UNICORN-PLANT 



753 



yielding an abundance of small-sized fruit. It is the kind most 

 I grown for pickling in the United States. 



I M. proboscidea, Glox., a violet-flowered species, has fruit of 

 i larger size and with longer horns. It is a native of Louisiana. 



AFRICAN VALERIAN 



Fedia Cornucopice, Gaertn. ValerianacecB. 



I French, Valeriana d' Alger. German^ Algerischer Baldrian. Fle77iish, Speenkruid. 

 j Dutch, Speerkruid. 



Native of Algeria.— Annual.— Stems erect, branching, smooth, 

 : I ft. to 1 6 in. high ; leaves almost all radical, oval-oblong, entire, 

 '; bluntly toothed, and a rather dark, shining green ; flowers pink in 



terminal clusters ; seeds 



yellow or grayish, oblong, 



thick, convex on one side, 



and marked on the other 



with a deep longitudinal 



furrow. Their germina- 

 ting power lasts for four 



years. The seed may be 



sown in the open ground, 



from April to August, in 



drills 10 to 12 in. apart. 



When thinned out and 



plentifully watered in 



hot weather, the plants tt i • ^ i • > 



. , , . ' ^ - African Valerian (i natural size). 



quickly form rosettes oi 



leaves, which are fit for use in about two months after sowing. 

 The plant is somewhat sensitive to cold, and is not so suitable 

 for sowing in autumn as the Corn-salad. It is often grown for 

 ornament. The leaves are eaten as salad. 



WATER-CHESTNUT 



Trapa nutans^ L. Haloragacece. 



French, Macre. German, Wasser-Nuss. Flemish and Dutch, Waternoot. Spanish, 



Nueis. 



Native of S. Europe. — Annual. — An aquatic plant with a long 

 stem which reaches to the surface of the water. Submerged leaves 

 opposite ; floating leaves alternate and arranged in a rosette at the 

 top of the stem ; blade of the leaf diamond-shaped, broader than 

 long ; flowers white, axillary ; fruit large, dark gray, bearing four 

 very stout spines arranged cross-wise, two of them being much 

 longer than the others. The germinating power of the fruit does 



48 



