192 DROSERACE.E 



Little is known of their sensible qualities. The Sundews are somewhat 

 acrid or acid and hitter, and have the reputation of being poisonous to sheep. 

 They impart a deep purple stain to paper in the herbarium ; and it is thought 

 they may afford a valuable dye. 



Parnassia, which has long been dubiously appended to this family, from 

 which it differs by its introrse anthers as well as the exalbuminous seeds, 

 should doubtless, for the present, rather be appended to Hypericaceae, to 

 which Don, and subsequently Lindley, have referred it. The latter, indeed, 

 has inserted a proviso, that if " the seeds of Parnassia were really parietal, 

 as they are described to be, that would be a reason for removing it to some 

 other place," * — and he proceeds to maintain that the placenta? in this case 

 and in Hypericum are truly axih ! But how the placentation differs from 

 that of Cistaceae and Violaceae, which are allowed to have truly parietal pla- 

 centae, we are not informed. 



* f'rget. Kingd. p. 406. 



