[INDEX
TO THE PLANTS CONTAINED IN VOL. IX]
[ERRATA VOL. IX.]
Vol. IX
of the
Botanist’s Repository
Comprising
Colour’d Engravings
of
New and Rare Plants
ONLY
With Botanical Descriptions &c.
——in——
Latin and English,
after the
Linnæan System.
by
H. Andrews
Botanical Painter Engraver, &c.
PLATE DLIII.
LOBELIA ASSURGENS.
Assurgent Lobelia.
CLASS V. ORDER I.
PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. Five Chives. One Pointal.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
Calyx quinquefidus, Corolla monopetala, irregularis. Antheræ cohærentes. Capsula infera, 2-seu 3-locularis.
Empalement five-cleft. Blossom of one petal, irregular. Anthers cohering. Seed-vessel below, with 2 or 3 partitions.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Lobelia foliis lanceolatis serratis, infernè denticulatis decurrentibus, racemis compositis terminalibus.
Lobelia with leaves lance-shaped, serrate, toothed towards the base, and running down the stem; the racemes compound and terminal.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A blossom spread open.
2. The chives spread open.
3. The seed-bud and pointal.
This curious species of Lobelia is a native of high mountains in Jamaica, where Brown informs us it grows to the height of 5 or 6 feet. The plant is at present so scarce as not to be enumerated in the Catalogue of the Cambridge Garden; nor has any figure of it, to our knowledge, been before published. Specimens were communicated by A. B. Lambert, esq. from his stove at Boyton, where he informs us that the plant is now about five feet high, with some of the lower leaves a foot and a half long; that it began to blossom in the middle of July, and continued to the end of November; four or five racemes flowering at the same time, and nodding in the manner of ostrich plumes; the blossoms gradually opening in succession towards the top, and the racemes continuing to lengthen until more than a foot long. The flowers have withered without producing any seed. The plant appears to be perennial.
PLATE DLIV.
VOLKAMERIA ANGUSTIFOLIA.
Narrow-leaved Volkameria.
CLASS XIV. ORDER II.
DIDYNAMIA ANGIOSPERMIA. Two Chives longer. Seeds covered.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
Calyx quinquefidus: Corollæ laciniis secundis. Drupa 2-locularis. Semina 4, seu abortu tantum 2.
Empalement five-cleft. Blossom with the divisions pointing one way. Berry 2-celled. Seeds 4, or from abortion only 2.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Volkameria fruticosa glaberrima, foliis oblongo-lanceolatis integerrimis, pedunculis trichotomis axillaribus et terminalibus.
Volkameria shrubby and very smooth, with oblong-lanced very entire leaves, and peduncles divided by threes, both axillary and terminal.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. A blossom spread open, one tip detached and magnified.
3. Seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified.
4. The seed-bud magnified.
Volkameria angustifolia is a dwarf branchy shrub flowering in great profusion about the middle of August. The blossoms are white and remarkably sweet-scented. It was communicated by Mr. Donn, Curator of the Cambridge Botanic garden, and is to be enumerated in the new edition of his Catalogue now in the press. It requires to be kept in the bark-bed in the hot-house, and is supposed to be a native of the Isle of France. We believe no other figure of it has been given.
PLATE DLV.
ZINGIBER CLIFFORDIÆ.
Cliffordian Zingiber.
CLASS I. ORDER I.
MONANDRIA MONOGYNIA. One Chive. One Pointal.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
Calyx monophyllus. Corolla 4-5-fida. Antheræ 2. Filamentum simplex ultra antheras productum.
Empalement of one leaf. Blossom either 4-or 5-cleft. Anthers two. Filament simple, extended beyond the anthers.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Zingiber scapo simplicissimo, crasso, brevi, capitulo subovato, bracteis inferioribus lato-ovatis obtusis; corollâ 4-fidâ, laciniis tribus exterioribus oblongis marginibus involutis; alteris sub-cordatis duplo majoribus, mox convolutis.
Ginger with an unbranched, thick, short flower-stalk, the lower flower-scales broadly-oval and blunt: the blossom 4-cleft, the three outer divisions oblong with their margins turned inwards, the inner inversely nearly heart-shaped and doubly larger, soon folding together.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. Sheath at the base of the calyx.
