SUBULAKIA AQÜATICA. ‘AWL-WORT.
SUBULARIA aquatica; foliis subulatis.
SUBULARIA aquatica. Linn. Sp. P L p. 896. TTuds. A n g l.p . 277. L ig h t f Scot. p. 337. With.
Bot. A r t\ cd. 4. vol. 3. p. 553. OEd. FL Dan. t. 35. Hoffim. Germ. ed. ,2. vol. 1.
P . II. p. 35. Willd. Sp. P L vol. 3. p. 423. Smith FL B r it. p. 676. Èngl. Bot.
t. 732. P ers. Syn. PL vol. 2. p. 189. A it on Hort. K m . ed. 2. vol. 4. p. 91. Hook.
FL Scot. P . I. p. 196. Sturm Deutsch. FL Jase. 9.
SUBULARIA erecta junci foliis acutis, mollibus. R aii Syn. p. 307.
Dan. Sylblad. Dut. Elskruid. Fr. Alêne d’eau. Germ .Wasserpfriemen. Norw. Frylilje. Welsh. M y -
nawydlys dyfrdrig.
C lass a n d Ord e r . TE TRADYNAMIA SILICÜLOSA.
[N atural Or d e r . CRÜCIFERÆ, J uss., Decand., Hook.]
Ge n . C h ar. Silicula ovalis, mutica, polysperma : valvis ventricosis. Cotyledones incuinbentes, lirieares, bicrures.
B r . in Hort. K m .
G e n . Ch a r . Pouch oval, pointless, many-seeded : valves turgid. Cotyledons incumbent, linear, bicrural.
R adix annua, e fibris longis, numerosis, albis, simplici-
bus.
Folia omnia radicalia, unciam vel sesquiunciam longa,
fasciculata, subulata, acuta, basi dilatata, dorso
semicylindrica, facie superiore subcanaliculata,
opaca, obscure viridia.
Sca p i plerumquê duo ex eadem radice, foliis paulo lon-
giores, erecti, flexuosi.
F lores subracemosi, pedicellati.
Calyx tetraphyllus, foliolis ovatis, concavis, erectis,
viridibus, margine albidis.
Corolla tetrapetala, petalis æqualibus, patentibus, ob-
longis, obtusis, albis.
Stamina quatuor, tetradynamia.
An th e eæ bilobæ, flavæ.
P istillum : Germen ovatum, compressum : Stylus
nullus : Stigma perbreve, planum, sessile.
P e rica rpium : Silicula ovata, elliptica, lateraliter compressa,
mutica, glabra, valvis ventricosis.
Sem in a quatuor ad sex in singulo loculo, ovata, depen-
dentia, fusca, lævia.
I ntegumentum coriaceo-merabranaceum.
E mbryo conduplicatus, elongatus, fere cylindraceus.
Cotyledones longæ, semicylindricæ, incumbentes.
R adicula cotyledonibus-longior, sursum curvata.
Root annual, composed of long, numerous, simple,
white fibres.
Leaves all radical, an inch or an inch and a half long,
fasciculated, subulate, acute, dilated at the base,
semicylindrical on the back, somewhat grooved
on the upper side, opaque, dull green.
Scapes generally two from the same root, a little longer
than the leaves, erect, flexuose.
F lowers subracemose', pedicellate.
Calyx of four leaves, leaflets ovate, concave, erect,
green, with the margins white.
Corolla of four petals, the petals equal* patent, oblong,
obtuse* White;
Stamens four, tetradynamous.
An th ers two-lobed, yellow-.
P is t il : Germen ovate, compressed : Style none: Stigma
very short, plane, sessile.
P e r ic a r p : Pouch ovate,elliptical, laterally compressed,
pointless, glabrous, with the valves ventricose.
Seeds four to six in each cell, ovate, pendent, brown,
aud smooth.
I n t eg umen t coriaceo-membranaceous.
Embryo conduplicate, elongated, almost cylindrical.
Cotyledons long, semicylindrical, incumbent.
Ra d icl e longer than the cotyledons, curved upwards.
Fig. ]. Calyx. Fig. 2. Flow’er. Fig. 3. Pistil. Fig. 4. Pericarp or Pouch. Fig. 5. The same with one of
the valves separating. Fig. 6. Seed. Fig. 7. Embryo.—all more or less magnified.
This highly curious little plant is found at the bottom of many of the alpine lakes of G reat Britain, and particularly
in those of Scotland. The specimens here delineated were gathered along with those of Isoetes lacustris
lately figured, in Loch Sloy, a t the back of Ben Voirlich, Dumbartonshire, having both flower and fruit upon them,
in the latter end of the month of June.
One of the most striking peculiarities of the Awl-wort is the circumstance of its flowering and perfecting its
seeds entirely under water, and without the power (possessed by so many other aquatics) of elevating its blossoms
to the surface. Such was decidedly the case with the numerous specimens which I gathered in the above-mentioned
spot, where the water, though in an unusually dry season, was two and three feet above the heads of the plants.
Yet there appears nothing in the structure of these blossoms different from those of other tetradynamous flow ers
which expand out of that element, nor were the stamens in my specimens at all covered' and protected by the
corolla, but the latter was fully expanded.
The leaves are very unlike those of any other cruciform plant that I am acquainted with, and more resemble
in general form those of the Isoetes, among which it grows.
The capsule o f Subularia differs from Draba, not in having the valves contrary to the dissepiment, but in having
them ventricose; and the cotyledons too, as the learned Brown has ascertained, are not applied by their edges,
as in Draba, but by their backs, to the radicle.