Chapter II: Part 2

The figure of this Eugenia was made from the finest plant in this country in the hot-house of G. Hibbert, esq. where we were in hopes it would have perfected its fruit; but were disappointed, as in a very forward state towards ripening it fell off. But, as far as it was advanced, we have represented it, as in this climate it might probably never arrive at greater maturity, unless a larger house were constructed for it: otherwise the degree of heat necessary to preserve the smaller tropical plants would always be subject to injure those of a large size, from the natural extension of their roots approaching too near the flues. But although so much care is required for it in this clime, in the warmer regions of Macassar, Amboyna, and the Moluccas, where it is indigenous, not the least attention is necessary; for, such is the extreme indolence of the natives, that it is imagined, if any care had been requisite for its preservation, it would soon have been lost for want of it. In the Hortus Malabaricus of Rheede there is an uncoloured figure of it, with descriptions, in which it is said to be a fruit-tree of great general utility to the country from its extreme abundance, grateful taste, and salubrious quality, flowering twice in the year. The fruit in an unripe state is of a bitterish and rather astringent character; but, when ripe, of a fine flavour, exceedingly wholesome, and beneficial as an allayer of inflammation in feverish habits. The flowers are by the Dutch at Amboyna preserved, and frequently eaten by way of salad. It is said to form a tall umbrageous tree, and when in fine bloom must certainly be an object of great beauty.

PLATE CCCCLIX.

LASIOPETALUM QUERCIFOLIUM.

_Oak-leaved Lasiopetalum._

CLASS V. ORDER I.

_PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Five Chives. One Pointal.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX triphyllum, tomentosum, persistens. Corolla monopetala,
lanuginosa, 5-fida. Filamenta 5, germinis basi affixa. Germen
superum. Capsula 3-locularis, 3-valvis.

EMPALEMENT 3-leaved, downy, and remaining. Blossom one-leafed,
woolly, and five-cleft. Threads 5, fixed to the base of the
seed-bud. Seed-bud above. Capsule 3-celled, 3-valved.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

LASIOPETALUM quercifolium, ternatum: foliis duobus ad basin
minoribus; supra viridibus, subtus nervosis, ferrugineis, stellatim
setis tectis: racemis floriferis longis, foliis oppositis: corollis
purpureis. Rami et ramuli, pedunculi, &c. setis stellatim tecti,
ferruginei. Caulis humilis.

WOOLLY flower with oak-shaped leaves, by threes; two at the base
are smallest; green on their upper surface, veined beneath, of a
rusty iron colour, and beset with hairy star-like specks.
Flower-branches long, and opposite to the leaves. Blossoms purple.
The small and larger branches, footstalks, &c. are beset with
star-like specks, and of a rusty colour. Stem low.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The empalement.
2. Seed-bud, chives, and pointal.
3. A chive magnified.
4. The same shown from the outer side.
5. Seed-bud and pointal.

Throughout almost all the plants as yet introduced from New South Wales, there is a strong marked leading feature that proclaims them of Botany Bay extraction, either in the upright strictness of their habit, a hard harsh character in the foliage, or a rough and rusty exterior. Of the last description is our present figure; but it is nevertheless a very handsome plant, and the only addition (to this otherwise solitary genus) as yet in cultivation with us. Labillardiere, in his Description of New South Wales, has given a figure of a plant under the title of Lasiopetalum triphyllum, very much resembling our quercifolium--probably a variety of it--or, if intended to represent the same plant, there must be a considerable inaccuracy in the delineation. Our figure was taken from a plant at the nursery of Messrs. Colville.

PLATE CCCCLX.

LACHENALIA SESSILIFLORA.

_Sessile-flowered Lachenalia._

CLASS VI. ORDER I.

_HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Six Chives. One Pointal.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

COROLLA 6-petala, infera; petalis 3 interioribus longioribus:
stamina erecta: capsula sub-ovata, trialata: semina globosa.

BLOSSOM 6-petaled beneath; the three inner petals the longest:
chives erect: capsule nearly egg-shaped, three-winged: seeds
globular.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

LACHENALIA sessiliflora: foliis geminis, lanceolatis: scapo erecto,
semi-pedali: floribus prope apices confertis, purpureis: petalis
exterioribus cuneatis: interioribus duplo longioribus, angustis,
truncatis.

LACHENALIA with sessile flowers: leaves by pairs: stem upright,
half a foot high: flowers grow crowded together near the top, and
are of a purple colour: the outer petals are wedge-shaped: the
inner ones twice the length, narrow, and appearing cut off at the
end.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. A flower spread open.
2. The inside of the same.
3. Seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified.

This Lachenalia is perfectly new, an attraction that may counterbalance its want of speciosity. From the total absence of footstalks to the flowers we have derived its unoccupied specific title. Professor Jacquin has figured many handsome species of this genus not yet introduced to this country, and amongst the number two equally sessile with our plant, but in no other particular resembling it. From a drawing made for the collection of G. Hibbert, esq. in 1803 our figure was taken; since which period we have not seen any vestige of the plant, and therefore imagine that, like many other Cape bulbs, it is lost to us for the present: but it probably may soon reappear amongst the frequent importations we are in the constant habit of receiving from that inexhaustible botanic mine.

PLATE CCCCLXI.

PROTEA TERETIFOLIA.

_Cylindric-leaved Protea._

CLASS IV. ORDER I.

_TETRANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Four Chives. One Pointal.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

COROLLA 4-fida, seu 4-petala. Antheræ lineares, petalis infra
apices insertæ. Calyx proprius, nullus. Sem. solitaria.

BLOSSOM four-cleft, or of four petals. Tips linear, inserted into
the petals below the points. Cup proper, none. Seeds solitary.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

PROTEA teretifolia, foliis obtusis: junioribus adscendentibus,
senioribus patentibus: floribus luteis, capitatis, terminalibus,
foliis circumsessis: post florescentiam conus formatur.

PROTEA with cylindrical leaves blunt-ended: the younger ascending,
and the older ones spreading: flowers yellow, headed, terminal, and
surrounded by the leaves: and after flowering a cone is formed.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. A flower.
2. A chive magnified.
3. Seed-bud and pointal.
4. Flower-branch of a small variety.

This little Protea is more desirable, by way of contrast to those splendid imbricated species, than for any beauty it possesses, and exhibits powerfully the great diversity of character annexed to this numerous genus. Attached to the dissections is part of the branch of a minor variety, and which is by some considered as specifically distinct: and were extension our object, it certainly might be made a separate species, from the difference of its character after flowering, the larger one forming a cone the size of an egg; which the lesser one does not. It also differs in the manner of its growth; but only in the dried specimens which we have seen that have been collected from old plants at the Cape; and in them the small variety forms its branches after the manner of a corymbus, and the plant has thence received the appellation of corymbosa. But had we given a separate figure of it, we could not (without making an awkward apology) have adopted a specific title whose characteristic appearance it might never acquire in this climate, and which our figure would not have possessed. By placing it amongst the variations these objections are obviated, and the appearance of repetition avoided: a desirable object in a genus so extended as Protea; and we shall take every opportunity of abbreviating as much as possible the number of slight varieties, particularly when their attractions are not considerable. Our drawing was made from plants in the Hibbertian collection.

PLATE CCCCLXII.

