CLASS XIII. ORDER III. ) ADONIS. 785 



late, sub-lriful, cut and serrated similar to the radical leaves ; flower 

 erect, solitary, of five or six ovale obtuse sub-pubescent sepals; carpels 

 awnless, pubescent. 



Englisii Dotany, t. 1484. — English Flora, vol. iii. p. .38.— Hooker, 

 British Flora, ed, 4. vol. i, p. 218.— Lindley, Synopsis, p. 10. 



Root sonaewhat woody, cylindrical, with fibrous radicals. Leaves 

 radical, very few, or frequently wanting, tcrnale, or frequently quiuale, 

 on long slender footstalks, leaflets oblong lanceolate, two or three cleft, 

 cut and serrated, paler beneath, and somewhat hairy. Involucre of 

 three leaves, with very short petioles, the leaflets lanceolate, the central 

 one somewhat wedge-shaped, and three cleft and toothed, the lateral 

 ones unequally trifid and toothed. Flower solitary, on an erect round 

 slender downy pedicle, about an inch long, sometimes there are two 

 flowers, the sepals Ave or six, of a bright yellow, somewhat pubescent 

 externally. Stamens numerous, with slender^/a»i<?n/.s, and roundish 

 yellow anthers, of two cells. Styles conical, short. Stif/7na small, 

 obtuse. Carpels not very numerous, obliquely ovate, somewhat com- 

 pressed, pointed by the persistent style, hairy. 



Habitat.— Woodfi, rare; near King's Langley, Herts, and Wrotham, 

 Kent. 



Perennial; flowering in April. 



This beautiful species, like the last, appears to be a doubtful native. 

 It is not uncommon in the shady woods of Germany, Switzerland, and 

 Italy. About fifty species of this genus are known, and most of them 

 natives of Europe ; many are cultivated in our gardens, but the most 

 common, and from which so many beautiful varieties are obtained, are 

 the A coronaria and A. hortensis, and often they become very double. 

 They are easy of cultivation, and are increased by the roots, and from 

 the seedlings various coloured and often variegated flowers are obtained. 



GENUS XXI. ADO'NIS Linn. PheasanCs Eye. 



Nat. Ord. Ranuncula'cEjE. De Cand. 



Gen. Char. Calyx of five pieces. Petals five to ten, the claw 



without a nectariferous gland. Capsules small, single seeded. — 



Named from the deep colour of its flower resembling the blood of 



Adonis, a legendary youth, who was killed by a wild boar while 



hunting, and whom "Venus, in grief for his death, changed into a 



flower. 



1. A. autumna'lis, Linn. (Tig. 892.) Corn Adonis, or PheasanCs 



Eye. Calyx smooth ; petals six to eight, concave, connivant, scarcely 



larger than the calyx ; carpels reticulated, roundish, crowned by the 



persistent style, numerous, in an ovate head ; stem branched. 



