BRASSICA monensis ; foliis pinnatifidis, caule nudiusculo glabro, siliquis lcevibus: rostro mono-(po-
ly-)sperrao. B r.
BRASSICA monensis. Huds. Angl. p. 29E B r. in Hort. K m , ed. 2. ml. 3. p.lQA.^ Hook, g g
Scot. P . I. p. 203. Decand. Syst. Veget. ml. 2. p. 599■ Prodr. ml. l .p . 2 10 .
SISYMBRIUM monense. L im . Sp. PI. ed. 9 p. « i P p J 353. 1 .15. f . 1. TViUd. S p .P l.
vml. 3. D. 4.Q6. Smith, Fl. B rit. p. 704. Engl. Bot. t. 962. Pers. Syn. PI. ml. 2. p. 197.
Class a nd Order. TETRADYNAMIA SILIQUOSA.
[Natural Ord er. CRUCIFER.®, Juss., Decand., B r., Hook.]
Siliqua bivalvis (rostro sterili v. monospermo). Cotyledones conduplicatae. Calyx clausus. B r.
Ge n . Char.
Ge n . Cha r. Siliqua two-valved (with
R adix longe descendens, subfusiformis, lignosa, ramosa,
the beak sterile or one-seeded). Cotyledons conduplicate. Calyx closed. B r .
atque versus apicem prsecipue fibrosa.
Caules plurimi, ex eadem radice decumbentes, spitha-
maei ad pedalem, teretes, glauci, pauce foliosi,
subramosi.
Folia praecipue radicalia, patentia, humifusa, digitalia
vel palmaria, glabra, glauco-viridia, profunde
pinnatifida, segmentis remotis, horizontalibus vel
etiam recurvis, ovatis lanceolatisve, acutis, profunde
inciso-serratis: caulina segmentis lineari-
lanceolatis, subintegerrimis.
F lores ad apicem caulis, primum corymbosi, demum
racemosi.
P e d ic e l l i breves, erecto-patentes.
Calyx clausus, foliolis lineari-oblongis, apicibus solum-
modo hispidis, duobus basi gibbosis.
P etala subrotundata, pallide flava, venosa, longe un-
guiculata.
Stamina tetfadynama. Antheras oblongse, flavas.
P istillum lineare, rostro germine subseque longo.
Stigma bilobum.
Siliqua gracilis, quadriuncialis, teres, glabra, bivalvis,
polysperma; rostrum mono-poly-spermum.
Semina ovato-rotundata, subcorapressa, fusca, glabra,
podospermo brevi affixa. Cotyledones plano-
convexas; radicula sursum flexa ad'rimam coty-
ledonum accumbens.
Root descending deep into the earth, subfusiform,
woody, branched, and towards the apex especially
fibrous.
Stems many from the same root, decumbent, from a
span to a foot high, rounded, glaucous, sparingly
leafy, somewhat branched.
Leaves principally from the top of the root, patent,
spreading on the ground, three to six inches long,
glabrous^glaucous-green, deeply pinnatifid, ith
the segments remote, horizontal, or even recurved,
ovate or lanceolate, acute, deeply inciso-
serrate : those of the stem having the segments
linear-lanceolate, nearly entire.
j Flowers at the apex of the stem, at first corymbose,
at length racemose.
P edicels short, erecto-patent.
Calyx closed, the leaflets linear-oblong, hispid only at
the extremities, two of them gibbose a t the base.
P etals roundish, pale yellow, veined, with long claws.
Stamens tetradynamous.’ Anthers oblong, yellow. ^
P is t il linear, with a beak as long as the germen. Stigma
two-lobed.
Pod slender, four inches long, rounded, glabrous, two-
valved, many-seeded; the beak one- or many-
seeded.
Seeds ovato-rotundate, subcompressed, brown, glabrous,
fixed to a short seed-stalk. Cotyledons planoconvex
; radicle curved upwards and applied to
j the suture of the cotyledons.
Fie 1. Petal. F ig.3. Calyx. Fig. 8. Stamens and Pistil. Fig. 4. Pistil. Fig. 5. Pod. Fig. 6. P a r to f a
pod, with its beak laid open. Fig. 7. Seed. Fig. 8. Embryo.
One of the rarest of our British plants, and at the same time peculiar to the Bristish Islands. Havingbeen.first
detected on the Isle of Man, it was called Brassica monemis; but it has since been found abundantly on the
islands in the mouth of the Clyde, and on the opposite shores of the Clyde* always growing m loose sandy^sm,
and flowering during the summer months. In places where cattle graze, the plant is always eaten down
.. ___i :_______—a., o^i «<,rao/.iaTUr nMF Hu* spb miaht. he cultivated to advantage.