MALUS JAPONICA.

_Scarlet-flowering Japan Apple._

CLASS XII. ORDER V.

_ICOSANDRIA PENTAGYNIA._ Twenty Chives. Five Pointals.

GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX. Perianthium monophyllum, concavum, quinquefidum, persistens.

COROLLA. Petala quinque, subrotunda, concava.

STAMINA. Filamenta viginti, subulata, corollâ breviora, calyci
inserta. Antheræ simplices.

PISTILLUM. Germen inferum. Styli 5. Filum longitudine staminum.
Stigmata simplicia.

PERICARPIUM. Pomum subrotundum, umbilicatum, carnosum,
membranaceum: loculis quinquelocularibus.

SEMINA. Nonnulla oblonga, obtusa, basi acuminata, hinc convexa,
inde plana.

EMPALEMENT. Cup one leaf, hollow, five-parted, and remaining.

BLOSSOM. Five petals, nearly round, and hollow.

CHIVES. Twenty, awl-shaped, and shorter than the blossom, and
inserted into the cup. Tips simple.

POINTALS. Seed-bud beneath. Shafts 5. Thread the length of the
stamens. Summit simple.

SEED-VESSEL. An apple nearly round, navelled, fleshy, skinny:
partitions five loculaments.

SEEDS. Some oblong, obtuse, pointed at the base, convex on the
side, and then flat.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

MALUS japonica, foliis alternis, lanceolatis et spathulatis,
glabris, et lucidis: marginibus serrulatis, suffruticibus, et
interdum arborescentibus. Rami et ramuli alterni, recti, ad basin
nodosi, colore schisti: floribus fasciculatis, plerumque quaternis,
læte coccineis: petalis concavis, quinque vel decem. Floret in
Martio et Aprili.

JAPAN Apple, with alternate leaves lance-and spathula-shaped,
smooth, and shining: with finely sawed margins, shrubbyish, and
sometimes growing to a tree. The small and large branches are
alternate and straight out, knotty at the base, and of a slaty
colour. Flowers grow in bunches mostly of four together, of a
bright scarlet colour. The petals are concave, and from five to ten
in number. Flowers in March and April.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. A petal.
2. The empalement, chives, and pointals.
3. The same spread open, one tip magnified.
4. Seed-bud and pointals, summit magnified.

This handsome fruit-tree will doubtless soon become an object of general cultivation in this country, from the brilliance and duration of its fine scarlet blossoms. It is perfectly hardy, but flowers with most freedom in the shelter of the green-house. The fruit is about the size and shape of a walnut. Why or wherefore Pyrus is the generic title adopted for Apple we were at first at a loss to conjecture, but upon investigation find it built on the egotism too inseparable from human nature, and must confess ourselves very sorry to be under the necessity of placing the defect to its original source; the celebrated Linnæus, who it appears altered it from Malus (the genus of Tournefort) to Pyrus, for no other reason but that his own system (unquestionably the best in almost every other particular) might not bear any resemblance to that of Tournefort. Jussieu in the Introduction to his Genera Plantarum, commenting on this very subject, concludes with this most excellent remark: “Such is the love of undivided praise!” We have therefore returned the genus back to its old standard, not through any desire to alter, but absolute necessity; regarding the absurdity of its nomination under the generic title of Pyrus as already too long retained; for whilst the tree is known by its fruit, that fruit should certainly be called by its name.

For the introduction of this fine plant we are indebted to the Hon. C. Greville, in whose conservatory at Paddington it first flowered, and from whence our figure was taken.

PLATE CCCCLXIII.

PÆONIA PAPAVERACEA.

_Poppy-like Pæony._

CLASS XIII. ORDER VI.

_POLYANDRIA HEXAGYNIA._ Many Chives. Six Pointals.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX 5-phyllus. Petala 5. Styli 0. Capsulæ polyspermæ.

CUP 5-leaved. Petals 5. Pointal none. Capsules many-seeded.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

PÆONIA caule suffruticoso ramoso: folia alternatim bipinnata,
subtus glauca: petiolis longis, canaliculatis, amplexicaulibus:
floribus semi-duplicibus, albis, ad basin eleganter purpureo
radiatis: capsula orbiculata, continens sex loculamenta, in quibus
singulis sunt duo semina.

PÆONY with a shrubby stem branching beneath: leaves alternately
two-winged, and glaucous beneath, with long footstalks, channelled,
and embracing the stem. Flowers semi-double, white, but elegantly
radiated at the base with a purple colour: capsule orbicular,
containing six cells, with two seeds in each.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The seed-vessel.
2. The same cut transversely.

For this beautiful species of Pæonia we are indebted to Lady Hume, in whose select collection at Wormley-bury, Herts, it flowered for the first time in this country. When we figured the fine purple variety, we little thought of having so soon to compare it with a rival of such magnitude, and of equal beauty. The bright radiated purple at the base is a great relief to the surrounding whiteness of the petals, that would otherwise stand in much greater need of the assistance of art for a strength of shadow, that would unavoidably injure their delicacy. The more we become acquainted with this attractive genus, the greater latitude of growth we find attached to it, which appears to defy all systematic rule, varying in some species from Digynia, or two pointals, up to six or more. The present one differs more than all the rest, having six pointals and seed-buds attached together, and enshrined within a globular exterior, resembling a Poppy, and from whence we have drawn its specific title; for, as a distinct species it may certainly be considered with great propriety; and most likely the distinction will by some be thought of sufficient consequence to license a generic division: but in a genus so mutable, were the alteration still greater, whilst it could be recognised as a Pæony, we should regret to meet it under any other title.

PLATE CCCCLXIV.

DIOSMA OVATA.

_Oval-leaved Diosma._

CLASS V. ORDER I.

_PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Five Chives. One Pointal.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

COROLLA 5-petala. Nectaria 5 supra germen. Caps. 3. s. 5, coalitæ.
Semina tecta.

BLOSSOM. Five petals. Five nectaries above the seed-bud.
Seed-vessels 3 or 5, joined together. Seeds covered.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

DIOSMA ovata, foliis alternis, oppositis, odoris, supra glabris,
infra punctatis, patentibus: floribus plerumque duobus,
axillaribus, in medio ramulorum, albis. Caulis erectus: ramis
simplicibus.

DIOSMA with oval leaves, alternate, opposite, and full of scent,
smooth above, dotted beneath, and spreading. Flowers grow mostly
two together from the axillæ of the leaves, about the middle of the
branches, and are white. Stem upright. Branches simple.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The empalement.
2. Seed-buds, honey-cups, chives, and pointal.
3. A petal.
4. A chive magnified.
5. Seed-bud and pointal.

Among the scented foliage characteristic of so many of the Diosmas the present species is by far the most powerful, and is the plant called Buku, so much used by the Hottentots, at the Cape of Good Hope, by way of perfume. They mix it with grease, and anoint themselves with it so profusely that a stranger can scarcely endure the effluvia of it. The D. serrata also possesses a similar scent, and is most likely used occasionally for the same purpose by the natives. Its scent, when rubbed, remains a long time, and by some is thought very pleasant, by others as disagreeable: a difference of opinion in general attending all very strong perfumes. The foliage has a very neat appearance, and the clear white flowers give it a lively aspect. Like several others of the genus, it blooms in winter and spring. Our figure was made from the Clapham collection.

