rniMrr.ACi-.K. 143 



CEXiTS r.— LYSIMACHIA. Linn. 



Calyx 5-partito, free from the ovary. Corolla deciduous, rotate, or 

 sauLvrslia|H'd-rotatc or Ix'll-sliaprd; tuhe wrj' short or scarcely any; 

 liinl) concave or nearly flat, deeply S-partite. Stamens 5, sometimes 

 with 5 sterile ones between them; the fertile ones, as in the rest of the 

 order, opposite the petals. Capsule subglobulor, opening at the apex 

 by 5 valves, which arc often 2- or 3-eleft, or by 2 valves. Seeds nujne- 

 rous, ampiiitroj)ous. 



Herbs of various habit. Leaves entire, opposite, or whorled. 

 Flowers yellow, more rarely rosy-white or pur[)le. 



The naino of this genus of plants is said by one writer to be derived from the Greek 

 worils Xi'iw, I loose, I end, and //nx"/, the strife; wliile Dr. Mayne tells us it was named 

 after LysTmiiehus, its discoverer, according to Pliny, he being one of Alexander's 

 generals. It is also stated that a King of Sicily of the same name first discovered its 

 virtues, which appear to consist in the power of taming wild beasts. 



Sub-Genus I.— NAUMIiURGIA. Miinch. 



Sc^^cnts of tlic corolla with a minute tooth between them. Seeds 

 smooth, scarcely margined. Flowers yellow, in dense axillary ra- 

 cemes ; stamens subexsertcd. 



SPECIES I.— LYSIMACHIA THYRSIPLORA. L!un. 



Plate MCXL. 



Eeich. Ic. Fl. GciTO. ct Hclv. Vol. XVII. Tab. MLXXXV. Fig. 2. 

 Blllof, Fl. Gall, ct Germ. E.xsicc. No. 17.52. 

 Naumbnrgia guttata, ilijiich, Meth. Suppl. p. 23. 

 U. thyrsiflora, Duhij, in D.C. Prod. Vol. VHI. p. 60. 



Stem erect, stiff. Leaves opposite, rarely verticillate, sessile, semi- 

 aniplcxicaul, oblong-strapshaped or oblong-lanceolate, densely sprinkled 

 witii black dots. Flowers in opposite stalked racemes from the axils 

 of u few of the pairs of leaves near the middle of the stem. Calyx 

 segments strapshaped, subacute. Corolla bellshaped, with 5 or 6 

 strapshapcd subobtuse suberect segments, with a minute tooth in the 

 sinus between them, dotted with black points. Stamens 5 or 6, rather 

 longer than the corolla, slightly combined at the base into a very short 

 ring. 



In wet marshes, by the sides of ditches or canals, and in shallow 

 water. Rare. In England it occurs in Wiltshire (but probably intro- 

 duced), in Nottinghamshire, Yorksiiirc, and possibly in Anglcsca, 



