Cynoglossum. 



BOR AGIN AGE JS. 



89 



9. CYNOGLOSSUM. Linn. ; Endl. gen. 3784. hound' s-tongue. 



[ From the Greek, kyon, a dog, and glossa, a tongue ; from the form of the leaves.] 



Calyx 5-parted. Corolla funnelform ; the throat closed by 5 connivent scales : limb with 5 

 obtuse lobes. Nuts depressed, covered with rigid prickles. — Herbs, with the racemes 

 simple or paniculate. 



1. Cynoglossum officinale, Linn. Common HounaV s-tongue. 



Whole plant silky- pubescent ; radical leaves lanceolate -oblong, attenuate at the base ; 

 stem-leaves lanceolate, sessile ; racemes paniculate, without bracts ; stamens included. — 

 Linn. sp. 1. p. 134 ; Engl. hot. t. 921 ; Pursh, fl. I. p. 123 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 72 ; Torr. 

 fl. l.p. 208; Beck, hot. p. 254; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 122 ; Leh/n. in Hook. fl. Bor.-Am. 2. 

 p. 85. 



Biennial. Whole plant of a dull green color, and clothed with a soft pubescence. Stem 

 1—2 feet high, branching. Lower leaves on long petioles. Racemes numerous, naked. 

 Calyx-segments spreading in fruit. Corolla purplish red. Nuts large, densely covered with 

 rigid prickles. 



Road-sides and waste grounds ; common. June - July. Introduced. The plant has an 

 unpleasant smell, which has been compared to that of mice. It is quite annoying to wool- 

 growers, owing to its rough adhering nuts, which resemble little burs. 



2. Cynoglossum Virginicum, Linn. Wild Comfrey. HounoV s-tongue. 



Plant hairy ; radical leaves oval-oblong, petiolate ; stem-leaves lanceolate-oblong, clasping 

 and cordate at the base ; racemes corymbose, on a long naked peduncle. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 139; 

 LeJim. Asperif. p. 156 ; Torr. fl. l.p. 208; Beck, hot. p. 254; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 122; 

 Hook. fl. Bor.-Am. 2. p. 85. C. amplexicaule, Michx. fl. 1. p. 132 ; Pursh, fl. 1. p. 133 ; 

 Ell. sk. 1. p. 228. 



Perennial. Stem 2-3 feet high, erect, simple, clothed with whitish spreading or retrorse 

 hairs. Radical -leaves 6-8 inches long and 2-4 inches wide, narrowed at the base into a 

 petiole : stem-leaves smaller, and somewhat auriculate at the base. Peduncle 3-6 inches 

 long. Flowers in a terminal corymb or panicle, which consists of two or three divisions ; the 

 lower flowers in each division a raceme, on elongated pedicels. Segments of the calyx oblong. 

 Corolla pale blue or nearly white ; the tube as long as the calyx ; the throat closed by five 

 little connivent pouches, which are formed by the protrusion of the corolla inward, having pits 

 or cavities on the outside. Nuts as in the preceding species. 



Rocky woods in rich soils ; on the Hudson, above the Highlands. May - June. The 

 mucilaginous root is used for colds, and as a poultice for sprains, etc. As Dr. Darlington 

 remarks, it serves very well to amuse the patient. 

 [Flora— Vol. 2.] 12 



