Part 5
The L. coronopifolia was introduced to the Kew Collection in 1787, by Mr. F. Masson, and is now in most collections.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCXL.
LOBELIA GRACILIS.
_Slender-stemed Lobelia._
CLASS XIX. ORDER VI.
_SYNGENESIA MONOGAMIA._ Tips united. Flowers simple.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX 5-fidus. Corolla monopetala, irregularis. Capsula infera, 2-seu 3-locularis.
CUP 5-cleft. Blossom one petal, irregular. Capsule beneath, 2 or 3-celled.
See LOBELIA PINIFOLIA, Pl. CCLXXIII. Vol. IV.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Lobelia foliis inferioribus ovatis, sinuatis, superioribus lanceolatis, dentatis; petalis duobus minoribus barbatis; floribus spicatis; stigmatibus bifidis.
Lobelia with the lower leaves egg-shaped and scollopped, the upper ones lance-shaped and toothed; the two smaller petals bearded; flowers grow in spikes; summits two-cleft.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A Blossom cut open, with the chives in their place, magnified.
2. The Cup, Seed-bud, Shaft and Summit; the Summit detached and magnified.
This most delicate little plant, of which our figure represents the whole, was raised in 1801, from Cape seeds, sent by Mr. Niven from thence, for the Clapham gardens; where our drawing was made this year, 1803, in the month of August. It is an annual plant, producing its seeds freely, as do most species of this genus, which should be sown in the month of March, in light sandy peat, and transplanted about May.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCXLI.
PHASEOLUS CARACALLA.
_Snail-Flower Kidney-Bean._
CLASS XVII. ORDER IV.
_DIADELPHIA DECANDRIA._ Chives in two sets. Ten Chives.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX. Perianthium monophyllum, bilabiatum; labio superiori emarginato, inferiore tridentato.
COROLLA papillionacea.
_Vexillum_, cordatum, obtusum, emarginatum, reclinatum, lateribus reflexis.
_Alæ_, ovatæ, longitudine vexilli, unguibus longis insidentes.
_Carina_, angusta, spiraliter contra solem revoluta.
STAMINA. Filamenta diadelpha, (simplex et novemfidum) intra carinam, spiralia. Antheræ decem, simplices.
PISTILLUM. Germen oblongum, compressum villosum. Stylus filiformis, spiraliter inflexus, superne pubescens. Stigma obtusum, crassiusculum, villosum.
PERICARPIUM. Legumen longum, rectum, coriaceum, obtusum cum acumine.
SEMINA reniformia, oblonga, compressa.
EMPALEMENT. Cup one leaf, two-lipped, upper lip notched at the end, lower three-toothed.
BLOSSOM butterfly-shaped.
_Standard_, heart-shaped, blunt, notched at the top, reclined, reflexed at the sides.
_Wings_, egg-shaped, the length of the Standard, terminating in long claws.
_Keel_, narrow, twisted spirally contrary to the sun.
CHIVES. Threads in two sets, (simple and nine-cleft,) within the keel, spiral. Tips ten, simple.
POINTAL. Seed-bud oblong, flattened, hairy. Shaft thread-shaped, spirally bent inwards, downy above. Summit blunt, thickish, hairy.
SEED VESSEL. A long pod, straight, leathery, blunt with a point.
SEEDS kidney-shaped, oblong, flattened.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Phaseolus caule volubili; vexillis, carinaque spiraliter convolutis.
Kidney-bean with a twining stem; standards and keel spirally twisted from the left to the right.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The Cup.
2. The Standard.
3. One of the wings, shewn from the outside.
4. One of the wings, shewn from the inside.
5. The Keel.
6. The Chives.
7. The Pointal.
As a singular vegetable production, we have given a specimen of this most curious flower, but not as a novelty, as it is, certainly, rather common, the seeds having frequently been brought to us from Portugal, (to which country it was first introduced from Brasil in South America), ever since the year 1690. It is a climbing plant and must be kept in the hot-house, is propagated by seeds or cuttings, grows to the height of 12 or 14 feet, and should be planted in rich earth. The flowers are produced about August; they are very fragrant, but have not much duration, and the plant has much the resemblance of the common scarlet kidney-bean.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCXLII.
COBBEA SCANDENS.