2. A detached flower.
3. Seed-bud, anthers, and pointal, summit magnified.
4. The plant in miniature.
This fine species of Ginger, we are informed, is a native of Guinea, and in the gardens has long been supposed to be the plant which produced the Grains of Paradise, Amomum Granum Paradisi of Linnæus; but it certainly by no means accords with the character of that plant, either as given in the Hortus Kewensis or by Linnæus himself. From the other species of Zingiber enumerated in the eighth volume of the Linnæan Society’s Transactions it is easily distinguished. Having as yet only blossomed in England in the collection of Lady de Clifford at Paddington, in honour of that patroness and lover of botany we have given its specific designation. The culture is the same as for other plants of the family. Our drawing was taken in 1804.
PLATE DLVI.
PANCRATIUM AMŒNUM.
Broad-leaved Pancratium.
CLASS VI. ORDER I.
HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA. Six Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Petala 6. Nectarium 12-fidum. Stamina nectario imposita.
Petals 6. Honey-cup 12-cleft. Stamens seated on the nectary.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Pancratium spathâ multiflorâ, fragrantissimâ: foliis longo-lanceolatis, corollæ laciniis tubum excedentibus: nectario 6-lobato, sinubus sub-denticulatis. Willd. Sp.
Pancratium with the sheath many-flowered, and very sweet-scented: the leaves long-lanced, the divisions of the blossom longer than its tube: and the nectary 6-lobed, mostly with little teeth between.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower spread open.
Several species of the genus Pancratium approach so very near to each other, that it is a difficult task to discriminate them with accuracy. We have little doubt that the Pancratium foliis amplis ovatis of Ehret (Trew’s Plantæ Selectæ, tab. 28.) belongs to our plant, notwithstanding the absence of the little teeth between the lobes of the nectary. Indeed, that character appears so variable in the synonyms commonly given to this species, that we are rather inclined to doubt of its constancy. Neither are the painters of those days always safely to be trusted in such minutiæ. Mr. Lambert, who favoured us with the specimen in March 1808, informs us that he received the bulbs from Lord Seaforth, on his return to England from the West Indies, from the Pancratium caribæum, cultivated in the same collection. It is certainly distinct; the blossoms are extremely fragrant, and we are not yet certain whether the amœnum and fragrans of botanists may not be the same species.
PLATE DLVII.
PERIPLOCA AFRICANA.
African Periploca.
CLASS V. ORDER II.
PENTANDRIA DIGYNIA. Five Chives. Two Pointals.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Contorta. Nectarium ambiens genitalia, filamenta 5, exserentia.
Contorted. Honey-cup surrounding the stamens. Threads 5, standing out.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Periploca foliis ovato-acutis, pilosis: floribus corymbosis: caule volubili, hirsuto. Willd. Sp. Pl.
Periploca with ovate-pointed hairy leaves: flowers corymbose: stem twining and hairy.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. The outer part of the blossom.
3. The tubular part of the same detached.
4. The same spread open.
5. One of the lobes of the nectary surrounding the parts of fructification.
6. Seed-buds, chives, and pointals, magnified.
The Periploca Africana is at present a rare plant to the gardens, although, according to Donn’s Catalogue, it has been introduced to this country as long ago as the year 1726. There are several figures of it among the older botanists, but not one that does it any justice, as an ornamental green-house plant, which it undoubtedly is, and continues in bloom almost from June till January.
Our figure represents the entire plant, just as we received it from Messrs. Whitley and Brames.
PLATE DLVIII.
FERULA PERSICA.
Persian Ferula.
CLASS V. ORDER II.
PENTANDRIA DIGYNIA. Five Chives. Two Pointals.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Fructus ovalis, compresso-planus, striis utrinque 3.
Fruit oval, flatly compressed, with three stripes on both sides.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Ferula foliis supra-decompositis: foliolis multifidis, decurrentibus: umbellâ primordiali sessili.
Ferula with leaves more than doubly compound: leaflets many-cleft and decurrent: the first umbel of flowers sessile.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A perfect flower.
