19.6 ETJBIACEJE. [SHERARDIA. 



Fields and waste places, N.to Caithness ; Ireland ; Channel Islands ; fl. April- 

 Oct. Hispid. Stems 6-18 in., prostrate, spreading from the root. Leaves 

 . 4-6 in a whorl, J-f in., oblong-lanceolate, aristate. Corolla lilac, in. diam. 

 Fruit minute, hispid, crowned by the erect ciliate calyx-teeth. 



ORDER XXXIX. VALERIA'NEJE. 



Herbs, rarely shrubs. Leaves opposite, exstipulate. Floiuers small, 

 usually irregular, in dichotomous cymes. Calyx-limb superior, lobed, or 

 a feathery pappus involute in bud. Corolla funnel-shaped, base equal 

 gibbous or spurred ; lobes 3-5, unequal, obtuse, imbricate in bud. Disk 

 small. Stamens\-S or 5, inserted at the base of the corolla-tube, filaments 

 slender, anthers exserted, versatile. Ovary-cells 3, 2 empty or suppressed, 

 1 with a solitary pendulous anatropous ovule ; style filiform, stigma ob- 

 tuse or 2-3-lobed. , Fruit small, in dehiscent ; 1 cell fertile, 2 small empty 

 suppressed or confluent. Seed pendulous, testa membranous, albumen ; 

 embryo straight, cotyledons oblong, radicle cylindric. - DISTRIB. Temp. 

 N. zone, Andes, one S. African ; genera 9 ; species 250. AFFINITIES. 

 Close with Dipsacece and Composite. PROPERTIES. Aromatic, antispas- 

 modic, sometimes stimulant. 



Calyx pappose. Corolla-tube equal or gibbous. Stamens 8...1. Yaleriana. 



Calyx pappose. Corolla-tube spurred. Stamen 1 1*. Centranthus. 



Calyx toothed or lobed. Corolla-tube obconic 2. Yalerianella. 



1. VALERIA'NA, L. VALERIAN. 



Perennial, rarely annual, herbs. Radical leaves crowded ; cauline oppo- 

 site or whorled, entire or phmatifid. Flowers in corymbose capitate or 

 panicled cymes, 1- or 2-sexual, bracteolate, honeyed. Calyx-limb annular, 

 cranulate, developing a feathery deciduous pappus. Corolla-tube equal or 

 gibbous at the base ; lobes 5, rarely 3-4, unequal. Stamens 3. Stigma 

 capitate. Fruit compressed, ribbed, membranous, 1 -celled, 1-seeded. 

 DISTRIB. Temp. Europe, Asia, N. and S. America. ETYM. valere, from 

 its powerful medicinal properties ; species about 130. 



1. V. dioi'ca, L. ; cauline leaves pinnatifid, flowers tetramorphous. 



"Wet meadows and bogs, local, from Fife and Ayr southd. ; ascends to 2,000 

 ft. in Northumberland ; fl. May-June. Glabrous, nodes and leaf-margins 

 ciliate. Eootstock creeping, stoloniferous. Stem 6-18 in., ascending. Leaves 

 |-1 in., radical long-petioled, ovate or spathulate ; cauline with a large 

 terminal lobe and narrow lateral segments. Cymes terminal, corymbose ; 

 flowers in. diam., pinkish ; females denser, darker ; bracts linear. Fruit 

 small. DISTRIB. N. and Mid. Europe, Himalaya. 



The forms of flowers are : 1. <$ , corolla large, pistil ; 2. $ , corolla smaller, 

 pistil rudimentary ; 3. ? , corolla smaller still, anthers rudimentary ; 4. 9 , 

 corolla smallest, anthers 6. 



