(ENANTHE CROCATA. HEMLOCK WATER
DROPWORT.
CENANTHE crocata; radice tuberosa, caule ramoso sulcato, foliis bipinnatis nitidis, foliolis omnibus
ovato-cuneatis incisis venosis, involucris polyphyllis obtusiusculis.— Spr.
CENANTHE crocata. Linn. Sp. PI. p. 365. Lightf. Scot. p. 162. Huds. Angl. p. 121. With. Bot.
Arr. ed. 4. vol. 2. p. 297- Jacq. Hort. Vindob. vol. 3. t. 55. ' Willd. Sp. PI. vol. \.p . 1441.
Smith FI. Brit. p. 319- Engl. Bot. t. 2013. Decand. FI. Fr. ed. 3. vol. 4. ƒ>. 298.
Fl. Gall. Syn. p. 307. Pers. Syn. PI. vol. l. p. 318. Alton Hort. Kew. ed. 2. vol. 2.
p. 148. Hook. Fl. Scot. P . I. p. 92. Smith Engl. Fl. vol. 2. p. 79-
CENANTHE Cicut® facie Lobelii. Hemlock Dropwort. Raii Syn. p. 210.
Class a n d Or d e r . PENTANDRIA DIGYNIA.
[N a t u r a l O r d e r . UMBELLIFERJE, juss., Decand., Hook. D iv .
Fructus solidus subteres inermis, alas mu lias.— AT«.]
G e n . Ch a r . Fructus costatus, subspongiosus. Calyx magnus, foliolis lanceolatis acutis patentibus inasqualibus.
Petala obcordata, radiantia, valde inasqualia. Receptaculumfloris dilatatum depressum. Flores saspe imper-
fecti.— Sm.
Ge n . Ch a r . Fruit ribbed, somewhat spongy. Calyx large, leaflets lanceolate, acute, spreading, unequal. Petals
inversely heart-shaped, radiant, very unequal. Floral receptacle dilated, depressed. Flowers separated.— Sm.
Ra d ix tuberosa, tuberibus fasciculatis, elliptico-fusifor-
mibus, sordide albidis, hie illic fibrosis.
Caults bi- ad tri-pedalis, erectus, dichotome ramosus,
fistulosus, profunde sulcatus, angulis acutis ; in-
ferne crassus, ruber, superne sensim gracilior, viridis.
Folia palmaria ad spitharnæam, bipinnata, glabra, nitida.
Petiolus communis superne canaliculatus,
basi dilata tus, amplexicaulis. Foliola cuneato-
ovata, incisa, venosa,. dentibus obtusiusculis, fo-
liorum superiorum anguste lanceolatis.
U mbellæ magnæ, convexæ; partiales densæ, hemisphæ-
ricæ, ambitu steriles. Radii angulati, crassius-
1 cüli. ■
I nvolucr i iNVOLUCELLique Foliola lineari-lanceo-
lata; patentia.
Calyx parvus, dentibus æqualibus, obtusiusculis.
Corolla : Petala quinque, obcordata, acumine incur-
vato.
St am in a quinque, patentia. Filamenta flexuosa. An-
theræ rotundatoe.
P istillum : Germen subcylindraceum, sulcatum. Styli
duo, lougi,erecti, basi tumidulo. Stigmata obtusa.
F ructus oblongus, teres, singulo achenio lineis elevatis
quinque, interstitiis lineis elevatis minoribus co-
loratis, dentibus quinque stylisque coronatis.
Root tuberous, with the tubers clustered, between ellip-
. tical and fusiform, dirty white, here and there
fibrous.
St em two to three fee t high, erect, dichotomously
branched, hollow, deeply furrowed, with the angles
acute ; below thick, reddish; upward gradually
becoming more slender, green.
L eaves a palm’s breadth to a span long, bipinnate, glabrous,
shining. Common Petiole grooved above,
spreading and amplexicaul at the base. Leaflets
cuneato-ovate, cut, veined, with bluntish teeth,
those of the superior leaflets narrow lanceolate.
U mbels large, convex; the partial ones dense, hemispherical,
their circumference barren. Rays
angled, thiefcish.
Leaflets o f the general and partial I nvolucres linear-
lanceolate, patent.
Calyx small, with the teeth unequal and rather obtuse.
Corolla : Petals five, obcordate, with an incurved
point.
Stam e n s five, patent. Filaments flexuose. Anthers
roundish.
P is t il : Germen subcylindrical, furrowed. Styles two,
long, erect, slightly swelling a t the base. Stigmas
obtuse.
Fr u it obloug, terate, each achenium having five elevated
lin e s ,, between which are lesser elevated
coloured lines crowned with five teeth and the
styles.
Fig. 1. Flower. Fig. 2. Side-view of the Fruit or double Achenium. Fig. 3. View of the back of one of the
Achenia, to show the ribs and elevated smaller lines in the interstices.:— all more or less magnified.
(Enanthe crocata is a plant of common occurrence in wet pastures; by the sides of ditches and rivers, in Scotland,
as well as in England. We have some reason to think, however, that two species, or at any rate two remarkable
varieties, exist in this country under the name of (E. crocata: the one here described, which abounds with a
fetid yellow juice in almost all its parts; the other, very similar indeed to it in habit, which is found in the neighbourhood
of Plymouth, but which, we are assured by our friends Sconce and Bancks, instead of containing a yellow
juice, merely yields when wounded a watery fluid. This will probably prove to be the (E. apiifolia of Brotero’s
Flora Lusitanica, which is particularly distinguished by its aqueous ju ic e : and this opinion is further confirmed by
our excellent friend Mr. Sconce, who, during his late voyage to the Mediterranean, visited Brotero at Lisbon, and
on seeing the figure of his (E. apiifolia in the Phytographia Lusitanica was immediately struck with the identity
of that plant and of the individuals which he had observed near Plymouth. Mr. Bancks will no doubt examine
more minutely into this fact; and we hope that we shall be able to give a representation, ere long, of a new British
(Enanthe. Except with the- plant just mentioned (the essential, specific, and distinctive marks of which we are not
prepared to .state, having no specimen by us), the present species has no near affinity with any British (Enanthe.
The Hemlock Water Dropwort is reckoned among the most virulent of British plants, and in1 France it is said
that many persons have been poisoned with it. • Brood mares, according to Sir Thomas Frankland, as related in
the English Flora, sometimes eat the root, and are poisoned with i t : and Elnet, the celebrated botanic draughtsman,
experienced a giddiness from the scent of the herb. At Nantes, in France, it is known by the name of
pensacre, and is employed to destroy moles.
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