two-winged, and glaucous beneath, with long footstalks, channelled,
and embracing the stem. Flowers semi-double, white, but elegantly
radiated at the base with a purple colour: capsule orbicular,
containing six cells, with two seeds in each.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The seed-vessel.
2. The same cut transversely.
For this beautiful species of Pæonia we are indebted to Lady Hume, in
whose select collection at Wormley-bury, Herts, it flowered for the
first time in this country. When we figured the fine purple variety, we
little thought of having so soon to compare it with a rival of such
magnitude, and of equal beauty. The bright radiated purple at the base
is a great relief to the surrounding whiteness of the petals, that would
otherwise stand in much greater need of the assistance of art for a
strength of shadow, that would unavoidably injure their delicacy. The
more we become acquainted with this attractive genus, the greater
latitude of growth we find attached to it, which appears to defy all
systematic rule, varying in some species from Digynia, or two pointals,
up to six or more. The present one differs more than all the rest,
having six pointals and seed-buds attached together, and enshrined
within a globular exterior, resembling a Poppy, and from whence we have
drawn its specific title; for, as a distinct species it may certainly be
considered with great propriety; and most likely the distinction will by
some be thought of sufficient consequence to license a generic division:
but in a genus so mutable, were the alteration still greater, whilst it
could be recognised as a Pæony, we should regret to meet it under any
other title.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCCLXIV.
DIOSMA OVATA.
_Oval-leaved Diosma._
CLASS V. ORDER I.
_PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Five Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
COROLLA 5-petala. Nectaria 5 supra germen. Caps. 3. s. 5, coalitæ.
Semina tecta.
BLOSSOM. Five petals. Five nectaries above the seed-bud.
Seed-vessels 3 or 5, joined together. Seeds covered.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
DIOSMA ovata, foliis alternis, oppositis, odoris, supra glabris,
infra punctatis, patentibus: floribus plerumque duobus,
axillaribus, in medio ramulorum, albis. Caulis erectus: ramis
simplicibus.
DIOSMA with oval leaves, alternate, opposite, and full of scent,
smooth above, dotted beneath, and spreading. Flowers grow mostly
two together from the axillæ of the leaves, about the middle of the
branches, and are white. Stem upright. Branches simple.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. Seed-buds, honey-cups, chives, and pointal.
3. A petal.
4. A chive magnified.
5. Seed-bud and pointal.
Among the scented foliage characteristic of so many of the Diosmas the
present species is by far the most powerful, and is the plant called
Buku, so much used by the Hottentots, at the Cape of Good Hope, by way
of perfume. They mix it with grease, and anoint themselves with it so
profusely that a stranger can scarcely endure the effluvia of it. The D.
serrata also possesses a similar scent, and is most likely used
occasionally for the same purpose by the natives. Its scent, when
rubbed, remains a long time, and by some is thought very pleasant, by
others as disagreeable: a difference of opinion in general attending all
very strong perfumes. The foliage has a very neat appearance, and the
clear white flowers give it a lively aspect. Like several others of the
genus, it blooms in winter and spring. Our figure was made from the
Clapham collection.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCCLXV.
PROTEA DIVARICATA.
_Straddling-leaved Protea._
CLASS IV. ORDER I.
_TETRANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Four Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
COROLLA 4-fida, seu 4-petala. Antheræ lineares, petalis infra
apices insertæ. Calyx proprius, nullus. Sem. solitaria.
BLOSSOM four-cleft, or of four petals. Tips linear, inserted into
the petals below the points. Cup proper, none. Seeds solitary.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
PROTEA divaricata, foliis multifidis, longis, linearibus,
teretibus, patentibus: floribus glomeratis, luteis.
PROTEA with straddling leaves, many-cleft, long, linear, round, and
spreading. Flowers grow in close round heads of a yellow colour.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower.
2. A chive magnified.
3. Seed-bud and pointal.
This very distinct species of Protea we have not seen in any other
collection than that of G. Hibbert, esq. nor is it as yet amongst the
numerous fine dried specimens in the herbarium of A. B. Lambert, esq.
and certainly may be considered at present as a rare plant. From the
firm luxuriance of the foliage, and woody character of its stem, we
should be inclined to regard it as a plant not difficult to preserve;
and considering the abundance of its leaves, the flowers are
comparatively few: and very likely this circumstance may best account
for its present scarcity; for, amongst the various beauties of this
extensive tribe, numerous flowers, or speciosity of appearance, are the
best recommendations to particular attention.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCCLXVI.
GOODENIA TENELLA.
_Slender Goodenia._
CLASS V. ORDER I.
_PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Five Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
COROLLA 5-fida, supra longitudinaliter fissa, genitalia exserens.
Stigma urceolatum, ciliatum.
