Sisymbrium terrestre. AnnualWater-Radish, 



SISYMBRIUM Lin. Gen. PL Tetr adynamia siliq.uosa. 



Siliqua dehifcens, valvulis rectiufculis. Cal. patens. Corolla patens. 

 Rati Syn. Gen. Herb^ tetrapetal^e siliquos^e et siliculos^. 

 SISYMBRIUM terrejlre radice annua, foliis pinnatifldis dentato-ferratis, filiquis foecundis. 



RADIX annua, fibrofa, albida. ^ROOT annual, fibrous and whitifti. 



CAULIS pedalis, fefquipedalis, et ultra, plerumquef STALK a foot, a foot and a half, or more, in height, 

 erectus, ramolus, fulcatus, Levis, viridis, feu | generally upright, branched, grooved, fmooth, 



purpurafcens. % of a green or purpliih colour. 



FOLIA omnia pinnatifida, Eryfimi officinalis quodam- | LEAVES, all of them pinnatifid, fomewhat like thofe 

 modo fimilia, lasvia, pinnis trium, quatuor, % of Hedge-muftard, fmooth, the pinnae confift 



five fex parium, cum impari, omnibus inae- | of three, four, or fix pair, with an odd one, 



qualiter denta^o ferratis, extima prefertim in y all of them unequally indented, the outermoft 



inferioribus foliis rotundata ; caulina femiam- | efpecially in the bottom leaves roundifh, thofe 



plexicaulia. I of the ftalk partly amplexicaule. 



FLORES minimi, lutei, femper foecundi. | FLOWERS very fmall, yellow, and always producing 



| feed. 



CALYX: Perianthium tetraphyllurn, foliolis ovatis, % CALYX : a Perianthium of four leaves, which are 

 obtulis, concavis, fubereclis, flaveicentibus. | ovate, obtufe, hollow, nearly upright, and yel- 



fig. i. auct. \ lowifh. fig. r. magn. 



COROLLA; Petala quatuor, lutea, faepius emargi- | COROLLA : four Petals, of a yellow colour, gene- 

 nata, vix longitudine calycis. fig. 2. | rally nicked at the end, fcarcely the length 



I of the calyx, fig. 2. 



STAMINA: Fil amenta fex, fubaequalia, longitudine | STAMINA : fix Filaments, nearly equal, the length 

 piftilli, flavefcentia. Anthers luteae, in- | of the piftillum, of a yellowifli colour. An- 



cumbentes. fig. 3. | theri: yellow and incumbent, fig. 3. 



PISTILLUM : Germen oblongum. Stylus breviffi- f PISTILLUM : Germen oblong. Style very fhort. 

 mus. Stigma capitatum, villofum. fig. 4. | Stigma forming a little head and villous. 



I fig- 4- 



PERICARPIUM: Siliqua teres, longitudine pedun- % SEED-VESSEL a round Pod, the length of theflower- 

 culi, furfum fubarcuata, feminibus plurimis | ftalk, fomewhat curved upward, turgid with 



haud aequaliter protuberantibus turgida. fig. % numerous feeds which protuberate unequally. 



5, 6. I fig. 5, 6. 



SEMINA minima, fufca, Jig. 7. % SEEDS very fmall and brown, fig. 7. 



We have taken the name of terrejlre, which Linn^us applies to the third variety of his Sisymbrium amphihium, 

 not {( > much from the certainty of its being the plant he intends, as from the propriety of its application to this 

 fpecies, it being generally found in dryer fituations than the true amphibium. 



Repeated obfervation and culture have thoroughly fatisfied us that the prefent plant is a fpecies perfectly diftm& 

 from the amphibium \ and we ground our authority for confidering it as fuchon the following circumftances. 



1 ft, It is an annual, whereas the amphibium is not only a perennial, but has a creeping root. 



2cily, It is a much fmaller plant than the amphibium, feldom acquiring half its height. 



3dlv, It is feldom or never found in the water, unlefs accidentally overflown. 



4thly, Its foliage is very different, the radical leaves much refembling thofe of the Eryfimum officinale. 



And, laftly, its feed- vefiels are always turgid, and full of feeds, while thofe of the amphibium areufually abortive. 



As we can find no fatisfaclory account of this plant either in Ray, Hudson, Linnaeus, Haller, or the 

 numerous authors we have conlulted, we have omitted all fynonyms, and contented ourfelves with giving it a new 

 fpecific character, chiefly intended to contrail: it with the amphibium. 



In the courfe of our botanical refearches we have had frequent occafion to remark, that our moll: common plants 

 are the leaft known ; we feek with avidity fuch as are rare and with difficulty acquired, and neglect thofe that we 

 daily tread under foot. The prefent plant affords an inftance of this inattention, as it is a very common one in the 

 environs of London, and found in the fame fituations as the Rumex maritimus, on the edges of wet ditches, and on 

 pround apt to be occafionally overflown. We have obfervedit in Tothill- Fields, on the edge of a ditch by the road- 

 fide leading from the Magdalen Hofpital to Lambeth Marjh, and in our garden it comes up fpontaneoufly as a 

 common weed. 



When this plant grows by itfelf, in a fituation tolerably dry, it grows quite erect, and quickly produces a 

 conliderable quantity of feeds. Should it happen to be overflown, which is frequently the cafe, it is then more 

 procumbent, and will fometimes take root at the joints, in which ftate it appears to be the Sifymbrium palujlre repens 

 fijrvofiore of Vaillant, at leaft it accords in part. 



This fpecies of Sifymbrium flowers in June, July, Augujl, and September. 



It has a fimilar tafte to moft of the plants of the crefs kind, but is not very pungent. 



