OCR Text |
Show :the Hiflory of p L A N T S. 3° d' · that will anfwer the at a time when we have fo many gentler and pleafanter me Icmes fame purpofe. . fiderabl numerous, and authors who h~ve The fpecies of Pome, befide thefe, are con 1 yh more fo by defcribing the vane· h fc r. b' ..n. h ve made them appear muc , fi 1 b {id written on t e e lU ~~~o..LS a of diftinCt fpecies: the moft mgu ar, e I e ties of the feveral kmds under the names 11 ked or fpungeous Poria. 2. The thofe here d elrC fl' b ed , at.e , 1 . The great , .y he ' ow,r nha t th, ick Pon. a. thl.S I.S t he jrp eCl·C•S curled or endive-like Poria. 3· T.he r ~te,{h Ig ) it is commo~ on willows about which' fo nearly refembl.es theh ~g~n~ o. t\ ·~ gr~~s; plant by plant, in a circu.lar form, Chelfea. 4·. The fpreadn~g, t m ona. J!rhe reat, brown, thick Poria. 6. The often fpreadmg ~o a furpnfi~g exte~he Sl;air P!ia, with undulated edges. 8. !_he fquammated, vanegated Pona. 7· 11 ~ . 0 The tuberculofe and wh1t1G1 fan-i'haped Poria. 9· The woody, h~e opw . ona. 2 I The efculent crifi:ated, fquam- Th h' k efculent w 1te ona. I · ' p · Poria. I I. e t lC ' • ' G '£ 1 The yellow-bottomed, brown ona. mofe Poria, c.alled by the ltah~ns n o ~he I 3~r le hairy Poria. J 6. The finuous 14· The whtte, fu!cated lPonap. . I 5· 8 TEe r~dchili cartilaginous Poria. I 9· The Poria. I 7. The ?atry, ~el ow ona. I . ' whitiih, thin, hatry Pona. F U N G I C!afs the Firjl. Genus the Third. ODONTIA. . f Fun us's which grow horizontally, and have their 0 ~~.;: z,:.~ f~,~~J~~~o 0oblong:f~efe~~~ ~o~~:s, ~~: ~~'!~:, r;~~~~:~,~~~ :~~ female flowers m dtfi:l~Cl p~ts ~f thhe fides of fome of the teeth, and no part of the therre of an oblong figme, a xe to t d which are [mall and oval, and adfemale :flowers are difcoverable excep\· thes ~~e d~frerent teeth on the fame plants, al-here fome~imes to the far~e a~u~-f~~~e l~~e denticuli are of ~arious lengths in the dif~ ays t~ dl~erentd~~~sh~ ;ifferent pa;ts of the fame fpecies; and in forne t?ey are ro~nd, . ere~~eFse~:ts, a~i~heli and fome others, have placed among thefe fpec~~ fome 1 unf m ~ which have no ho~izontal top for the teeth to grow from, but con 1 mere~ o ~~~~ched fibres: but thefe belong to another genus of another order, to be defcnbed hereafter. 1 • Odontia villofa denticulis planis. 7he hairy Odontia, with flat teeth. Th' . very elegant fpecies, and {hews the denticulation extremely plainly I and hdif- • IS ts a ifes from'an cxtremel broad bafe, affixed .to fome old tree, and 1as t ere !I?etly. It ~iameter It does not ~xtend into breadth, after it grows from the bafe, but ~~ sc~~~~~~d from it .in a femicircular form, it's diameter de~reafing all the way to /he 1 • Tl enerall row three or four plants of It near one another, o t:n ext~emitl~·s fizeJ~~~Jo or th;e; inches in breadth at the bafe, a~d a.little lefs than that ~n fe~~~h: It's upper furface is whitiili and. hairy, and ufually nfes mto protu~er~nces II~ fame places. It's under fur£1ce is formed mto a vafl: n.umber of oblong, flat teet f:' con f :Gd bl lar e and ftanding in feveral rows, one behmd ano~her. On the fur aces o tl1:f: t~re !~y be fometimes feen antherre, placed in rows, and often fmall feeds, _of an oval figure, irregularly fcattered about them. It grows in many p~~s ho~. Ydor(lk~1~~~ and Leicefi:erfhire, on old oaks and elms that fiand much exp?fed. . 1c e I e c.r . it under the name of Agaricum fquammofum album, fuperne vtllofum, mferne den tlcull~ longioribus prreditum. 