PLATE CCCCLXV.

PROTEA DIVARICATA.

_Straddling-leaved Protea._

CLASS IV. ORDER I.

_TETRANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Four Chives. One Pointal.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

COROLLA 4-fida, seu 4-petala. Antheræ lineares, petalis infra
apices insertæ. Calyx proprius, nullus. Sem. solitaria.

BLOSSOM four-cleft, or of four petals. Tips linear, inserted into
the petals below the points. Cup proper, none. Seeds solitary.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

PROTEA divaricata, foliis multifidis, longis, linearibus,
teretibus, patentibus: floribus glomeratis, luteis.

PROTEA with straddling leaves, many-cleft, long, linear, round, and
spreading. Flowers grow in close round heads of a yellow colour.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. A flower.
2. A chive magnified.
3. Seed-bud and pointal.

This very distinct species of Protea we have not seen in any other collection than that of G. Hibbert, esq. nor is it as yet amongst the numerous fine dried specimens in the herbarium of A. B. Lambert, esq. and certainly may be considered at present as a rare plant. From the firm luxuriance of the foliage, and woody character of its stem, we should be inclined to regard it as a plant not difficult to preserve; and considering the abundance of its leaves, the flowers are comparatively few: and very likely this circumstance may best account for its present scarcity; for, amongst the various beauties of this extensive tribe, numerous flowers, or speciosity of appearance, are the best recommendations to particular attention.

PLATE CCCCLXVI.

GOODENIA TENELLA.

_Slender Goodenia._

CLASS V. ORDER I.

_PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Five Chives. One Pointal.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

COROLLA 5-fida, supra longitudinaliter fissa, genitalia exserens.
Stigma urceolatum, ciliatum.

BLOSSOM five-cleft, longitudinally cloven on the upper side,
exposing the organs of generation. Summit cup-shaped, and fringed.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

GOODENIA tenella, foliis prostratis, spathulatis, margine leviter
pilosis. Flores plures, germinantes a duabus bracteis oppositis;
corollis luteis: petalis duobus superioribus maculatis. Rami
graciles, longi, emergentes a radice, terram comprimunt, et postea
adscendunt.

GOODENIA with slender stems, prostrate leaves which are
spathula-shaped, with lightly haired margins. Flowers numerous,
branching out from two opposite floral leaves. Blossoms yellow: the
two upper petals are spotted. Branches slender, long, and emerging
from the root, press the earth, and afterward ascend.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The empalement.
2. A blossom spread open.
3. Seed-bud, chives, and pointal, magnified.

This delicate new Goodenia represents the entire plant, as communicated to the author by the Comtesse de Vandes, in whose choice collection near Bayswater it flowered for the first time. It is certainly one of the most graceful plants hitherto introduced from New South Wales. Its general exterior approaches very near a generic division of Goodenia called Velleia, and is by Labillardiere figured under the title Velleia trinervis. The abundance and succession of its bright yellow blossom, joined to its light an airy appearance, will no doubt insure it a place in most collections.

PLATE CCCCLXVII.

LYTHRUM FRUTICOSUM.

_Shrubby Lythrum._

CLASS XII. ORDER I.

_DODECANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Twelve Chives. One Pointal.

GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX. Perianthium monophyllum, cylindraceum: denticulis duodecim,
alternis minoribus.

COROLLA. Petala sex, oblonga, obtusiuscula, patentia: unguibus in
incisuras calycis insertis.

STAMINA. Filamenta 12, longitudine calycis, supra: infra breviora.
Antheræ simplices, incumbentes.

PISTILLUM. Germen oblongum. Stylus subulatus, longitudine staminum,
declinatus. Stigma orbiculatum.

PERICARPIUM. Capsula oblonga, acuminata, loculamentis duobus tecta.

SEMINA numerosa, parva.

EMPALEMENT. Cup one-leaved, cylindrical, twelve-toothed: the
alternate ones the smallest.

BLOSSOM. Petals six, oblong, bluntish, and spreading: the ungues or
claws are inserted into the divisions of the calyx.

CHIVES 12 filaments the length of the calyx, above, shorter
beneath. Tips simple, and lying on them.

POINTAL. Seed-bud oblong. Shaft awl-shaped, the length of the
stamens, bent downward. Summit orbicular.

SEED-VESSEL. Capsule oblong, sharp-pointed, covered with two
loculaments.

SEEDS numerous, and small.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

LYTHRUM fruticosum: foliis oppositis, alternis, lanceolatis. Flores
in racemis axillaribus in numeris irregularibus: corollis
tubæformibus, coccineis. Sponte nascens in provinciis borealibus
Hindostani.

LYTHRUM with a shrubby stem. Leaves opposite, alternate, and
lance-shaped. Flowers grow in clusters from the axillæ of the
leaves in irregular numbers. Blossoms trumpet-shaped, of a scarlet
colour. It grows wild in the northern provinces of Hindostan.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. A blossom spread open, one tip magnified.
2. The same shown from the outer side.
3. The seed-bud and pointal.
4. A capsule.
5. The same cut transverse.

This plant seems to have been hitherto but imperfectly known, having been figured among Dr. Roxburgh’s Coromandel Plants, vol. i. p. 20, under the title of Grislea tomentosa. It has recently received another new generic title; but upon examination we find it to be the Lythrum of Linnæus; in which opinion the author is sanctioned by the concurrence of some of the ablest botanists of the present day. This handsome shrub is described in the 4th vol. of the Asiatic Researches, under the native title of D.hawry, and is said to grow wild on the hills and banks of rivulets in the northern part of Hindostan, where it is as much esteemed for its utility as its beautiful red flowers, which are gathered both for the use of dyers and apothecaries; the latter giving an infusion of them as a cooling medicine. When used in dyeing, they lose their colour, and only yield a slight brownish tincture to the water; so that the benefit derived from them when used with [A]Aal seems to depend solely on their action as an astringent, and which appears to be confirmed by the substituting of [B]Purwas, a strong astringent, as an equivalent for the flowers of the D.hawry. It is at present treated as a hot-house plant, but would in all probability succeed very well in the careful treatment of the green-house. The figure was taken from a fine plant in the nursery of Messrs. Colville.

[A] Aal, the native name of the Morinda plant, a tree of a middling size cultivated to a great extent for the purpose of dyeing cloth red, and is more esteemed for its duration than its beauty, and forms an important branch in the commerce of the province of Mâlava.

[B] Purwas, a kind of gall nut containing the exuviæ of a small insect found on a species of Mimosa.

PLATE CCCCLXVIII.

ALOE ARBORESCENS.

_Tree Aloe._

CLASS VI. ORDER I.

_HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Six Chives. One Pointal.

GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX nullus.

COROLLA. Monopetala, erecta, sexfida, oblonga. Tubus gibbus. Limbi
patuli, parvi, fundo nectarifero.

STAMINA. Filamenta sex, subulata, longitudine corollæ, fere ultra,
receptaculo inserta. Antheræ oblongæ, incumbentes.

PISTILLUM. Germen ovatum. Stylus simplex, longitudine staminum.
Stigma obtusum, trifidum.

PERICARPIUM. Capsula oblonga, trisulca, trilocularis, trivalvis.

