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BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
1.—THE SWEET WOODRUFF. (Asperula odorata, Lin.) 
Engravings.—E ng. Bot., t. 755 ; 2nd ed., t. 201. 
Specific Character. —Leaves eight in a whorl, lanceolate. Panicles stalked, of few flowers. ( Smith .) 
Description, &c. —This plant is common in every part of England, and it is well known for its fragrance; 
as, though it is quite destitute of smell when gathered, its sweetness increases as it dries, and remains permanent 
for a long time, and on this account it is frequently put into drawers to give an agreeable smell to linen. It is 
a perennial, and its flowers are produced in May. The name of Woodruff alludes to the leaves of this species, 
the whorls of which are so placed as to look like a series of little ruffs down the stem. 
2.— THE SQUINANCY-WORT. (Asperula cynanchica, Lin.) 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 33 ; 2nd ed., t. 202; and our fig. 5, i Specific Character. — Leaves linear, four in a whorl ; the upper 
in PI. 39. | ones very unequal. Flowers all four-cleft. Fruit smooth. (Smith.) 
Description, &c. —This species was formerly in great repute for the cure of quinsey sore throats ; and this 
is supposed to have given rise to its somewhat singular English name. It is a perennial, and flowers during the 
whole of the summer. This plant will only grow on dry chalky banks, fully exposed to the sun ; and yet it is 
always found almost hidden by the grass and other plants which grow around it, without the shelter of which it 
could not live. 
GENUS III. 
THE SHERARDIA. (Sherardia, Lin.) 
Lin. Syst. TETRANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 
Generic Character. —Corolla funnel-shaped, four-cleft. Fruit dry, crowned with the persistent teeth of the calyx. ( Lindley .) 
Description, &c. —There is only one British species of this genus, the popular name of wdiich is the Little 
Field Madder. It is a small annual plant, with blue flowers; and it is very common on the waste ground of 
corn fields, and even among the corn. It is most abundant in light, sandy, or gravelly soils, and in such 
situations it continues flowering nearly all the summer. There is very little botanical difference between this 
genus and Asperula ; the only distinction being, that in Sherardia the calyx remains on the ripe seed-vessel, to 
which it forms a kind of crown. The genus is named in honour of Dr. Sherard, who was a friend of Linnaeus, 
and who had a celebrated garden at Eltham in Kent. 
GENUS IY. 
THE MADDER. (Rubia, Lin.) 
Lin. Syst. TETRANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 
Generic Character. —Corolla campanulate, spreading, four or five-lobed. Stamens four or five. Fruit succulent, double, smooth. (Lindl.) 
Description, &c. —This is an extensive genus ; but only one species is a native of Great Britain. The 
word Rubia is derived from ruber , red ; in allusion to the dye extracted from the roots of some of the exotic 
species. 
