BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
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and others with the St. John’s "Wort. I have, however, followed Dr. Lindley, in placing it in the Saxifrage 
family. The genus is included in the Linnaean class Pentandria, on account of its five stamens; and in the order 
Tetragynia, from its four styles. Parnassia is from Parnassus ; but why the plant is called Grass of Parnassus, 
is not stated. 
1.—THE COMMON GRASS OF PARNASSUS. (Parnassia palustris, Lin.) 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 82 ; 2nd ed., t. 449 ; and our fig. 4, in PI. 24. 
Specific Character.— Leaves heart-shaped. Glands of each scale numerous. ( Lindley.) 
Description, &c.— This very curious plant is found in great abundance in the spongy bogs, or mosses, as 
they are called, in the North of England and South of Scotland. The plant is occasionally seen in marshy 
places in other parts of the kingdom, but it is comparatively rare. The stems are angular, growing from three 
inches to a foot high, and each terminating in a large white flower which at first sight looks almost like a white 
Anemone. On a closer examination it will be found that at the base of each of the five petals is a curious heart- 
shaped scale, fringed with globular-headed filaments, like those which border the leaves of the Sun-Dew. Most 
of the leaves spring from the root; but each flower-stalk has one leaf exactly the same as the radical ones, which 
grows about half way between the root and the flower. Both the leaves and the petals of the flowers are 
strongly and regularly veined. The plant is a perennial, and it flowers in August and September. 
GENUS III. 
THE MARSH SAXIFRAGE. (Hirculus, Haworth.) 
Lin. Syst. DECANDRIA DIGYN1A. 
Generic Character. —Calyx 5-leaved, erect. Petals equal, with superior, with 2 beaks and 2 cells. Stems simple. Leaves entire, 
a 2-valved nectariferous furrow at their base. Stamens 10, hypo- Flowers yellow. {Lindley.) 
gyuous. Disk obsolete. Stigmas subsessile, capitate. Capsule 
Description, &c.— There is only one species in this genus, which has been separated from Saxifraga, on 
account of its stamens growing from beneath the capsule, instead of adhering to the calyx, and its petals having 
a curious nectariferous furrow at their base. The genus is placed in the Linnaean class Decandria, on account of 
its ten stamens ; and in the order Digynia, from its two styles. 
1.—THE YELLOW MARSH SAXIFRAGE. (Hirculus ranunculoides, Haworth.) 
Synonyme. —Saxifraga Hirculus, Lin. Specific Character. —Leaves lanceolate, blunt, naked. Sepals 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 1009 ; 2nd ed., t. 599 ; and our fig. 2, lanceolate, obtuse. Runners none. {Lindley.) 
in PI. 24. 
Description, &c. —It is a singular fact, in the history of this plant, that though it is found abundantly in 
Lapland, and in the Arctic regions as far north as vegetation extends, yet in England it is never found farther 
north than Yorkshire. It spreads, indeed, in a kind of belt across the centre of the kingdom, and is not found 
at all in the southern counties. The general appearance of the flower is more like that of a buttercup than of a 
Saxifrage; though its golden yellow petals are marked with red dots at the base. The plant is a perennial, and 
it flowers in August. 