2. A male or abortive flower.
3. The pointals.
Assa fœtida grows naturally near Gilan in Persia; and from seeds sent from thence to the Academy at St. Petersburgh plants were obtained, two of which were sent to Dr. Hope at Edinburgh, by Dr. Guthrie, to whom they had been presented by Professor Pallas, in whose herbarium we have seen specimens of it, but without fructification. One of these plants flowered and ripened seeds in the Botanic Garden at Edinburgh, and is described by Dr. Hope in the lxxvth vol. of the Philosophical Transactions, and a figure annexed, the only one hitherto published of the species; the Assa fœtida of Kæmpfer being undoubtedly a different plant. Our specimens were obligingly communicated by Dr. Williams from the Botanic Garden at Oxford; which, with that of Edinburgh above mentioned, the Cambridge Garden, the Physic Gardens at Chelsea, and Mr. Dickson’s private collection at Croydon, are the only gardens in Britain, as we are informed, that yet possess the plant. The gum exudes from the roots, which are tuberous and perennial, on the slightest incision being made; and every part of the plant, even to the extremities of the leaves, smells strongly of it. It is hardy enough to bear our climate, and even ripen its seeds in mild seasons. It is not improbable that at a future time we may be furnished with this valuable article of the Materia Medica, of English growth. The long list of its virtues mentioned by Dr. Woodville we need not here enumerate; its reputation as a cordial for low spirits alone, in these days, entitles it to notice.
PLATE DLIX.
CAMELLIA JAPONICA, semi-duplex.
Semidouble-flowered Camellia.
CLASS XVI. ORDER VI.
MONADELPHIA POLYANDRIA. Threads united. Many Chives.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Calyx imbricatus, polyphyllus: interioribus majoribus.
Empalement tiled, many-leaved: the inner ones the largest.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Camellia floribus semi-duplicibus, staminibus divergentibus in petalos.
Camellia with semi-double flowers, the stamens growing into petals.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. The stamens growing into petals.
3. Seed-bud and pointals.
4. A transverse section of the seed-bud.
This Camellia with semi-double flowers was communicated to us by Mr. Davey, nurseryman and florist in the King’s Road, Chelsea; who informs us it was a cutting from a plant brought by a gentleman from the coast of China, and regarded as distinct in its flowers from all those in cultivation with us. It certainly has a very different appearance; and as every variety in this short but splendid genus is particularly admired and sought after, this one, which possesses parts of its botanic character entire, will doubtless be considered by the amateurs of plants in general as a variety equally interesting.
PLATE DLX.
VEREA ACUTIFLORA.
Pointed-flowered Verea.
CLASS VIII. ORDER IV.
OCTANDRIA TETRAGYNIA. Eight Chives. Four Pointals.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Calyx 4-phyllus. Corolla hypocrateriformis, 4-fida: tubo ventricoso, Nectaria 4, ad basin germinum. Capsulæ 4, superæ, 1-loculares, polyspermæ.
Empalement 4-leaved. Blossom funnel-shaped, 4-sided: tube bellied. Nectaries 4, at the base of the seed-buds. Capsules 4, above, one-celled, many-seeded.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Verea foliis lato-lanceolatis, oppositis, crenatis, crassis: floribus paniculatis, terminalibus: corollis albentibus: laciniis oris acutissimis.
Verea with leaves broadly lance-shaped, opposite, scolloped, and thick. Flowers paniculated and terminal. Blossom whitish: segments of the border very pointed.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. A blossom spread open.
3. Seed-buds and pointals.
4. The same magnified.
This new species of Verea flowered (we believe, for the first time in this country) in the collection of the Hon. C. Greville at Paddington, whence our drawing was taken. The foliage is compact, and rather handsome. The flowers are by no means specious; but, as it blossoms in the depth of winter, its rivals are but few. This considered, with the addition of its novelty, renders it a valuable acquisition to the hot-stove.
PLATE DLXI.
XERANTHEMUM FRAGRANS.
Fragrant Xeranthemum.
CLASS XIX. ORDER II.
SYNGENESIA POLYGAMIA SUPERFLUA. Tips united Superfluous.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Receptaculum paleaceum aut nudum. Pappus setaceus. Calyx imbricatus, radiatus: radio colorato.
