tains a peculiar vegetable alkali, called veratrin, which is the
source of its dangerous properties. The pulverized root, when
snuffed into the nose, produces violent and long continued sneezing,
and should be avoided, as it endangers the vessels of the
head. Boys sometimes make dangerous experiments with it.
, The root of Cplchicum autumnale, L., so distinguished since
the days of Hippocrates, as a medicine, contains the same alkali,
veratrin, which probably gives its diuretic, cathartic, and narcotic
properties. I have not known of its cultivation in this State ;
indigenous to Europe.
ORDER 246. PONTEDERE iE .
Flower or perianth tubular, 6-parted, inferior, colored, irregular
; stamens 3 or 6, unequal, standing about the style ; ovary
1 — 3-eelled, 3-valved ; leaves sheathing at the base, with parallel
veins ; flowers- from a spathe, often blue ; aquatic plants, showy
from their deep-green leaves and fine flowers, but not of any use.
Not found native in Europe.
P oNT EDERIA. L. 6 . 1.
Named in honor of Professor Pontedera of Padua, more than
a century ago ; a genus of few species, 3 in this country, and 1
in this State. Perianth 2-lipped, 3 stamens on its lip, and 3 on
the tube ; seeds in a utricle or bladder-like capsule.
P. cordata. L. Pickerel Weed. Stem 1 or 2 feet high,
thick, large, with oblong-cordate leaves rising from the lower
p a rt; flowers in a long, dense spike, collected into twos or threes,
sessile, bright-blue.
In Berkshire County, Pickerel Weed has abounded on the
waters of the Housatonic River, but Pickerel fish were not found
in the streams till they were brought from the waters of Connecticut
River and put into the ponds.
P. anguslifolia. Ph. A narrower leafed plant, found in a
pond in Leverett ; Considered by Dr. Torrey only a variety of
the former species. Another species is found in South Carolina
and Georgia.
S chollera. Schreb. 3. 1.
Spathe 1-flowered ; tube of the flower very long and slender,
with the limb deeply 6-parted ; capsule 1-celled. It is the genus
Leptanthus of Mx., named from the Greek for slender flower ;
named Schollera in honor of a German botanist, F. A. Scholler.
S. graminea. Yahl. Grows in waters, grass-like, slender,
with a stem 6 - 8 inches long ; leaves sessile^ linear, grassy ;
spathe 1 or 2-flowered ; flowers bright-yellow ; July.
ORDER 247. A SPHODELEiE.
One floral envelope, forming the corolla of the Linneean botanists,
6-parted or 6-cleft, regular, after bursting forth from a
spathe or closely-enclosing leafy or membranous covering ; stamens
6 on the perianth or corolla ; ovary superior, 3-celled ; fruit
mostly a 3-celled, 3-valved capsule; leaves with parallel veins.
The members of this family are widely .spread over the world,
especially in the temperate climes. Many are cultivated for their
great beauty ; some for use or food. A gummy juice, containing
a little stimulant in very variable proportions, is common to many
species, and forms valuable gums, as aloes, gum-dragon, &c.
A sphodelus. L. 6. I.
Named from its unsurpassed beauty.
A. luteus, L ., and A. ramosus, L. King’s Spear. Have.been
considered beautiful garden plants ; from the South of Europe ;
the former has 3-sided leaves, and the latter has sword-form
leaves.
Ornithogalum. L. 6. 1. Star of Bethlehem.
No known reason for its name, from the Greek, for bird and
milk.
0. umbellatum. L. A handsome spring plant of the gardens,
with fine flowers ; from England. Naturalized in some