_Climbing Cobbea._
CLASS V. ORDER I.
_PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Five Chives. One Pointal.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX. Perianthium monophyllum, semiquinquefidum; laciniis cordatis, mucronatis, patentibus, persistens.
COROLLA monopetala, campanulata, versus basin arctata, quinquefida; laciniis concavis, trilobis, ciliatis; squamulæ quinque lanatæ, ad basin sinus tubi, conniventes.
_Nectarium_, corpus carnosum, quinquangulare, decem sulcatum, germen cingens.
STAMINA. Filamenta quinque, squamulis corollæ orta, declinata. Antheræ incumbentes.
PISTILLUM. Germen ovatum, sulcatum. Stylus filiformis, declinatus, staminibus longior. Stigmata tria, plana, recurvata.
PERICARPIUM. Capsula oblonga, trilocularis, trivalvis.
SEMINA plurima, valvulis affixa, compressa, imbricata.
EMPALEMENT. Cup one-leaf, half five-cleft; segments heart-shaped, ending in a point, spreading, persistent.
BLOSSOM one-petal, bell-shaped, narrowed towards the base, five-cleft; segments concave, three-lobed, fringed; five woolly scales at the base of the bosom of the tube closing upon each other.
_Honey-cup_, a fleshy body, five-angled, ten-furrowed, embracing the seed-bud.
CHIVES. Five threads, arising from the scales of the blossom, declined. Tips lying upon the threads.
POINTAL. Seed-bud egg-shaped, furrowed. Shaft thread-shaped, declined, longer than the threads. Summits three, flat, turned back.
SEED-VESSEL. Capsule oblong, three cells, three valves.
SEEDS many, fixed to the valves, flat, tiled.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Cobbea foliis conjugatis, cirrhosis; floribus solitariis, pedunculis longissimis; caule scandenti.
Cobbea with conjugate leaves terminating in a tendril; flowers solitary, foot-stalks very long; stem climbing.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A Blossom cut and spread open, with the Chives in their place.
2. The Empalement, Honey cup, Seed-bud, Shaft and Summits.
The specimen, from which our drawing was taken, was communicated by Mrs. Long, from the Collection of the Honourable Charles Long, of Bromley Hill, Kent; where, we believe, the only plant of this fine Genus is at present to be found in Britain; and where it has flowered, for the first time, this year, in the month of September, 1803. It is a native of the East Indies, and must be kept as a hot-house plant; is propagated by cuttings, and thrives in rich earth; will grow, if permitted, to the height of twenty feet or more, and is still in flower this present month of November.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCXLIII.
BLANDFORDIA CORDATA.
_Heart-shape-leaved Blandfordia._
CLASS V. ORDER I.
_PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Five Chives. One Pointal.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX. Perianthium monophyllum, semiquinquefidum; laciniis concavis, ovatis, obtusis, erectis; persistens.
COROLLA. Petala quinque, oblongo-linearia, subtruncata, patentia, calyci inserta.
_Nectarium_ urceolatum, membranaceum, germen cingens; limbo quinque-lobo, laciniis clavatis, capitatis.
STAMINA. Filamenta nulla. Antheræ quinque, subrotundæ, didymæ; nectarii margini, inter lacinias limbi, affixæ.
PISTILLUM. Germen subrotundum. Stylus brevissimus, erectus. Stigma obsoletum.
PERICARPIUM. Capsula oblonga, unilocularis, bivalvis.
SEMINA plurima, minuta, glabra.
EMPALEMENT. Cup one leaf, half-five-cleft; Segments concave, egg-shaped, blunt, upright; remaining.
BLOSSOM. Five petals, oblong-linear, appearing rather cut off at the ends, spreading, inserted into the cup.
_Honey-cup_ pitcher-shaped, skinny, surrounding the seed-bud; border five-lobed, segments club-shaped, and headed.
CHIVES. Threads none. Tips five, roundish, double; fixed, between the segments of the border, upon the margin of the honey-cup.
POINTAL. Seed-bud roundish. Shaft very short, upright. Summit obsolete.
SEED-VESSEL. Capsule oblong, one cell, two valves.
SEEDS many, small, smooth.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Blandfordia foliis cordatis, reticulatis, crenato-dentatis, floribus spicatis.