SEMINA plura, angulata.

OBS. A. variegata sola habet stigma et stamina declinata.

EMPALEMENT none.

BLOSSOM. One petal, upright, six-cleft, oblong. Tube gouty. Limbs
spreading and small, with honey at their base.

CHIVES. Threads six, awl-shaped, the length of the blossom, and
scarcely above it, inserted into the receptacle. Anthers oblong,
and incumbent.

POINTAL. Seed-bud ovate. Shaft simple, the length of the stamens.
Summit obtuse, and three-sided.

SEED-VESSEL. Capsule oblong, 3-furrowed, 3-celled, 3-valved.

SEEDS many and angular.

OBS. A. variegata simply has the pointal and stamens bent
downwards.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

ALOE arborescens: floribus spicatis rubescentibus, apice viridibus:
foliis porrectis, lanceolatis, carneis, apice recurvatis,
marginibus serratis: caule ad basin nudo, superne foliis
circumsesso.

ALOE with a tree-like stem. Flowers grow in spikes of a soft red
colour, green at the ends. Leaves straight out, lance-shaped,
fleshy, and recurved, with sawed margins. Stem naked at the base,
surrounded by the leaves on the upper part.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. A leaf.
2. A flower spread open.
3. Seed-bud and pointal.
4. Miniature representation of the plant.

This fine tall plant has been but rarely seen in bloom near town. The specimen from which our figure was made, was sent to London by the Rev. George Reading Leathes, from his collection at Bury St. Edmund’s, to his friend sir T. G. Cullum, bart. and obligingly communicated to us by that gentleman. It grows twelve feet high, and is considered as one of the loftiest of the Aloe tribe (the dichotoma and ferox excepted), the former of which is said to arrive sometimes to the enormous height of twelve feet in circumference round the stem, twenty feet high, and four hundred round the extremity of the branches. Colonel Paterson, in his Travels in Africa, mentions, that after crossing the Cousie or Sand River he visited a European and his family, who with their cattle had no other tenement but what nature had furnished them with in the Aloe dichotoma.

PLATE CCCCLXIX.

PROTEA CORONATA.

_Crown-flowered Protea._

CLASS IV. ORDER I.

_TETRANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Four Chives. One Pointal.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

COROLLA 4-fida, seu 4-petala. Antheræ lineares, petalis infra
apices insertæ. Calyx proprius, nullus. Sem. solitaria.

BLOSSOM four-cleft, or of four petals. Tips linear, inserted into
the petals below the points. Cup proper, none. Seeds solitary.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

PROTEA foliis lanceolatis, obliquis, transverse et horizontaliter
sitis, marginibus tomentosis: squamis calycinis superioribus
spathulatis, angustis, tomentosis, margine piloso, incarnatis:
squamis infra lato-ovatis, tomentosis, intus melliferis: caulis
erectus, sesquipedalis.

PROTEA with lance-shaped oblique leaves standing sideways in a
horizontal direction, with downy edges. The upper scales of the
empalement are spathula-shaped, narrow, downy, with hairy edges,
and flesh-coloured. The scales beneath are broadly ovate, downy,
and furnished with honey on the inner side. Stem upright, a foot
and a half high.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. A flower complete.
2. Seed-bud and pointal.

This Protea may be regarded as an intermediate character between the P. mellifera and that fine section of Protea speciosa; and certainly, in point of beauty, deserves to be ranked among that showy division: but as the principal leading feature in the Speciosas exists in the powerful feathery fringe upon the edges of the imbrication, and the present one possessing so very slight a characteristic of that description, we could not with propriety rank it amongst them. Its affinity to the P. mellifera is only in the honey-bearing character of its flowers, which, like that species, contain a quantity of nectariferous juice. The unoccupied term of coronata is adopted, from the resemblance its imbrication bears to the form of a crown, and which is more apparent in this species than in any other as yet in cultivation with us. Our figure was made from the Clapham collection.

PLATE CCCCLXX.

OPHRYS ARACHNOIDES.

_Spider-like Ophrys._

CLASS XX. ORDER I.

_GYNANDRIA DIANDRIA._ Chives on the Pointal. Two Chives.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

COROLLA 5 petala, sub-ringens: petalis patentibus: labellum
nectarii e basi styli, patens. Antheræ duæ, terminales, adnatæ.

BLOSSOM 5 petals, nearly gaping: petals spreading: the lip of the
honey-cup comes from the base of the shaft, spreading. Chives two,
terminal, and close together.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

OPHRYS arachnoides, caule folioso: foliis lanceolatis,
glauco-viridibus, striatis: corollis patentibus, sub-albis; tribus
exterioribus obtusis; duabus interioribus acutis, brevissimis:
labello nectarii magno, subrotundo, fusco, convexo, villoso: prope
basin labelli duæ sunt appendiculæ oppositæ, flavæ: centrum
nectarii interlineatum est, maculisque flavis notatum: et in medio
marginis tuberculum carnosum.

OPHRYS with spider-like flowers: leaves enfoliating the stem,
lance-shaped, of a glaucous green and striped. Blossom spreading,
and nearly white: the three outer ones are obtuse, the two inner
ones pointed, and very small: the lip of the honey-cup is large,
nearly round, brown, convex, and hairy: near the base of the
nectary there are two opposite appendicles of a yellow colour: the
centre of the honey-cup is interlined, and spotted with yellow; and
in the centre of the margin there is a fleshy substance.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The blossom.
2. The same shown from the outside.
3. The honey-cup.
4. Chives and pointal, magnified.

This interesting species of the Orchideæ family was sent from Switzerland, by Dr. Messear, to the gardens of Isaac Swainson, esq. at Twickenham, where it flowers annually. It is said to be a native of Britain, France, Portugal, &c. and is known by the appellation of Ophrys arachnoides, or spider-like, but is generally thought to bear a stronger analogy to the humble bee. In the Flora Londinensis of Curtis, there is a figure under the title of Ophrys fuciflora very much resembling our plant in most particulars, except in the colour of the flower, which is very different. The same plant is again figured in Dr. Smith’s English Botany, under the specific of aranifera; and thus the plant is known both as a spider and a drone. The arachnoides may therefore be considered, if not a distinct species, as a very strong marked variety, and is at present a scarce plant. It remains so long in bloom, that the author observed it at the nursery of Messrs. Whitley and Brames, three weeks after he had made the drawing, nearly as perfect as the figure represents.

PLATE CCCCLXXI.

OPHRYS MYODES.

_Fly-like Ophrys._

CLASS XX. ORDER I.

_GYNANDRIA DIANDRIA._ Chives on the Pointal. Two Chives.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

COROLLA 5 petala, sub-ringens: petalis patentibus: labellum
nectarii e basi styli, patens. Antheræ duæ, terminates, adnatæ.

BLOSSOM 5 petals, nearly gaping: petals spreading: the lip of the
honey-cup comes from the base of the shaft, spreading. Chives two,
terminal, and close together.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

OPHRYS myodes, floribus alternis, lateralibus: nectarii labio
tripartito: laciniis lateralibus: lineari-lanceolatis, media
oblonga, biloba, longior lateralibus: petalis patentibus: tribus
exterioribus lanceolatis, viridibus, obtusis: duobus interioribus
linearibus, brevissimis, purpureis: caule folioso: bulbo
subrotundo.

