BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
206 
1.—THE COMMON TANSY. (Tanacetum vulgare, Lin.) 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 1229 ; 2nd ed., t. 1130. 
Specific Character. —Leaves doubly pinnatifid, deeply serrated, naked. (Smith.) 
Description, &c. —The common Tansy was formerly in high repute, both in the kitchen and as a domestic 
medicine, though it is now seldom used in either case. Country people, however, continue to have great faith in 
it as a cure for worms ; and Tansy-pudding is, I believe, still one of the standard dishes at the Lord Mayor’s 
feast. The plant is also used in vinegar, as a kind of sauce ; and pancakes made of it are eaten in the High¬ 
lands of Scotland, in spring, as a purifier of the blood. The taste of the herb is intensely bitter ; it has a very 
strong smell, and its qualities are cordial and tonic. It is found in every part of Great Britain, but it grows 
most abundantly on sandy and calcareous soils. It is a perennial, and it flowers in July and August. 
GENUS XX. 
THE COTTON-WEED. (Diotis, Desfontaines.) 
Lin. Syst. SYNGENESIA AEQUALIS. 
Generic Character. — Involucrum hemispherical, imbricated. paleaceous. Pappus none; in its place the fruit is crowned by the 
Florets all tubular, hermaphrodite, five-toothed, contracted in the persistent lower two-eared half of the corolla. ( Lindley .) 
middle, auricled or saccate on each side at the base. Receptacle convex, 
Description, &c. —The only British plant belonging to this genus is the Sea-side Cotton-weed ( D. marilima). 
This very curious plant is found only on the sea-side of the southern and eastern counties of England, where its 
singular appearance attracts the eye. The leaves and stem are entirely covered with a snow-white cotton-like 
down. The flowers are yellow, and corymbose. The whole plant is extremely brittle, and its thick fleshy leaves 
have a strong aromatic smell, and bitter taste. This plant appears to have occasioned a good deal of trouble to 
botanists, as it was placed first in the genus Santolina, then in Filago, then in Athanasia , and afterwards in 
Otanthus , before it was finally settled in Diotis. The name of Diotis signifies two-eared, in allusion to two 
appendages, which supply the place of the pappus. 
GENUS XXI. 
THE CHAMOMILE. (Anthemis, IAn.) 
Lin. Syst. SYNGENESIA SUPERFLUA. 
Generic Character. —Involucrum hemispherical; scales nearly I hermaphrodite; of the ray lanceolate, female. Receptacle conical, 
equal, scarious at the margin, imbricated. Flowers radiant ; of the disk I paleaceous. Pappus a membrane. (Lindley.) 
Description, &c.— The genus Chamomile contains several well-known plants which are common in every 
part of Britain. They are all herbaceous plants, with alternate divided leaves, and daisy-like flowers. They 
have generally a strong smell, and an intensely bitter taste. The genus is placed in the Linnsean class and order 
Syngenesia Superflua. The name of Anthemis is derived from the Greek word for a flower, in allusion to the 
great profusion of flowers borne by all the kinds of Chamomile. 