Blandfordia with leaves heart-shaped, netted, and between scolloped and toothed; flowers grow in spikes.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The Cup, natural size.
2. The same, magnified.
3. A Petal, magnified.
4. The Honey-cup, with the Chives, magnified.
5. The same, spread open, shewn from the outside.
6. The same, shewn from the inside.
7. The Seed-bud, natural size.
8. The same, magnified.
The Blandfordia cordata was first observed by Mr. J. Fraser, in the year 1786, on the banks of the Savannah river, near its source, in Georgia, North America; but was not introduced to us until the year 1800, when it was brought to England, amongst many other novelties, by that gentleman. It is, as are most of the plants of that country, rather too tender to resist the severity of our winters; and should be protected, either in the green-house, or in the coolest and shadiest part of the hot-house; where, if it is kept the year through, it will flourish, and flower about the month of June. It is increased by parting the roots about April; delights in moisture and shade; thriving most in a light peat soil, with a small mixture of sandy loam. This plant, from its general habit, would at first sight be taken for a species of Tiarella, or Heuchera, to both which it bears great resemblance, being all, likewise, natives of the same clime; but the strongly differing characters, in the parts of fructification, prevent its being placed to either of those genera. The honey-cup, it is true, might, perhaps, with reason, be considered as the connected threads of ten chives, and what we take to be the segments of its border, set down as so many sterile ones to make up this number. Thus, the plant would be transmuted to the XVI class; but, from our best judgment, we have placed it, as above, in the V.
Our figure is from a specimen communicated by the Right Hon. the Marquis of Blandford, from his magnificent gardens at White Knights, near Reading, Berks. Little need be urged for the propriety of our naming a plant from the Marquis of Blandford; and thus, dedicating this small part of our labours to his lordship; as few, at present, patronize the science, through all its branches, with so much vigour and liberality, or who have equal knowledge in its theory and practice.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCXLIV.
EPIDENDRUM ENSIFOLIUM.
_Sword shaped-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 scapo tereti, lævi; foliis ensiformibus; petalis lanceolatis glabris; labio lanceolato, recurvato, maculato.
Epidendrum with a round smooth stem; leaves sword-shaped; petals lance-shaped, smooth; lip lance-shaped, recurved and spotted.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The lip, detached from the flower.
2. A Flower from which the lip has been separated.
The Sword-shaped-leaved Epidendrum is a native of China and Japan, was cultivated, before 1792, in the gardens of the Marchioness of Rockingham, at Hillindon, Middlesex. It has more the habit and character of Limodorum than Epidendrum, to which genus it was first placed; and, like the Epidendrum sinense of this work, Plate CCXVI. Vol. III. requires but little heat to keep it in health; preferring a sandy loam to any other matter, for its nourishment. It, like the forenamed, and several other species of this genus, or rather of the genus Limodorum, not being thick-leaved, or parasitic, where indigenous, are of consequence much easier preserved and increased than those of that description. Its flowers, which are produced in September or October, are very fragrant, particularly in the evening, continue in perfection above a month. It is propagated by parting the roots in the month of May.
Our drawing was made from a plant in the Hibbertian Collection.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCXLV.
HYACINTHUS CORYMBOSUS.
_Linear-leaved Cape Hyacinth._
CLASS VI. ORDER I.
_HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Six Chives. One Pointal.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX nullus.
COROLLA monopetala, campanulata; limbus sexfidus, reflexus.
_Nectarium_; pori tres melliferi ad apicem germinis.
STAMINA. Filamenta sex, subulata, breviora. Antheræ conniventes.
PISTILLUM. Germen superum, rotundo-trigonum, trisulcum. Stylus simplex, corolla brevior. Stigma obtusum.
PERICARPIUM. Capsula subrotunda, triquetra, trilocularis, trivalvis.
SEMINA bina (sæpius,) subrotunda.
EMPALEMENT none.
BLOSSOM one petal, bell-shaped; border six-cleft, reflexed.
_Honey-cup_, three honied pores at the tip of the seed-bud.
CHIVES. Six threads awl-shaped, shorter. Tips converging.
POINTAL. Seed-bud above, round-three-cornered, three-furrowed. Shaft simple, shorter than the blossom. Summit blunt.
