V A L E R I A N A dentata.
Oval-fruited Corn Sallad.
TRIANDRIA Monogynla.
G en. Char. Cal. none. Cor. of 3 petal, superior“,
gibbous on one side at the base. Seed one.
Spec. Char. Stamina three. Stem fo rk ed , with a x illa ry
flowers. L ea v e s linear-tongue-shaped. F ru it o va te ,
p ointed , u n eq u ally three-toothed.
Syn. V ale rian a dentata. Ehrh. Herb. 12 2 . Willden.
Sp. PI. v. 1 . 183. Sm. FI. Brit. 1385.
Vale rianella altera nudo umbilicato et Isevi semine.
Column. Ecpkr. 208. t: 209. f . 2.
W e alluded to this plant in v. 12. p. 811, when we were
not quite satisfied of its being more than a variety of V. Locusta,
whose seeds, as well as the leaves, certainly do vary in appearance,
though not in essential structure. But on a closer
investigation the present seems truly a distinct species. W e
have received living specimens gathered byE. Forster jun. Esq.
in a cornfield near South End, Essex; and others found by
E . Hatton Esq. near Rowling Wingham, Kent. In the former
the herb is smooth, except near the base, with a hispid seed;
in the latter the plant is rough, the seed smooth. These circumstances
are surely casual variations.81 The real differences
between this and V. Locusta, t. M consist in its stem bearing
solitary flowers at each of its divarications, except the very
lowest, whereas the flowers of Locusta are all in terminal tufts;
and in the ovate, pointed, much less swelling seed, whose top
is crowned with 3, or more, very unequal teeth, one of them
especially being remarkably elongated, and almost leafy.
This species is annual, and flowers in June and July.
Ehrhart and Willdenow have distinguished i t ; but the latter
has certainly misapplied the synonyms of Linnaeus, Ray and
Rivinus, i f not others. *