MONOECIA—MONANDRIA. Euphorbia. 65 



be investigated. The following description will identify our 

 E. stricta. 



Root small, tapering, zigzag, with several lateral fibres. Whole 

 herb light green, somewhat tawny, not black, when dried, quite 

 smooth, except a few occasional hairs on the rib of the leaves, 

 or of the bracteas, at the back. Stem erect, from 6 to 12 or 1.5 

 inches high, straight, round, hollow, very smooth, copiously 

 leafy in the upper part, often naked and purplish below. Leaves 

 spreading, or deflexed, scattered, sessile, lanceolate approaching 

 to obovate, acute, finely but unequally serrated ; dilated in 

 some degree at the base, so as to be heart-shaped, or auricled ; 

 the lowermost often slightly stalked. Umbel of 5 branches 

 in strong plants ; in weaker ones of only 3 or 4 ; each in 3 

 subdivisions, once or twice forked, when luxuriant ; otherwise 

 simply forked, or scarcely at all subdivided. Several branches, 

 once or twice forked, spring from some of the uppermost leaves. 

 There is often a solitary^oti'er in the centre of the main umbel, 

 whose branches are, as usual, accompanied by an equal number 

 of ovate bracteas, all serrated like the partial ones above them, 

 which are rather heart-shaped. Nect. 4, roundish, yellow, 

 entire. Germ, granulated. Caps, covered with small obtuse 

 warts, scarcely more prominent than those of the germen. 

 Seeds somewhat lenticular, very smooth, of a brownish lead- 

 colour. 



In Fl. Br. the partial bracteas are said to be occasionally hairy all 

 over, a mistake arising from some erroneous specimens. Several 

 exotic species, allied to this, require elucidation. E. verrucosa, 

 Linn. Mant. 2, 393, from the Levant, is very different from the 

 original one, and might well be named muricata, in allusion to 

 the prickly capsules. 



***** Umbel of 6 or more branches. 



9. E. Esula. Leafy-bratiched Spurge. 



Umbel of numerous forked branches. Bracteas nearly 

 heart-shaped. All the leaves uniform. Nectaries rhom- 

 boid with two horns. Capsule smooth. 



E. Esula. Linn.Sp.Pl.G&Q. PVilld. v. 2. 9\9. Fl.Br.5\8. Engl. 



Bot. V. 20. t.\399. Ehrh.Herb.86. Hook. Scot. 148. See Light/. 



1135. 

 Tithymalus n. 1046. Hall. Hist. v. 2. 8. A doubtful Swiss plant. 

 T. pineus, Ger. Em. 499. f. Lob. /c.357./. 

 T. Cyparissias. Fuchs. Hist. 812. f. Ic. 469./. 

 Esula. Riv. Tefrap. Irr. t. 1 13. 

 E. minor. Dod. Pempt. 374./. Dalech. Hist. 1653./. 



In shady woods, rare. 



In a wood near a rivulet at Abercorn, 13 miles west of Edinburgh. 

 Mr. B. Charlesworth, and Mr. J. Mackay. In some other spots 



VOL, IV. F 



