Part 2
This superb Erythrina was communicated to the author by A. B. Lambert, esq., with whom it flowered in the month of November, for the first time in this kingdom. It is at present treated as a hot-house plant, but Mr. Lambert informs us that it is perfectly hardy, and strikes so freely that, although at present it is a nondescript and very rare plant, it will, doubtless, soon make its appearance in most collections: its splendid flowers and easy culture will soon recommend it into general notice. There are but five species of this genus yet known; the present subject will therefore be a valuable addition to the number. The falling off of the leaves is its only defect, which we have no doubt but a hardier mode of treatment will remove. It is supposed to be a native of South America.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCCXLIV.
LOBELIA HIRSUTA.
_Hairy Lobelia._
CLASS XIX. ORDER VI.
_SYNGENESIS MONOGAMIA._ Tips united. Flowers simple.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX 5-fidus. Corolla 1-petala, irregularis. Capsula infera 2-seu 3-locularis.
CUP 5-cleft. Blossom, 1-petalled, irregular. Capsule beneath, 2 or 3 celled.
See Pl. CCLXXIII. Vol. IV. Lobelia pinifolia.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
LOBELIA foliis hirsutis, inferioribus oblongis, dentatis, hirsutis; floribus albis, solitariis axillaribus; pedunculis elongatis; stigmatibus obtusis, pilosis; caule fruticosa, pilosa, petente.
LOBELIA with hairy leaves; the lower ones are oblong, toothed and hirsute: flowers white, and grow singly from the base of the leaves: foot-stalks lengthened: summits blunt, and hairy: Stem shrubby, hairy, and spreading.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The flower and chives spread open and magnified. 2. Seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified.
The Lobelias are an extensive family, but in a very confused state at present; not many of them having been described, and almost all that have been figured are blue flowers, a scarce colour in most genera, although so prevalent in this, and most probably to the attraction of this colour is chiefly owing the notice already taken of them: for, as beautiful little annuals, they have an irresistible claim to our attention. Our present subject does not possess the charm of colour, but from its lively white flowers and constant succession of bloom it is well deserving a place in the green-house. Our figure represents an entire plant, taken from the Cape Nursery of Messrs. Middlemist and Wood, near Shepherd’s Bush on the Edgware Road.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCCXLV.
EPIDENDRUM LINEARE.
_Linear-leaved Epidendrum._
CLASS XX. ORDER I.
_GYNANDRIA DIANDRIA._ Chives on the Pointal. Two Chives.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
NECTARIUM turbinatum, obliquum, reflexum.
HONEY-CUP top-shaped, oblique, and reflexed. See Pl. XIII. Vol. I. Epidendrum cochleatum.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
EPIDENDRUM, foliis linearibus, caulem vagina alterne tegantibus, apice crenatis: floribus terminalibus, spicatis, alternatis, purpureis; caulis juncinus, longus, gracilis.
EPIDENDRUM, with linear leaves, alternately sheathing the stem, and notched at the end: flowers terminate the branches in a spike, alternate, and purple: stem rush-like, long, and slender.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The blossom without the honey-cup, spread open to show the chives. 2. The same magnified. 3. The honey-cup magnified. 4. The pointal magnified.
In the Icones of Jacquin we find a figure of this Epidendrum, under the appellation we have adopted, but evidently taken from a dried specimen, with a reference to the Icones of Father Plumier 182, fig. 1. under the title of Heleborine; but on comparison we find no affinity sufficiently powerful to induce us to regard them as representing the same plant. In Plumier’s figure there is no incisure at the end of the leaves, a specific character in our plant; the rest of the figure is also too obscure to admit of comparison. The plant, from its long and slender stalks, acquires a graceful bend when in flower. As a native of Jamaica it requires the tan-bed of the hot-stove for its protection; and, like many other tropical plants, is subject to lose much of its beauty by the loss of the leaves on the lower part of the stem. Our figure was made from the Hibbertian Collection.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCCXLVI.