OPHRYS with fly-like flowers, alternate, and lateral: the lip of
the honey-cup is three-cleft: the side segments are linear, and
lance-shaped: the middle one is oblong, two-lobed, and longer than
the side ones: the petals are spreading: the three outer ones are
lance-shaped, green, and obtuse, the two inner ones are linear,
very short, and purple: leaves enfoliating the stem: bulb roundish.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The blossom.
2. The same shown from the outer side.
3. The honey-cup.
4. The same shown from the under side.
5. Chives and pointal, magnified.

Amongst the Alpine plants of G. Hibbert, esq. we met with this curious little insectiferous plant, and which, like the preceding figure, is said to be indigenous to almost all Europe. It is figured in the English Botany of Dr. Smith, but apparently from a taller plant, and differs in the colour of the body. It is also represented in the Botanical Magazine, of a higher stature, but nearly the same in colour. Variations probably the mere effect of climate, and a different mode of culture. As they all bear an unequivocal resemblance to the fly, so exact a representation of ever so humble a species of animated nature will no doubt be always thought deserving a place in every collection.

PLATE CCCCLXXII.

HIBBERTIA CRENATA.

_Scolloped-leaved Hibbertia._

CLASS XIII. ORDER X.

_POLYANDRIA DECAGYNIA._ Many Chives. Ten Pointals.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX 5-phyllus. Petala 5. Stamina numerosa, receptaculo inserta.
Germina quinque vel decem, desinentia in stylis, oligo-sperma.

EMPALEMENT 5-leaved. Five petals. Chives numerous, inserted into
the receptacle. Seed-buds 5 or 10, terminating in shafts,
few-seeded.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

HIBBERTIA foliis crenatis, sub-cordatis: floribus solitariis,
axillaribus, luteis, patentibus. Caulis fruticosus: ramis
patentibus, numerosis, purpureis.

HIBBERTIA with scolloped leaves nearly heart-shaped. Flowers grow
singly from the insertion of the leaves, are of a yellow colour,
and spreading. Stem shrubby. Branches spreading, numerous, and
purple.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The empalement.
2. A petal.
3. Chives and pointals.
4. Seed-buds and pointals.
5. A seed-bud and pointal, magnified.

This is an addition to the genus Hibbertia, but differs from the H. volubilis in having ten pointals instead of five; and will most likely, when more of the genus are in cultivation with us, form a section under the title of decagynia, and the original of the genus as pentagynia: a mode frequently adopted, to prevent that confusion too often attending the formation of new genera. Under this arrangement the genus of Hibbertia will be considerably enlarged, and certainly no genus more deserves it than that which bears the name of such a liberal promoter of botanic science.

Our figure represents the entire plant, from the nursery of Messrs. Colville, where it was first raised from seeds received from New South Wales.

PLATE CCCCLXXIII.

YUCCA GLORIOSA.

_Superb Yucca._

CLASS VI. ORDER I.

_HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Six Chives. One Pointal.

GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX nullus.

COROLLA campanulata, sex-partita, unguibus cohærens: laciniis
ovatis, maximis, patentibus.

STAMINA. Filamenta sex, brevissima, superne crassiora, reflexa.
Antheræ minimæ.

PISTILLUM. Germen oblongum, obtusum, triquetrum, staminibus
longius. Stylus nullus. Stigma trisulcum, obtusum: laciniis
bifidis, perviis.

PERICARPIUM. Capsula oblonga, obtusa, triangularis, trilocularis,
trivalvis.

SEMINA plurima, gemino ordine incumbentia.

EMPALEMENT none.

BLOSSOM bell-shaped, six-divided, fastened together by the claws.
The segments ovate, large, and spreading.

CHIVES. Six threads, very short, thick above, and reflexed. Tips
small.

POINTAL. Seed-bud oblong, blunt, three-sided, longer than the
chives. Shaft none. Summit three-furrowed, obtuse. The segments are
bifid, and may be passed through.

SEED-VESSEL. Capsule oblong, obtuse, three-angled, three-celled,
three-valved.

SEEDS many, two-ranked, lying on each other.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

YUCCA floribunda, ramosa, patens: corollis campanulatis, pendulis:
foliis ensiformibus, plicatis, apice mucronato.

Habitat in America boreali.

ADAM’S NEEDLE, with numerous flowers branching and spreading:
blossoms bell-shaped, and hanging down. Leaves sword-shaped and
plaited, with a mucronated point.

Native of North America.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The end of a leaf.
2. The plant in miniature.
3. The chives and pointal.
4. Seed-bud and pointal.
5. The seed-bud cut transversely.

Of this genus of plants there are as yet known but four species. The present one, from its specific title, might naturally be supposed to possess a magnificent exterior of unrivalled beauty; which is by no means the case: for although it is a grand plant when in fine bloom, the term of gloriosa must certainly be regarded as a metaphysical hyperbole, very inapplicable to any plant ever so beautiful. It is indigenous to North America, and of great utility to the natives, who make cords from the stringy texture of the leaves, and use it in the fabrication of their houses, to fasten the ends of them together. Their swinging beds, called Hamacks, are also said to be made of the same materials; and most probably the sailor’s bed, so well known by the appellation of Hammock, derives its title from the Hamack of the Indians. It is easily increased from the young shoots, which become flowering plants in about five years in the open ground: but if kept in the green-house, it might remain for twenty years without blooming, for want of sufficient air and sun to bring it to maturity.

Our figure are was made from a plant ten feet high, in luxuriant bloom, at Hedsor Lodge, the seat of Lord Boston.

PLATE CCCCLXXIV.

PSORALEA PINNATA.

_Winged-leaved Psoralea._

CLASS XVII. ORDER IV.

_DIADELPHIA DECANDRIA._ Two Brotherhoods. Ten Chives.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX longitudine leguminis. Stamina diadelpha. Legumen
monospermum, sub-rostratum, evalve.

EMPALEMENT the length of the pod. Chives diadelphous. Pod
one-seeded, beaked, and valveless.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

PSORALEA pinnata, foliis patentibus apice acutis, recurvatis:
floribus axillaribus, pedunculis longis.

PSORALEA with winged leaves, spreading, sharp-pointed, and
recurved. The flowers grow from the axillæ of the leaves upon long
footstalks.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The empalement.
2. The standard of the blossom.
3. One of the wings.
4. One of the same shown from the inside.
5. The chives.
6. The seed-bud and pointal.

The Psoralea pinnata is a very ornamental plant for the conservatory, and certainly deserves a coloured representation. At present there are only two uncoloured engravings of it extant: one in the Flora tetrapetala Rivinus, No. 5.; the other in Hermann’s Hortus Lugdunensis, tab. 273. The Psoraleas are a well marked natural genus, and appear much more characteristic of each other than many of the Papilonaceous genera.

Our drawing was made from a fine specimen received from the collection of the Hon. W. Irby.

PLATE CCCCLXXV.

SERAPIAS CORDIGERA.

_Heart-bearing Serapias._

CLASS XX. ORDER I.

_GYNANDRIA DIANDRIA._ Chives on the Pointal. Two Chives.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

COROLLA 5 petala, ringens: petalis conniventibus: labello nectarii
ecalcarato: lamina deflexa: antheræ styli longitudine, adnatæ.

