Part 4
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.
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration]
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.
[Illustration]
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.