Í î
Roots (f. 5) descending from th e unde r part of th e stem, most abundantly near th e base, in
small, fibrous bundles, th a t are placed close by th e stipules.
Stems from one to two inches long, slender, flexuose, procumbent, simple, o r producing,
he re and »here, young shoots or innovations, which exactly resemble the p a ren t p lan t :
their texture is delicate ; the cellules large, oblong : the color a pale green.
Leaves rather closely arranged, and imbricated over th e uppe r surface o f the stem, so as
a ltoge the r to conceal i t ; usually small a t th e base and a t th e extremity o f the p lan t,
la rg e st in the middle, where they are n ot unfrequently h a lf a line lo n g ; the ir direction is
h o rizo n ta l; th e ir figure widely ovate, above convex; many o f them are entire , whilst
others are cleft with a wide and obtuse notch a t th e apex (f. 5) ; th e margins are every
where free from serratures. 7 'he cellules are la rge and roundish, and give the leaves a
p unc ta ted apjiearance when th e plant is d ry : th e teaiiire delicate : th e color a pale, and
oftentimes a glaucous green.
Stipules ; (f. f. 5. 6.) Of these one is placed between each pair o f leaves. T h e ir figure is
roundish, and they are furnished w ith a deep, and somewhat lu n u la r incision or notch a t
the apex, resembling, in some degree, th a t o f J . conniveiis. In coZor and texture th e
stipules resemble the leaves.
M a le F e u c t ie ic a t io n u n k n ow n .
F em a l e F k u c t ip ic a t io n la te ra l, and issuing from th e under side o f the stem.
Calyx (f. 9) a tta ched by one side o f its m outh to a short footstalk, in such a manne r as tha t
the re st is pendent, and deeply imbedded in th e soil. I t is a line o r more in len g th ,
oblong, obtuse a t the base, o f a carnose substance, though, when viewed unde r a high
magnifying power, evidently c e llula r: its exterior is covered with ra th e r lo n g b u t not
thickly-placed hairs (f. 9 ) , p o inting upwards.
Germen (f. 7) ovate, tipped w ith a th ick style, and be a ring upon various parts o f its surface
barren pistilla, which are o f a n oblong form (f. S ), transversely and longitudinally striated.
Corolla (f. 1 0 ), when arrived a t its full siz e , occupying the whole width o f th e calyx, and
reaching to about h a lf its len g th ; its form is ova te ; its texture delicate and membranous.
F o o t sta l k a b o u t an inch or an inch and h a lf long, slender, whitish, cellulose ; a t its base inserted
into its receptacle by means o f a small bulb (f. 1 1 ).
Capsule (f. 12) linear-oblong, having the four lin e a r valves, o f which it is composed, very
curiously and spirally twisted (f. IS ). They unfold in some degree, b ut neve r become
s tra it in expanding, and, a fte r th e discharge o f th e seeds, again become twisted and
reflexed. T h e ir texture is extremely beautiful. Under a high power of the microscope,
longitudinal brown furrows are seen, having intermediate narrow ones (f. 14), and these
are connected by transverse lines.
Seeds small, numerous, o f a roundish form, and o f a brownish color, as are the spiral
filaments, which a re , moreover, long, slender, and very closely twisted, formed o f a
double helix.
Gemma (f. 16) ab u n d an t upon those plants which have th e ir apices lengthened o u t in to
almost leafless portions of the stem, a t the point o f which they a re collected together in
small sphærical clusters, resembling those o f J . bicuspidaia and Sphagni. Each particle
is roundish, angula r, pellucid, pale g reen.
Numerous as are the above synonyms, I am very fa r from sure th a t I have b rought together
all th a t really belong to this species, one o f th e most decidedly marked in th e whole Genus, yet
one which appears to have been less understood than almost any other. Wherever Dillenius has
committed e rrors, they have been copied and multiplied by succeeding writers, and we stand b u t
little chance of h aving them corrected, w ith o u t recourse lo th e original specimens of this author,
which, fortunately for science, are still in existence. By an examination of these specimens, it is
clear th a t Dillenius’ figures 5 and 6, o f tab, 31, are slight, and by no means unfrequent varieties of
th e same p la n t; and these have been quoted under no less than six diffei’ent names ! I t would be
neither a pleasing nor a useful ta sk , to p oint o ut the errors o f th e older authors in their accounts of
th is species. Our countryman, Dickson, first well established it under the name o f J . Trichomanis,
and has given a tolerably good figure o f it. The magnified representation o f th e leaf, indeed, is in accurate,
b ut altogether it does n ot merit the appellation which Mohr has applied to it, o f “ pessima:'
T h e p a rt o f th e Flora Cryptogamica Germanica, o f the last-mentioned author, containing the
Ju n g e rm an n iæ , 1 have b u t lately received, and I am greatly disappointed in the assistance I had
hoped to have derived from it. In his character of the species, which forms th e subject o f the
pre sent description, he has le ft unnoticed every th in g th a t concerns the fructification ; • in his
diagnosis he has compared i t witli J . pallescens ( J . polyanthos, L in n ./ , w ith which it has little in
common ; he has referred to Dillenius’ (though doubtingly), tab. 69. f. 2. (our J . m in u ta ), as a
v a rie ty ; and he has b ro u g h t Dickson’s J . serpyllifolia to it as a synonym, th a n which n o thing can
be more unlike in all the essential characters.
Wahlenberg, with g re a t propriety, observes, in bis valuable Flora Lapponica, “ Stipularum
forma omninb u t in J . cavifoiia (our J . serpyllifolia) FJirh. sed folia diversissima, revera ovata e t
semper duplo majora, eximiè hyalina e t glaucescentia; q u â notâ habituali facilè a plerisque affinibus
discernitur. Defectus strum æ foliorum certissimum characterem præbet. Capsulæ insignitèr
oblongatæ." p. 387. He is equally correct, when he says th a t the figure in English Botany “ stipulas
bicuspidatas exbibet.’’
I have already had occasion to notice, under J . viticulosa, the peculiarities which this species
has in common with th a t; and, a t th e same time, I pointed o u t th e characters th a t distinguished
them, which, indeed, a re sufficiently apparent, even to those who a re n ot very conversant with th e
Genus. T h e hairy calyx, and twisted capsule, a re very remarkable, and circumstances which I
believe are confined to th e pre sent plant. Anthers are a t present unknown. The heads o f Gemmæ
are born on elongated, nearly leafless portions o f the stem, exactly as in J . bicuspidaia, and, like
th a t p lan t, too, th e texture of the leaves and stipules is very delicate.