1 1 { 



CIjc Crra^ury of 23otanD. 



[naet 



short crown, the filaments unequally ad- 

 nate to the upper part of the tube, and the 

 style attenuated upwards, as in JV. monta- 

 nics and odorus. 

 i The true forms of Xarcissus, represented 

 by X poeticus, are distinguished by their 



■ slender cylindrical tube widened at the 

 mouth, their very short cup, their filaments 

 very unequally aduate near the mouth, aud 

 their slender style. [T. MJ 



■ NARCISSUS of Japan. Nerine sarni- 

 ensis. 



If ARD. The Spikenard, or Nard of the 

 ancients, Nardosteehys Jatamansi. —, 

 COMMON. Nardus stricta. 



SARD. (Fr.) Nardus. — ASPIC. La- 

 vandula Spica. — CELTIQUE. Valeriana 

 celtica. — SAUYAGE. Asarum europamm. 



NARDOO. An Australian name for ./!/«?•- 

 silea macropus, sometimes called M. hirsute, 

 and M. salvatrix, the spores and spore-cases 

 of which are used bythe aboriginesfor food. 

 They are pounded up, and baked into oread, 



! and also made into porridge ; and according 

 to Dr. Beckler both preparations furnish a 

 nutritions food, by no means unwholesome, 

 and free from unpleasant taste, but afford- 

 ing sorry fare for civilised man. Some of 



| the survivors of the Australian exploring 

 expedition, under Mr. Burke, prolonged 



; their lives by the sole use of this food. The 

 plant has been not inaptly described, in the 

 newspapers, as 'a qua trefoil something 

 like trefoil.' It must be very abundant and 

 prolific, as Nardoo fields, probably swampy 

 places in which it abounds, are mentioned ; 

 and the survivor of Burke's exploring 

 party found, left in a hut by the natives, a 

 bag of the Nardoo containing sufficient to 

 last him for a fortnight. [T. M.] 



X ARDOPHYLLFM. A genus of Compo- 

 site of the tribe Asteroidew, consisting of 

 about half-a-dozen species from extratro- 

 pical South America, especially Chili, in- 

 I eluding Dolichogvne of De Candolle. They 

 are all closely ailied to Lepidophyllum from 

 the same country, to Chrysothamnus and 

 Bricameria from North-west Arderica, and 

 to Pteronia from the Cape. 



NAKDOSMIA. A name under which the 

 Winter Heliotrope (Tussilago fragrans), 

 and some allied Northern species of Tussi- 

 lago, have been separated genetically, on 

 account of trifling differences in the female 

 florets. Together with Petasites, of which 

 they have the habit, they are much more 

 appropriately considered as a section only 

 of the well-marked and natural genus Tus- 

 silago. 



NARDOSTACHYS. A genus of Nepalese 

 herbaceous plants belonging to the VaJe- 

 rianacecB. The flowers are in corymbs, pro- 

 tected by an involucre ; the calyx limb 

 is divided into five persistent leafy seg- 

 ments: the corolla is regular, spurless, its 

 tube enclosing four stamens ; the ovary 

 is inferior, three-celled, two of the com- 

 partments being empty, and the third con- 

 taining a single ovule. The roots of these 



plants are very fragrant. According to Dr. 

 Royle, those of N. Jatamansi constituted 

 the Spikenard of the ancients. [M. T.M.] 



Nardostachys Jatamansi. 



NARDUS. A genus of grasses belonging 

 to the tribe Agrostidece. The inflorescence 

 is in simple unilateral two-rowed spikes ; 

 glumes none ; pales two, terminating in a 

 bristle. The common Nard, w Matgrass, 

 is the only species described. It is a 

 worthless grass for agricultural purposes, 

 but, growing on dry bare moory places, is 

 valuable for sheep pasture. [D. M.] 



NARGIL, NARIKEL, NARIYUL. In- 

 dian names for the Cocoa-nut. 



NARTHECIUM. A genus of marsh 

 herbaceous perennials belonging to the 

 Juncacea?, and of which the characters 

 are:— Sepals coloured; filaments hairy; 

 stigma one; capsule three-celled at the 

 base, many-seeded. The genus, which is a 

 small one, is represented in Britain by the 

 Lancashire Asphodel, N. ossifragum, a 

 plant with creeping roots, ensiform leaves 

 all in the same plane, and scapes termi- 

 nating in a spiked cluster of pretty yellow- 

 flowers. It is common on wet moors and 

 the boggy sides of mountains. Since 

 sheep pasturing in such localities are 

 liable to the rot, it was formerly thought 

 that this disease was attributable to the 

 herbage on which they fed; and hence 

 this innoxious plant received the ill- 

 omened name ossifragum, or 'bone- 

 breaker.' An American species, N. ameri- 

 canum, is similar in all respects. French 

 Brise-os ; Germ. Beinbrechgras. [C.A. J.] 



NARTHEX. A genus of TJmbelliferw 

 closely allied to Ferula, but the umbels 

 have no involucre, the limb of the calyx 

 is suppressed, the stylopods are depressed 

 and cup-shaped, the styles recurved, and 

 the fruit compressed at the back with a 

 dilated margin, each half traversed by 

 three central ridges and two lateral ones, 

 which are very minute. There is one vitta 

 in each channel on the back of the fruit, 

 and a variable number on the commissure. 

 N. asafcetida, a tall-growing plant much 

 like a Ferula, grows in Western Tibet, 

 &c. The plant has recently produced its 

 flowers in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden. 