BLOSSOM 5 petals, gaping: petals approaching together. The lip of
the honey-cup growing from the spur: the lip bending downwards. The
chives the length of the style, and attached to it.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

SERAPIAS foliis lanceolatis glaucis, ad basin maculatis. Nectarium
tripartitum, ferrugineum: laciniis lateralibus obtusis, erectis,
conniventibus: divisio media ovata, acuminata, pilosa, dependens:
corollis implicatis, apice involutis, extus pallentibus, intus
fusco purpurascentibus.

SERAPIAS with lance-shaped glaucous leaves spotted at the base.
Honey-cup three-divided, and of a rusty colour: the side segments
obtuse, upright, and approaching: the middle division is ovate,
sharp-pointed, hairy, and hanging down. Blossom folded together,
and turned inwards at the point, pale-coloured on the outside, and
of a purply brown on the inside.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The flower spread open.
2. The lip of the honey-cup.
3. The chives and pointal, with the spur of the honey-cup, magnified.

For this luxuriant specimen of the Serapias cordigera we are indebted to the Right Hon. the Marquis of Blandford. It is a rare plant, of a curious structure but very sombre aspect. It is one of those numerous divisions of the class Gynandria approaching the genus Ophrys on the one side, and Neottia on the other. From the Ophrys it is not easily distinguished; but from Neottia it is separated by the difference of its habit. This plant is well known by the title of cordigera, a specific derived from the resemblance the lip of the nectarium is supposed to bear to the shape of a heart: but the analogy is certainly not very powerful. The flowers remain a considerable time in perfection. It is indigenous to Spain, Barbary, Italy, &c.

PLATE CCCCLXXVI.

MELALEUCA DIOSMÆFOLIA.

_Diosma-leaved Melaleuca._

CLASS XVIII. ORDER IV.

_POLYADELPHIA POLYANDRIA._ Threads in many Sets. Many Chives.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX quinquefidus, semisuperus. Petala quinque. Filamenta multa,
longissima, in quinque corpora connata. Pistillum unum. Capsula
3-locularis.

CUP five-cleft, half above. Petals five. Threads numerous, very
long, united into five bodies. Pointal one. Capsule 3-celled.

See Melaleuca Ericæfolia, Pl. 175. Vol. III.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

MELALEUCA foliis alternatis, ovatis, reflexis, subtus punctatis,
odoratis: floribus sessilibus in medio ramorum, viridibus,
confertis: ramis verticillatis, patentibus.

MELALEUCA with alternate leaves, ovate, and reflexed, punctured
beneath, and sweet-scented. Flowers sessile about the middle of the
branches, are of a green colour, and crowded together. The branches
are whorled, and spreading.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. A flower complete.
2. A flower spread open, without the empalement.
3. One of the five bundles of chives.
4. Empalement, seed-bud, and pointal, summit magnified.
5. A ripe seed-vessel.

This perfectly new species of Melaleuca was sent to us by Mr. J. Milne, botanic gardener at Fonthill, who is very successful in the cultivation of new plants. The punctured or dotted character on the under side of the leaves gives it an affinity to the Diosma tribe, as does also its scented foliage, which when rubbed emits a grateful aromatic odour; and which the leaves retain in some degree when dried. The flowers, although not splendid, are perhaps equally estimable from the rarity of their colour, which is a bright green when in perfection; but in retiring they acquire a yellower tint. It is a native of New Holland, and requires the careful treatment of the green-house.

PLATE CCCCLXXVII.

LINUM VENUSTUM.

_Graceful Linum._

CLASS V. ORDER V.

_PENTANDRIA PENTAGYNIA._ Five Chives. Five Pointals.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX 5-phyllus. Petala 5-phylla. Capsule 5-valvis, 10-locularis.
Semina solitaria.

EMPALEMENT 5-leaved. Petals 5-leaved. Capsule 5-valved. 10
Loculaments. Seeds solitary.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

LINUM foliis ovatis, acutis, 5-7-nervosis, margine pilosa: floribus
in umbellis paniculatis: ramis alternis: corollis magnis,
patentibus, incarnatis. Caulis erectus, pedalis.

Nascens in Monte Caucaso.

LINUM with ovate sharp-pointed leaves. Nerves from 5 to 7, and
hairy at the edges. Flowers grow in paniculated umbels. Branches
alternate. Blossom large, spreading, and flesh-coloured. Branches
upright, a foot high.

Native of Mount Caucasus.

This fine new Linum was raised from seed by Mr. J. Bell, in whose garden near Brentford it has flowered for the first time in England. It is nearest in affinity to the L. hirsutum of Jacquin, under which specific title the seed was received by Mr. Bell. The flowers when dead or dried lose their fine pinky tint, and acquire a blueish colour, the same as it first appears with in the bud state. It might then compare with Jacquin’s figure in point of colour, but would be too far removed in its appearance for us to have adopted the specific of hirsutum with any propriety. We may therefore with justice regard it as a beautiful nondescript species. It is a native of Mount Caucasus, flowers in June and July, and seeds so freely that it will no doubt be soon abundantly cultivated.

PLATE CCCCLXXVIII.

CRINUM LATIFOLIUM.

_Broad-leaved Crinum._

CLASS VI. ORDER I.

_HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Six Chives. One Pointal.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

COROLLA supra, infundibuliformis, sex-partita, æqualis: filamenta
fauci tubi inserta: semina ad basin corollarum, vivipara.

BLOSSOM above, funnel-shaped, six-parted, equal: threads inserted
into the mouth of the tube: seeds at the base of the blossoms,
viviparous.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

CRINUM latifolium, undulatum, glabrum, lucidum: spatha multiflora:
tubo corollæ laciniis longiore, quæ mucronatæ sunt: post
florescentiam capsula crescit in bulbum magnum, et plantam format
futuram.

Habitat in Indiæ orientalis arenosis.

CRINUM with broad, waved, smooth, shining leaves: sheath
many-flowered: the tube of the blossom longer than the segments,
which are pointed: and after flowering, the capsule swells into a
large bulb, and forms the future plant.

Native of the sandy parts of the East Indies.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. A leaf.
2. The plant in miniature.
3. The chives, as attached to the tube of the flower.
4. Seed-bud and pointal.
5. The seed-bud, or bulb, inflated, as it appears after flowering.
6. The same stripped of its outer covering.

The Crinum latifolium is certainly one of the most attractive of the genus, as, in addition to the fine red colour of its flowers, it possesses an aromatic odour of agreeable fragrance. It is a bulb-bearer, as are all of this genus, although several of them have been placed erroneously amongst the genus Amaryllis, which does not bear bulbs. The genus Crinum, at present a short one, will therefore, with a good grace, admit a few additions; whilst that of Amaryllis, already very extended, will receive no injury by a slight curtailment. It is a native of the dry sandy parts of the East Indies, and was introduced by Mr. Lambert in the year 1803, but has not flowered till this summer--a period of four years. But there is little doubt of its now blooming annually, as it is not uncommon for bulbs imported from a great distance to enjoy a state of quiescence after their arrival. Our figure was made from a fine plant in luxuriant bloom in the hot-stove of J. Vere, esq.

PLATE CCCCLXXIX.

FRAGARIA INDICA.

