200.— Abbot’s F). I3e<lf. p. 141. —Mart. FI. Rust. t. 92. —l’urt. Midi. FI. v. i. 
p.299. — Sen ebiira Cor on opus, Re Cand. Syst. v. ii. p.525. — Eers. Syn. v. ii. 
p. 185. — Sm. Jinel. FI. v. iii. p. 179. — Johnst. FI. of Berw. v. i. p. 142. — Winch’s 
FI. of Northumb. and Duili. p. 40. — Ron’s Gen. Syst. of Card, and Rot. v. i. p. 
216. — Walker’s FI. of Oxf. p. 186. — 'Nasturtium supinum, capsulis verrucosis, 
Ray’s Syn. p. 304. 
Locali'iies. — On waste ground, and byway-sides, on calcarious and sandy 
soils; common. 
Annual. — Flowers from June to September. 
Root tapering. Stems spreading immediately from the crown 
of the root in a star-like form, and lying quite flat on the ground ; 
leafy, smooth, much branched. Leaves alternate, of a somewhat 
glaucous green colour, smooth, irregularly, and deeply pinnatifid ; 
the lateral lobes strap-shaped, entire on the lower edge, often sub- 
divided in a pinnatifid manner on the upper ; the terminal lobe 
strap-shaped, very entire. Flowers very small, opposite to the 
leaves, in small close corymbs. Sepals egg-shaped, concave, spread- 
ing, deciduous. Petals white, somewhat egg-shaped, entire. Pouches 
in dense, spike-like clusters, much shorter than the leaves, kidney- 
shaped, undivided, depressed on the sides, 2-celled, curiously crested 
with little sharp points, and terminated by the short conical style ; 
one of the cells is occasionally empty, in which case the fertile seed 
expands, and almost fills up the seed-vessel. Seed egg-shaped, one 
in each cell. Cotyledons rather oblong and channelled than strap- 
shaped (see fig. 10). 
This plant was formerly gathered and used as a salad, but is now 
deservedly neglected, the whole herb being nauseously acrid and 
fetid, and must require much boiling to render it eatable. 
CHORUS OF FLOWERS. 
He ar our tiny void's, hear ! 
Lower than the night-wind’s sighs ; 
’Tis we that to the sleeper’s ear 
Sing dreams of heaven’s melodies ! 
Listen to the songs of flow’rs — 
What music is there like to ours 1 
Look on our beauty — we were born 
On a rainbow’s dewy breast. 
Then cradled by the moon or morn, 
Or that sweet light that loves the W est ! 
Look upon the face of flow’rs — 
What beauty is there like to ours ? 
You think us happy while we bloom, 
So lovely to your mortal eye ; — 
But we have hearts, and there’s a tomb 
Where ev’n a flow’ret’s peace may lie ’ 
Listen to the songs of flow’rs — 
What melody is like to ours ? 
Hear our tiny voices, hear ! 
Lower than the night-wind’s sighs, — 
’Tis we that to the sleeper’s ear 
Sing dreams of heaven’s melodies ! 
Listen to the songs of flow’rs — 
What melody is like to ours 1 
Bentley’s Miscellany. 