DOLICHOS HIRTUS.
_Hairy-stemmed Dolichos._
CLASS XVII. ORDER IV.
_DIADELPHIA DECANDRIA._ Chives in two sets. Ten Chives.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
VEXILLUM callis duobus ad basin, parallelis, oblongis, alis subtus comprimentibus.
STANDARD with two callosities at the base; parallel, and of an oblong form; the wings beneath binding together.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
DOLICHOS hirtus; caule volubili, tecto ferrugineis pilosis; floribus luteis striatis rubris; foliis ternatis; foliolis sub-cordatis, subtus pilosis; stipulis duabus ad basin; radice tuberosa.
DOLICHOS with a hairy stem: the stalk is twining, and covered with rusty hairs: flowers are yellow, and striped with red: leaves ternate; leaflets nearly heart-shaped, and hairy beneath, with two stipulæ at their base: root tuberous.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The cup. 2. The standard. 3. One of the wings shown from the inside. 4. The keel. 5. The chives and pointal. 6. The chives spread open. 7. The seed-bud and pointal.
This handsome twining plant was introduced from the Cape of Good Hope to the gardens of G. Hibbert, esq. about the year 1802, and flowered very luxuriantly, but did not perfect any of its seeds nor make any approach towards it, as the flowers with their empalements all fell off together immediately after flowering; and for the last three or four years the plant (although apparently in a healthy state) has not indicated the least appearance of bloom; and we are inclined to think it might possibly succeed better with the careful treatment of the dry stove than with its present situation in the hot-house; and if upon experiment it should prove successful, it would then doubtless become a plant in request by many cultivators who whilst it remains a hot-house plant cannot give it a place in their collection.
This genus approaches so near to that of Phaseolus, that we cannot help thinking one generic title would have been sufficient for them both.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCCXLVII.
PROTEA ARGENTIFLORA.
_Silvery-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 argentiflora; floribus paniculatis, densissime confertissimis, parvis rotundatis capitatis, fragrantibus, nitidissimis; foliis bipinnatis, linearibus, apice acutis, erecto-patentibus.
PROTEA with silvery flowers: the flowers grow in panicles, closely crowded together, in little round heads, sweet-scented and very shining: leaves twice divided, linear, sharp-pointed, and between erect and spreading.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. One of the scales. 2. A blossom detached from the umbel. 3. A section of it magnified. 4. Seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified. 5. The cone with the scales attached. 6. The same without the scales. 7. The naked cone.
From the shining silvery appearance of this Protea we have drawn its specific title, although aware of the insurmountable difficulty of doing justice to it: but in so extended a genus it will be frequently impossible to give a discriminating or unoccupied specific from its foliage:--our title may always be ascertained when the plant is in bloom, whether in perfection or not, as the flowers living or dead always retain a shining silvery aspect. It also possesses a most exquisite sweet scent; but its superior fragrance only exists whilst the flowers are in perfection; as after that period it grows fainter, and is at last scentless. Our figure was made from the collection of G. Hibbert, esq.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCCXLVIII.
PÆONIA SUFFRUTICOSA; _Var. flore purpureo_.
_Shrubby Pæony; Purple-flowered Variety._
CLASS XIII. ORDER V.
_POLYANDRIA PENTAGYNIA._ Many Chives. Five 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, tripedali, ramoso: folia alternatim bipinnata, pedalia et ultra, bifida et trifida, subtus glauca: petiolis longis, canaliculatis, amplexicaulibus: floribus semi-duplicibus, purpureis, splendentibus.
PÆONY with a shrubby stem, three feet high, and branching: leaves alternately two-winged, a foot or more in length, two-and three-cleft, glaucous beneath; the petioles are long, channelled, and embracing the stem: flowers semi-double, purple, and very splendid.
