44 



VTEEDS A^■T> "TSEFUL PLAXT5. 



Obs. This plant, a natire of Canada, and the conntiy fiirtlier north, 

 is cultivated in the gardens, near Philadelphia, under the name of 

 ScurTT-Grass," and is becoming spoutaneons farther south. The 

 leaves afford a tolerable salad, but not equal to the common cress (Lepi- 

 dium sativum, L..) nor to the TVater-cress [Xastuiinirn officinale. R. Br.) 

 There is another and stouter species [B. vulgaris. R. Br., probably 

 naturalized) , growing along our streams, which is sometimes used as a 

 salad, but it is bitterish and inferior in quality to this. 



3. SISYAI'BEIUX- L. HedCxE-mtstard. 



[An ancient Greet name, applied to tMs genus.] 



Siliqiie somewhat terete; 4-6 sided: valves 1-3-nerved. Seeds 

 oblong, marginless. Annual or perennial Jierbs. Leaves various. 



L S. ofl5.cilia'le, Scop. Lower leaves runcinate, upper ones some- 

 what hastate : racemes slender and virgate ; sUiques erect, awl-shaped, 

 close pressed to the stem. 

 Officixal Sisymbrium. Hedge-mustard. 



Fr. Herbe au Chantre. Gen)i. Der Hederich. Span. Jaramago. 



Boot annual. Stem 1-3 or 4 feet high, with spreading branches. Leav^ pilose ; lower 

 ones 3-6 or 8 Inches long. Petals small, greenish yeUow. SUiques terete-subulate or 

 somewhat nerved and angular, tapering at apex. 



Cultivated grounds, lanes and road-sides: introduced. Xative of Europe. H. Mav- 

 Aug. Pr. Aug. - Oct.' 



Obs. This foreigner is completely naturalized, and somewhat trouble- 

 some as a weed. It was formerly held in some repute, in Europe, as a 

 remedy for C':>ughs. the hoarseness of singers. &c. (whence its French 

 name'i ; but its virtues were doubtless oven-ated, and it is now regarded 

 by tidy farmers ia this country merely as a plant to be expelled fi'om 

 their premises. 



4. BEAS'SICA. L. Cabbage. Tue-xip. 



[Supposed to be from Bresic, the Celtic name for the Cabbage.] 



Calyx erect. Silique sub-terete : valves concave, or slightly keeled by 

 a central nerve. Seeds in a single series, globose. Foreign plants : 

 mostly biennial herbs, with a short stem and long flowering branches. 



1. B. olera'cea, L. Leaves somewhat fleshy, orbicular or oblong, 

 strongly veined, repand or lobed, glabrous and glaucous. 

 Olekaceous or Pot-heeb Beassica. Cabbage. 

 Fr. Chou potager. Germ. Der Kohl. Span. Berza. 



The following Sub-species or Varieties are more or less cultivated in 

 the kitchen garden. 



