Asphodel (Asphodelus) is a genus of plants of the order Liliaceae, consisting of perennials, with fasciculated fleshy roots, flowers arranged in racemes, six stamens inserted at the base of the perianth, a sessile almost spherical ovary with two cells, each containing two ovules; fruit a capsule with three cells, in each of which there are, as a rule, two seeds. Two species are cultivated in Britain as garden flowers, the yellow asphodel (Asphodelus luteus) and the white asphodel (Asphodelus albus). The Asphodelus ramosus, which attains a height of 1.5 meters, is cultivated in Algeria and elsewhere, its tubercles yielding a very pure alcohol, and the residue, together with the stalks and leaves, being used in making pasteboard and paper. The asphodel was a favourite plant among the ancients, who were in the habit of planting it round their tombs. Research Asphodel
Begonia (Elephant's-ear) is an extensive genus of succulent-stemmed herbaceous plants, of the order Begoniaceae, with fleshy oblique leaves of various colours, and showy unisexual flowers, the whole perianth coloured. They readily hybridize, and many fine varieties have been raised from the tuberous-rooted kinds. From the shape of their leaves they have been called elephant's ear. Almost all the plants of the order are tropical, and they have mostly pink or red flowers. Research Begonia
Common bistort (Polygonum Bistorta), adder's-wort or snakeroot, is a perennialherb of the buckwheat family, family Polygonaceae, found in Britain. It has a stout, snake-like twisted rhizome and an erect, unbranched stem. The basalovate to lanceolate leaves with undulate margins and winged petioles are arranged in a rosette. The smaller stem leaves are triangular, sessile and clasp the stem. The flowers are pink in colour, and arranged in a dense terminal spike. The fruit is a three-sided achene surrounded by a persistent perianth.
Common bistort contains a lot of tannin, which gives it astringent properties and led to its use in medicine. The young leaves can be eaten in salads or cooked like spinach and the root is edible after it has been soaked and roasted. In northern England it is commonly called Easter Giant and around Manchester it is called Patience Dock. Research Bistort
Crowberry or Crakeberry (Empetrum) is a genus of hardy, trailing evergreen shrubs found in northern Europe, Asia, England and Scotland. The stamens and pistils are borne in different plants. The flowers are very small, and purplish in colour, the perianth being composed of three outer and three inner scales. The fruit is a small drupe. The crowded leaves are very narrow with recurved margins. The crowberries grow in damp, mountainous peaty districts. Research Crowberry
The dog's tooth violet (Erythronium Americanum), or American adder's tongue is an American plant of the family Liliaceae. It is a beautiful early spring flower of the Lily family found in the eastern USA growing in damp, open woodlands from New Brunswick to Florida, and west as far as Ontario and Arkansas. The flower, which appears in April and May, is a handsome, large, pendulous, lily-like flower with the perianth divisions strongly recurved, bright yellow in colour, often tinged with purple and finely dotted within at the base, and bear six stamens. Research Dog's Tooth Violet
Ephedra (Ephedra vulgaris), also known as Ephedrine, Epitonin and Ma Huang, is an Asiatic plant of the order Gnetaceae found on sandy seashores in temperate climates of both hemispheres in China, Siberia and Japan. The plant has stamens and pistils on separate flowers, the staminate flowers occurring in catkins and a membranous perianth, pistillate flowers occurring terminal on axillary stalks within a two-leaved involucre. The fruit has two carpels with a single seed in each and is a succulentcone. The plant's branches are slender and erect with small leaves which are scale-like, articulated and joined at the base into a sheaf. The plant contains Ephedrine, a sympathetic nervestimulant resembling adrenaline and has antispasmodic properties. Research Ephedra
In popular language, a flower is the blossom of a plant, consisting chiefly of delicate and gaily-coloured leaves or petals; in botany, the term is restricted to the organs of reproduction in a phenogamous plant,.
A complete flower consists of stamens and pistils together with two sets of leaves which surround and protect them, the calyx and corolla. The stamens and pistils are the essential organs of the flower. They occupy two circles or rows, the one within the other, the stamens being in the outer row.
The stamens consist of a stalk or filament supporting a roundish body, the anther, which is filled with a powdery substance called the pollen.
The pistil consists of a closed cell or ovary at the base, containing ovules, and covered by a style which terminates in the stigma.
These organs are surrounded by the corolla and calyx, which together are called the floral envelope, or when they both display rich colouring the perianth. The leaves of the corolla are called petals, and those of the calyx sepals.
Some flowers lack the floral envelope, and are called achlamydeous; others have the calyx but are without the corolla, and are called monochlamydeous.
Flowers are generally bisexual, but some plants have unisexual flowers; that is, the pistils are in one flower and the stamens in another. Research Flower More pictures of Flower
Knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare) is an annual herb of the family Polygonaceae, native to Britain, with branched prostrate or erect stems and shortly stalked, alternate, linear to ovate leaves with silvery stipules at their base. The flowers are small, white or pinkish in colour, and grow in clusters in the axils of the upper leaves. The fruit is a three-sided achene surrounded by a persistent perianth. Research Knotgrass
Lapeyrousia is a genus of bulbous African plants belonging to the family Iridacea. They bear blue or red flowers, usually in long irregular spikes. The flowers have slender perianth tubes and deeply cleft stigmas, and are scentless. Research Lapeyrousia
Luzula is the wood-rush genus of plants of the family Juncaceae. They have flat, grass-like leaves, covered with long white hairs, a brownish chaffy perianth of six parts, six stamens with yellow anthers, and a one-celled capsule containing three seeds. Research Luzula
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Asphodel
