ASPHODELEiE. 209 



feet high, bearing alternate white flowers, with radical and sessile 

 leaves, long and smooth ; flowers white, and in a spike ; sandy 

 woods ; July. The root is very bitter, and in small quantities 

 used as a tonic and stomachic. See Bigelow's " Medical 

 Botany." 



Allium. L. 6. 1. 



From the Celtic for hot or burning ; a large genus, as more 

 than 60 species have been described, chiefly indigenous to Europe 

 and the adjoining countries ; a ^ew belong to the United States, 

 and 2 to Massachusetts. 



Corolla 6-parted, spreading ; spathe many-flowered ; umbel 

 crowded ; capsule superior, 3-celled, 3-valved. 



A. Canadense. L. Meadow or Wild Onion. Bears bulbs 

 like the common onion, with flowers terminating a leafless scape 

 nearly 2 feet high, and leaves linear, and nearly radical ; wet 

 meadows ; May. 



A. tricoccum. Ait. Wild Leek. Grows in woods, on hills, 

 and in valleys, with a round scape a foot high, and oblong, flat, 

 and smooth leaves ; June. This is often eaten by cattle in the 

 spring, and the milk of cows is made redolent with its strong and 

 offensive odor. 



A. cepa. L. Onion. From the Celtic for head, probably 

 from its form of flowers ; too important not to be noticed, and 

 too well known to need more than a notice ; indigenous to Hun- 

 gary. The varieties, which have white, yellow, and red bulbs, 

 are common in gardens ; the roots contain free phosphoric 

 acid. 



A. Ascalonicum. L. Shallot. Leaves subulate, a native of 

 Palestine, near Ascalon. 



A. sativum. L. Garlic. From Sicily, flat-leafed. 



A. porrum. L. Leek. From the Celtic to eat, with leaves 



27 



