32 THE CKUCIFEK FAMILY. [Cardamine. 



terminal one the largest, those of the stem-leaves narrow-oblong 01 

 linear. Flowers large and showy ; the petals obovate and spreading, 

 pure white, frequently tinged with a pinkish purple. Pod more than 

 an inch long. 



In moist meadows, and along brooks and streams, common through- 

 out Europe, Eussian Asia, and Arctic America. Abundant in Britain. 

 FL spring and early summer. [There are two remarkable varieties, C. 

 dentata, Schult., a tall plant with fewer larger angled and toothed 

 leaflets ; and var. Beyneana, Neilr. , with the habit of C. hirsuta, many 

 small leaflets, small white flowers, and narrow petals ; found in Surrey 

 and Lancashire.] 



3. C. impatiens, Linn. (fig. 66). Narrow-leaved B. — An annual, with 

 a stiff, erect, leafy stem, 10 to 18 inches high, simple, or with a few 

 erect branches. Leaves pinnate, with numerous lanceolate or almost 

 ovate segments, J to \ inch long, and often deeply toothed or cut ; the 

 common leafstalk has, on each side, at its base, a curved linear appen- 

 dage embracing the stem, and resembling a stipule. Petals very 

 minute, and sometimes wanting. Pods numerous, about an inch long, 

 the valves rolling back at maturity, with much elasticity. 



On moist rocks, and in shady waste places, over a great part of 

 Europe and Eussian Asia. In Britain scattered over central and 

 northern England, very rare in Ireland. FL summer. 



4. O. hirsuta, Linn. (fig. 67). Hairy B. — An annual, of a deep 

 green colour, often much branched at the base, with ascending or 

 erect stems, sometimes a foot high, but usually not half so much, with 

 a few scattered hairs. Leaves pinnate, the segments small, those of 

 the lower leaves ovate or rounded, and angularly toothed, the upper 

 ones narrower and more entire. Flowers small and white, the petals 

 seldom twice the length of the very small sepals. Pods in a rather 

 loose raceme, about 6 lines to 1 inch long. 



On moist or shady banks, waste and cultivated places, throughout the 

 temperate regions of the globe. Abundant in Britain. Fl. spring and 

 all summer. It varies much, like other Cardamines, in the length and 

 thickness of the style. The common form is a small annual with the 

 stamens usually reduced to 4. A large perennial variety, with 6 

 stamens and slender style, is distinguished as a species, under the 

 name of 0. flexuosa, With, (sylvatica, Link). 



5. C. bulbifera, Br. (fig. 68). Bulhiferous B.,Coralroot. — Stem weak, 

 1 to 1J feet high, bearing several leaves, often with a small ovoid bulb 

 in their axils, the lower ones pinnate, with 5 or 7 segments, the upper 

 ones with fewer segments, or quite undivided ; all the segments lan- 

 ceolate, entire, or toothed, tapering at the base, mostly 1 \ to 2 inches 

 long. Flowers few, rather large. The pod is seldom formed, as the 

 plant usually propagates by the axillary bulbs falling to the ground, 

 and there growing. Dentaria bulbifera, Linn. 



In damp woods and shady places, chiefly in the mountain districts of 

 Europe from Scandinavia and central France to the Caucasus. In Britain 

 occurring from Stafford southwards to Kent and Sussex. FL spring. 



This species, with a few exotic ones, formed the genus Dentaria, Linn. , 

 kept up in the first edition of this work, but the supposed characters 

 are slight, resting on the rather broader pod, and the little seedstalks 

 being usually, but not always, flat and broad. 



