( 34 .) 
BU'TOMUS* *. 
Linnean Class and Order. Ennea'ndria f, Hexagy'nia. 
Natural Order. Buto'mEvE, Richard . — Lindl. Syn. p. 271.; 
Introd. to Nat. Syst. of Bot. p. 253. — Alisma'ceas, Section Bu- 
to'me.e. Rich, by Macgillv. pp. 399 & 400. 
Gen. Char. Calyx none. Corolla ( Perianth of Hook, see 
p. 33.) of six egg-shaped concave petals, the three outer of which 
are the smallest, and most pointed. Filaments nine, awl-shaped, 
shorter than the corolla, six in the outer row, three in the inner. 
Anthers oblong, of two cells, each opening lengthwise, by two valves, 
the whole subsequently contracted into a heart-shaped figure. Ger- 
mens six, oblong, the point of each elongated into a vertical style, 
with an abrupt stigma. Capsules six, oblong, taper-pointed, up- 
right, each of one cell, and one valve, bursting at the inner margin. 
Seeds numerous, oblong, cylindrical, obtuse at both ends. — Distin- 
guished from all other genera by the nine stamens, and six, many- 
seeded, capsules. 
One species British. 
BU'TOMUS UMBELLA'TUS. Flowering Rush. Water Gla- 
diole. 
Spec. Char. Leaves narrow, strap-shaped, pointed, three edged ; 
Spatha (sheath) of three leaves. 
Eng. Iiot. t. 651. — Curt. FI. Lond. t. 29. — Sm. FI. Brit. v. i. p. 436. — Eng. 
FI. v. ii. p. 245. — With. (7th ed.) v. ii. p. 515. — Lind. S>n. p.272. — Hook. Br. 
FI. p. 185. — Sibth. FI. Oxon. p. 134. — Abb. FI. Bedf. p. 91. — Purt. Midi. FI. 
v.i. p.204. v. iii. p 357. — Relh. FI. Cantab. (3rd ed.) p. 168. — Lightf’oot’s FI. 
Scot. v. i. p. 211. — Hook. FI. Scot. p. 123. — Grev. FI. Edin . p.92. — Rev. G.E. 
Smith’s Plants of S. Kent, p. 25. — Mackay’s Catalogue of the Plants of [reland, 
p. 38. — Walk. FI. of Oxf. p. 117. — Butomus, Ray’s Syn. p.273. — Gladiolus 
palustris cordi, Johnson’s Gerarde, p. 29. 
Localities. — On the margins of rivers, and in ponds and ditches. — On the 
banks of the Isis, and the Cherwell, and in watery ditches in the neighbourhood 
of Oxford, plentiful. — Common about the Avon, and the Swifts, near Rugby, 
in Warwickshire, especially near the bridge and the new aqueducts going from 
thence to Newbold and Brownsover. 1831. W. B. — In the rivers Avon, Arrow, 
and Alne, in many places near Alcester, Warwickshire. Mr. Pukton, in Mid. 
FI. — Priory Pools, and in the Avon, near Warwick. Mr. Perry, in With. Bot. 
Arr. — River Blythe, near Coleshill ; and about Stafford and Tamworth. Dr. 
Withering, ibid. — Skerne, near Darlington. Mr. Robson, ibid. — Side of the 
river Avon, at Evesham. Mr. Ballard, ibid. — About Bungay. Mr. Wood- 
ward, ibid. — In ditches between Ince and the sen, north of Liverpool. Mr. 
Shepherd, ibid. —Mere, near Scarborough. Mr. Travis, ibid. — About White 
Cliff', and Durmeston, near Blandford. Dr. Pulteney, ibid. — Bushy Park, 
Middlesex. Mr. Winch, ibid. — Paper-Mills, Chesterton. Granchester. ’Fever- 
sham Moor River Cam. Isle of Ely, &c. Rev. R. Relhan, in FI. Cantab. — 
Fig. 1. The 9 Stamens and 6 Pistils. — Fig. 2. A single Stamen. — Fig. 3. A 
single Pistil. — Fig. 4. One of the three inner Petals. — Fig. 5. One of the three 
outer ditto. These three outer petals are described by some authors as a colour- 
ed calyx, and are called sepals. — Fig. 6. The 6 Capsules. 
* From Bous, Gr. an Ox, and tomos, Gr. sharp, because the sharp leaves 
injure the mouths of cattle that browze upon them. 
t The ninth Class of the Artificial System of Linnaus, containing those 
plants which have 9 distinct stamens, of which Butomus is the only British 
example. 