SEED-VESSEL. Capsula roundish, three-sided, three-celled, three-valved.
SEEDS in pairs (often,) roundish.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Hyacinthus corollis infundibuliformibus, corymbosis, erectis; scapo foliis linearibus breviore.
Hyacinth with funnel-shaped blossoms, growing in a broad topped spike, upright; flower-stem shorter than the leaves, which are linear.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A Blossom, with the Chives in their place, one Chive detached, magnified.
2. The Seed-bud, Shaft and Summit, the Summit detached, magnified.
Amongst the plants, of this natural order, from the Cape of Good Hope, we find such an intermixture of character, in the different parts of fructification; that, if some latitude is not taken in referring them to some of the old genera, almost every fresh subject, we discover, would require a new one. This plant, although we have placed it to Hyacinthus, with those that have gone before us, has juster claims to Drimia, Polyanthes or Scilla; for it is wanting in the essential characters of Hyacinthus, being unfurnished with the honied pores, and having the chives inserted into the tube of the blossom, three of which are, alternately, double the length of the others. To Drimia, a new genus of Professor Jacquin, and a mutilation of Hyacinthus, it is most allied; but, we have not thought fit to alter its known station, as, without doubt, the multiplication of genera, or altering the place of known plants, adds but to the difficulties of a most intricate, though pleasing study. It is a hardy green-house bulb; delights in a mixture of peat earth and sandy loam; increases by offsets, and flowers in October or November. Our figure was made from a plant in the Nursery of Mr. Williams of Turnham Green, who first imported it in 1800. It is said, by Koenig, to grow in pasture lands near the Cape town, and was first noticed there by him.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCXLVI.
CASUARINA STRICTA.
_Upright Casuarina._
CLASS XXI. ORDER I.
_MONOECIA MONANDRIA._ Chives and Pointal separate. One Chive.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
* _Masculi flores._
CALYX. Amentum filiforme, imbricatum, squamis minutis, unifloris.
COROLLA. Squamulæ bipartitæ, ovatæ, minutæ.
STAMINA. Filamentum unicum, capillare, squama amenti longius. Anthera didyma.
* _Feminei flores in eadem arbore._
CALYX. Amentum ovato-cylindricum; squamis ovatis, acutis, carinatis, ciliatis.
COROLLA nulla.
PISTILLUM. Germen minutum. Stylus filiformis, longus, exsertus, bifidus. Stigmata duo.
PERICARPIUM. Strobilus squamis bivalvibus, perpendiculariter dehiscentibus.
SEMINA solitaria, conica, margine membranacea.
* _Male flowers._
EMPALEMENT. Catkin thread-shape, tiled with small one-flowered scales.
BLOSSOM. Scales two-parted, ovate, minute.
CHIVES. Thread one, hair-like, longer than the scale of the catkin. Tip double.
* _Female flowers on the same plant._
EMPALEMENT. Catkin ovate-cylindric, with egg-shaped, acute, keeled, tiled scales.
BLOSSOM none.
POINTAL. Seed-bud minute. Shaft thread-shaped, long, without, two-cleft. Summits two.
SEED VESSEL. Cone with two-valved scales, splitting perpendicularly.
SEEDS solitary, conical, with a skinny edge.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Casuarina dioica ramulellis erectis; strobilorum squamis inermibus; vaginis masculis multi-fidis, glabris.
Casuarina with chives and pointals distinct, and upright branchlets; scales of the cones naked, male sheaths many-parted, smooth.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The Catkin, or terminal part of a male branchlet, magnified slightly.
2. The Shaft and Summit of a female floret.
3. The Cone, whilst yet in flower.
4. The same magnified.
The Casuarina stricta is a native of New South Wales, and was introduced, by Messrs. Kennedy and Lee, in the year 1775. It is a hardy green-house plant, grows to the height of ten or twelve feet before it flowers, which is in November. It is perfectly dioicous; the male and female blossoms, never coming on the same plant, and either have little to recommend them for beauty; their singularity is what should sooner attract our notice. The two figures, on the plate, which are the male and female, were taken from two plants, in flower, at the same time, in the collection of the Dowager Lady de Clifford, Paddington. All the species, hitherto discovered, since the first, upon which the genus was formed, the C. equisetifolia has, like this, the male and female parts of fructification on different plants; that only, being monoicous, or with the male and female parts on the same plant.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCXLVII.
