CENTAUKY. 153 



three-nerved, broader than those of the stem, which are in dis- 

 tant pairs, obovate, sessile, smooth, and of a bright green colour. 

 The flowers are arranged in a fasciculate, corymb-like panicle, 

 at the top of the stem. The calyx is about half the length 

 of the tube of the corolla, smooth, striated, and five-cleft. 

 The corolla is rose-coloured, funnel-shaped, withering, closing 

 at night and at the approach of rain ; the limb short, and 

 divided into five ovate segments. The stamens are five, shorter 

 than the tube, with thread-shaped filaments, and oblong yellow 

 anthers, which become spiral after the pollen is discharged. The 

 germen is oblong, compressed, surmounted by a straight cylin- 

 drical style, terminated by a roundish bifid stigma. Plate 13, 

 fig. 2, (a) the corolla opened to show the stamens ; {b) the 

 pistil ; (c) anther. 



This elegant plant is frequent in heaths and dry gravelly pas- 

 tures in this country, and occurs in similar situations in most 

 parts of Europe. It flowers in July and August. 



The generic name is derived from spi^pog, red, in allusion to 

 the colour of the flowers. The term Centaurium has been ap- 

 plied to this species because its virtues w^ere supposed to have 

 been discovered by the centaur Chiron, one of the earliest cul- 

 tivators of botany and medicine. It has been called Lesser Cen- 

 taury, in contradistinction to the Centaurea Centaurium, or Great 

 Centaury. - : ,,,, 



There are two or three other species of Erytbraea met w'ith 

 on our sea-shores, principally distinguished by their dwarfish 

 stature and the greater length of the calycine tube ; hence they 

 are considered mere varieties by some botanists. The genus 

 consists of about thirty species, all pretty, herbaceous, and annual 

 plants, but impatient of cultivation. 



Qualities. — The common Centaury is nearly inodorous, but 

 every part of it is impregnated with an intense bitterness. Both 

 water and alcohol extract the whole of its active principle^ 

 leaving the insoluble part perfectly insipid. It appears to con- 

 tain a bitter resin and mucus. The aqueous decoction yields, 

 by evaporation, a bitter extract. 



Medical Properties and Use. — This plant has been held in 

 repute from the days of Galen to the present time, and is still 

 acknowledged by the medical colleges of Great Britain. The 

 tops are the parts chiefly recommended, and these should be 

 gathered while in full flower. It is considered tonic and auti- 



