898 HESPERIS. [CLASS XV. ORDER II. 



but in the cool of the evening it is very fragrant. It is cultivaled as 

 a border flower, but is less common, though not less worthy of cultiva- 

 tion than the last species. 



GENUS XVII. HES'PERIS Linn. Dame's Violet. 



Nat. Ord. CKUcir'ERiE. Juss. 

 Gen. Char. Siliqua linear, rounded, or angular. Stigma of two 

 erect flat connivent lobes. Calyx erect, bi-saccate at the base. 

 <Seef/s oblong, slightly angular. Cotyledons mcxxmhent, — (c Fig. 

 2, p. 871.) — Name from eo-tt-^o;, the evening ; so called on account 

 of the flowers being most fragrant in the evening. 

 7/. vialron'alis, Linn. (Fig. 1037.) Common Dame's Violet. Stem 

 erect, nearly simple ; leaves ovate lanceolate, toothed ; pedicles as long 

 as the calyx; petals obovate, obtuse; siliqua erect, linear, the margins 

 not thickened, smooth, waved, with the protuberant seeds. 



English Botany, t. 731. — English Flora, vol. iii. p. 207.— Hoolcer, 

 British Flora, ed. 4. vol. i. p. 255. — Lindley, Synopsis, p. 29. — 

 //. inodora, Linn. 



Hoot fibrous. Stem erect, from two to three feet high, leafy, simple, 

 or slightly branched upwards, round, more or less clothed with short 

 close pubescence. Leaves scattered, ovate lanceolate, with a long 

 tapering point, on a short footstalk, single ribbed, the margin more or 

 less distantly toothed, the teeth small, mostly glandular, darkish green, 

 paler beneath, and more or less clothed with pubescence. Inflo- 

 rescence a terminal sub-corymbose raceme, much elongated when in 

 fruit. Calyx of four oblong pieces, more or less hairy, membranous 

 at the apex, and somewhat gibbous at the base. Corolla of four equal 

 petals, the claw narrow, slender, as long as the calyx, the limb 

 obovate, entire, obtuse, or slightly notched, a pale pink. Stamens 

 with simple filaments and yellow two celled oblong anthers. Stigma 

 nearly sessile, of two simple downy erect lobes. Fruit an erect linear 

 siliqua, nearly cylindrical, smooth, irregularly swollen and depressed 

 in an undulating manner by the protruding seeds, which are elliptic, 

 ovale, somewhat concave on one side. 



Habitat. — Hilly pastures, especially in a sandy country ; rare in 

 various parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland, but a doubtful 

 native. 



Perennial ; flowering in May and June. 



This is a common species in many parts of the mountainous dis- 

 tricts of Italy ; the flowers are scarcely fragrant by day, but exhale a 

 very pleasant odour by night. By cultivation the flowers become much 

 larger and double, and are then very ornamental ; but to keep them so 

 requires great care in frequently supplying it with fresh rich loamy 

 soil. 



