﻿( 84 .) 



GENl'STA * *. 



Linnean Class and Order. DiADE'LPHiAf, Deca'ndria. 



Natural Order. Legumino'sas, Juss. Gen. PI. p. 345. — Sm. 

 Gr. of Bot. p. 174. — Lindl. Syn. p. 75. — Introd. to Nat. Syst. p. 

 87. — Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 532. — Sm. Engl. FI. v. iii. p. 259. — 

 Loud. Hort. Brit. p. 509. — Papiliona'ce^e of Linnaeus. 



Gen. Char. Calyx (fig. 1.) inferior, tubular, of 1 sepal ; 2- 

 lipped ; upper lip in 2 deep segments ; lower lip with 3 teeth. 

 Corolla of 5 petals ; standard (fig. 2.) oblong, ascending, very dis- 

 tant from the rest; wings (fig. 3.) oblong, spreading; keel of 2 

 petals, oblong, straight, slightly cohering by their lower edges. 

 Filaments (fig. 5.) 1 0, in 2 sets, though more or less united at the 

 bottom ; the odd one awl-shaped, separated more than half way 

 down. Anthers small, roundish. Germen (fig. 6.) oblong, com- 

 pressed. Style awl-shaped, ascending, deciduous. Stigma ter- 

 minal, simple, or slightly capitate. Legume (figs. 7 and 8.) flat, 

 compressed, or rather turgid, oblong, or roundish, obliquely pointed, 

 of 1 cell and 2 concave valves, subtended by the permanent curved 

 base of the style. Seeds (fig. 9.) several, roundish, or somewhat 

 quadrangular. 



The filaments in 2 sets united at the base ; the pistil depress- 

 ing the keel ; the terminal somewhat capitate stigma; the turgid 

 Legume ; and the reflexed standard ; will distinguish this from 

 other genera in the same class and order. 



Three species British. 



GENl'STA TINCTO'RIA. Dyer’s Green-weed. Wood-waxen. 



Spec. Char. Branches round, striated, upright, without thorns. 

 Leaves spear-shaped, smooth. Legumes smooth, nearly cylindrical. 



Engl. Bot. t. 44.— Linn. Sp. PI. p. 998. — Huds. FI. Angl. (2nd ed.) p. 311. — 

 Sm. FI. Brit. v. ii. p. 754. F.ngl. FI. v. iii. p. 263. — With. (7th ed.) v. iii. p. 829. 

 — Gray’s Nat. Arr. v. ii. p. 595. — Lindl. Syn. p.77. — Hook. Brit. FI. p. 319. — 

 Lightf. FI. Scot. v. i. p 384. — Sibth. FI. Oxon. p.219. — Abbot’s FI. Bedf. p. 

 153. — Purt. Midi. FI. v.i. p.332. — Relh. FI. Cant. (3rd ed.) p. 288. — Curt. Brit. 

 F.ntom. t. 313 ! — Hook. FI. Scot. p. 211. — Grev. FI. Edin. p. 154. — Johnston’s 

 FI. of Berwick, v. i. p. 158. — Don’s Gen. Syst. of Gard. and Bot. v. ii. p. 152. — 

 Walker’s FI. of Oxf. p.204. — Perry’s PI. Varic. Selectae, p. 60. — Bab. FI. Bath, 

 p. 11. — Mack. Cat. of Plants of Ireland, p. 65. — Genistella tinctoria, Ray’s 

 Syn. p. 474. — Johnson’s Gerarde, p. 1316. 



Localities. — I n rough pastures, thickets, and the dry borders of fields. Fre- 

 quent in most counties in England; and in the Lowlands of Scotland. It is 

 very uncommon in the vicinity of Oxford; 1 have only seen it in Headington 

 Copse, near Marston Lane ; and near some old stone-pits about half a mile 

 south-west of South Hinksey, and there only a few scattered plants; but on a 

 common near the Canal on the left hand side of the road going from Upper 

 Heyford to Somerton, about 14 miles from Oxford, it grows in great abundance. 



Fig. 1. Calyx.— Fig. 2. Standard. — Fig. 3. One of the Wings. — Fig. 4. The 

 Keel. — Fig. 5. The Calyx and Stamens. — F’ig. 6. The Germen. — Fig. 7. The 

 Legume. — Fig. 8. The inner side of one of the valves of the Legume, showing 

 the seeds. 



* Fromp'en, a shrub, in Celtic. Dr. Hooker. 

 t See Spartium scoparium, p. 77, note f- 



