52 
THE LADIES' FLOWER-GARDEN 
GENUS I. 
LEONTICE, Dec. THE LION'S LEAF. 
Lin.Syst. HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 
Gkneric Character Sepals 6, naked on the outside. Petals 6, bearing a scale at the base of each inside. Capsules bladdery, 
2— 4-8eedcd. (G. Don.) 
Descbiption, &c. — The plants belonging to this genus are all perennials, with tuberous roots and stems, 
which die down to the ground every autumn, shooting up again in spring. The leaves are said to bear some 
resemblance to the print of a lion's foot ; but they are in fact very much like those of the columbine. The 
flowers are in loose racemes or panicles, furnished with ovate, leafy, entire bracteas at the base of the pedicels, 
and usually with a coloured calyx. The diflferent species, which are ail pretty little plants with yellow flowers, 
are natives of Europe, Asia, and North America ; and they are divided into two sections, one of which has the 
capsule inflated and not opening naturally, and the other has a berry-like capsule which opens when the seeds 
are ripe. 
SECTION I.-LEONTOPETALUM. 
Sectional Character. — Capsules greatly inflated when mature, never ruptured, enclosing the seeds. Upper leaves pinnate or ternate. 
Petioles simple, or divided at the top, not at the base. (G. Don.) 
].— LEONTICE CHRYSOGONUM, Lin. GOLDEN- KNEED LION'S LEAF. 
Synonymes Chrysogonum Dioscoroidcs, Rauw ; Bongardia Rau- 
iTolfii, Mey. 
Specific Character. — Leaves pinnate ; leaflets sessile, oval-oblong, 
3 — 5-cleft at the apex ; bracteas small, scarious. (G. Don.) 
Description, &c. — A pretty little plant, with bright yellow flowers rising from the knees or forks of the 
stem. It is a native of Greece, whence it was introduced in 1740. It is very apt to be killed by damp during 
winter ; and to avoid the danger of this, it does best grown in a pot in a mixture of sand, loam, and peat. 
L. LEONTOPETALUM, Lin. 
This is the true Lion's Leaf, the Pied-de-Lion of the French. The flowers are yellow, and striated with veins, 
and the leaves bear considerable resemblance to the print made by a lion's foot. It is a native of Greece, whence 
it was introduced before 1597t 
L. VESICARIA, Pall. 
This species is found wild in the salt marshes of Siberia, and it will not grow unless watered with a solution 
of salt. It was introduced in 1822. 
SECTION II.— CAULOPHYLLUM. 
Sectional Character. — Capsules hardly inflated, sometimes baccate, 
ruptured when mature ; the seeds are therefore exscrted. Bearing 
only one leaf on each stem, which is situated under the raceme ; petiole 
three-parted from the base, bearing three or five leaflets on each part. 
(G. Don.) 
2.— LEONTICE ALTAICA, Pall. THE ALTAIAC LION'S LEAF. 
Engravings. — Bpt. Mag. t. 3245 ; and our^. 2 in Plate 13. I divided to the base, each part bearing 6 oblong, entire leaflets, which 
Specific Character, — Stem leaf solitary ; petioles three-parted, 1 are palmately disposed. (G. Don.) 
Description, &c. — A very pretty little plant, with a tuberous root like a small dark turnip. The flowers 
