238 
BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
Menyanthes. Tfce name of Villarsia was given in honour of a French botanist, named Viilars, who wrote the 
Flore du Dauphine. 
1.—THE COMMON FRINGED BUCK-BEAN. (Villarsia nymphasoides, Vent.) 
Synomyne.— Menyanthes nymphseoides, Smith. Specific Character. —Leaves heart-shaped, wavy at the edges, 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 217 ; 2nd ed., t. 281 ; and our./?#. 3, floating. Corolla fringed. (Smith.) 
in PI. 45. 
Description, &c.— This beautiful aquatic plant is frequently found in the Thames, in little quiet corners, 
out of the current of the main stream. The root is long and stringy, and the leaves succulent, but they trans¬ 
pire so freely, that when gathered they dry in a few hours. The plant is a perennial, and it flowers in August. 
CHAPTER LX. 
THE NIGHTSHADE FAMILY. (Solane^e, Juss.) 
Character of the Order. —Calyx five-parted, seldom four-parted, 
persistent, inferior. Corolla monopetalous, hypogynous ; limb five-cleft, 
seldom four-cleft, regular, or somewhat unequal, deciduous ; the 
a»stivation, in the genuine genera of the order, plaited ; in the spurious 
genera, imbricated. Stamens inserted on the corolla, as many as the 
segments of the limb, with which they are alternate; one sometimes 
being abortive. Pericarpium with two or four cells, either a capsule 
with a double dissepiment parallel with the valves, or a berry, with 
the placentae adhering to the dissepiment. Seeds numerous, sessile. 
Embryo more or less curved, often out of the centre, lying in fleshy 
albumen ; radicle next the hilum. Herbaceous plants or shrubs. 
Leaves alternate, undivided, or lobed ; the floral ones sometimes double, 
and placed near each other. Inflorescence variable, often out of the 
axillae; the pedicels without bractese. ( It. Br.) 
Description, &c. —This order contains several well-known genera, most of which are poisonous in their 
fruit, though some part of them may be used either as food, or medicinally. 
GENUS I. 
THE THORN-APPLE. (Datura, Lin.) 
Lin. Syst. PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 
Generic Character. —Calyx tubular, ventricose, with five angles, 
five-toothed, deciduous, leaving behind a broad orbicular base. Corolla 
funnel-shaped ; the tube long; the limb with five angles, five plaits, 
and five points. Stamens five. Stigma of two plates. Capsule 
echinate or smooth, two-celled; the cells divided occasionally by 
spurious dissepiments. ( Lindley .) 
Description, &c. —The Common Thorn-Apple (D. Stramonium , Lin.) is the only species of this genus 
that is a native of Great Britain ; but this plant is common on waste heaps and dunghills. It is an annual, 
and flowers in July; the flowers, which are large and white, being sweet-scented, though the leaves and stem 
of the plant have a most disagreeable smell. The leaves and stem are, however, often dried, and smoked as 
tobacco, to relieve diseases of the chest. Fomentations are also made from the leaves. The word Datura 
is derived from the Arabic name of the plant. 
GENUS II. 
THE HENBANE. (Hyoscyamus, Lin.) 
Lin. Syst. PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 
Gfnfric Character. —Calyx tubular, five-cleft. Corolla funnel-shaped ; the limb spreading, obliquely fivc-lobed, unequal. Stamens five. 
Stigma capitate. Capsule compressed, furrowed on each side, opening at the apex by a transverse aperture. (Lindley.) 
Description, &c.—The Common Henbane (H. niger, Lin.) is found abundantly in waste ground near 
