CRYPTOGAMIA— FILICES. Eqiiisetum. 335 



L. alpinum. Linn. Sp. PL 1567. FL Lapp. ed. 2. 338. t. 1 1 ./. 6, 

 mild. V. 5. 20. FL Br. 1112. EngL Rot v. 4. t. 234. Hook. 

 ScoL p. 2. 159. FL Dan. t. 79. Dicks. Dr. FL 46. Ehrh. 

 Crypt. 1 1 . 



L, n. 1719. HalLHist.v.3.2\. 



L. Sabinse facie. Raii Syn. 108. DHL Muse. 445. t. 58./. 2. 



On the highest mountains of Scotland, Wales, and the north of 

 England, in stony and rather moist situations, plentifully. 



Perennial. August. 



Stems round, strong, smooth, somewhat leafy, prostrate, creep- 

 ing, by means of scattered fibrous radicles, to a considerable 

 extent, and bearing many tufts of upright, forked, densely leafy, 

 level-topped, partly flowering, branches, from two to four inches 

 high. Leaves of a deep glaucous green, rather loosely imbri- 

 cated in four rows, small, acute, keeled, uniform, entire, point- 

 less. Spikes numerous, solitary, erect, cylindrical, from half an 

 inch to an inch long, of a pale yellowish green. Scales ovate, 

 pointed, not quite entire, flat, membranous. Caps, nearly orbi- 

 cular, yellowish, uniform. 



A very handsome evergreen, with much of the aspect of a Juniper 

 or Savin. It is bitter, with something of an aromatic flavour, 

 and an emetic quality ; but though so abundant in Scotland 

 and the Hebrides, Lightfoot does not mention its being applied 

 to any use. 



Dillenius, though he well knew this species, and has correctly de- 

 lineated the exotic L. complunatum, certainly misapplied syno- 

 nyms of Tragus, Gerarde, Dalechamp and the two Bauhins, to 

 L. alpinum, which belong to the complanatum. The taller, less 

 leafy, flowering branches, well represented in the old wooden 

 figures of the above authors, are decidedly characteristic of 

 L. complanatum, to say nothing of the compressed foliage. 



478. EQUISETUM. Horsetail. 



Li«n. Gew.559. Juss.\7. F/. Br. 1102. Tourn.t.307. Lam.t.S62. 

 Hedw. Theor. 33. t. 1,2. 



Nat. Ord. Coniferts ? Linn. 51. Filices duhice. Juss. 5. 

 Quite undetermined, though this genus is certainly akin 

 to Filices, and even to Palmce, or at least CycadeoE. See 

 Br. Prodr. 346. 



Catkin ovate-oblong, tessellated, close, of many peltate, 

 stalked scales^ on a simple common stalky each scale an- 

 gular in front, bearing at the back from 4 to 7 oblong 

 membranous cells, parallel to each other, and to \he par- 

 tial stalk of the scale, which they surround, each finally 

 bursting lengthwise into 2 equal valves. Corie rather 



