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Show 6o The Hijlory of P L A N T S. 2. Clava ria cefpitofo molli~r apice obtt{o· Softer, blunt-pointed, cefpttoje Clavarza. . . fi of the bignefs of a horfebean, or larger, This has for .n's root an.trregulardtu~ero ~tyfrom this tpere generally arife fix. or eight and ufually flattt{h, and wah ragge e hges' to about an inch and half htgh, and Plants pretty clofe to one another. T ey grlow E . 1 plant is at the lower part fl ft. /l. a d ellow co our. vel) , J are of a {oft, ewy aru ure, an . ~ b f. third of the height, or thereabouts, of the thicknefs of a large pac~{thtea ; ut. 11 tom \h to where it again diminiilics a i~ begins to exp~nd, and contt~ues larg~r ul ·~1~~: {o~d ~nd of a fu.rigous texture ; on, little, but ends man obtufe pomt. T eh P a . 1 /l. 's and all the way down it's . ' . h [; d' t"me fiand ant erre m cUller ' It ~ top, m t e I ede mdg-ht r. 'd . l'ttle clufiers alfo. The antherre are oblong, and of th1cker part are o ge t e 1ee s m 1 · Th • • 1 h r. d 1-ound and remam longer: m genera owcver, very lhort duration, e lee s are , ' d' f h' 1 r. JL ld ld ine the fruCtifications of the bo tes o t IS c a1s, .uJOU the perfon, ~ho :vou exam . d . he .fi ot or take them home wtth the either carry }115 m1crofcope about htm to 0 It on t P ' d £ ct' f earth about them while yet in an unripe fiate, that they may gr~w up an . ru 1 Y · T,h E l'il b t 'fis know a·fingle yellow Clavana; but th1s tufted under lus eye. e . ng 1 1 0 am . ' M' heli under the name of Cla-one has not been mentwned by any authot,. except by IC ' . van· a celrp. t•t o1r.a , me d't a, 1u te a. J. . 1·s found 111 September and OCtober on Putney hc,nh, ~ . . £ and in fame other places about London, but 1t IS not very requent. 3. Clavaria}iflulofa apice acu.to .. · 1 • The hollow Clavaria, with a jharp pouzt. ' This is extreamly different from the other Clavarire in it's form. . It's ~oot ~s a flat~ tJ· a1 tu b ere1 e , o f t 11 e b 1·e a dth o f a 1w1. . '1ll1'ng , and of about a fixth of an mch mh thtcknEe fsh; from this there ufually arife five or fix plants fianding v~r~ clo.fe to on.e anot ,er. . ~ hch plant is about two inches high, and at the bafe, where 1t IS thJckefi, IS about an e1g t of an inch in diameter. From this part it grows up gra?ually fmaller all the way, and at the top terminates in a point. It's colour is white, tt's fubfiance foft and fungous; it is naturally round, but is eafily preffed flat . in any part, an.d when cut, or broken, is found to be hollow. The antherre are oblong, and fiand 111 clufters about the tops of the plant: the feeds are round, and are placed, alfo i~ little clufiers, all the way down the furface to the very bafe. It is not. comQlo~ wtth us, but I have obf~rved !t in the paflures abo~t High Wickham in Buckmgha~nJlu~e, and a~out Catthorp m. Le:cefieri11ire, pretty plentifully. It grows among the h1gh grafs, and IS ufually met With m September, OCtober, and Novet?ber: . . · . The other fpecies of Clavana, after the defcnptwns of thefe three, wtll. eafily be known by their names: they are, 1. The great, yellow, .club-headed Clav.ana. 2. Th~ great, white, club-headed Clavaria. 3· The great, redd_t1h, cu:led Clavar~a. 4· Th broad-headed, yellow Clavaria. , 5· The. green, oph10gloffo~de Clavana. 6: The yellow, ophiogloifoide Clavaria. ',7· The little, yellow, C~avana .. 8. T?e ophwgl~ffoide Clavaria, with a hairy pedicle. 9· 'the fnow-wh1te ophwglo1f01de Clavana. 1 o. The white, · cefpitofe, folid Clavaria. I ' ·p · UN G 1 1 Clajs the Third. Genus the Ninth. ·M ·E R I S M A. . ~. MER IS M.A is a gen~~ ~} 1 Fungi, ' confifiing of fialks variou{ly divaricated and ramore, ereCl, and terminating at the extremities either in very fmall and flat expanfions, or in flender twigs, of an uniform furface, and foft fleiliy texture. . Thefe Fungi produce difl:inet male and, female .flowers, on the fqme parts of .their furface. The male . flowers confifi only of oblong · antherce, which fiand fin gle, each on it's feparate filament, which is very iliort. The female flowers offer no part to view but their feeds; thefe are of an oval figure, and are placed among the antherre fingly, 7/:le Hijlory of P L A N T S. 6t fingly, and in lefs number than in almofi any other kind