PHYTEUMA ORBICULA'RE. 
ROUND-HEADED RAMPION. 
Class. Order. 
PENTANDR1A. MONOGYNIA. 
Natural Order. 
CAMPANULACEiE. 
Native of 
Height. 
Flowers in 
Duration. 
Cultivated 
England. 
18 inches. 
June, Aug. 
Perennial. 
in 1633. 
No. 154. 
Phyteuma is a term used by the Grecian writers, 
and is allowed to have been derived from phuteuo, 
to sow. Orbiculare, from the Latin Orbis, an orb 
or circle, the application of which is evident. 
Each corolla, of this species of Phyteuma, forms 
a little curved horn; and it is rather remarkable that 
the five cohering segments, into which each corolla 
divides itself, first separate at their lower part, and 
form openings, after the fashion of the Spanish cos- 
tume, usually termed slashing. 
It is difficult to determine the application of the 
name Phyteuma, to the genus of plants before us. 
This, however, cannot be matter of surprise, when 
we consider that it was instituted 2000 years ago ; 
at a period when the science had no established 
language of description ; and when it is also con- 
sidered that 1000 of the intervening years present 
a blank, in respect to the pursuits of the naturalist. 
Botany, at least any system which can be con- 
sidered worthy of the title, is of very modern date. 
According to Sprengel there are seventy-one plants 
noticed in the Old Testament. From the days of 
the prophets, to the birth of our Saviour, the progress 
