( 224 .) 
PARIETA'RIA* *. 
Linnean Class and Order. Tetra'nubia f, Monogy'nia. 
Natural Order. Urti'ceje, Lindl. Syn. p. 218. ; Introd. to Nat. 
Syst. of Bot. p. 93. — Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 510. — Loud. Hort. Brit, 
p. 534. — Urtic.<e, Juss. Gen. PI. p. 400. — Querneales ; sect. 
Urticin^:; type, Urticace.®; subty. Urticidj®; Burn. Outl. 
of Bot. v. ii. pp. 523, 541, & 558. — Scabriixe, Linn. 
Gen. Char. Involucrum (fig. 3.) various, 1- or 3-flowered, 
regular or irregular. Calyx (fig. 3.) inferior, of 1 sepal, in 4 deep 
segments, permanent ; enlarged and hardened after flowering, ex- 
cept in flowers that want stamens. Corolla none. Filaments (see 
fig. 3.) 4, recurved, strap-shaped, wrinkled, elastic when disturbed. 
Anthers (fig. 4.) of 2 distant lobes. Germen (see fig. 5.) egg-shaped. 
Style (see fig. 5.) cylindrical, upright. Stigma (see fig. 5.) tufted. 
Seed (figs. 6, 7, 8.) egg-shaped, flattened, polished, invested with 
the enlarged calyx. 
The inferior, 4-cleft calyx; the elastic stamens; the 1-seeded 
fruit, enclosed by the enlarged calyx ; and one or more of the 
central florets wanting the stamens ; will distinguish this from other 
genera, destitute of a corolla, in the same class and order. 
One species British. 
PARIETA'RIA OFFICINALIS. Common Pellitory of the Wall. 
Spec. Char. Leaves egg-spear-shaped, 3-nerved above the 
base. Involucrum 3-flowered, with 7 egg-shaped segments. Stem 
ascending. 
Engl. Bot. t. 879. — Curt. FI. Lond. t. 233. — Woodv. Med. Bot. v. iii. p. 384. 
t. 142. — Linn. Sp. PI. p. 1492. — Willd. v.iv. pt. n. p.953. — Huds. FI. Angl. 
(2nd edit ) p. 442. — Sm. FI. Brit. v. i. p. 189. ; Engl. FI. v. i. p. 222. — Wither. 
(7th edit.) v. ii. p. 237. — Gray’s Nat. Air. v. ii. p. 254. — Lindl. Syn. p. 218. — 
Hook. Brit. FI. p. 69. — Lighlf. FI. Scot. v. ii. p. 634. — Sibth. FI. Oxon. p. 62. — 
Abb. FI. Bedf, p. 218. — Davies’ Welsh Bot. p. 17. — Purt. Mid. FI. v. ii. p. 494. 
— Relh. FI. Cant. (3rd edit.) p. 65. — Hook. FI. Scot. p. 56. — Grev. FI. F.din. p. 
39. — Thornt. Earn. Herbal, p. 860. — FI. Devon, pp. 29 & 136. — Johnst. FI. of 
Berw. v. i. p. 39. — Walk. FI. of Oxf. p. 42. — Perry’s PI. Varv. Select®, p. 13. — 
Bab. FI. Bath. p. 45. — Mack. Catal. of PI. of Irel. p 19. — FI. Hibern. pt. i. p. 
232. — Parietdria, Ray’s Syn. p. 158. — Johnson’s Gerarde, p. 331. 
Localities. — On old walls, and in waste places among ruins. — Frequent 
in most parts of Britain; but not generally common. It is plentiful in and 
about Oxford. In the neighbourhood of Rugby it appears to be rare ; the only 
place in which I observed it there, was in the hedge of a cottage garden, be- 
tween the Baptist Chapel and the road to Clifton. 
Perennial. — Flowers from June to September. 
Root somewhat woody, of a reddish colour, and fibrous. Stems 
several, annual, nearly upright, from 6 inches to a foot or more 
high, much branched, angular, leafy, reddish, hairy, succulent, and 
Fig. 1. Three flowers from one of the involucrums. — Fig. 2. An Involucrum. — 
Fig. 3. Calyx, and the 4 Stamens. — Fig. 4. An Anther discharging its pollen. — 
Fig. 5. Germen, Style, and Stigma. — Figs. 6, 7, & 8. Seeds. — All, except figs. 
1 & 8, more or less magnified. 
* From Paries, a wall; the usual place of its growth. Withering. 
t See Asperula odorata, folio 46, note f. 
