PLANTS. 313 



pointed, black dotted beneath ; flowers standing singly, 

 orange-red or brick-dust color; grows in fallow fields 

 and uncultivated grounds ; is without odor ; taste at first 

 mawkish, afterwards bitter ; injurious to cattle if eaten 

 of largely. It has been remarked in Europe, that if 

 the flowers are expanded in the morning the day will be 

 fine, if shut, the contrary ; hence it has been named the 

 Shepherd's Weatherglass. Q. 



Next to this family come the Plantacese, represented 

 only by the genus Plantago. 



Common Plantain Rib Grass (Plantago major). 

 Leaves ovate, smooth, with from five to nine strong 

 ribs ; flowers in cylindrical spikes ; grows everywhere as 

 weeds. Seeds are useful for feeding birds. O- 



English Plantain Rib or Ripple Grass (Plantago 

 lanceolata). Stalk grooved, angled, and slender ; leaves 

 lanceolate and toothed ; spike short, thick, almost egg- 

 shaped; flowers brownish-white. Leaves contain an 

 acrid sap, therefore considered good for dressing wounds, 

 blisters, etc., a fact which seems to have been known in 

 the da}-s of Shakspeara (Romeo and Juliet, Act i., 

 scene 2). Also used as domestic medicine. O- 



The Sow Bread (Cyclamen europseum). Radical 

 portion of stalk fleshy ; leaves heart-shaped on long foot- 

 stalks ; flowers rose-colored, dark- throated, and very fra- 

 grant. This beautiful plant grows wild in the shady 

 woods of the southern Alps, and constitutes their chief 

 ornament. The acrid, fleshy root is poisonous, unless 

 roasted, after which it can be eaten with safety. 

 14 



