CLASS XIV. ORHER II. ) UHINANTHDS. »45 



I. R. Crista -Galll, Linn. (Fi}^. 976,) Common Yelloiv-Ralllv. 

 Stem erect, sliglilly branclied ; bracteas coloured ; leaves oblong, 

 lanceolate, serrated ; corolla lube .straigbt, tlie lateral teeth of tbe 

 upper lip short, ovate, acute; style included; seed with a broad thin 

 membranous border. 



English Botany, t. 657. — English Flora, vol. iii. p. 120. — Hooker, 

 British Flora, ed. 4. vol. i. p. 2;5G.— Lindlcy, Synopsis, p. 190. — R. 

 minor, Ehrh. 



Root of branclied spreading fibres. Stem erect, obtusely angular, 

 simple or branched, smooth, or slightly hairy beneath the joints, pale 

 green, often spotted or streaked with purple, about a foot high. 

 Leaves opposite, sessile, oblong lanceolate or lanceolate, with a long 

 tapering point, the margin deeply cut or sharply serrated, rough, with 

 short hairs above, paler beneath, and beautifully netted with veins, 

 the intermediate spaces closely set with short white rough hairs, the 

 mid-rib stout, and the lateral veins prominent, terminating in the angle 

 of theserratures. Inflorescence axillary sessile, flowers crowded more 

 or less closely into a terminal leafy spike, the bracteas or floral leaves 

 similar to the stem leaves, the upper ones broader, short, and the ser- 

 ratures more tapering. Calyx ovate, compressed, somewhat inflated 

 and bladdery, ribbed and reticulated with veins, smooth, except on the 

 marginal ribs, the teeth four, nearly equal, lanceolate, acute. Corolla 

 yellow, the tube pale, cylindrical, straight, about as long as the calyx, 

 the upper lip compressed, concave, rounded, obtuse, having on each 

 side near the apex an angular ovate tooth, sometimes ovate, and white, 

 or of a purple colour, more or less thickly clothed with short pubescence, 

 the lower lip of three nearly equal roundish spreading lobes. Stujnens 

 inserted above the middle of the tube, the filaments slender, curved 

 beneath the upper lip, anthers of two spreading pointed very hairy 

 lobes. Style slender, roughish. Stir/mas somewhat downy, obtuse. 

 Capsules enveloped in the persistent calyx, roundish ovate, compressed, 

 smooth, with a deep furrow in the middle, terminating in a short 

 point, the base of the style dry and membranous. Seeds numerous, 

 roundish, kidney-shaped, with a broad thin brown membranous margin. 



Habitat. — Meadows and pastures abundant, especially in a sandy 

 soil. 



Annual ; flowering in June. 



The seeds when they are ripe become loose, and rattle in the 

 hardened membranous capsule; hence it has derived its common name 

 of Yelloiv Rattle. 



2. R. major, Ehrh. (Fig. 977.) large bushy Yellotv- Rattle. Stem 

 erect, much branched ; bracteas pale, nearly colourless ; leaves oblong 

 lanceolate, serrated ; corolla tube curved, the lateral teeth of the upper 

 lip ovate ; style slightly protruding; seed with a narrow memlnanous 

 border. 



5 R 