2. Odontia glabra denticulis latis. The fmor;th Odontia, with broad teeth. This is a very bea~tiful Fun~us. It g~o~s by a long and continuous bafe to fo:O~ old wood extending ttfelf, not mto a femtcucular figure, as moll: of the others do, . ' runnmg The Hi.ftory of P L A N T S. 31 running on in length in a furpriiing manner, and forming a vafi flat mafs, with undu .. lated edges. It will extend in this manner to three or four feet in length, but fe ldom fiands out further than to two or three inches from the furface: it is feldom above a quarter of an inch thick, often thinner, and fometimes fixes it's back, or, properly, it's upper part, to the wood on which it's bafe is .fixed, fo as to form only a kind of crufi: to it. When loofe and free, it's furface is found to be fmooth , it's colour a duiky brown, and it's fmell and tafte very difagreeable. It is very tough and firm, and is, in it's lower par t, formed into a vafi number of teeth, of an inch long, and of the breadth of a wheat-firaw, or more. There are fe veral feries of thefe, ftanding behind one another, all entire and feparate; they are of the fame tough firuCture with the reft of the F ungus, but of a pale rofe colour in the middle, and of a beautiful deep-blue at the edges. In February feveral of the longeft of them are covered with a fort of brownia1 powder, which, when examined, is found to be compofed of clufiers of the male flowers, or antheroe, each of an oblong figure, and each placed feparately on the tooth, no fets of them near one another, but all regularly arranged into one congeries, as if they~confiituted toge ther only one flower. The feeds arc very fmall, and may be feen on the furface of the D1orter teeth with the help of a good microfcope, a]mofl: through the whole fummer. Mr Sherard firfi difcovercd this beautiful plant growing to the beams of a cellar in Wimbleton : it has fince been found in many fuch places. It is defcribed in the laft edition of Ray's Synopfis under the name of Agaricus coriaceus longillimus, peCl:inatim inferne divifus. 3· Odontia rotundior denticulis Jubulatis. The rounder Odontia, with Jubulated teeth. T his is a finall fpecies of Odontia; it rarely exceeds the breadth of a half-crown, and hardly equals it in thicknefs. I t grows to the fiumps of old trees by a firm bafe, thick, and not very broad ; from this it extends itfelf into a femicircular figure, often into a much larger part of a compleat circle. Several plants of it ufually grow over one another at a frnall difiance, and often the branches of a decaying tree are quite furrounded with them ; they fometimes fland fo clofe as to injure one another's figure, and fometimes this occafions them to grow very irregulcu·ly. Their upper furface is hairy, or downy, and of a browniih grey; their under part is paler, and is formed into a multitude of fhort teeth : they indeerl deferve the name of teeth better than thofe of any other ipecies, for they are more of their D1ape, and, indeed, much refcmble the {hart and D1arp tee th of fame quadrupedes: they are about a fifth of an inch long, and are not flatted, but of a rounded figure, thickefi at the bafe, and, growing gradually fmaller to the other extremity, they there terminate in a G1arp point. The whole plant has a difagreeable fmell, and a naufeous tafie. The teeth are often found dufty with the farina in fpring; and in fummer the feeds may be difcovered on the fides of them. . T his fpecies is common in our woods, on the branches of old trees, and fometimes on rotten wood that has been wrought. Micheli calls it Agaricum fquammofum album, fuperne fubh irfutum, inferne peetinatum. The other fpecies of Odontia are, 1. The broad Odontia, with a iliort pedicle at the fide. 2. The coriaceous Odontia, with white teeth. 3· T he purple-teethed Odontia. 4· T he thin, ground Odontia, with long cylindric teeth. F U N G I Clafs the Fitj}. Genus the Third. A M P H I T R E T I A. 'AMP HIT RET I A is a genus of Fungus, growing horizontally, or irregularly, and confifting of a light, fpungy matter, on every furface of which there are foramina : on the edges of thefe grow male flowers, confifi:ing only of oblong, fingle anther::.e, and within them are lodged very fmall, oval feeds. I . Amphitretia crajjior undulata. The thick, undulated Amphitretia. This is a large, but iliapelefs F ungus. I t grows by a great bafe to the bottom of old trees, from which it ~xtends itfelf every way, often very irregularly, fometimes in a kind of femi- |