THE VALERIAN. 159 



good deal in breadth, being broad when they are few in 

 number, and narrower when more numerous ; their length 

 will ordinarily be from two to three inches. The outline is 

 marked by a few coarsely-cut teeth. The upper surface 

 shows the veining very clearly, the under surface is paler 

 in colour, and often more or less clothed with short and 

 soft hairs. The flowers are small and tinged with pink and 

 Mesh-colour, their odour being somewhat peculiar, and to 

 most people slightly disagreeable. The corolla is tubular^ 

 but without the spur that we have seen is so marked a 

 feature in the red valerian, a plant that we have already 

 figured in our series. From the midst of the five lobes of 

 the corolla rise the three stamens, a curious combination of 

 numbers, as we almost invariably find that all the parts of 

 a flower ai-e in some numerical harmony, being multiples 

 of some one number. Thus in the geraniums the petals, 

 the sepals, and the carpels are all five in number, and the 

 stamens are twice five, while in the lily of the valley the 

 perianth is cleft into six lobes, and the stamens are six in 

 number, and the ovary is three-celled. Our readers will 

 have no difficulty in multiplying examples from their own 

 observation, as it is very exceptional to find a plant wherein 

 this arithmetical harmony is not a marked feature. 



The plant owes both its generic and specific names to 

 its medicinal value. The generic name is from the Latin 

 verb signifying to be powerful, while the second name indi- 

 cates its officinal value. One old name for the plant was 

 phu, or, as we should now say, faugh ! an expression of 

 aversion, the plant having a somewhat strong and dis- 

 agreeable smell that becomes more especially noticeable 

 when one attempts to gather it. At the same time, it 

 appears to us that there are many plants to which the con- 



