50 DIAtfimiA "MOKOGYSTIA. [CL. II- 



dense terminal panicles. A small shrub. Leaves opposite, nearly 



sessile, dark green, frequently remaining through the winter : 

 flowers white, small : berries globular, black, bitter and nauseous. 

 Flowers in June and July : grows in hedges and copses, in gra- 

 velly and chalky soil. Rocks of Dunnerholme, and above Cartmel 

 Wells. Used for low hedges, especially in gardens. It grows fast, 

 and may be raised from cuttings. Eng. Bot. vol. xi. pi. 764. Eng. 

 Fl. vol. i. p. 13. 16. 



2. FRA'XINUS. ASH. 



Calyx none, or in four deep segments. Corolla none, or in 

 four deep segments. Filaments short. Anthers large, with four 

 furrows. Germen. superior, egg-shaped, two-celled. Style 

 short. Stigma cleft. Capsule laiiee-shaped, flat. Name from 

 phraxis, separation, on account of the ease with which the wood 

 may be split. 1 . 



1. F. excel 1 sior. Common Ash. Leaves pinnate, with lance-shaped, 



serrated leaflets ; flowers destitute of calyx and corolla. A very 



beautiful tree, with smooth, grey bark, large black buds, and pin- 

 nate leaves. In old trees, the lower branches, after bending down-- 

 wards, curve upwards at their extremities ; leaves stalked, consist- 

 ing of five or six pairs of lance-shaped, nearly sessile, opposite leaf- 

 lets, with a terminal one : flowers in loose panicles : anthers large, 

 purple : capsules with a flat leaf- like termination, generally of two 

 cells, each containing a flat oblong seed. It assumes its foliage 

 later than any of our trees, and loses it early ; the capsules gene- 

 rally fall soon, but sometimes remain through the winter. A va- 

 riety occurs with simple leaves, and another with drooping 

 branches. Flowers in April and May ; grows in natural woods in 

 many parts of Scotland, and is cultivated in woods and hedges. 

 The wood, which is whitish and tough, is employed for numerous 

 purposes in domestic and rural economy, and the leaves are eaten 

 by cattle, but communicate a disagreeable taste to butter. Eng. Bot. 

 vol. xxiv. pi. 1692. Eng. Fl. vol. i. p. 14. 17. 



3. VERONI'CA. SPEEDWELL. 



Calyx inferior, with four unequal segments, permanent. Co- 

 rolla wheel-shaped, permanent ; its limb divided into four un- 

 equal segments, of which the lower is smallest. Filaments spread- 

 ing, tapering downwards ; anther oblong. Germen compressed. 

 Style thread-shaped, declining, as long as the stamens ; stigma 

 small, notched. Capsule more or less inversely heart-shaped, 

 compressed, two-celled, four-valved. Seeds numerous, round- 

 ish. Name said to have been altered from Betonica. 8. 

 * Flowers in terminal clusters or spikes. 



1. V. serpyllifolia. Smooth or Thyme-leaved Speedwell. Clusters 

 somewhat spiked ; leaves egg-shaped, slightly crenate ; capsule 



inversely heart-shaped, shorter than the style. Root of long 



white fibres : stem about five inches high, decumbent and rooting 

 at the base, branched, leafy : leaves opposite, with short stalks, 

 slightly hairy, three-nerved : bracteas elliptical : flowers of a deli- 

 cate pale blue, reddish before they are fully expanded, with deep 

 blue lines. An alpine variety of this species, with prostrate stems 

 and short racemes of a few beautiful blue flowers, has been de- 

 scribed under the name of V. humifusa. Perennial : flowers in 