This elegant plant is the purple variety mentioned in our last Vol. Pl. 373. and flowered at the same time, with completely double flowers, and so equal in point of beauty, that we hesitated some time before we could determine to which we should give the preference. But had we seen the purple one in its present semi-double state, it would undoubtedly have claimed precedence, as well from its preserved botanic character, as its superior beauty. The singular versatility of these plants we were entirely unacquainted with when we figured the rose-coloured one; as, since that period, we have seen them in bloom with single flowers, the following year with double ones; and again the year after we found this purple one in the semi-double state which our figure represents, the plant then bearing five-and-twenty flowers in full perfection, forming a coup-d’œil superior to any shrub we have ever seen.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCCXLIX.
LINUM TRIGYNUM.
_Three-styled Golden Flax._
CLASS V. ORDER V.
_PENTANDRIA PENTAGYNIA._ Five Chives. Five Pointals.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX. Perianthium pentaphyllum, lanceolatum, erectum, persistens.
COROLLA. Petala infundibuliformia quinque, oblonga, superne sensim latiora, obtusa, patentia.
STAMINA. Filamenta quinque subulata, erecta, longitudine calycis (rudimenta filorum insuper 5, alternantia). Antheræ simplices, sagittatæ.
PISTILLUM. Germen ovatum. Styli 5, filiformes, erecti, longitudine staminum. Stigmata simplicia, reflexa.
PERICARPIUM. Capsula globosa, pentagona, decemlocularis, quinquevalvis.
SEMINA solitaria, ovato-planiuscula, acuminata, glabra.
EMPALEMENT. Cup five-leaved, lance-shaped, upright, and remaining.
BLOSSOM. Funnel-shaped petals five, oblong, widening upwards by degrees, obtuse, and spreading.
CHIVES. Five filaments, awl-shaped, upright, the length of the calyx (there are five alternate slight rudiments of threads). Anthers simple, and arrow-shaped.
POINTAL. Seed-bud ovate. Shafts 5, thread-shaped, and upright, the length of the stamens. Summits simple, and reflexed.
SEED-VESSEL. Capsule globular, five-sided, ten-celled, five-valved.
SEEDS solitary, of a flattish oval form, sharp-pointed, and smooth.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
LINUM trigynum, foliis alternis, ovatis, glabris, apice acuminatis: floribus in ramis simpliciter terminalibus: corolla aurea, magna: ramulis alternis, numerosis, viridibus.
FLAX with three pointals; leaves alternate, ovate, and smooth, pointed at the end: flowers terminate the branches singly: blossoms gold colour, and large: the smaller branches alternate, numerous, and green.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement. 2. One of the petals. 3. Chives and pointals. 4. A chive magnified. 5. Seed-bud and pointals, a summit magnified. 6. The seed-bud cut transversely, magnified.
This perfectly new Linum is by far the most showy of the genus, and illumines all the gloomy months of winter with its fine large flowers, whose brilliance is not often surpassed even in the height of summer, when Flora reigns with undiminished lustre. It has been hitherto regarded as a hot-house plant, but is now found to succeed much better with the careful treatment of the green-house. It is published by Capt. Hardwicke in his enumeration of the plants of Sireenagur in the Asiatic Annual Register of 1800, and was found by that gentleman on the sides of the mountains in fine bloom in the month of December, and from whom it received the specific title of trigynum. Its provincial name is said to be Gul Ashorfee; from Gul a flower and Ashorfee gold, a coin current in India of the value of 2_l._ sterling. There is a figure of this Linum in the Exotic Botany of Dr. Smith, copied from a drawing, and represented with deeply serrated leaves; a character very different from any of the living plants we have as yet seen in bloom, not one of them exhibiting the slightest vestige of a serrature on their foliage. Our figure was made from a plant in luxuriant bloom at the nursery of Messrs. Whitley and Brames.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCCL.
ALBUCA FASTIGIATA.
_Level-topped Albuca._
CLASS VI. ORDER I.
_HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Six Chives. One Pointal.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX nullus.
COROLLA hexapetala; tribus interioribus conniventibus, exterioribus patulis.
STAMINA. Filamenta sex, apice inflexa, basi dilatata. Antheræ oblongæ, in medio affixæ. Stylus triqueter. Stigma triquetrum.
