Saxifrage
SNOWDROP. The name is explained in the text. N.O., Amaryllidaceoe, the Amaryllis family. LINNAEAN: 6, Hexandria; 1, Monogynia.--A casual inspection of the flower by one unskilled in botany will result in a conviction of an alliance of the snowdrop with the lilies, but the snowdrop is simply not a lily but an amaryllid. Between the two families the differences are not many, but there are differences, and one of the principal is the inferior position of the ovary. This is a large order, comprising the snowflake, snowdrop, vallotta, pancratium, narcissus, the agave, and the "giant lily" of Australia, doryanthes. They are widely distributed and are plentiful in the southern hemisphere. A large proporation of them possess acrid juices, one of the number, the beautiful Hoemanthus toxicaria, being employed by the Hottentots to poison their arrows. An important amaryllid is the American agave, often, but mistakenly, called "aloe." From this noble thick-leaved plant a valuable fibre is obtained, and from the juice of its leaves the Mexicans prepare the celebrated drink called "pulque." The snowdrop was valued in ancient times for medical purposes, as also for a distillation of its juices employed as a cosmetic. But it is no longer used for such purposes, and lives unmolested, establishing its rights by its beauty alone.
TANSY. The name is explained in the text. N.O., Asteraceoe, the Starworts or Composites. LINNAEAN: 19, Syngenesia; 2, Superflua.--The place of the tansy in the enormous order of composites is with the artemisia, or wormwood, which it resembles in leafage and in aromatic properties. In this section the florets of the disc are always hermaphrodite, those of the ray pistillate. The leaves of the tansy contain a volatile oil, a fat, a resin, and a peculiar acid called tanacetic acid. The costmary, or Pyrethrum tanacetum, has similar properties, and formerly was held in high repute as an anti-spasmodic. The fragrant tarragon, so much prized by the eclectic salad-maker, is a member of the wormwood genus, as its name, Artemisia dracunculus, indicates. Another near relative is the southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum), a plant once much prized for promoting perspiration in catarrhal fevers, but now best known as a fragrant (and sometimes flagrant) enricher of a rustic nosegay. The common wormwood (Artemisia vulgaris), formerly in high renown for medicinal purposes, has of late been re-introduced to the catalogue of useful curative plants, being used as a remedy for epilepsy.