 and has been recommended for this malady 

 on the authority of some eminent botanists. 

 The small w^hite flowers droop gracefully before 

 expansion. 



The genus Linum is named from the Celtic 

 w^ord Liii, thread, on account of the uses* of 

 some of the plants. We have, besides our 

 White Flax, two wild species of a blue colour, 

 the blossoms of wdiich are of the same form as 

 this little vase-like flower, but they are very 

 much larger. The Common Tlax {Linum 

 iisitatissimum) is the species which is usually 



No. 11. 



