BRITISH WILD FLOWERS. 
297 
Asparagus, cannot be said to contain any ornamental flowers, and I shall therefore omit it. The others are 
nearly all herbaceous plants, with bulbous or fascicled roots. 
GENUS I. 
THE GARLIC. (Allium, Lin.) 
Lin. Syst. HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 
Generic Character. —Perianthium six-parted, spreading. Stigma simple. Capsule three angular; the cells deeply parted in two, separating 
from a permanent filiform axis. Flowers in terminal umbels, with two herbaceous bractea;. 
Description, &c. —The British species of Garlic are neither very numerous nor very ornamental, when 
compared with those of other countries ; and only two or three kinds have pretty flowers. The name of Allium 
is said to be derived from the Celtic word for hot or pungent, in allusion to the strong flavour of Garlic. The 
following are the most ornamental species. 
1.—THE SAND GARLIC. (Allium arenarium, Lin.) 
Engravings. — Eng. Bot., t. 1358; 2nd ed., t. 474. alternate stamens dilated, three-cleft. Keel of the petals roughish. 
Specific Character. —Umbel globose, bearing bulbs. Stem leafy (Smith.) 
below. Leaves flat, with cylindrical sheaths. Bracteas obtuse. Three 
Description, &c. —A very pretty plant, with a small close umbel of rose-coloured flowers, amongst which a 
number of small bulbs are formed, which fall in autumn and take root in the ground. In this manner the plant 
is generally propagated, as it seldom ripens its seeds. It is found in mountainous places in the north of England 
and Scotland, and on the sands of Portmarnock, in Ireland. It flowers in July. 
2.— BROAD-LEAVED GARLIC, OR RANSOMS. (Allium ursinum, Lin.) 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 122 ; 2nd. ed., t. 478 ; and our Jig. 4, in PI. 59. 
Specific Character.— Stalk naked, semicylindrical. Leaves elliptic—lanceolate, stalked. Umbel level-topped. Stamens simple. (Smith.) 
Description, &c. —This is the most common plant in the genus, and its white flowers may be seen in the 
months of May and June, growing in abundance in meadows, hedges, and woods, wherever the soil is sufficiently 
moist. Notwithstanding its beauty, however, it is generally thrown away as soon as it is gathered, on account 
of its strong and very disagreeable smell, and it even gives the taste of garlic to the milk of the cows which 
eat of it. 
3.— CHIVES. (Allium sciicenoprasum, Lin.) 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot. t. 2441 ; 2nd ed., t. 479. 
Specific Character. —Stalk naked, round, the height of the foliage. Leaves cylindrical, somewhat tapering at the point. Stamens simple. (Smith.) 
Description, &c.— Chives are well known from the use made of their bulbous part in domestic purposes, 
not only in cookery, but in feeding young turkeys and pea-fowl. The flowers are ornamental, and of a bluish 
purple, disposed in a small close head ; they appear in June. 
THE GREAT ROUND-HEADED GARLIC. (A. ampelopra^um, Lin.) 
This- species is only found wild on an island in the Severn. Its flowers, which appear in August, resemble 
those of the Leek, and possess no beauty. 
o. a 