Receptacle chaffy, or naked. Feather bristly, Empalement tiled, rayed: the ray coloured.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Xeranthemum foliis undulatis, lanatis, apice reflexis: floribus parvis, odoratis, terminalibus: radiis calycis exterioribus rubris: radio interiore albo.
Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.
Xeranthemum with waved woolly leaves reflexed at the point: flowers small, sweet-scented and terminal: the outer rays of the empalement red, the inner one white.
Native of the Cape of Good Hope.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A scale from the outer ray of the empalement.
2. A scale from the inner ray.
3. A flower of the disk.
This little Xeranthemum is a native of the Cape, perfectly new, and very sweet-scented. As fragrance is very unusual in this fine tribe of plants, we have on that account considered it as a good specific title. It was introduced to the Clapham gardens about the year 1803; and as we have not seen it since that period, we are inclined to think it is not at present in this country. In the herbarium of A. B. Lambert, esq. we found a fine native specimen of an unnamed species very much resembling our plant, but with a profusion of flowers—a habit which ours would in all probability have assumed as soon as it had been familiarized to the change of climate.
PLATE DLXII.
CYNANCHUM BICOLOR.
Two-coloured Cynanchum.
CLASS V. ORDER II.
PENTANDRIA DIGYNIA. Five Chives. Two Pointals.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Contorta. Nectarium cylindricum, quinque-dentatum.
Contorted. Honey-cup cylindrical, five-toothed.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Cynanchum foliis cordatis, acutis, pilosis: floribus in umbellis proliferis: corollis bicoloribus: petalis ad basin hirsutis: caule volubili.
Cynanchum with heart-shaped, pointed, hairy leaves: flowers grow in proliferous umbels: blossoms two-coloured: petals hirsute at the base: stem twining.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. A blossom spread open.
3. The parts of fructification magnified.
4. The seed-bud, shaft, summit, and chives.
5. The same magnified.
This Cynanchum is, we believe, a perfectly new species, and continues to flower during the summer and autumnal months, running to a great length. In that, as well as in other particulars, it bears a considerable resemblance to the Cynanchum extensum of Jacquin’s Icones, but is far superior to that species from its petals being enlivened with a rich purple spot, a slight tinge of which is even visible on the smallest buds. There is an abundant succession of bloom, and the flowers appear to expand with freedom. Our drawing was made last August from a fine plant in the hot-stove of the Countess de Vandes.
PLATE DLXIII.
MIMOSA ELEGANS.
Elegant Mimosa.
CLASS XXIII. ORDER I.
POLYGAMIA MONŒCIA. Various Dispositions upon one Plant.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Hermaph. Calyx 5-dentatus. Corolla 5-fida. Stamina 5, sive plura. Pistillum 1, legumen.
Mascul. Calyx 5-dentatus. Corolla 5-fida. Stamina 5-10, sive plura.
Hermaph. Empalement 5-toothed. Blossom 5-cleft. Chives 5 or more. Pointal 1, a pod.
Male. Empalement 5-toothed. Blossom 5-cleft. Chives 5-10, or more.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Mimosa frutescens, inermis: ramis verrucosis foliis bipinnatis, pennis propriis 8-ad 9-jugis, partialibus 20-ad 24-jugis, cum impari ad imum minore; spicis axillaribus oblongis divaricatis.
Mimosa shrubby, unarmed: with warty branches: leaves doubly winged, the first of 8 or 9 pairs, the second of 20 to 24 with a small odd leaflet at the bottom: spikes of flowers axillary, oblong, and divaricate.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower.
2. The same spread open.
3. The same shown from the inner side, one tip magnified.
4. The seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified.
Mimosa elegans is one of the handsomest of the family that yet been introduced from New Holland, and very rare, being at this time in no other private collection in this country, but that of A. B. Lambert, esq. from whom we received our specimens; and in whose conservatory it is now in full flower, his plant being about ten feet high and very much branched, with profusion of flowers. It is hardly possible to express the extreme delicacy of the blossoms. The stamens are united (monadelphous) towards the base, and are above two hundred in a single flower. What an apparatus for the impregnation of a single stigma!
