E L ATI ME Hydropiper.
Small Waterwort.
OCTANDRIA Tetragynia.
G en. Char. Cal. of 3 or 4 leaves. Petals 3 or 4.
Cap/, foperior, of 3 or 4 cells and as many valves ;
the partitions oppohte to the fiflures. Seeds many.
Spec. Char. Leaves in pairs.
S yn. Elatine Hydropiper. Linn. Sp. P I. 527* T/.
Dan. t. 156.
Alflnaftrmn lerpyllifolium, flore rofeo tripetalo, et
flore albo tetrapetalo. VailL P ar. 5 . t. 2. ƒ. 1, %.
Hydropiper. Buxb, Cent. 1 . 36 . t. 3 7 . ƒ. 3.
N e v e r abferved in Britain, till the Rev. Mr. Williams
found it, flowering in Auguft 1798, about the eaftern {bore of
Bomere pool near Condover, Sliropfliire, in a loofe fandy foil.
This acquifition is more peculiarly welcome to the Britifh
Flora, as the other fpecies of Elatine muft be erafed from our
catalogue; Dillenius’s original fpecimen proving (ftrange to
tell!) no other than Centunculus minimus, a plant quite unlike
the Elatine Aljinajlrum.
Root annual, fibrous, white. Herb fmooth in every part,
generally under water, even the flowers, which remain clofed
to fhelter the ftamina from wet. Sometimes however it grows
about the margin of the pool, entirely.out of the water. In
the latter cafe it appears from Vaillant that the petals are
red did); in the former white: for both his defcriptions mod
afluredly belong to one fpecies, whofe flowers when luxuriant
(Vail!, fig . 2.) have four calyx-leaves, 4 petals, 8 ftamina, 4
cloven ftyles, and a four-cleft capfule; as we have found fome
on our fpecimens; though moll of ours have 3 calyx-leaves,
3 petals, 6 ftamina, 3 ftyles, and 3 valves to the capfule, as in
Vaillant’s fig . 1.
This plant might be overlooked for Montia fontana, though
very diflerent when examined. The (lems are procumbent,
throwing out roots. Leaves oppofite, fpatulate, entire.
Flowers tolitary, on axillary ftalks. Buxbaum called it Hydropiper
(Water Pepper) becaufe he erroneoufly fancied it allied
to the Pilularia, whofe fruit looks like pepper, fee t. 521.