scarcely be sufficiently admired ; • nor is the (economy of the stamens less curious. The filaments, which on the
first opening of the blossom ore short, very soon each in jh eir turn become longer and curved,-so that the anther
is closely applied to the orifice of the germon ; there it remains till all the pollen is shed, when it soon falls off,
and the filament tarns back and is appressed to the petal.
The genus is still continued in the Natural System among the Capparides, although.its affinity with the genera
of that order is doubtful. Droscru, next to which it was ranked by Jussieu and De Candolle, has since been removed
to a new order,' to which has been given'the name of Drosenetc.
Following Lamarck in his Encyclopédie Méthodique,™ have thought it right to alter a p art of the Linmean generic
character, since a species has. been discovered in Ægyptby Mr. Forskal, having ten nectaries. From this
plant, indeed, oiirs is abundantly different, having besides the above character stems bearing many leaves. But the
Parnassia a m lim a m of Michaux’s Flora Borealis Americana is probably only a variety of it; for the Author has
no other distinguishing character than that the nectaries, are famished with three cilite. With us Parnassia pa-
lustris abounds in marshy places, flowering in August and September,, and is equally common m England as in
Scotland, extending to the furthest of the Orkney Islands, where we have gathered it in full blossom of an extremely
diminutive size ; some of the plants scarcely reaching half an inch in height, yet possessing all the charae-
ters of the more usual appearance of the plant.
The Grass' of Parnassus is reported to be a vulnerary and astringent: The juice of the leaves and roots is
esteemed for diseases of the eyes ; and the seeds, Lamarck observes, are diuretic, “ et propres à arrêter le cours
du ventre et le vomissement."
As this species is perfectly hardy, to succeed in its culture it only requires a plentiful supply of. water during the
— and autumnal montas. I t prefers a peat mould with a small admixture of loam. I f planted m a garden-
pot, and the pot plunged in a p.an of water, it will often continue in blossom for six weeks 01 two months.