A ntirrhinum L inaria
var. Peloria.
The Variety of T oad-Fla x
called Peloria.
The earl-ieft'''account that we find of the Peloria is in the fir ft volume, o f the Amanitates Academic re of
L innæus, publifhed in 1749 ; it there'forms a diftinft: thefis or diflertation, written by Daniel R udberc, who
enters minutely into the hiftory of the plant, defcribes it fully, and illuUrates it by an engraving.
The plant appears to have been firft difcovered in the year 1742, growing in a province o f Sweden, about
feven miles from Upfal, by a botanical ftudent of the name of Z io b e r g , who gathered a fpecimen of it, and
placed it in his herbarium, as a plant he had not before feen, ignorant at the fame time- of its nature and
ceconomy, and of the value of his difcovery: in the fame year rrofeffor C e ls ius, 110 le Is celebrated for his
knowledge of plants than of languages; happening to look over Mr. Z io b erg s col left ion, was immediately
ftruck with the extraordinary appearances of this novelty ; but the (late it was in, being dry and ftuck on paper,
prevented him at that time from examining it to the extent he wifhed. In a fhort time the Profelfor had an
opportunity,of {hewing it to'L innæus, who after looking at it with great attention, proclaimed it to be a
fpecimen of Antirrhinum Linaria, with the flowers, as he lufpefted, of fome exotic, ftuck on it, inftead of its,
own ; fuch deceptions are well known to be fometimes pjaftifèd, but on opening one of the- flowers, he was
convinced that his fufpicions were unfounded : fie now became impatient to poftcfs the living plant, roots o f
which, at his requeft, were fent him by Mr.' Z i o b e r g , and planted in lh>e botanic garden at Upfal, but did not
fucceed ; thefe would have been replaced in 1743, but the plants where they originally grew had been obliterated
by cattle : the fame injury befel them in -1744, lo that it is probable L innæus did not enjoy the pleafure he fo
ardently wifhed for, of feeing it bloflom ; and there is reafon to conclude, that both the delcription and figure in
the Aman. Acad, were taken from Z ioberg’s- dried fpecimen, which will in fome degree apologife for the
inaccuracy of both ; that of the former we Ihall have occafion to mention in the fequel of this account.
Since the above diflertation was publifhed, the Peloria has been found wild in various parts o f Germany, and
alfo in this our ifland. Mr. H udson, in the firft edition of his Flora AnglicJ, mentions it as growing near
Clapham, Surrey* but as no botanift has obferved it there fince that publication, and as in the fécond edition of
the faid work the faft^is no longer noticed, we may reafonably conclude that Mr. H udson was miftaken.
In the year 1792, Mr. O rdoyno, Nurferyman at Newark-iipon-Trent, moft obligingly fent me fome roots'
of this plant, found growing wild by Mr. L e ig h t o n , of Brocklefby, near Brigg in Lincolnfhire, in fome
woods belonging to Mr. P elham ; thefe were planted in a pot, and flowered with me fparingly in 1793 : this
fummer, 1794, m the beginning of Auguft, they produced a great number of flowering Items, and flowers iA
abundance,; every one of which was true to its charafter ; but though the parts of fruftification were perfect, no
feed-veflels were formed ; its failure in this refpeft: I attribute to my keeping the plant in too fheltered a fituation,
as a plant from the fame root growing in a pot at Mr. V e r e ’s, Brompton Park-Houfe, Kenfington-Gore, under
the management o f his gardener W il l iam A nder son, produced two perfect feed-veflels, containing many to
all appearance well-conditioned feeds : we may obferve that the flowers of the Linaria itfelf are rarely fertile,
unlels the plant be expofed to an open funny afpeÊl.
When the Peloria was firft publifhed in the Amanit. Acad. L innæus regarded it as a new genus, the charafters
of which are there defcribed, he was inclined to think that it might be a hybrid plant, -generated betwixt the
L in a r ia , and fome other unknown vegetable; the fexuality of his fyftem often led the great L innæus to
indulge in whims of this fort, in the Sp. PI. ed. 3. we find him to have relinquifhed the opinion of its being
a diftinft; genus but ftill adhering to his favourite idea of hybridity, now, as' far as relates to this plant, very
generally exploded. Prof. M u r r a y has obferved, that the flowers o f the genus Antirrhinum are peculiarly
fubjeft to monftrofity ; we ourfelves have frequently feen the flowers of the common Toad-Flax with two or
three fpurs, and thofe of the majus having a tendency to a Peloria-like appearance, but never to aflume the
regularity which conftitutes the beauty and extreme Angularity of that plant-; there is, however, no appearance
in the ftrufture of the flowers of the Peloria but what may be traced to thofe of the Linaria, of which they
certainly are a moft wonderful modification, and hence there does not appear to be the leaft neceflity for having
recourfe to any preternatural fexuai intercourfe to explain this extraordinary phenomenon.
The monftrofity in the Peloria appears to be confined wholly to the Corolla with its attendant Stamina, which
is hereby rendered a fpecies of Flos multiplicatus, there is nothing in the other parts of the plant to diftinguifh
it from the common Toad-Flax; that the■ difference in the flowers of the two plants might be more obvioufly
feen, we have had a flower o f the Linaria engraved on the fame plate, Jig. 7.' this in Peloria is fo metamorphôfed.
as fcarcely to retain one original feature ; the calyx, jig. 1. varies but little, not at all in the number of its divifions ;
the Corolla from being irregular becomes regular, below it is dilated, above contrafted, fo as to form a tubular
kind of neck, terminating in a prominent circular rim, which, rolls back and is divided into five regular fhort
fomewhat obtufe fegments, fig. 2. the mouth is internally villous, and puckered up fo as to-become impervious ;,
inftead of one depending fpur-like Neftary, there are five, fpringing from the bafe of the Corolla,^. 3. and
fpreading out almoft. horizontally ; the Stamina are increafed from four to five, Jig. 4. thefe moft. afluredly
are attached to the Corolla, notwithftand-ing- L innæus’s aflertion that .they are hullo “modo corolla ajfixa, for
on pulling off the Corolla, which eafily feparates from the receptacle in the living plant, they come away with
it; no very material alteration takes place in the form of the Filaments, or Antheræ, Jig. 5. nor does the
Piftillum appear to partake of the monftrofity,^. 6. hence there is no phyfical caufe for that fier il ity, which
moft of the authors who have mentioned this plant attribute to it.
We regret extremely that we cannot as yet give a fatisfaftory anfwer to the Linnæan Ouere in the Aman.
Acad, an ex Peloria feminibus Linaria unquam enafcatur ; we think it highly probable that the feeds of the
Peloria will produce plants both of common Toad-Flax and Peloria, perhaps fome bearing flowers common
to both, fuch as H al ler relates to have been obferved by F a b r ic iu s ; but this important faff remains to be
afcertained by actual experiments: with fuch we are now engaged, and fhall not fail taking the eariieft
opportunity of laying the refult of them before our readers, when we treat of the Antirrhinum majus.
The Peloria, like the Linaria, increafes greatly by its roots, like that plant it fucceeds beft -in a dry foil and
expofed fituation, and no plant thrives better in a pot.
L innæus derives the name of this lufus from the greek word VsXwo which-fignifies any thing monflrous ;
nence A pollonius R hodius calls a monflrous birth vtxuç
ret— naturae prodigium, Linaria: proles hybrida— genus proprium eonftitueret nifi fruflus femper abortii Linn. Sp. PI. ed 3,