THE SAXIFRAGE TRIBE. 113 



weeds, v\Tth its snow-white flowers drooping at the 

 end of a long stem, scantily clothed with kidney- 

 shaped few-lobed leaves. A third, the Three-fingered 

 Saxifrage (Saxifraga tridactylites) springs up from the 

 crest of walls, one of the earliest harbingers of spring. 

 Let us take the latter for examination. 



Three-fingered Saxifrage {Plate XXXVII. 2.) is a 

 small annual, not much above three inches high, of a dull 

 reddish bro\\Ti in its foliage, which, as well as the stems 

 and calyxes, is covered all over with glandular hairs of 

 the same colour. Its lower leaves are divided into three 

 tolerably regular lobes, whence its name ; but those 

 near the top of the little stems are undivided. The 

 stem is quite unbranched, except near the top, where 

 it divides into two or three forks, each of which is ter- 

 minated by a single white flower. The calyx {fig. 2.) 

 is oblong, and divided at the edge into five ovate lobes. 

 There are five blunt white petals, originating from the 

 side of the calyx ; and ten short stamens placed also 

 upon the calyx in a row after the petals (fig. 3.). The 

 anthers are roundish flat cases, on short stiff" filaments 

 (fig. 5.). The pistil consists of a two-celled oblong 

 ovary, which grows to the side of the calyx, almost to 

 its top (fig. 3.), and then divides into two distinct, 

 though short, styles, whose stigmas are little oval 

 fringed spaces ; you will remark that these styles are 

 not only quite distinct from each other, but do not even 

 spring from the same point, as is most usually the case 

 in other plants. Each cell of the ovary contains a 

 large convex placenta, all over which are placed mu 

 nute ovules (fig. 3 and 4.), 



VOL. II. J 