_Indian Strawberry._

CLASS XXII. ORDER V.

_ICOSANDRIA POLYGYNIA._ Twenty Chives. Many Pointals.

GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX. Perianthium monophyllum, planum, decemfidum: laciniis
alternatim exterioribus, angustioribus.

COROLLA. Petala quinque, subrotunda, patentia, calyci inserta.

STAMINA. Filamenta viginti, subulata, corolla breviora, calyci
inserta. Antheræ lunulares.

PISTILLUM. Germina numerosa, minima, in capitulum collecta. Styli
simplices, latere germinis inserti. Stigmata simplicia.

PERICARPIUM nullum. Bacca fit receptaculum commune seminum,
rotundo-ovata, pulposa, mollis, magna, colorata, basi truncata,
decidua.

SEMINA numerosa, minima, per superficiem receptaculi sparsa.

EMPALEMENT. Cup one-leafed, flat, ten-cleft: the segments are
alternately exterior, and narrowed.

BLOSSOM five-petalled, nearly round, spreading, and inserted into
the calyx.

CHIVES. Threads twenty, awl-shaped, shorter than the blossom,
inserted into the calyx. Tips like a half-moon.

POINTAL. Seed-buds numerous and small, collected into a head. Shaft
simple, inserted into the side of the germ. Summit simple.

SEED-VESSEL none. The berry becomes the common receptacle for the
seeds, is of a round ovate form, pulpy, soft, large, and coloured,
cut off at the base, and deciduous.

SEEDS numerous, small, on the outside of the receptacle, scattered.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

FRAGARIA foliis tripartitis: foliolis ovatis, acutis, crenatis:
petiolis longis: calyce decemfido, inferne piloso: quinque
exterioribus rotundatis, crenatis: interioribus ovatis, acutis:
pedunculis longis: floribus luteis: fructu rubro, insipido. Rami
pilosi, repentes.

STRAWBERRY with three-divided leaves: leaflets ovate, pointed, and
scolloped: footstalks long: empalement ten-cleft, and hairy
beneath: the five outer ones are rounded and notched: the inner
ones are ovate, and pointed: peduncles long: flowers yellow: fruit
red and insipid. Branches hairy, and creeping.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The empalement, seed-buds, chives, and pointals.
2. The same shown from the under side.
3. A petal.
4. Seed-buds, chives, and pointals.
5. A seed-bud and pointal.
6. The same magnified.
7. A seed-bud from the ripe fruit.
8. The same magnified.

This new species of Fragaria, from the lively yellow flowers and brilliance of its fine red fruit, is desirable as an ornamental plant, but is in no other respect estimable, from the insipidity of its fruit, which is entirely destitute of flavour. It is a native of the north-east parts of Bengal. Our figure was made from the only plant that has as yet flowered in England, in the gardens of the Honourable C. Greville.

PLATE CCCCLXXX.

VACCINIUM NITIDUM.

_Shining-leaved Whortle-berry._

CLASS VIII. ORDER I.

_OCTANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Eight Chives. One Pointal.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX superus. Corolla monopetala. Filamenta receptaculo inserta.
Bacca quadrilocularis, polysperma.

CUP superior. Blossom of one petal. Threads fixed to the
receptacle. A berry with four cells, and many seeds.

See Vol. I. Pl. XXX. VACCINIUM ARCTOSTAPHYLLUS.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

VACCINIUM foliis nitidis, ovatis, acutis, obsolete serratis:
floribus umbellatis, terminalibus, pendulis: corollis
sub-cylindraceis. Stamina decem: ramis oppositis, alternatis.
Caulis pedalis, erectus.

WHORTLE-BERRY with shining leaves, egg-shaped, sharp-pointed, and
obscurely sawed. Flowers grow in umbels, terminal and pendulous:
blossom nearly cylindrical: chives ten: branches opposite, and
alternate. Stem a foot high, and upright.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The blossom spread open.
2. The chives spread.
3. A chive magnified.
4. Empalement, seed-bud, and pointal.

The Vaccinium nitidum is one of the handsomest species, but not so often to be met with as many of the genus. It is nearly allied in its foliage to the V. crassifolium; for, if leaves of both were detached, and mixt together, they might be easily mistaken. The habits of the plants are, however, very distinct, as is also the shape of the flowers. During the month of May and beginning of June this plant is in the greatest perfection. After that period the flowers lose much of their fine red colour. Our figure was made from a beautiful little shrub, above a foot high, in the nursery of Messrs. Whitley and Brames.

PLATE CCCCLXXXI.

CINCHONA CARIBÆA.

_West India Bark-tree._

CLASS V. ORDER II.

_PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Five Chives. One Pointal.

GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX. Perianthium monophyllum, superum, campanulatum, 5-dentatum,
persistens.

COROLLA monopetala, infundibuliformis, 5-partita.

STAMINA. Filamenta 5, minima: antheræ oblongæ, intra faucem
corollæ.

PISTILLUM. Germen subrotundum, inferum. Stylus longitudine corollæ.
Stigma crassiusculum, oblongum, simplex.

PERICARPIUM. Capsula oblonga, bipartita, calyce coronata, in duas
partes dehiscens: partes interiores dehiscentes, dissepimento
parallelo.

SEMINA plura, oblonga, compressa, marginata.

EMPALEMENT. Cup one-leafed, above, bell-shaped, five-toothed, and
remaining.

BLOSSOM one petal, funnel-shaped, and five-parted.

CHIVES. Threads 5, small: tips oblong, within the mouth of the
blossom.

POINTAL. Seed-bud nearly round, beneath. Shaft the length of the
corolla. Summit thickish, oblong, and simple.

SEED-VESSEL. Capsule oblong, in two parts, crowned by the cup, the
two parts cleaving together; the inner parts gaping, with equal
dissepiment.

SEEDS many, oblong, compressed, and emarginated.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

CINCHONA foliis alternatis, ovatis, acuminatis, integerrimis,
glabris, venosis: inter folia stipula parva, cauli adpressa:
floribus axillaribus, simplicibus, albicantibus, glabris,
odoratissimis. Rami alternati, oppositi.

Habitat in Caribæis: succedaneum cortici Peruviano.

CINCHONA with alternate leaves, sharp-pointed, entire, smooth, and
veined: between the leaves there is a small stipula pressed to the
stem: flowers axillary, and single, of a whitish colour, smooth,
and very sweet-scented: branches alternate, and opposite.

Native of the Caribæan Islands: as bark, substituted for the
Peruvian species.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. A flower spread open.
2. The empalement, seed-bud, and pointal.
3. A capsule.