of Fungus. Both the male and fe.male flowers fiand on the tops of the branches in the Merifmce ; whereas, in the clavanre, the male flow~rs occupy the upper parts of the plant, and the female the lower. In all the Menfmce, I have yet had opportunity of obferving, the anthera~ ftand fingle, and the feeds alfo are placed in the iame manner : in all the clavarice the antherre are placed four or more on every filame'nt, and the feeds are diCpofed in the fame fort of clufiers on the plant. Tourn.efort and others call this genus Coralloides, from the r~fem?lance of ~orne of the fpectes to the corals. Vaillant calls it, Corallofungus. D1llemus, F ung01des; amon~ many other genera, which he has improperly placed together under that name. Lmnreus comprehends both this and the former genus under the name of Clavari~. We .have thou&ht it necelfary to feparate difiintl genera; and as the term Coral101des has been apphed by Dillenius to a genus of the rnoffes, and. the othe!, names feerrl: l!ttle expreffiv~ of the charaCters of the plant, we have called 1t, from Its frequent d1v1fions and ramifications Merifma from the Greek p.Ep•~w to divide. ' ' ' I. Merifma ramulis teretibus bijidt's. The round mzd bijid-bra?Zched Merifma. This is ~n extre.Il_lely elegant Fungus. It's root is a tuberous body, of the fize of a nutmeg, of a whtufu colou~, .and very uneven furface. Fron::t this there ufually grow three or four feparate and d1fi111Ct plants: each rifes with a fingle roundiili fiem of th~ thicknefs of a large pac.kthread; and th.is. grows larger, as it becom~s higher, and, a; the hetght of about half an 111ch, or lefs, dtvtdes ufually into two, fometimcs into three parts; each of thefe afte~~ards divides into others, and thofe ramify again in th~ fame ~an?er; the extr~n;uttes .are ufually pretty regularly bifid, and the refi of the plant ts, 111 general, dtvtded 111 the fame manner. The branches are all round · and the whole plant is about two inches, or more, in height, and is of a fldhv, fof~ fubfiance, and of a pale-red colour. At the extremities of the branche fiand t.he anthera:;, ?n their filaments, and, among thefe, the feeds are difpbfed; they are oval, and he 111 hollow fockets of the fc1me form. The fiamina arife from the interil.ices ~etween thefe. .This elegant fpecies of Fungus grow annually, in conliderable plenty, m the ~rbor V1tre Grove at Goodwood, where once the greatefi of all patrons of botany m England has often admired it's firuClure and fruCtifications. 2. Merifma ramulis comprejjis varie dijfeflis. The flat-branched, varioujly-divided Merifma. . The .root of this fpecies is fmall and tuberous; from this it ufually arifes fingle, with a roundtfl_l fiem, of t~e t~i~knefs of a I?an's li.ttle finger; this, however, fcarce grows to any he1ght fingle; 1t dtvtdes, almofttmmedmtely from the bafe, into three, four, or five branches .. The~e go up but.a litt!e way, before they divide, each into feveral others, an~ thofe r~mtfy agam; the ramtficatwns, at length, terminate in fomewhat broad and vanoufly-dtlfeeted extremities: all the branches are of a compreffed, or flatted figure. The plant grows to three ?r fo~r inches in height, and it's :olour is a pale yellow. All about the tops of the ramtficatwns fiand, at the proper penod of it's growth, antherre, of an oblong figure, fupported each by it's fingle fiamen, arifing from the interfticial rpaces between certain littl~ cells, in .which are placed oval and very minute feeds, one m each cell. We have .th.ts Fungus m the. pafiures of North~mpton01ire, and in many ?t~er parts of England ;.It IS very common 111 September. It 1s a very beautifol one, but It ts but of {hart duratwn. Tournefort calls it Coralloides flavum; and J. Bauhine, Fungus ramofus flavus. 3. Merifma bar bat a ramulis teretibus. 7be bearded Merifma, with round branches. This i~ a v~ry ~ngula.r and very el~gant fpecies. It's root is a fmall, tuberous body, from wh.ICh It anfes With a very thtck and round .(lem ; this increafes in bignefs till about an 111ch high, where it is often not much lefs than an inch in diameter. From this part it d~vi~es into a multitude of round branches, which again divide into others, and thefe agam mto yet fmaller, fo that, at the extremity, the branches are not thicker than R hair~, |