From what we have already seen of the beautiful and interesting plants of this country, cultivators will do well to give them as much both of pot and branch room as their houses will afford; as well for the health of the plant as to advantage the size of its fine foliage, of which the circumscribed scale of our work would only allow us to represent one half.
PLATE DLXIV.
IXIA CURTA.
Short Ixia.
CLASS III. ORDER I.
TRIANDRIA MONOGYNIA. Three Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Corolla 6-petala, patens, æqualis. Stigmata tria erectiuscula, patula.
Blossom six petals, spreading and equal. Summits three, nearly upright, and spreading.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Ixia foliis falcatis: floribus alternis, tri-coloribus: caule humili.
Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.
Ixia with scimitar-shaped leaves: flowers alternate, and three-coloured. Stem low.
Native of the Cape of Good Hope.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The two sheaths of the empalement.
2. A blossom spread open.
3. Seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified.
This new species of Ixia was delineated from a plant in the collection of J. Vere, esq. the summer before last, and although low in stature is certainly high in beauty, and surpassed by very few of loftier growth. It flowers about the middle of April, and requires the same treatment as most other Cape species.
PLATE DLXV.
RUTA LINIFOLIA.
Flax-leaved Ruta.
CLASS X. ORDER I.
DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA. Ten Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Calyx 5-partitus. Petala concava. Receptaculum punctis melliferis decem cinctum. Capsula lobata.
Empalement 5-parted. Petals concave. Receptacle beset with ten honey-bearing points. Capsule lobed.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Ruta foliis simplicibus, lanceolatis, glabris: filamentis ciliatis: caule simplici, herbaceo.
Habitat in Hispania.
Ruta linifolia. Willd. Sp. Pl.
Rue with simple leaves, lance-shaped and smooth: threads ciliated. Stem simple and herbaceous.
Native of Spain.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A petal.
2. Empalement, chives, and pointal.
3. A chive.
4. The empalement, seed-bud, and pointal.
The Ruta linifolia is a new plant to the gardens, and we believe is not at present in any other collection but that of Cambridge, where it was raised from seed by Mr. Donn. It is a handsome little herbaceous shrub, and requires the protection of the green-house to preserve it in this climate. Flowers in September and October.
PLATE DLXVI.
CALLICOMA SERRATIFOLIA.
Sawed-leaved Callicoma.
CLASS XI. ORDER II.
DODECANDRIA DIGYNIA. Stamens 11 to 19. Styles 2.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
Flores in capitulis subrotundis, pedunculatis; involucro sub 4-phyllo. Calyx 4-5-phyllus, foliolis lanceolatis. Corolla O. Stamina 11-19, calyce triplo longiora, e receptaculo. Styli 2, filiformes: stigmate simplici: germen superum, monoloculare, polyspermum.
Flowers in little round heads, upon footstalks; with an involucre of about 4 leaves. Calyx of 4 or 5 leaves, the leaflets lanced. Blossom none. Stamens from 11 to 19, thrice as long as the calyx, growing from the receptacle. Styles 2, thread-shaped. Stigma simple. Germen above, 1-celled, and many-seeded.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower.
2. The same spread open, one tip magnified.
3. The seed-bud and pointals.
4. The same magnified.
Callicoma serratifolia is a native of New South Wales, and has now for several years in some choice collections adorned the green-house and conservatory in early spring with its fine heads of flowers; but to whom we are indebted for its first introduction we are uncertain. Some botanists have considered it as a congener of Forster’s Codia, to which it has certainly a considerable affinity; but as we cannot exactly see the propriety of coupling an apetalous flower having so many stamens with one that is penta-petalous and octandrous, and of which we have no description of the germen or fruit; and there being great probability that more plants of this family may be discovered in the vast tracts of New Holland yet unexplored, we have rather chose to describe it as distinct, than to excuse ourselves by leaving it to be separated at some future period and create more changes of names, a circumstance always to be deprecated and avoided as much as possible by Naturalists. Callicoma is a middle-sized shrub with the leaves finely cottony and whitish on the under side, and has considerable beauty even when out of blossom. It is propagated by layers.
