194 
BRITISH AVILD FLOWERS. 
without the crown of feathery pappus which is so remarkable in the common Valerian. The name of 
Valerianella signifies little Valerian. This genus is called Fedia by some botanists ; and it is placed in Triandria 
Monogynia, from its three stamens and its single style. 
1.—THE CORN-SALAD, OR LAMB'S LETTUCE. (Valerianella olitoria, Monch.) 
Synonymes. —Valeriana olitoria, Lin. ; V. locusta, Smith .; Fedia 
olitoria, Vahl. 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 811; 2nd ed., t. 41. 
Specific Character. — Stem weak. Leaves lanceolate, entire. 
Fruit naked, roundish, compressed. (Dec.) 
Description, &c. —This is a well-known weed in corn-fields, which is often eaten raw, and sometimes 
cultivated as a salad plant. Its flowers are of no beauty, but they continue being produced all the summer. 
THE OVAL-FRUITED CORN-SALAD. (V. dentata, Dec.) 
This is probably only a variety of the common kind. 
GENUS II. 
THE VALERIAN. (Valeriana, Lin.) 
Lin. Sijst. TRIANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 
Generic Character.— Corolla regular, five-lobed, without a spur. Stamens three ; otherwise as Centranthus. (Dec) 
Description, &c. —The plants left in this genus have all very curious seed-vessels; each being surrounded 
by a sort of crown, which gradually unrolls and becomes a sort of feathery fringe that serves to disperse the 
seed. The roots are strongly scented, and are said to be useful in medicine; and hence the plant takes its 
name, as the word Valeriana is derived from valeo , to be powerful, in allusion to its powerful effects in 
curing disease. This genus is placed in the Linnaean class and order Triandria Monogynia, from its three stamens 
and its single style. ___ 
THE SMALL MARSH VALERIAN. (V. dioica, Lin.) 
This plant is very common in moist meadows, where it produces its pretty whitish flowers in June. The 
male and female flowers are on different plants, and those bearing male flowers are always mucli smaller than 
the others. • 
THE GREAT WILD VALERIAN. (V. officinalis, Lin.) 
This plant grows in great abundance on the margins of rivers, where it attains a very large size; and in dry 
thickets, where it is of more humble growth. Cats are particularly fond of the smell of this plant. The root, 
in powder, is given in medicine, and the leaves are considered serviceable for wounds. The plant is a perennial, 
and it flowers in June. 
THE HEART-LEAVED VALERIAN. (V. pyrenaica, Lin.) 
This is a very doubtful native, having been only found wild near Glasgow and Edinburgh. It is a perennial, 
and produces its flowers in July. 
