12 VEKONICA. [class II. ordek i. 



When planted in rich soil, in a cool, sliady situation, this beautiful 

 little plant becomes a highly ornamental border flower, continuing- to 

 grow and produce blossoms long beyond its usual period of flowering ; 

 but in such situations it seldom survives more than one season : it there- 

 fore becomes an annual, and is frequently cultivated as such, excelling, 

 in the brilliancy and profusion of its flowers, many of the rarer exotic 

 species. It is a great favourite, not only from the beauty of its flowers, 

 but as an early harbinger of Spring; and few plants present a more 

 pleasing appearance to the admirer of Nature, than its soft blue but 

 transient flowers gaily decking its native banks, or gracefully drooping 

 in the shady grove. It is frequently mistaken for the emblem of 

 friendship, the Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis palustris), but a very slight 

 botanical knowledge will correct a mistake in plants so diff'erent from 

 each other. The petals close, and envelope the stamens and pistil, in 

 cloudy or rainy weather, which was called by Linnaeus (he sleep of 

 plants, and is a singular property observed in many other flowers, 

 which expand only beneath the rays of the sun, and close when 

 they are withdrawn. Others closely fold their petals during the day, 

 and expand them at night, when they also become particularly fragrant. 

 A striking illustration of this property is found in Erinus Lychnidea, a 

 small but very beautiful half-shrubby plant, and one of the many 

 splendid ornaments to the conservatories and greenhouses of this coun- 

 try, which from time to time have been introduced from the Cape of 

 Good Hope: the pure white star-like flowers of this plant continue 

 closely shut during sunshine, but in cloudy weather and twilight they 

 become fully expanded. One of the most remarkable instances of 

 nocturnal flowering plants is the Night-blowing Cereus, or Cactus 

 yrandijlora, the flowers of which begin to open between eight and ten 

 o'clock at night, and continue in bloom until about four the follow- 

 ing morning, when they begin to close, hang down, and soon decay. 

 These, and many similar phenomena, will be familiar to the observer 

 of nature, the explanation of which, in several instances, has been long 

 sought, but not satisfactorily accounted for. It is probable that light 

 is a powerful agent in producing the change, for M. De Candolle has 

 found that in many cases the petals would expand when removed from 

 a dark situation to one in which there was light produced by candles. 



Withering observes, that an infusion of the leaves of this plant 

 forms a more preferable drink than those of V. officinalis, and perhaps 

 equally efficacious. 



12. V. monia'na, (Fig. 18.) Minmlain Gcrmandcy Speedwell. Ra- 

 cemes lateral, short, few flowered, leaves cordato-ovate, pctiolated, 

 serrated, stem spreading, hairy all round, calyx smaller than the 

 two-lobed orl)icular capsule. 



English Botany, t. 766.— English Flora, vol. i. p. 23.— Lindley, Sy- 

 nopsis, p. 189. — Hooker, British Flora, vol. i. p. 7. 



Root fibrous. Stem six to eighteen inches long, equally hairy all 



