238 THE ITMBELIiATE PAMTLT, 



I. HVDROCOTYLE. HTDEOCOTYLB. 



Herbs, mostly aquatic, with leaves often peltate. Flowers in a small 

 simple head or umbel, or in 2 or more whorls one above the other. Petals 

 ovate. Fruit laterally compressed, the carpels flat, nearly orbicular, placed 

 edge to edge, with one prominent rib on each side, and without any promi- 

 nent calycine teeth. 



A rather large genus, spread over the greater part of the globe, and, not- 

 withstanduig some rather anomalous South African species, readily known 

 as yvell by its foliage and inflorescence as by its fruit. 



1. Common Hydrocotyle. Hydrocotyle vuleraris, Linn. 



(Eng. Bot. t. 751. Marsh Pennywort. White-rot.) 

 The perennial slender stem creeps along the wet mud, or even floats in 

 water, rooting at every node, and emitting from the same point small tufts 

 of leaves and flowers. Leaves orbicular, J to 1 inch diameter, crenate or 

 slightly lobed, and attached by the centre to a rather long stalk. Peduncles 

 shorter than the leafstalks, with a single termmal head, or 2 or even 3 whorls 

 of minute wliite flowers on very short pedicels. Fruits small, flat, and gla- 

 brous, about a Une in diameter. 



In bogs, marshes, edges of ponds and lakes, in temperate Europe, from 

 southern Scandinavia to the Caucasus. Frequent in Britain. FL summer. 



II. SANICLE. SANICULA. 



Herbs, with a perennial rootstock ; palmately divided leaves mostly radi- 

 cal ; and erect, almost leafless steins, irregularly branched at the top, each 

 branch ending in a very small head of flowers. Fruit ovoid, covered with 

 short, hooked prickles, and crowned by the 5 prickly teeth of the calyx. 

 Petals minute, obovate, with an inflected point. 



A genus of very few species, but widely spread over a great part of the 

 globe without the tropics. They are aU readily distinguished among irre- 

 gular Umliellates by their bm-r-hke fruit. 



1. TVood Sanicle. Sanicula europsea, Linn. 

 (Eng. Bot. t. 98.) 



Kootstock short, almost woody. Radical leaves on long stalks, 1 to 2 

 inches diameter, deeply divided mto about 5 palmate segments or lobes, each 

 one obovate or wedge-shaped, dentate or lobed, the teeth ending m a fine 

 point, and often ciliate at the edge ; the wliole plant otherwise glabrous. 

 Stems 1 to 1^ fe«t high, leafless or with small triiid leaves or bracts under 

 the branches of the panicle. This usually consists of 3 short branches, 

 each with a single small head of flowers, with a longer branch lower down 

 the stem bearing 3 small heads, but sometime^ there are more 3-headed 

 branches formmg an iiTegular umbel. At the time of flowering, the calyx- 

 teeth almost conceal the petals ; as the fruit ripens into Kttle burrs of about 

 2 lines, the prickles almost conceal the calyx-teeth. 



In woods, tln-oughout Europe except the extreme north, extending east- 

 ward into central Asia. Frequent in Britain. Fl. summer. 



