18 
BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
as in the other Ranunculaceie, and the juice is thin and acrid. The seeds of the Columbine are contained in 
five follicles; and on this account the plant is placed in the Linnsean order Pentagynia, which is applied to 
plants having five carpels. The word Columbine signifies a little dove, and Aquilegia an eagle, both which 
birds have been fancied to be represented by the flowers ; which having been also supposed to form no bad 
resemblance to a fool’s cap, the Columbine, in the Language of Flowers, is considered the emblem of folly. 
GENUS XI. 
THE LARKSPUR (Delphinium, Lin.) 
Lin. Syst. POLYANDRIA TRIGYNIA. 
Generic Character. —Calyx deciduous, petaloid, irregular; the | ones elongated at the base into appendages contained within the spur, 
upper sepal elongated at the base into a spur. Petals 4 ; the two upper j {Dec.) 
Description, &c.— Only the branching Larkspur is a native of Great Britain. The name of Larkspur, and 
also the botanical name of the genus (Delphinium, which signifies.a little Dolphin) both refer to the shape of the 
flowers ; which are constructed somewhat like those of the Columbine, the sepals and the petals being mixed 
together, and both equally ornamental. The genus is usually placed in the Linmean order Trigynia, because it 
has generally three follicles, though sometimes it has only two. Sowerby, however, places the genus Larkspur 
in the Linmean order, Di-Pentagynia, which signifies having from two to five carpels. 
1.—THE BRANCHING OR FIELD LARKSPUR. (Delphinium Consolida, Lin.) 
Synonyme. —D. segetuui, Lam. ; Larkes heeles. straggling manner. Flowers few, in long racemes. Pedicels longer 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 1839 ; 2d ed., t. 769. than the bracte®. Follicles smooth. {Dec.) 
Specific Character.— Stem erect, nearly smooth, branching in a 
Description, &c. —The branching or field Larkspur is found abundantly in the chalky or sandy corn 
fields of Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, and Kent; but it has not yet been discovered in any other part of England. 
It is an annual, and springs up amongst the corn while it is yet in the blade. The root descends into the ground 
like that of the carrot, but it is much longer in proportion to its thickness. The stalk grows a foot or more 
high, and is divided near the ground into several spreading branches. The leaves are cut into numerous and 
very slender segments. The flowers are thinly set on the raceme, and being on foot-stalks they hang much more 
loosely than those of the rocket or garden Larkspur. The flowers are blue, pink, purple, or white. The 
follicles are smooth on the outside, and are sometimes produced singly, though they are generally two or three 
together ; and there is in each nine or ten seeds, which are black and shining, though they are not smooth, as 
they are covered with short hairs and very small tubercles. 
GENUS XII. 
THE MONK’S-HOOD, OR WOLF’S-BANE. (Aconitum, Lin.) 
Lin. Syst. POLYANDRIA PENTAGYNIA. 
Description, &c.— The common Monk’s-hood, (A. Napellus, Smith,) is occasionally found wild in England, 
though it is certainly not a true native. It is highly poisonous, and several persons have died from eating it 
