TANSEY. — YELLOW RATTLE. 



43 



5. " Taiisey," or the " Tanacetum " of botany, is sometimes 

 found as a weed on very good meadows. The plant belongs 

 to the class and order *'Syngenesia polygamia su])erflua" of 

 Linneus, and the natural order " Corymbiferae " of Jussieu. 



Generic characier. — Calyx common, hemispherical, imbri- 

 cate; scales acute, compact. Corolla compound, tubular, 

 convex. Corollets hermaphrodite, numerous, tubular in the 

 disk ; females, some in the ray. Proper of the hermaphro- 

 dite : funnel-form, with a five-cleft reflexed border ; female, 

 trifid, more deeply divided inwardly. Stamina in the herma- 

 phrodites : filaments five, capillary very short ; anthers cylin- 

 clric, tubular. Pistil in the hermaphrodites : germ oblong, 

 small ; style filiform, length of the stamens ; stigma bifid, re- 

 volute. In the females, germ oblong ; style simple ; stigmas 

 two, reflexed. Pericarp none. Calyx unchanged. Seeds 

 solitary, oblong. Down slightly margined. Receptacle 

 naked. 



E.ssential character. — Calyx imbricate, hemispherical. 

 Corolla ; rays obsolete, trifid (sometimes none, and all the 

 florets hermaphrodite). Down submarginate. Receptacle 

 naked. 



The " Common tansey," or the " Tanacetum vulgare," has 

 the leaves bipinnatifid, sharply serrated, naked. The root is 

 fibrous and creeping, and spreads to a great distance. It is 

 bitter, and has a strong aromatic smell. Stems upright, from 

 two to four feet high. Flowers from June to August, and 

 compose a large, flattish, terminal, golden corymbus. 



This weed is a native of most parts of Europe, and grows 

 mostly on the banks of rivers, and low places that are mode- 

 rately swampy. As it propagates chiefly by the roots, they 

 must be dug up by the spade, or the weeding " spit or 

 tongs." 



6. The " Yellow rattle," or the " Rhinanthus" of botany, 

 is a very common weed on moist meadows. The plant be- 

 longs to the class and order " Didynamia angiospermia " of 

 Linneus, and the natural order ^' Pediculares " of Jussieu. 



Generic character. — Calyx : perianth inferior, of one leaf, 

 roundish, inflated, compressed, four-cleft, permanent. Corolla 