SOPHORA CAPENSIS.
_Vetch-leaved Sophora._
CLASS X. ORDER I.
_DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Ten Chives. One Pointal.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX. Perianthium monophyllum, breve, campanulatum, basi superne gibbum; ore quinque-dentato, obliquo, obtuso.
COROLLA papillionacea, pentapetala.
_Vexillum_ oblongum, sensim latius, rectum, lateribus reflexis.
_Alæ_ duæ, oblongæ, basi appendiculatæ, longitudine vexilli.
_Carina_ dipetala; petalis alis conformibus, marginibus inferioribus approximatis, navicularibus.
STAMINA. Filamenta decem, distincta, parallela, subulata, longitudine corollæ, intra carina recondita. Antheræ minimæ, assurgentes.
PISTILLUM. Germen oblongum, teres. Stylus magnitudine et situ staminum. Stigma obtusum.
PERICARPIUM. Legumen longissimum, tenue, uniloculare, ad semina nodosum.
SEMINA plurima, subrotunda.
EMPALEMENT. Cup one-leaf, short, bell-shaped, hunched at the base on the upper side; mouth five-toothed, oblique, obtuse.
BLOSSOM butterfly-shaped, five petalled.
_Standard_ oblong, gradually wider, straight, reflexed at the sides.
_Wings_ two, oblong, appendicled at the base, the length of the standard.
_Keel_ two petalled with the petals conformable to the wings, the lower margins approaching and boat-shaped.
CHIVES. Ten threads, distinct, parallel, and shaped, the length of, the blossom, within the keel. Tips very small, turned upwards.
POINTAL. Seed-bud oblong, cylindrical. Shaft the size and situation of the chives. Summit blunt.
SEED-VESSEL. Pod very long, slender, one-celled, knobbed at the seeds.
SEEDS many, roundish.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Sophora foliis pinnatis; foliolis lanceolatis, mucronatis, subtus tomentosis; caule fruticoso.
Sophora with winged leaves; leaflets lance-shaped, pointed, downy beneath; stem shrubby.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The Cup.
2. The Standard, or upper Petal.
3. One side Petal, or Wing of the Blossom.
4. One of the Petals of the Keel.
5. The Chives and Pointal, natural size.
6. One of the Chives, magnified.
7. The Pointal, natural size.
This is a plant of considerable size at the Cape of Good Hope, so much so, as to be looked upon there rather as a tree, than shrub. It was first sent to England, in the year 1773, by Mr. F. Masson; is a hardy green-house plant; thrives in a mixture of loam and peat, and flowers in August, or September. There is no method, yet discovered, to propagate it in this country; but, as seeds are so common of this plant, near Cape town, there is scarce a parcel arrives, from thence, which does not contain some of them.
Among the new modern vagaries in botany, this genus has been thought, by the French botanists, (those admirable perplexers of natural order,) to be better divided in two, as some of the species happen to have the joints of the pods a little more swelled than others. How so trifling a variation, and that in a part of the plant which is known to vary, in almost every genus, through most of the species, where they are numerous; should have been deemed of sufficient moment to alter the names of so many established plants, and those determined by such authority as Linnæus, we are at a loss to determine; and are equally astonished that Willdenow should have followed them. The new genus is termed Podalyria, and to which, this plant is attached in the new system.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCXLVIII.
SCHOTIA SPECIOSA.
_Lentiscus leaved Schotia._
CLASS X. ORDER I.
_DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Ten Chives. One Pointal.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX. Perianthium monophyllum, coloratum; tubus turbinatus, subcompressus, carnosus; persistens; limbus semiquinquefidus; laciniis ovatis, concavis, obtusis, erectis, æqualibus.
COROLLA. Petala quinque, tubo calycis imposita, oblonga, concava, obtusa, erecta, æqualia, lateribus mutuò incumbentia, sessilia, laciniis calycinis duplo longiora.
STAMINA. Filamenta decem, subulata, erecta, petalis paulo longiora, tubo calycis in orbem inserta. Antheræ oblongæ, incumbentes.