PERICARPIUM. Capsula oblonga, angulata, 3-locularis, 3-valvis.
SEMINA numerosa, plana.
OBS. In quibusdam speciebus tria stamina sterilia sunt.
EMPALEMENT none.
BLOSSOM. Six petals; the three inner ones conniving together, the outer ones spreading.
CHIVES. Six threads turned inwards at the points, and widened at the base. Tips oblong, and fastened in the centre. Shaft three-sided. Summit three-cornered.
SEED-VESSEL. Capsule oblong, angular, 3-celled, 3-valved.
SEEDS many, flat.
OBS. In some species three of the stamens are sterile.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
ALBUCA foliis lanceolato-ensiformibus: floribus erectis, paniculatis, fastigiatis, pedunculis longissimis: corollis albis, in medio lineâ viridi: petalis interioribus apice fornicatis, stamina includentibus, quæ sunt omnia fertilia.
ALBUCA with leaves between lance-and sword-shaped: flowers upright, and grow paniculated and level: footstalks very long: blossoms white, with a stripe of green in the centre; the inner petals forming an arch at the end, and enclosing the stamens, which are all fertile.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. One of the flower-props. 2. The chives and pointal. 3. One of the outer chives. 4. One of the inner ones. 5. Seed-bud and pointal.
This genus approaches so near to Ornithogalum, that they may easily be mistaken for each other; the only visible distinction resting in the unexpanding character of the three inner petals, or calyx; for opinions vary with respect to their denomination--Jussieu, an able botanist (through all the divisions of this family), regarding that as the empalement which we, following Linnæus, describe as petals. In the Species Plantarum of Willdenow we find our plant enumerated under the specific title of fastigiata, with a technical description annexed to it. From a plant in the garden of G. Hibbert, esq. about three years ago, we made a drawing of this Albuca, but are inclined to think it rather scarce, not having seen it since that period.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCCLI.
DIOSMA ERICÆFOLIA.
_Heath-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 foliis alternis, linearibus, acutis, notatis: floribus in umbellis paniculatis, parvis, albis.
DIOSMA with alternate leaves, linear, sharp-pointed, and marked. Flowers grow in paniculated umbels, small, and white.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A leaf magnified. 2. The empalement magnified. 3. Seed-buds, honey-cups, chives, and pointal. 4. A chive magnified. 5. The honey-cups magnified. 6. Seed-buds and pointal, magnified.
This new species of Diosma so nearly resembles the genus Erica in its foliage, that, regarding it as an unequivocally good specific reference, we have adopted it. The only place in which we have as yet seen it was at the Cape nursery last December, where we observed several plants in fine bloom; and although not showy, they are certainly estimable from their neat and delicate appearance, particularly at a season when so many of the beauties of vegetation are in a state of quiescence. Upon comparing our figure with a fine dried specimen of the D. hirsuta in the herbarium of A. B. Lambert, esq., we find so powerful a resemblance as induces us to regard our plant as only a variation of culture, more especially as in the magnifier slight vestiges of the hairs on the edges of the leaves are still discernible. But no fear need be entertained of any mode of culture rendering our present specific term impervious to the naked eye. There is a dotted or punctured character which pervades the under surface of the foliage of most Diosmas, many of which, when rubbed, emit a powerful odour. The present subject, although deficient in both those respects, still possesses a peculiarity that we have thought deserving a magnified place in the dissections. It is a hardy green-house plant, and a native of the Cape of Good Hope.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCCLII.
ACHANIA MOLLIS.
_Soft-haired-leaved Achania._
CLASS XVI. ORDER VI.
_MONADELPHIA POLYANDRIA._ Threads united. Many Chives.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX duplex. Interior monophyllus, semi-striatus, sub-cylindraceus, quinquefidus, persistens. Exterior octophyllus, basi leviter coalitus.
COROLLA sub-clavata, convoluta. Petala quinque, basi uno latere alternatim auriculata, lobis columnam staminum convolventibus.
