also clothed with little tufts of woolly hairs, and more
than double the length of the footstalks. Peduncles
erect, shorter than the calyx, thickly clothed with a dense
pubescence, and little tufts of short hairs intermixed.
Calyx of 5 sepals, clothed with a short tomentum: the
two outer sepals small, linear, taper-pointed, and keeled:
three inner ones ovate, taper-pointed, three-nerved,
remaining persistent, and spreading when in fruit. Petals
5, about the length of the calyx, oblongly ovate, distinctly
spreading, of a pale sulphur colour, with a bright
orange-coloured spot near the base of each. Stamens
about 20: filaments light yellow, smooth, unequal in
length. Germen triquetrous, the angles hairy. Style
erect, thickening upwards, about the length of the stamens,
terminated by a small slightly 3-lobed Stigma.
Capsule acutely 3-sided, glossy, the angles clothed with
short hairs. Seeds small, numerous, pointed at one end,
angular, pitted, of a dark brown colour.
The present curious species is an annual plant, and is
a native of England, as well as other different parts of
Europe; in this country it is but rarely-met1 with, and
chiefly about Brent Down, in Somersetshire, where H.
polifoliun is also abundant; for seeds of which, we are
much obliged to Mr. Thomas Clark, jun. of Bridge-
water, who was so kind as to send us some.
Our drawing of the present species was taken from
plants raised in our garden from seeds given us by
H. B. Ker, Esq.; it is readily distinguished from all
others with which we are acquainted, by its very large
glossy capsule: our plants were raised from seeds sown
early in Spring, those flowered the end of May and in
June, and soon ripened their seeds, some of which we
sowed again as soon as ripe, those flowered in Autumn
and through the Winter, until the frost destroyed them:
the seeds only require to be sown in the open ground,
and to be kept free from weeds.