PLANTS. 341 



The Crown Imperial (Fritilaria .jmperialis). flowers 

 nodding; perianth campanulate ; stem thick, high, lower 

 part invested with the long, narrow leaves, bearing at the 

 top a raceme of several large red and yellow flowers, 

 beneath a crown formed by the pairs of small, narrow 

 leaves at the base of each pedicel. This well known 

 ornament of the gardens has an unpleasant odor, and 

 contains a strong narcotic poison. 



Garlic (Allium sativum). Root or bulb is composed 

 of many smaller ones, surrounded by a common mem- 

 brane ; stem leaved midway ; leaves flat ; flowers small, 

 white, and in a dense umbel. Originally from the East, 

 it is cultivated everywhere. Odor very penetrating and 

 unpleasant ; taste sweetish and spicy ; used medicinally 

 as a vermifuge and by many as seasoning in a variety of 

 dishes. O- Many varieties ; Meadow, Field, or Crow 

 Garlics, etc. 



The Common Onion (Allium cepa), stem and radical 

 leaves tubular ; flowers white, bloom in dense umbels or 

 terminal heads ; root, a bulb depressed or turnip-shaped, 

 consists of a number of succulent layers ; the juice they 

 contain has a peculiarly strong, irritating odor ; taste is 

 sweetish, but, in most 'varieties, very unpleasantly pun- 

 gent. Nevertheless it is considered a good vegetable. 



Gives (A. schsenoprasum) and the Shallot (A. asca- 

 lonicum) are nearly related ; both are natives of tropical 

 lands. 



The Sea Onion Squill (Scilla maritima). Bulb 

 ovoid and very large ; leaves, long and linear, come after 

 the flowers ; shaft or stalk high, terminates in a pyra- 

 midal tuft of white flowers. Grows on the sandy flats of 

 the Mediterranean. Has a strong and pungent odor ; 