STAMINA. Filamenta plurima, ad basin in tubum corolla longiorem torta, in partem superiorem tubi coalita, cujus apex liberatus est.
PISTILLUM. Germen sub-globosum. Stylus filiformis. Stigma decemfidum.
PERICARPIUM. Bacca sub-globosa, quinque-locularis.
SEMINA solitaria.
EMPALEMENT double. The inner one-leafed, half-striped, nearly cylindrical, five-cleft, and remaining. The outer eight-leaved, and slightly attached at the base.
BLOSSOM nearly club-shaped, and folded together. Petals five, alternately eared on one side of the base, the lobes of which are rolled round the columnar shaft of the stamens.
CHIVES. Threads numerous, united at the base into a tube longer than the blossom, twisted, and united near the upper part of the tube, the point of which is liberated.
POINTAL. Seed-bud nearly round. Shaft thread-shaped. Summit ten-cleft.
SEED-VESSEL. A berry nearly round, with five cells.
SEEDS solitary.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
ACHANIA foliis tomentosis, cordatis, trilobatis, dentatis. Calyx exterior revolutus, pubescens. Flores solitarii, axillares. Corolla sub-clavata. Petala convoluta, sub-inclusa, læte coccinea, nervosa, tomentosa. Caulis fruticosus, villosus, sub-tripedalis.
ACHANIA with downy leaves, heart-shaped, three-lobed, and toothed. The outer cup is revolute, and hairy. Flowers grow solitary from the axillæ of the leaves. Blossom nearly club-shaped. The petals are folded together and nearly closed, of a bright scarlet colour, nerved, and downy. Stem shrubby, hairy, and near three feet high.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement. 2. A blossom spread open. 3. A petal detached, shown from the outside. 4. The chives spread open. 5. Seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified.
This handsome hot-house plant is certainly an old one, having been a sojourner with us near thirty years, but has not as yet been figured in any publication that we know of:--a neglect most probably resulting from the singularity of its unclosing flowers; so uncommon a character naturally conveying an idea that the plant was in an imperfect state. Under this prejudice it has lost the charm of novelty, and many a less attractive object has been preferred before it. This genus approaches so close to the genera of Hibiscus, Althea, Malva, &c. that it must certainly be considered as a very near relation to that family. Its foliage is frequently deciduous on the lower part of the stem; a defect to which stove plants in general are but too subject. It is a native of South America and the West India Islands, was found by Dr. Houston in Jamaica in 1731, and introduced by B. Bewick, esq. in 1780. It flowers from July till the end of the year.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCCLIII.
PROTEA REPENS.
_Creeping 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 repens, foliis sub-amplexicaulibus, cordatis, undulatis, apice reflexis, acutis, marginibus rubris: floribus sub basin: interius squamarum calycis læte carneum, exterius fusco-purpureum, villosum.
PROTEA with a creeping stem, and leaves nearly surrounding it, which are heart-shaped, waved, bent back at the end, sharp-pointed, and red at the edges: flowers grow towards the base of the plant: the inside of the scales of the empalement are of a bright flesh colour, and the outside of a purply brown, and hairy.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The blossom complete, and one of the chives magnified. 2. Seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified.
The appearance of this Protea, as cultivated in the gardens, is diametrically opposite to its natural character, which, as its specific indicates, is repent or creeping; instead of which, the branches of the plant are bent from their natural habit, forced as upright as possible, and fastened to a stick; in which situation the flowers only would compare with our figure. But so averse is it to this confined mode of treatment, that, as soon as the branches are liberated, they instantly take the direction most natural to them, and which is certainly the most graceful. Although repens is the more general title of this Protea, yet we have heard it sometimes called amplexicaulis, a name given by some cultivators to a plant whose foliage is so nearly resembling the one now figured, that, when it arrives at a flowering state, it will most probably prove to be no more than a variation of culture. It is a difficult matter to say in what stage the flower is most beautiful, whether in the bud state, before the pointals are released, or afterwards. From their long confinement, the pollen adheres so strongly to them, that when relieved they appear like the antheræ. Our drawing was made at the Hibbertian collection from a plant in fine bloom in the month of February.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCCLIV.