BLOSSOM five-cleft, longitudinally cloven on the upper side,
exposing the organs of generation. Summit cup-shaped, and fringed.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
GOODENIA tenella, foliis prostratis, spathulatis, margine leviter
pilosis. Flores plures, germinantes a duabus bracteis oppositis;
corollis luteis: petalis duobus superioribus maculatis. Rami
graciles, longi, emergentes a radice, terram comprimunt, et postea
adscendunt.
GOODENIA with slender stems, prostrate leaves which are
spathula-shaped, with lightly haired margins. Flowers numerous,
branching out from two opposite floral leaves. Blossoms yellow: the
two upper petals are spotted. Branches slender, long, and emerging
from the root, press the earth, and afterward ascend.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. A blossom spread open.
3. Seed-bud, chives, and pointal, magnified.
This delicate new Goodenia represents the entire plant, as communicated
to the author by the Comtesse de Vandes, in whose choice collection near
Bayswater it flowered for the first time. It is certainly one of the
most graceful plants hitherto introduced from New South Wales. Its
general exterior approaches very near a generic division of Goodenia
called Velleia, and is by Labillardiere figured under the title Velleia
trinervis. The abundance and succession of its bright yellow blossom,
joined to its light an airy appearance, will no doubt insure it a place
in most collections.
[Illustration]
PLATE CCCCLXVII.
LYTHRUM FRUTICOSUM.
_Shrubby Lythrum._
CLASS XII. ORDER I.
_DODECANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Twelve Chives. One Pointal.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX. Perianthium monophyllum, cylindraceum: denticulis duodecim,
alternis minoribus.
COROLLA. Petala sex, oblonga, obtusiuscula, patentia: unguibus in
incisuras calycis insertis.
STAMINA. Filamenta 12, longitudine calycis, supra: infra breviora.
Antheræ simplices, incumbentes.
PISTILLUM. Germen oblongum. Stylus subulatus, longitudine staminum,
declinatus. Stigma orbiculatum.
PERICARPIUM. Capsula oblonga, acuminata, loculamentis duobus tecta.
SEMINA numerosa, parva.
EMPALEMENT. Cup one-leaved, cylindrical, twelve-toothed: the
alternate ones the smallest.
BLOSSOM. Petals six, oblong, bluntish, and spreading: the ungues or
claws are inserted into the divisions of the calyx.
CHIVES 12 filaments the length of the calyx, above, shorter
beneath. Tips simple, and lying on them.
POINTAL. Seed-bud oblong. Shaft awl-shaped, the length of the
stamens, bent downward. Summit orbicular.
SEED-VESSEL. Capsule oblong, sharp-pointed, covered with two
loculaments.
SEEDS numerous, and small.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
LYTHRUM fruticosum: foliis oppositis, alternis, lanceolatis. Flores
in racemis axillaribus in numeris irregularibus: corollis
tubæformibus, coccineis. Sponte nascens in provinciis borealibus
Hindostani.
LYTHRUM with a shrubby stem. Leaves opposite, alternate, and
lance-shaped. Flowers grow in clusters from the axillæ of the
leaves in irregular numbers. Blossoms trumpet-shaped, of a scarlet
colour. It grows wild in the northern provinces of Hindostan.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A blossom spread open, one tip magnified.
2. The same shown from the outer side.
3. The seed-bud and pointal.
4. A capsule.
5. The same cut transverse.
This plant seems to have been hitherto but imperfectly known, having
been figured among Dr. Roxburgh’s Coromandel Plants, vol. i. p. 20,
under the title of Grislea tomentosa. It has recently received another
new generic title; but upon examination we find it to be the Lythrum of
Linnæus; in which opinion the author is sanctioned by the concurrence of
some of the ablest botanists of the present day. This handsome shrub is
described in the 4th vol. of the Asiatic Researches, under the native
title of D.hawry, and is said to grow wild on the hills and banks of
rivulets in the northern part of Hindostan, where it is as much esteemed
for its utility as its beautiful red flowers, which are gathered both
for the use of dyers and apothecaries; the latter giving an infusion of
them as a cooling medicine. When used in dyeing, they lose their colour,
and only yield a slight brownish tincture to the water; so that the
benefit derived from them when used with [A]Aal seems to depend solely
on their action as an astringent, and which appears to be confirmed by
the substituting of [B]Purwas, a strong astringent, as an equivalent for
the flowers of the D.hawry. It is at present treated as a hot-house
plant, but would in all probability succeed very well in the careful
treatment of the green-house. The figure was taken from a fine plant in
the nursery of Messrs. Colville.
[A] Aal, the native name of the Morinda plant, a tree of a middling
size cultivated to a great extent for the purpose of dyeing cloth red,
and is more esteemed for its duration than its beauty, and forms an
important branch in the commerce of the province of Mâlava.
[B] Purwas, a kind of gall nut containing the exuviæ of a small insect
found on a species of Mimosa.
[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.