Epilobium.] onagrace^. 169 



A very hamlsome small tree of re^rular outline when allowed to take its natural 

 form, with a liRbt gray smooth barJi, and round, glabrous, reddish brown hranohes. 

 Leaves alternate, iraparipimiate, of about 7 pairs of oblon^o-lauceolate sessile leaf- 

 lets, bright green above, whitish or grayish and finely downy beneath when young, 

 but at lust becoming smooth on both sides, deeply and sharply mucronato-serrate, 

 entire and unequal at the base. Stipules roundish or semicircular, serrato-den- 

 tate, caducous, sometimes with long points. Panicles lateral and terminal, corym- 

 bose, flaltish or slightly convex, the branches downy, leafy beneath the principal 

 ramifications. Bracts subulate, coloured, deciduous. Flowers very numerous, 

 the size of those of Spiraea Ulmaria, white or cream-coloured, with a strong sweet- 

 ish but unpleasant scent. Calyx much shorter than the petals, in 5 erect green- 

 ish segments, margined with a few reddish brown glands, the tube villous. Petals 

 roundish or obovate, entire, concava, with a short claw. Stamens about as long 

 as the petals ; filaments and anthers white. Styles 3, erect, very woolly at the 

 base ; stigmas yellowish. 



Order XXV. ONAGEACE^, Juss. 



" Calyx-tube adnate with the ovary entirely or in part ; limb 2- 

 or generally 4-lobed, the lobes valvate in sestivation. Petals 2, 

 generally 4, twisted in sestivation, arising from the mouth of the 

 calyx. Stamens inserted into the calyx, and twice as many as its 

 lobes, or fewer. Ovary of 2 — 4 cells, often crowned by a disk. 

 Style filiform ; stigma capitate or lobed. Fruit a berry, or dry 

 and usually dehiscent. Seeds without albumen. —Herbs or shrubs. 

 Jjenvesfi-equently opposite." — Br. Fl. 



I. Epilobidm, Linn. Willow Herb. 



Calyx superior, 4-parted, deciduous ; the sepals not cohering 

 nor reflexed. Petals 4. Capsule linear, prismatic, quadrangular, 

 4-celled, 4-valved, many-seeded. Seeds crowned with a tuft of 

 hairs. 



The species of this genus are very widely dispersed, being found in all quarters 

 of the globe, but most numerous in the colder climates or in alpine regions. 

 Flowers almost always pink or purple, very rarely (as in E. luteum) yellow. 



* Flowers irreg-ular, stamens and style declined. ChamaBnerion, Tourn. 



1. 'E. angustifolium, L. Rose-bay Willow-herb. French Wil- 

 low. Persian Willow. Tame Withy* Vect. Leaves scattered 

 hnear-lanceolate veined glabrous, flowers irregular subspicate, 

 style and stamens declined. 



a. Pods short, leaves flat and spreading, flowers larger. 



/3. Pods long. 



In moist or swampy woods and thickets, on damp shady banks and pastures, 

 but not commonly met with. Fl. July— October. Fr. September, October. U. 



E. Med. — On a high bank by the pathside between Luccomhe and East End, 

 towards Rose-clifif Cottage, sparingly and almost choked by tall weeds and bushes. 

 Plentiful in a willow-bed on Sandown marshes, just at the edge of Lake common. 



* Tame Withy— <ame, i. e. cultivated or domesticated ; the plant being one of 

 the commonest ornaments of cottage-gardens. 



Z 