PLATE DLXVII.
CERATONIA SILIQUA.
Pod-bearing Ceratonia.
CLASS XXIII. ORDER II.
POLYGAMIA DIŒCIA. Many Nuptials on separate Plants.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
Hermaph. Calyx 5-partitus. Corolla 0. Stamina 5-8. Stylus filiformis. Stigma capitatum. Legumen coriaceum, pulpâ plenum, polyspermum.
Hermaph. Empalement 5-parted. Blossom none. Chives 5 to 8. Shaft thread-shaped. Summit headed. Pod leathery, full of pulp, and many-seeded.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower shown from the outside.
2. A dry pod a little opened, one seed detached.
Instead of a new plant, we here submit to our readers one that according to the Kew Catalogue has been an inhabitant of our gardens 239 years: but neither Mr. Alton nor Mr. Miller had ever seen it blossom, nor during all this long period have we any account of its flowering in this country. Its male flowers however appeared in the Cambridge Botanic Garden the beginning of last February, and from a specimen communicated by Mr. Donn to A. B. Lambert, esq. the present drawing was taken. Mr. Donn’s plant was between 4 and 5 feet high, moderately branched, and had the same treatment as his other green-house shrubs. We are uncertain whether the hermaphrodite or female plant be yet in this country; but as the propagation is principally from seed, we think it is very probable. The stamens in our specimen vary in number, being commonly 5, sometimes 6, and more rarely 8. The fruit is added from a dried legume in the Lambertian collection, which was sent from Spain by the late Abbé Cavanilles, who in his Icones Plantarum, vol. 2. p. 8. and tab. 113. (in addition to what was formerly known of the Ceratonia) informs us, that it grows spontaneously on little hills and dry fields in Valencia, and is yet more impatient of cold and moisture than the olive, vast numbers being sometimes killed there by the frost in severe winters. It is in this province also, that the principal cultivation of this useful plant in Spain is situated. The propagation is from seeds, and the diœcious plants are always selected in preference to the hermaphrodites, being better bearers. Some of the more skilful cultivators engraft a male bough upon their female plants for their impregnation, and by this means have no sterile plants in their collections. They flower twice a year, first in February, and again more plentifully in August and September; which is also the time of the fruit’s ripening, and the trees are seen at the same time adorned with blossoms, and laden with ripe fruit. Eighty pounds of legumes are sometimes collected from a single tree. They are known to be mature by their putting on a chesnut colour, and are then beaten from the trees by canes of the Arundo Donax from 16 to 20 feet long, with part of their crooked roots left, which serve as hooks. Rain is said to be beneficial to the ripe fruits, and even to improve them after they are laid in heaps on the ground. They are finally dried and stored up in barns for use. The cultivators enumerate three varieties, which they call Melars, Llandars, and Costelluts. The last they distinguish by having larger leaves and of a deeper green, with legumes often a foot long, but with little solidity or sweetness; the second has shorter legumes, but more solid and very sweet; the leaves also are shorter. The first are called Melars (quasi Melleas) from Mel honey, of which the fruit contains small drops, and sometimes in such abundance that it distils upon the ground, and is fed upon by the bees. The fruits are the principal food of the cattle in the province of Valencia, and also form part of the sustenance of the poor people. The leaves are used in the preparation of leather. Monsieur Olivier also informs us in his Travels in the Ottoman Empire, that the Carob-tree grows all over the Island of Crete, and delights most in stony grounds and the clefts of rocks; that the fruits are conveyed thence to Constantinople, to Syria and Egypt, and serve for food to the poor and to children. They are also an ingredient in the sherbets of which the Mussulmans make daily use.
PLATE DLXVIII.
LIPARIA SPHÆRICA.
Round-headed Liparia.
CLASS XVII. ORDER IV.
DIADELPHIA DECANDRIA. Two Brotherhoods. Ten Chives.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Calyx quinquefidus, lacinia infima elongata. Corollæ alæ inferius bilobæ. Filamenta alternatim breviora. Legumen polyspermum.
