( 195 ) 
SMY'RNIUM* *. 
Linnean Class and Order. Penta'ndria f, Dicy'nia. 
Natural Order. Umbelli'ferjE, Juss. Gen. PI. p. 218. — Sm. 
Gram, of But. p. 132. — Lindl. Syn. p. 1 1 1 . ; introd. to Nat. Syst. of 
Bot. p. 4. — Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 463. — Loud. Hort. Brit. p. 517. — 
Don’s Gen. Syst. of Gard. and Bot. v. iii. p. 235. — Umbellata?, 
Linn. — Rosales ; sect. Angelicina? ; type, Smyrniace.® ; subt. 
Scandicid.e ; Burn. Outl. of Bot. v. ii. pp. bl4, 770, 780, & 781. 
Gen. Char. Flowers (see fig. 1.) uniform, and regular; the 
innermost barren, or abortive. Calyx of 5 very minute, acute, per- 
manent sepals. Corolla (see fig. 1.) of 5, equal, spear-shaped, 
entire, pointed, incurved, petals. Filaments (see fig. 1.) 5, hair- 
like, as long as the petals. Anthers roundish. Germen (see fig. 2.) 
inferior, egg-shaped, angular, and furrowed. Styles (see fig. 2.) 2, 
thread-shaped, widely spreading, tumid, and somewhat depressed, 
at the base. Stigmas simple. Fruit (fig. 3.) somewhat orbicular, 
broader than long, much hollowed out at each side, crowned with 
the styles, or their small pyramidal bases. Carpels (mericarps% ) 
(see figs. 4 & 5.) reniformly globose, with the 3 dorsal ridges 
prominent and sharp ; the 2 lateral and marginal ones nearly obso- 
lete. Channels ( interstices J with many vittce (see f. 6). Seeds invo- 
lute. General and partial Involucrum various in different species. 
The nearly obsolete calyx ; the spear-shaped or elliptical, entire 
petals, with a long indexed point ; the laterally contracted fruit ; 
the roundish, kidney-shaped carpels , each with 3 prominent and 
sharp dorsal ridges, and 2 nearly obsolete marginal ones ; the 
channels with many vittce ; and the involute seed ; will distinguish 
this from other genera in the same class and order. 
One species British. 
SMY'RNIUM OLUSA'TRUM§. Common Alexanders. Alisander. 
Spec. Oiar. Stem round. Stem-leaves ternate, stalked ; leaflets 
egg-shaped, serrated. 
Engl. Bot. t. 230.— Curt. Brit. Entom. v. ix. t. 415.— Linn. Sp. PI. p. 376. — 
Huds. FI. Angl. (2nd ed.) p. 126. — Sm. FI. Br. v. i. p.328. Eng. FI. v. ii. p.74. — 
VY ith. (7ih ed.) v. ii. p. 392. — Lind. Syn. p. 126. — Hook. Br. FI. p. 132. — Lightf. 
FI. Scot. v. i. p. 168. — Sibth. FI. Oxon. p. 101. — Abb. FI. Bed. p. 76. — Davies’ 
Welsh Bot. p. 29. — Purt. Mid. FI. v. i. p. 160. — Kell). FI Cant. (3id ed.) p. 125. 
— Hook. FI. Scot. p. 94. — Grev. FI. Edin. p. 70. — FI. Dev. pp. 53 St 168. — John. 
FI. Berw. v. i. p. 70. — Winch’sFl. of North. & Durh. p. 19. — Walk. FI. ofOxf. 
p. 81. — Don’s Gen. Syst. of Gard. St Bot. v. iii. p. 380. — Loud. Ency. of Gard. 
(new ed.) p. 855. par. 4354. fig. 737.— Burn. Out. of Bot. v. ii. p. 782. — Pamplin’s 
PI. of Battersea, p. 7. — Mack. Cat. of PI. of Irel. p. 30. — The Irish FI. p. 61. — 
E. Lees, in lllus. Nat. Hist, of Worcestersh. p. 158. — Smyrnium vulgare, Gray’s 
Nat. Arr. v.ii. p525. — Smyrnium, Ray’s Syn. p.208 ,—Hipposelinum, Johns. 
Gerarde, p. 1019. 
Fig. 1. A Flower. — Fig. 2. Germen, Styles, and Stigmas. — Fig. 3. The Fruit. — 
Fig. 4. A Carpel. — Fig. 5. The same when ripe. — Fig. 6. A transverse section 
of ditto, showing the Vittae. — Fig. 1 magnified. 
* From smyma, Gr. synonymous with myrra, Gr. myrrh, from the scent of 
the juice. Sir YV . J. Hooker. 
f See Anchusa sempervirens , folio 48, note f. 
t So called because they adhere to the calyx the half of their length, and there- 
fore cannot be carpella or achenia in the strict sense of those terms. Don. 
$ From olus, a. potherb ; and ater, black; in allusion, apparently, to the 
black colour of the ripe fruit ; or perhaps from the black external coat of the root. 
