BUCKSHORN PLANTAIN.
Star of the Earth. Plantago coronopus.
A hardy annual, indigenous to Great Britain, France, and other countries of Europe. The root-leaves are put forth horizontally, and spread regularly about a common centre somewhat in the form of a rosette; the flower-stem is leafless, branching, and from eight to ten inches high; flowers yellow; the seeds are quite small, of a clear, brown color, and retain their power of germination three years,—nearly two hundred and thirty thousand are contained in an ounce.
Soil and Cultivation.—It succeeds best in a soil comparatively light; and the seed should be sown in April. Sow thinly, broadcast, or in shallow drills eight inches apart. When the plants are about an inch high, thin them to three or four inches apart.
Use.—The plant is cultivated for its leaves, which are used as a salad. They should be plucked while still young and tender, or when about half grown.
BURNET. Mill.
Poterium sanguisorba.
Burnet is a hardy, perennial plant, indigenous to England, where it is found on dry, upland, chalky soils. When fully developed, it is from a foot and a half to two feet in height. The leaves proceeding directly from the root are produced on long stems, and are composed of from eleven to fifteen smaller leaves, which are of an oval form, regularly toothed, and generally, but not uniformly, smooth. The branches, which are somewhat numerous, terminate in long, slender stems, each of which produces an oval or roundish bunch of purplish-red, fertile and infertile flowers. The fertile flowers produce two seeds each, which ripen in August or September. These are oblong, four-sided, of a yellowish color, and retain their vitality two years. Thirty-five hundred are contained in an ounce.