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MU'SCARI* *. 



Linnean Class and Order. Hexa'ndria-]-, Monogy'nia. 



Natural Order. Asi'iionE'j.KyE+, Dr. R. Brown . — Lind. Syn. 

 p. 266 ; Introd. to Nat. Syst. p. 273. — Loud. Hort. Brit. p. 539. — 

 Aspiio'deli, Juss. Gen. PI. p. 51. — Sin. Grain, ol Bot. p. 74. — 

 Lilia'cea?, Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 403. 



Gen. Char. Calyx none. Corolla (peria.nlhium%) (fig. 1.) 

 inferior, monopetalous (of 1 petal), egg-shaped, inflated in the 

 middle, 6-toothed. Filaments (see fig. 1.) 6, simple, smooth, awl- 

 shaped, inserted into the middle of the corolla, and inclosed within 

 it. Anthers oblong, converging. Germcn (see fig. 2.) superior, 

 roundish, with 3 angles, and 3 furrows. Style (see fig. 2.) simple, 

 upright, shorter than the corolla, deciduous. Stigma blunt. Cap- 

 sule (see figs. 3 & 4.) 3-sided, with 3 prominent angles, or 3 lobes, 

 3 cells, and 3 valves, with central partitions. Cells 2-seeded. Seeds 

 egg-shaped. 



The egg-shaped, inflated, 6-toothed, deciduous corolla or perian- 

 thium ; the 3-cornered capsule with prominent angles ; and the 

 cells, each containing 2 seeds ; will distinguish this from other 

 genera, with a naked, inferior corolla, in the same class and order. 



One species British. 



MU'SCARI RACEMO'SUM. Starch Grape-Hyacinth. 



Spec. Char. Flowers crowded, egg-shaped, 6-furrowed, upper 

 ones sessile, abortive. Leaves strap-shaped, channelled, flaccid, 

 longer than the scape. 



Miller’s Gartl. Diet.— Gray’s Nat. Arr. v. ii. p. 176 — Lindl. Syn. p. 269. — 

 Hook. Brit. FI. p. 157 .—Hyacinthus racemosns. Linn. Sp. Pi. p.455. — Engl. 

 Bot. t. 1931.— Jacq. FI. Aust. t. 187.— Curt. Bot. Mag. t. 122— Sm. Eng. FI. 

 v. ii. p. 149. — With. (7th edit.) v. ii. p.431. — Walk. FI. of Oxf. p.94. — Hyacin- 

 thus racemosns cceruleus minor juncifolius, Rudbeck’s Compi Elysii, v. ii. 

 p. 25. f. 7. — Hyacinthus hot ryoides cceruleus, Johnson’s Gerarde, p. 118. 



Locai.ities. — In grassy fields, and among ruins. Very rare. — Oxfordshire ; 

 Old walls in Bicester, and Wendlebury: Mr G. Woodward. — Berks; Near 

 Newbury: Dr. Lamb. — Norfolk ; On the earthy ledge of the old city wall, on 

 the north side of Norwich, plentiful: Sir J. E. Smith. — Suffolk; In fields at 

 Hengrave ; and Plantations at Oavenham : Sir T. G. Culbum : On a sandy 

 soil at Cavenham: Rev. G. R. Leathls. 



Fig. 1. Corolla, opened vertically to show the Stamens. — Fig. 2. Gerinen, 

 Style, and Stigma. — Fig. 3. Capsule. — Fig. 4. A Transverse Section of the 

 same. 



* From moschos. Gr musk, a smell yielded by one species, (Muscari Mos- 

 chatum, of Curt. Bot. Mag. t. 734). Dr. Hooker. 



f The sixth class in the Artificial System of Linnjeus ; it contains those 

 plants which have perfect flowers, with six distinct, equal stamens in each. 



Many of the plants of which this class is composed, are amongst the most 

 elegant and beautiful in the vegetable kingdom ; the greater number of then) are 

 monocotyledonous (having only one seed-leaf or cotyledon) , and hexapetalous 

 ( 6-petaled ), ox monopetalous (1 -petaled), and 6-cleft. It comprises several 

 very natural families, as Amaryllideee , folio 55, a; Melanthdcece ; Asjihodv- 

 lecc, folio 41, a ; Smildcea ; Lilidcece , folio 1, (2nd edit.) a ; Junceee ; Jun- 

 caginece, folio 60, a ; and some others, 

 t See Gdgea lutea, fob 41, a. J Sec Galdnthns nivalis, fob 33, note f. 