Calyx 5-cleft, the lower segment very long. Wings of the blossom two-lobed on the lower side. Chives alternately shorter. Pod many-seeded.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Liparia floribus capitatis; foliis lanceolatis, nervosis, glabris. Willd. Sp. Pl. vol. iii.
Liparia with flowers in heads; the leaves lance-shaped, nerved, and smooth.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A bract.
2. The empalement.
3. A flower spread open.
4. The chives.
5. The same spread open.
6. Seed-bud and pointal.
7. A back view of the head of flowers.
Africa has long been celebrated as the land of wonders and novelties, and its vegetable as well as animal productions well entitle it to that character. The beauty and astonishing variety of ever-varying Geraniums, delicate Ixias, elegant Ericas, superb Amaryllises, and magnificent Proteas, received from the Cape of Good Hope alone within these few years, and many of them totally unknown before, have given to our gardens that splendour and perpetual novelty which justly make them the admiration of the world. What still more enhances the pleasure is, that the mine is yet unexhausted, as our present charming subject, not before enumerated in any of our catalogues of cultivated plants will testify. Mr. Milne, gardener at Fonthill, well known for his zeal and skill in the cultivation of rare plants, obligingly communicated the specimens. Having forwarded the first a little too early, being struck with the singular beauty, and not knowing the habits of the plant, a fortnight after he forwarded a third specimen fully expanded, from which the figure is taken. Mr. Milne informs us, that he raised the Liparia from Cape seeds some years ago, and has kept it in the conservatory, where it is now in blossom. The plant is branchy, and between four and five feet in height. He thinks he possesses two more new species of the genus raised at the same time, which have not yet blossomed with him.
PLATE DLXIX.
CEANOTHUS LANIGER.
Woolly Ceanothus.
CLASS V. ORDER I.
PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. Five Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Petala 5, saccata. Bacca sicca, 3-locularis, 3-sperma.
Petals 5, bagged. Berry dry, three-celled, three-seeded.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Ceanothus foliis oblongo-lanceolatis, integerrimis, subtus lanuginosis; ramulis, pedunculis, petiolis, calycibusque hirsutis.
Ceanothus with the leaves oblong-lanced, entire, and woolly beneath; the branches, footstalks, flowerstalks, and calyxes hairy.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower.
2. A segment of the calyx, with a petal and stamen attached.
3. Seed-bud and pointal.
To New Holland we export criminals for our convenience and safety, and from thence import furs for our covering and flowers for our amusement. So far the balance of trade is in our favour. But by whose hands, or at what time, our present subject was first brought over, we have not been able to learn. The specimen was communicated by A. B. Lambert, esq. in the beginning of April from his collection at Boyton, and we have also seen the plant very finely in flower at Mr. Whitley’s nursery, Brompton. Its woolly leaves and branches, contrasted with the Mimosas and other hard-leaved plants from the same country, make an agreeable variety, and the early blossoms are very ornamental. The plants we have seen are moderate-sized branchy shrubs, are kept in the green-house like other New Holland plants, and require no particular treatment. We have seen more species from the same country in herbariums, and some are now alive in this country, although they have not yet blossomed.
PLATE DLXX.
JUSTICIA NITIDA.
Shining-leaved Justicia.
CLASS II. ORDER I.
DIANDRIA MONOGYNIA. Two Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Calyx simplex seu duplex. Corolla 1-petala, irregularis. Capsula ungue elastico dissiliens: dissepimentum contrarium; adnatum.
Empalement simple or double. Blossom one-petalled, irregular. Capsule splitting with an elastic claw: partition contrary to the valve; affixed.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER
Justicia fruticosa: foliis ellipticis, acuminatis: racemis spicæformibus, verticillatis: bracteis minutis: pedicellis calycibusque glabris.
Swartz. Flora Indiæ occidentalis.
Habitat in insulis Jamaicæ, S. Christophori, Martiniquæ, S. Crucis, et Guadalupæ.
Justicia with a shrubby stem: leaves elliptic and pointed: raceme in the form of a spike, whorled: floral leaves small: footstalks and calyx smooth.
Native of Jamaica, St. Christopher, Martinique, St. Croix, and Guadaloupe.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower spread open.
2. Seed-bud and pointal,
3. The capsule.
4. The same split open.