TALEBIAIfE.i:. 281 



and distinguished cbiefly by modifications in the form of the little fruits 

 which appear to be constant. Tliey are chiefly natives of the Mediten-anean 

 and Caucasian regions, but some are spread as weeds of cultivation over 

 the greater part of the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. 



Fruit without any perceptible projecting border on the top. 

 Fruit as bx'oad a3 long, somewhat laterally compressed, with a 



shght furrow on each side 1. Common C. 



Fruit ovoid, convex on the back, with an oval, concave or cup- 

 shaped appendage on the face 2. Keeled C. 



Fruit crowned by the small, oblique, toothiike border of the calyx. 

 Fruit narrow, rather flattened, convex on the back, with 2 



longitudinal ribs on the face 4. Narrow-fruited C. 



Fruit broadly ovoid, showing, when cut across, 3 cells, one 



with a seed iu it, and two conspicuous empty ones ... 3. Sharp-fruited C. 



1. Common Cornsalad. Valerianella olitoria, PoU. 

 (Valeriana locusta, Eng. Bot. t. 811. Cornsalad or Lamb' s-lettuce.) 



A glabrous or slightly downy annual, seldom above 6 inclies high, erect 

 or ascending, branching from the base, arid repeatedly forked. Radical 

 leaves in a spreading tuft, oblong, 1^ to 2 inches long, rounded at the top, 

 ' entire or with a very few coarse teeth, narrowed at the base ; stem-leaves 

 narrower, but with a broad base, often clasping the stem, and more fre- 

 quently toothed. Flowers very small, mostly in Utile, dense, terminal cymes, 

 i to 4^ inch in diameter, surrounded by small lanceolate or Unear bracts. 

 Fruit about a line long and at least as broad, somewhat compressed, with- 

 out any perceptible calycine border, and marked on each side with a longi- 

 tudinal furrow. When cut across, the seed will be seen to occupy the 

 centre, with a somewhat corky mass on one side, and an empty cell on the 

 other. 



A native of southern Europe, often cultivated for salad, and now a com.- 

 mon weed in waste places and cornfields in central Europe. Not unfre- 

 quent in various parts of the British Isles. Fl. spring and summer. 



2. Keeled Cornsalad. Valerianella cariuata^ Lois. 



(Fedia. Eng. Bot. Suppl. t. 2810.) 



Closely resembles the common C. in everything but the fruit, which is 

 ovoid, not compressed laterally, but rather from front to back, without any 

 corky mass at the back of the seed, and the empty cell in front is not closed 

 in, but open, in the shape of a Uttle cup-shaped appendage. 



Slore abundant than the common C. in most parts of continental Europe, 

 but much less frequent in England. I have not met with it in cultivation, 

 although so similar in foUage. Ft. spring and summer. 



3. Sharp-fruited Cornsalad. Valerianella auricula, DC. 



{Fedia. Eng. Bot. Suppl. t. 2809.) 



Stems generally more erect than the two last, the branches not proceeding 

 from so near the base, more slender and wiry ; the leaves small and narrow, 

 the cymes small and not so compact, often wth single flowers in the forks 

 of the stem, and the bracts small and narrow. Fruit broadly ovoid, scarcely 

 compressed, crowned by the little green oblique border of the calyx. On 

 being cut across, it shows one small cell occupied by the seed, and two some- 

 what larger empty ones. 



In cornfields and waste places, widely spread over central and southern 

 Europe and western Asia. Not unfrequent in Britain, and perliaps truly 

 indigenous. F'l. summer. 



2 B 2 