URTICA BACCIFERA.
_Berry-bearing Nettle._
CLASS XXI. ORDER IV.
_MONŒCIA TETRANDRIA._ Chives and Pointals separate. Four Chives.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
* _Masculi flores._
CALYX. Perianthium tetraphyllum.
COROLLA nulla. _Nectarium_ in centro floris cyathiforme.
STAMINA. Filamenta quatuor, subulata, longitudine calycis.
* _Feminei flores vel in eadem vel distincta planta._
CALYX. Perianthium bivalve, persistens.
COROLLA nulla.
PISTILLUM. Germen ovatum. Stylus nullus. Stigma villosum.
PERICARPIUM nullum.
SEMEN unicum.
* _Male flowers._
EMPALEMENT four-leaved.
BLOSSOM none. _Honey-cup_ is formed in the centre of the flower, like a small cup.
CHIVES. Filaments four, awl-shaped, and the length of the cup.
* _Female flowers in the same, or in separate plants._
EMPALEMENT. Cup two-valved, and remaining.
BLOSSOM none.
POINTAL. Seed-bud ovate. Shaft none. Summit hairy.
SEED-VESSEL none.
SEED one.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
URTICA baccifera, foliis alternis, cordatis, dentatis, aculeis tectis: calyces fœminei, baccati, alternatim in ramos longos divaricatos positi, dependentes, læte rubri, et aculeis tecti: caulis aculeis magnis tectus.
BERRY-BEARING NETTLE with leaves alternate, heart-shaped, toothed, and covered with prickles: empalement female, having berries, and alternately situated upon long straggling branches, hanging down, of a bright red colour, and covered with prickles: stem covered with large prickles.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower magnified. 2. The same with the summit detached, magnified.
This plant is most completely armed in all directions, and known by the appellation of the Horrid Nettle. The fierceness of its exterior evinces grandeur, and the bright red flower-stems combine some share of beauty: and notwithstanding its ferocious aspect, the Common Wild Hedge Nettle suffers a light approach with less impunity than this terrific plant; thus proving the old axiom of an open enemy, however powerful, being less injurious than a pretended friend, whose insidious character, like the Hedge Nettle, unheeded stings. In the Hortus Schœnbrunnensis of Jacquin it is described and figured, and also in the Icones of Plumier, p. 259, tab. 260, who gives it the additional specific of arborescens: and there is but little doubt of its forming a tree-like appearance in the Antilles and Blue Mountain Valley of Jamaica, where it is indigenous. The figure represents the upper part of a large specimen, communicated by A. B. Lambert, esq. with whom it flowered in the summer of 1804.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCCLV.
POLYGALA MIXTA.
_Mixt Polygala._
CLASS XVII. ORDER III.
_DIADELPHIA OCTANDRIA._ Two Brotherhoods. Eight Chives.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX 5-phyllus: foliolis duobus alæformibus, coloratis: legumen obcordatum, biloculare.
Cup 5-leaved, with two of the leaves like wings, coloured: pod inverse heart-shaped, two-celled.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
POLYGALA floribus imberbibus, axillaribus, purpureis: foliis fasciculatis, 5-6 in singulo fasciculo, linearibus, acutis, valde confertis inter flores: caule suffruticoso: ramulis filiformibus, patentibus.
POLYGALA with beardless flowers, growing from the axillæ of the leaves, and of a purple colour: the leaves grow in fascicles, 5 and 6 in each fascicle, linear, sharp-pointed, and very much crowded amongst the flowers: stem shrubbyish: branches thread-shaped, and spreading.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement magnified. 2. The keel magnified. 3. One of the wings magnified. 4. The chives magnified. 5. The pointal magnified. 6. Flower of a white variety.