This specimen of the Cinchona Caribæa, or Jesuits Bark of Jamaica, was communicated to the author by A. B. Lambert, esq. who raised it from seed, and with whom it has flowered for the first time in this kingdom. Opinions are various as to the time and means by which the medicinal virtues of the Peruvian bark were first discovered; but as the discovery of most very useful things is generally the effect of chance, Geoffroy’s account of it (as given in the Medical Botany of Dr. Woodville) is certainly the most natural, who states it to have been occasioned by some Cinchona trees having been blown into a pool of water, and lying there till the water became so bitter that nobody would drink it, till one of the neighbouring inhabitants being seized with a violent paroxysm of fever, and having no other water, drank of this, and was perfectly cured. He prevailed on some of his friends, who were ill, to make use of the same remedy, and it proved successful. But the use of it was little known till the year 1638, when a signal cure being performed on the Countess del Cinchon, the lady of a Spanish viceroy at Lima, (from whom it derives its generic title) it came into general use, and a large quantity of the bark was by that lady distributed amongst the Jesuits, in whose hands it increased in reputation, and was by them first introduced into Europe. The Caribæan species is said to be an excellent substitute for the Peruvian bark, and therefore a most valuable acquisition to us; as Mr. Lambert, in his description of the genus Cinchona, informs us that well grounded fears are entertained of the Peruvian species being some day lost to us, as, from the extreme decortication they have experienced, they are nearly extinct in those parts where they were formerly most abundant.

PLATE CCCCLXXXII.

DIANTHUS ALPINUS.

_Alpine Pink._

CLASS VI. ORDER II.

_DECANDRIA DIGYNIA._ Ten Chives. Two Pointals.

GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX. Perianthium cylindricum, tubulosum, striatum, persistens: os
5-dentatum, basi squamulis quatuor cinctum, quarum interdum duæ
oppositæ, inferiores.

COROLLA. Petala 5. Ungues longitudine calycis, angusti, receptaculo
inserti: limbus extus planus, laminis late obtusis, crenatis.

STAMINA. Filamenta decem, subulata, longitudine calycis: antheræ
ovales, oblongæ, compressæ, incumbentes.

PISTILLUM. Germen ovale. Styli duo, subulati, staminibus longiores.
Stigmata recurvata, acuminata.

PERICARPIUM. Capsula cylindrica, recta, unilocularis,
quadrilateralis, apice dehiscens.

SEMINA plurima, compressa, subrotunda, a receptaculo liberata.

EMPALEMENT cylindrical, tubular, lined, remaining: the mouth is
5-toothed, surrounded by four squamæ at the base, or sometimes two
opposite ones beneath.

BLOSSOM 5 petals: the claws the length of the calyx, narrow, and
inserted into the receptacle: border flat without, broadly obtuse,
and notched.

CHIVES. Ten threads, awl-shaped, the length of the calyx: tips
oval, oblong, compressed, and incumbent.

POINTAL. Seed-bud oval. Shafts two, awl-shaped, and longer than the
chives. Summit recurved, and pointed.

SEED-VESSEL. Capsule cylindrical, straight, one loculament,
four-sided, and splitting at the end.

SEEDS many, compressed, nearly round, and freed from the
receptacle.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

DIANTHUS alpinus. Frutex pygmæus, elegans, foliis oppositis,
alternis, linearibus, curvatis, brevibus: floribus terminalibus,
rubris, in medio circulo albo.

ALPINE pink. An elegant dwarf shrub, with opposite alternate
leaves, linear, curved, and short. Flowers terminal and red, with a
small circle of white in the centre.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The empalement.
2. A petal shown from the under side.
3. Seed-bud, chives, and pointals.
4. The chives spread open.
5. Seed-bud and pointals.
6. The seed-bud cut transversely.

The Dianthus alpinus is a very scarce plant, little known, and rarely to be met with in any collection, although its beauty renders it deserving a place in every one, and its size would never exclude it from any. Our figure represents the entire plant, from the collection of Isaac Swainson, esq. who raised it from seed which he received from Germany. The only coloured representation of it extant is in the Flora Austriaca of Jacquin, from a native specimen, and of no greater magnitude than our figure represents--a diminutive stature, particularly characteristic of the true Alpine pink.

PLATE CCCCLXXXIII.

DAHLIA PINNATA NANA.

_Dwarf Winged-leaved Dahlia._

CLASS XIX. ORDER II.

_SYNGENESIA POLYGAMIA SUPERFLUA._ Tips united. Superfluous Pointals.

ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX duplex. Corolla radiata, radiis lacinias calycis numero
æquantibus: corollulæ pedicellatæ. Receptaculum paleaceum. Stigmata
plumosa.

EMPALEMENT double. Blossom radiated, with the rays equalling in
number the segments of the empalement: the florets pedicelled.
Receptacle chaffy. Summit plumose.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

DAHLIA foliis pinnatis: pinnulis quinque, ovatis, acutis, dentatis:
floribus duplicibus: caulis humilis.

DAHLIA with pinnated leaves: the pinnules five, ovate, pointed, and
toothed: flowers double: stem low.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. One of the radiating florets.
2. A floret of the disk with its scale.
3. A flower spread open.
4. Seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified.

This double-flowered dwarf Dahlia is certainly the most attractive of the genus. It is supposed to be only a variety of the D. pinnata, but the variation is almost powerful enough to constitute a species; as, besides the difference in its flowers, we have never found it arrive to more than half the height of the pinnata, although we have seen it every autumn for four years in luxuriant bloom. At present it is a scarce plant, and appears to be not quite so hardy as the taller species, nor so easily increased. Our figure was made from a plant in the collection of the Right Hon. Lady Holland, at Holland House, Kensington.

PLATE CCCCLXXXIV.

NICOTIANA GLUTINOSA.

_Clammy Tobacco._

CLASS V. ORDER I.

_PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Five Chives. One Pointal.

GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX. Perianthium monophyllum, ovatum, 5-fidum, persistens.

COROLLA monopetala, infundibuliformis: tubus calyce longior: limbus
patulus, 5-fidus, 5-plicatus.

STAMINA. Filamenta quinque, subulata, vix longitudine corollas,
adscendentia: antheræ oblongæ.

PISTILLUM. Germen ovatum. Stylus filiformis, longitudine corollæ.
Stigma capitatum, emarginatum.

PERICARPIUM. Capsula sub-ovata, lineâ utrinque insculptâ:
bilocularis: bivalvis, apice dehiscens: receptaculum dimidiatum,
ovatum, punctatum: dissepimentis affixis.

SEMINA numerosa, reniformia, rugosa.

EMPALEMENT. Cup one-leafed, ovate, 5-cleft, and remaining.

BLOSSOM one petal, funnel-shaped: tube longer than the calyx:
segments spreading, 5-cleft, 5-plaited.

CHIVES. Threads five, awl-shaped, scarcely the length of the
blossom, and ascending: tips oblong.

POINTAL. Seed-bud ovate. Shaft thread-shaped, the length of the
blossom. Summit headed, and emarginated.

SEED-VESSEL. Capsule nearly egg-shaped, with a line imprinted on
both sides: two loculaments: two valves, splitting at the point:
receptacle half-way divided, ovate, and dotted: dissepiments
cleaving together.

SEEDS numerous, kidney-shaped, and rough.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

NICOTIANA foliis petiolatis, sub-cordatis, glandulis minutis
viscosis circumsessis: floribus alternis, solitariis, ad partem
superam ramorum: corolla campanulata, pallide purpurea, viscosa:
ramis glandulis minutis tectis, viscosis.

Habitat in Peru.

TOBACCO with petiolated and nearly heart-shaped leaves, beset with
minute viscous glands: flowers grow solitary and alternate on the
upper part of the branches: blossom bell-shaped, of a pale purple,
and viscous: the branches covered with glands very small, and
clammy.

Native of Peru.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The empalement.
2. The blossom spread.
3. Seed-bud and pointal.