2S&1 THE TMBELIATE TAMILT. 



Britain and only known for certain in the marshes of eastern England, from 

 Suffolk to Yorkshire. Fl. late in summer. 



3. Broad Peucedan. Feucedanum Ostruthium, Koch. 

 {Imperatoria, Eng. Bot. t. 1380. Mastenoort.) 



Stock perennial, with stout, erect stems, 2 to 3 feet high. Leaves divided 

 into 3 large, broad segraents, which are again deeply 3-lobed and coarsely 

 toothed, 3 to 4 inches long, and often rather rough with a few short hairs, 

 but much less so than' in Heracleum ; the lateral segments descend much 

 lower along the leafstalk on the outer than on the inner side. Umbels 

 large, terminal, of 4-0 or i^O rays, without any general involucre, and only a 

 few very slender smaU bracts to the partial ones. Flowers white. Emit 

 nearly orbicular, about 2 hnes diameter. 



A native of mountain pastures in central Europe ; formerly much culti- 

 vated as a pot-herb, and now naturalized m several parts of northern Europe 

 as well as in the north of England and in Scotland. Fl. early summer. 



XXVI. PARSNIP. PASTINACA. 



Habit and fruit of Heracleum, but the flowers are yellow and all small. 

 The vittas are also usually more slender, and descend lower down on the 

 fruit, but this character is not constant. 



A genus of very few species, chiefly from the Mediterranean region and 

 west-central Asia. 



1. Common Parsnip. Pastinaca sativa, Linn. 



(Eng. Bot. t. 556.) 



An annual or biennial, forming a tap-root, with an erect stem seldom 

 more than 2 feet high when wild, 3 or 4 when cultivated. Lower leaves 

 pinnate, coarse, and more or less downy, especially on the under side, with 

 5, 7, or 9 segments, each 1 to 3 inches long, sharply toothed, and more or 

 less lobed, especially the terminal one ; upper leaves small and less divided. 

 Umbels not very large, of 8 to 12 rays, usually without involucres. Eruits 

 about 3 lines long, flat and oval, with scarcely prominent ribs, the vittas 

 very conspicuous, descending nearly to the base of the fruit. 



In pastures and thickets, on banks and edges of fields, tliroughout cen- 

 tral and southern Europe, and temperate Russian Asia. Erequent ia Eng- 

 land and Ireland, extenduig at least as far north as Dm-ham. Fl. summer. 



XXVII. HERACLEUM. HEEACLEUM. 



Coarse, rough herbs, the leaves dissected with large segments. Umbels 

 compound ; the bracts few and deciduous or none. Flowers white ; the 

 outer petals of each umbel larger. Fruit flattened from front to back, with 

 a single thin border (splitting only by the separation of the carpels). Car- 

 pels broad, with 3 very fine, scarcely prominent ribs ; or if 5, the 2 outside 

 ones close to the border. Vittas single to each interstice, not descending to 

 the base of the fruit, and often thickened at the lower end. 



A rather natural genus, comprising a considerable number of species, from 

 the mountains of central and southern Europe, and especially een tral Asia, 



