174 
BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
effect to the whole. It was formerly cultivated in gardens, both as a salad plant and a potherb, and it has a very 
agreeable though pungent flavour. The name of Alexanders is said to be a corruption of the specific name of 
this plant, Olusatrum , which signifies literally the black potherb; in allusion to the dark and almost black hue of 
the ripe seed-vessel. 
GENUS XXXIX. 
THE HEMLOCK. (Conium, Lin.) 
Lin. Syst. PENTANDRIA DIGYNIA. 
Generic Character. —Calyx an obsolete margin. Petals obovate, 
emarginate, inflexed. Fruit compressed at the side, ovate. Carpella 
with five, prominent, wavy, crenated, equal ridges, of which the lateral 
form a margin. Channels with many streaks, but no vitta. Seed 
with a deep narrow incision in the face. Universal involucrum few¬ 
leaved ; partial three-leaved, halved. ( Lindley.) 
Description, &c. —This genus, though rather an extensive one, contains only one British plant. The name 
of Conium is said to be derived from a Greek word, signifying a top; in allusion to the effects produced by the 
poisonous juice of the plant, which produces giddiness, and makes the person who has taken it stagger, just as a 
top does when it has almost ceased spinning. The name is said to have been applied to the plant by Theo¬ 
phrastus ; so that if the derivation be correct, the ancient Greeks appear to have been as well acquainted with 
spinning-tops as school-boys of the present day. 
1.—THE COMMON, OR SPOTTED HEMLOCK. (Conium maculatum, Lin.) 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 1191 ; 2nd ed., t. 438. 
Specific Character. —Stem polished and spotted, much branched. (Smith.) 
Description, &c. —The common Hemlock grows abundantly in many parts of England, particularly on the 
waste ground near hedges ; and it is easily distinguished from the other Umbelliferous plants by its shining 
and spotted stem. It is highly poisonous ; but it is not so likely to be taken by mistake as most of the other 
poisonous British plants, on account of the very disagreeable smell of its bruised leaves. It was well known to 
the ancients, and is said to be the poison taken by Socrates. The plant is a biennial, and it flowers in June 
and July. 
GENUS XL. 
THE ERYNGO. (Eryngium, Lin.) 
Lin. Syst. PENTANDRIA DIGYNIA. 
Generic Character. —Calyx a five-toothed leafy margin. Petals 
erect, converging, oblong-obovate, emarginate, with an abruptly in¬ 
curved segment the length of the petal. Fruit nearly taper, obovate. 
Carpella covered with scales, with neither ridges nor vittae. Seed about 
half-taper.—Umbels simple. Involucrum many-leaved. Flowers 
usually blue. Leaves simple. (Lindley.) 
Description, &c. —There are two species of this genus, viz. the Sea Holly (E. maritimum), and the Field 
Eryngo ( E. campestre). The first is abundant on the sea-shore in many parts of England, growing in the loose 
sand, which it binds with its long spreading roots. The leaves are covered with a kind of white substance, which 
looks as though it were salt deposited by the sea. The whole herb is pleasant to eat, having a sweet and aromatic 
taste ; and the shoots and roots are very good bleached and candied. The Field Eryngo is somewhat rare, having 
