338 



THE UMBELLATE FAMILY. 



Segments of the lower leaves either nearly orbicular or very 



much divided 1. Common P. 



Segments of most of the leaves ovate or lanceolate; the teeth 



or lobes very pointed 2. Greater P. 



The Aniseed is the fruit of a species of this genus (P. Anisum). 



1. Common Pimpinel. Pimpinella Saxifraga, Linn. 

 (Fig. 410.) 



(Eng. Bot. t. 407. Burnet Saxifrage.) 



Stock short and thick, but not tube- 

 rous. Stems erect, 1 to 2 feet high, not 

 much branched, glabrous or downy at 

 the top. Leaves very variable, the ra- 

 dical ones usually pinnate, with 7 to 9 

 pairs of broadly ovate or orbicular seg- 

 ments, 6 to 9 lines long, toothed or lobed ; 

 the upper leaves small, their segments 

 divided into a few narrow, or even linear 

 lobes : sometimes all, even the radical 

 leaves, have their segments once or twice 

 pinnate, with narrow lobes ; sometimes, 

 again, the few stem- leaves are, like the 

 radical ones, simply pinnate, but much 

 smaller, or reduced to simple bracts. 

 Umbels terminal, with from 10 to 15 

 rather slender rays ; the flowers white. 



In pastures, on banks, roadsides, etc., 

 throughout Europe and Russian Asia, 

 Fig. 410. except the extreme north. Abundant 



in Britain. Fl. all summer. 



2. Greater Pimpinel. Pimpinella magna, Linn. (Fig. 411.) 

 (Eng. Bot. t. 408.) 



Very near the common P., and perhaps a mere variety. It is much 

 larger in all its parts ; the stems often more than 2 feet high, and 

 stouter ; the segments of the leaves usually undivided, ovate or lan- 

 ceolate, often 1 to 1^ inches long, with more pointed teeth, or, if divided, 

 the lobes much longer and more pointed than in the common P., 

 the flowers frequently pink, in larger umbels, and the fruit also larger. 