PISTILLUM. Germen oblongum, compressum, pedicellatum. Stylus filiformis, longitudine staminum. Stigma simplex, obtusum.
PERICARPIUM. Legumen pedicellatum.
SEMINA bina, ossea, subovata, magna.
EMPALEMENT. Cup one leaf, coloured; tube top-shaped, rather flattened, fleshy; permanent; border half five-cleft; segments egg-shaped, concave, blunt, upright, equal.
BLOSSOM. Five petals, placed on the tube of the cup, oblong, concave, blunt, upright, equal, lying over each other at the sides, sitting, twice as long as the segments of the cup.
CHIVES. Ten threads, awl-shaped, upright, a little longer than the petals, inserted in a ring into the tube of the cup. Tips oblong, laying on the threads.
POINTAL. Seed-bud oblong; flattened, with a foot-stalk. Shaft thread-shaped, the length of the chives. Summit simple, blunt.
SEED-VESSEL. A pod with a foot-stalk.
SEEDS two, bony, a little egg-shaped, large.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Schotia foliis pinnatis; foliolis ovatis, mucronatis; floribus cymosis, profundé carneis.
Schotia with winged leaves; leaflets egg-shaped, terminating in a point; flowers in tufts and of a deep flesh colour.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A Flower cut and spread open, shewn from the outside.
2. The same, shewn from the inside.
3. A Flower, with the petals, and border of the Cup removed, to shew the insertion of the Chives into the tube of the Cup.
4. The Seed-bud, Shaft and Summit, with the tube of the Cup cut in halves.
Our present subject stood formerly attached to the genus Guaiacum, under the title of G. affrum, and has been long cultivated in Britain and Holland, perhaps more than a century. Professor Jacquin, in his _Collectanea ad Bot._ &c. Vol. I. p. 93, thought fit to constitute it a new genus, naming it after his companion R. van der Schot. About the same time, the year 1786, a monograph on this plant was published at Manheim, by Fred. Casim. Medikus, under the name of Theodora Speciosa; but Jacquin’s title has universally obtained. To preserve this plant in good health, it should be kept in the coolest part of the hot-house, or in a dry stove, the warmth of a common green-house being insufficient to preserve its foliage through the winter months. It is a native of all that extent of the African coast from Senegal river, to the Cape of Good Hope, where it grows to the height of twenty feet and upwards. The seeds, which are frequently imported, keep many years in a vegetative state, and is, almost, the only method by which it can be propagated; for little success can be hoped, either from layers, or cuttings. It flowers from October till December, delighting in a light sandy loam. Perhaps, no plant which has been as long in cultivation with us, has so seldom been seen to flower; for, although the plants in the Kew gardens and elsewhere, are of a considerable size, yet have we few instances of its flowering, no mention being made of its time of inflorescence in the catalogue of that collection.
From a plant, still in flower, this present December 1803, which was literally covered with blossoms above two feet from its top, our drawing was taken; it is in the valuable and extensive collection of Isaac Swainson, Esq. Twickenham; which for scientific arrangement and richness in hardy shrubs and herbaceous plants, in particular, yields to no private or public collection we know of; and which, the extreme urbanity of the liberal proprietor, is at all times open, to every botanist or collector.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCXLIX.
PROTEA DECUMBENS.
_Slender-stemed Protea._
CLASS IV. ORDER I.
_TETRANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Four Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
COROLLA 4-fida seu 4-petala. Antheræ lineares, insertæ petalis infra apicem.
CALYX proprius nullus. Semina solitaria.
BLOSSOM 4-cleft or 4-petalled. Tips linear, inserted into the petals below the point.
CUP, proper, none. Seeds solitary.
See PROTEA FORMOSA, Pl. XVII. Vol. I.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Protea foliis bi-pinnatis, filiformibus; capitulis terminalibus, sessilibus; floribus incarnatis, bracteolatis; caule tenue, decumbente.
Protea with doubly winged leaves, thread-shaped; small heads of flowers sitting close on the ends of the branches; flowers flesh-coloured with small floral leaves; stem slender and bending downwards.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A Leaf.
2. One of the Floral Leaves, magnified.
3. A Floret, complete.
4. One of the Petals, with its Chive at the point, magnified.
5. The Pointal, with the Summit detached and magnified.