Cerinthe Major. Great Honey-wort.

Class and Order.

Pentandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

CorollÆ limbus tubulato ventricosus: fauce pervia. Semina 2, bilocularia.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

CERINTHE major foliis amplexicaulibus, corollis obtusiusculis patulis. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 187. Ait. Kew. v. 1. p. 183.

CERINTHE glaber foliis oblongo-ovatis glabris amplexicaulibus, corollis obtusiusculis patulis. Mill. Dict. ed. 6. 4to.

CERINTHE flore ex rubro purpurascente. Bauh. pin. p. 258.

CERINTHE major. Great Honiewoort. Ger. Herb.

Ancient writers on plants, supposing that the flowers of this genus produced abundantly the material of which bees form their wax, gave it the name of Cerinthe, which rendered into English would be wax-flower or waxwort, not honeywort, by which the genus has long been, and is now, generally called.

Of this genus there are only two species known, the major and the minor, both happily distinguished by the different form of their flowers, a part from which it is not common to draw specific differences, though in some instances they afford the best.

The major varies much, the leaves being sometimes spotted, very rough, and the flowers of a more yellow hue; this is the sort figured by Gerard in his Herbal, who mentions its growing in his garden (1597). Miller considers this as a species but LinnÆus, Haller, Aiton, and others, regard it as a variety; our figure represents the Cerinthe glaber of Miller.

This is an annual, remarkable for the singular colour of its foliage; its flowers, though not very brilliant, possess a considerable share of beauty; both combined render it worthy a place in our gardens, more especially as it is a plant of easy culture, coming up spontaneously from self-sown seeds, and being a native of Switzerland, as well as the more southern parts of Europe, seedling plants produced in the Autumn rarely suffer by our winters. It flowers in July, August, and September.

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