À L I S M A Damasonium.
Star-heacled Water-Plantain.
HEXANDRIA Polygynia.
Gen. Char. Cal. of 3 leaves. Petals 3. Capsules
many, aggregate, generally single-seeded.
Spec. Char. Leaves oblong ; heartshaped at the base.
Styles six. Capsules awlshaped.
Syn. Alisma Damasonium. L inn. Sp. P I. 486. Sm.
F I. B rit. 401. Huds. 159. With. 361. Hull. 79.
Curt. Land. fa s c . 5. t. 28.
Damasonium^ stellatum Dalechampii. R a ii Syn. 272.
G A T H E R E D freq u e n tly in Wanste&d P a rk , E sse x , b y M r.
Sow erb y . I t grows in w a tery places o n a gravelly soil, and
h a s b e e n observed chiefly w ith in 20 m ile s o f L o n d o n j y e t we
le a rn from th e B o ta n ist’s G u id e th a t it ha s also b e en fo u n d at
E lle sm e re , S h ro p s h ire , as well as in Suffolk an d Su ssex . I t
is p e ren n ia l, an d flowers in J u n e an d J u ly .
R o o t o f m a n y lo n g fibres. L eaves flo a tin g , all rad ic al, on
ro u n d sta lk s , dila ted an d b o rd e red w ith a m em b ran e in their
low e r p a r t ; th e le a f its e lf is o f a lo n g elliptic al o b tu se fo rm ,
h e a rtsh a p ed a t th e b a se , e n tire , sm o o th , w ith a stro n g m id rib ,
2 sm a ll ribs n e a r th e m a rg in , a n d m a n y tran sv e rse veins.
S ta lk s 1 o r 2 , a b o u t a sp an h ig h , ro u n d , sim p le , 'b e a rin g 2 or
3 um b e ls o n e above a n o th e r, w h ic h give i t a w h o rle d ap p
e a ra n c e . Flowe rs w h itis h . G e rm en s b u t 6 , u p rig h t, each
c row n ed w ith a sma ll ta p e r stigm a . C apsules 6 , spreading
in a sta r, lik e th o se o f th e Illicium o r S ta rry A n ise , compre ssed,
p o in te d , e ach h o ld in g 1 o r 2 seeds.
I am n o t afra id o f o ffending m y c an d id frien d Ju s sie u by
n o t a d o p tin g h is g e n u s Damasonium. Linnaeus observes
<c rard observatur genus, in qua pars aliqua fructificationis
non aberrat.” Phil. Bot. sect. 170. T h is appea rs to be th e
case w ith th e seed-vessels o f Alisma w ith re sp e c t to fo rm ,
n um b e r an d d ire c tio n . Fumaria is a n o th e r in sta n c e o f the
sam e ab e rra tio n .
S fc n o '. z j fa d . t y 7*