SCUTELLA'RIA*. Linnean Class and Order. DIDYNA'MIA†, GYMNOSPERMIA+. Natural Order. LABIA'TÆ, Juss. Gen. Plant. p. 110.-Sm. Gram. of Bot. p. 99.; Eng. Fl. v. iii. p. 63.-Lindl. Syn. p. 196.; Introd. to Nat. Syst. of Bot. p. 239.-Rich. by Macgilliv. p. 439.Loud. Hort. Brit. p. 528. GEN. CHAR. Calyx (fig. 1.) inferior, of 1 sepal or leaf (monosépalous or monophy'llous), tubular, short, 2-lipped, both lips entire, blunt, and closed after flowering; the upper lip having a conspicuous, concave tooth or scale on the upper side. Corolla (fig. 2.) of 1 petal (monopétalous), gaping (ringent), closed; tube very short, throat much longer, ascending, compressed, dilated upwards, upper lip concave, in 3 segments, the middle one concave, cloven, the side ones flat, covered by the middle one; lower lip broader, in 3 shallow lobes. Filaments (fig. 3.) 4, two longer than the other two (didynamous), concealed beneath the upper lip. Anthers small, roundish, fixed to the side of the filament (incumbent), 2-lobed. Germen (fig. 4.) 4-lobed. Style (fig. 4.) threadshaped, on a level with the stamens. Stigma simple, pointed, bent in (incurved). Seeds (Nuts of DECAND. and LIND.) 4, roundish, covered by the closed, permanent Calyx. The scale on the upper side of the calyx, which is closed after flowering, will distinguish this from all other genera, with a 2-lipped calyx, in the same class and order. Two species British. SCUTELLA'RIA GALERICULA'TA. Hooded Willow-herb. Common Skull-cap. SPEC. CHAR. Leaves spear-shaped, scollopped (crenate), rugged, heart-shaped at the base. Flowers axillary. Engl. Bot. t. 523.-Curt. Fl. Lond. t. 155.-Linn. Sp. Pl. p. 835.-Huds. Fl. Angl. (2nd ed.) p. 265.-Sm. Fl. Brit. v. ii. p. 645. Eng. Fl. v. iii. p. 113.— With. (7th ed.) v. iii. p. 724.-Gray's Nat. Arr. v. ii. p. 389.-Lindl. Syn. p. 204. -Hook. Brit. Fl. p. 282-Lightf. Fl. Scot. v. i. p. 320.-Sibth. Fl. Oxon. p. 190. -Abbot's Fl. Bedf. p. 134.-Purt. Midl. Fl. v. i. p. 282.--Relh. Fl. Cantab. (3rd ed.) p. 248.-Hook. Fl. Scot. p. 185.-Grev. FI. Edin. p. 134. Fl. Devon. pp. 102 & 146.-Johnston's Fl. of Berwick, v. i. p. 134.-Perry's Pl. Varvic. Selectæ, p. 51.-Walk. Fl. of Oxf. p. 172.-Mack. Cat. Pl. of Irel. p. 57.Cassida palustris vulgátior, flore cæruleo, Ray's Syn. p. 244.-Lysimachia galericuláta, Johnson's Gerarde, p. 477. LOCALITIES. By the sides of ponds, rivers, and watery ditches. Not un common. Perennial.-Flowers in June, July, and August. Root white, jointed, and creeping. Stem from 10 to 18 inches high, upright, sharply 4-cornered (quadrangular), with the sides a Fig. 1. Calyx.-Fig. 2. Corolla.-Fig. 3. Corolla cut open, and a little magnified, showing the Stamens.-Fig. 4. Section of the Calyx, showing the Germen, Style, and Stigma. * From scutella, a small vessel, on account of the figure of the calyx, which is not unlike a cup with its handle. The calyx inverted presents the figure of a helmet with visor raised.-LOUD. in Encyclop. of Plants. + See Lamium album, p. 31. note †. + See Lamium album, p.31. note ‡, downy, down minute and bent back (recurved). Leaves opposite, on short leaf-stalks, tapering from a heart-shaped (cordate) base into a broadish spear-shaped, blunt figure, with shallow notches or teeth (serratures), a little wrinkled, veined, minutely hairy, paler underneath. Floral-leaves (Bracteas) two, very small, bristleshaped, at the base of the Flower-stalk (Peduncle). Flowers axillary, in pairs, or solitary, on short peduncles, all leaning to one side of the stem or branches (unilateral), downy, the upper part variegated with shades of blue, the under nearly white, with light blue stripes, the mouth almost closed. Calyx hairy, furnished above with an arched scale. When the corolla falls off, the closed calyx and its lid become remarkable, somewhat resembling, in external appearance, a helmet with its crest, and characterize the genus beyond all uncertainty. Dr. WITHERING remarks, that when the blossom falls off, the calyx closes upon the seeds, which when ripe, being still smaller than the calyx, could not possibly open its mouth, or overcome its elastic force, and must consequently remain without a possibility of escaping, did not Nature, ever fruitful of resources, find a method to discharge them. The calyx becoming dry, divides into two distinct parts; when the seeds already detached from the receptacle, fall to the ground. Cows, goats, and sheep, are said to eat this plant; horses and swine to refuse it. Scutellária lateriflóra, a North American plant, bears a great resemblance to this species, but it is more branched, the leaves are broader, more egg-shaped, and have longer footstalks, and the flowers are not solitary, or in pairs, as in S. galericulata, but are produced on racemes or bunches, from the axils of the leaves. This species (S. lateriflora) has been much celebrated in America as a remedy for preventing and curing Hydrophobia, and when properly and seasonably administered is seldom known to fail. Although the S. lateriflora and S. galericulata so nearly resemble each other, in external appearance, yet the latter is said to possess none of the virtues of the former, and a mistake of taking one for the other has sometimes produced fatal effects. See " A History of the introduction and use of Scutellaria lateriflora, (skull-cap,) as a remedy for preventing and curing HYDROPHOBIA, occasioned by the bite of Rabid Animals; with cases, accompanied with a plate of the plant. By LYMAN SPALDING, M. D." Printed at New York, 1819. "Then names are good, for how, without their aid What food for wonder, what for use they yield; Some just remark, from Nature's people bring, And some new source of homage for her King."-CRABBE. |