C 325 ]
C O T Y L E D O N Umbilicus.
Common Navel-wort.
Jojo
jD E C A N D R I A Pentagynia.
Gen. Char. Cal. five-cleft. Cor. of one petal.
Nedary of five fcales at the bafe of the germen.
Capful es five.
Spec. Char. Leaves peltate, fcolloped. Stem fpiked,
rarely branched. Flowers pendulous. Braéteæ
entire.
Syh. Cotyledon Umbilicus. Linn. Sp. P l.6 i$ . Hudf.
F I. An. 194- With. Lot. A rr. 463. Sibth.Ox. 14 3 .
C. vera, radice tuberofa. R aii Svn. 2 7 1 .
F O R this wild fpecimen, gathered on walls at Peterborough,
we are indebted to the Rev. Mr. Hemfted. The plant is moft
frequent in the weft of England and Wales, growing on moift
rocks. In Gerarde’s time it grew over the door of Poet’s
Corner, Weftminfter Abbey, but was not to be found there
when his fecond edition was publifhed. It flowers in June,
and lafts through July.
Root perennial, tuberous. Stem round, very fucculent (as
are alfo the leaves), purplifh, ere£t, terminating in a Ample or
branched fpike of numerous, drooping, pale-yellow flowers.
Leaves fmooth, moftly peltate, on longifh foot-ftalks, more or
lefs deeply and acutely crenate, thofe qn the ftem becoming
lefs peltate and more deeply notched the higher they are fitu-
ated, and at length changed for fmall, lanceolate, entire brac-
teae. Corolla cylindrical, the margin in five fmall ere£t feg-
ments. Antherse on very fhort filaments, inferted in two
rows juft within the orifice of the corolla, and not projedling
beyond its margin.
Though this be the variety /3 of Linnaeus, yet being by far
more common than his a, we think it beft to retain it as the
true C. Umbilicus, as all authors have done. If the a (Mr.
Hudfon’s luted) be really diftinft, we fhall take fome other opportunity
of defcribing it.