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Show g6 / '!be Hiflory of P L A N T S. 3. Pyxidium elatius pyxide· minima. The tall Pyxidium, with very fma/l cups. This makes it's fidl: appearance in form ofta coarfe, fc~brous cr~fi, ex~anded over the earth for t I1 ree or fco ur m• e h es 1r. 0m eti. mes ) and of a greydh colfoidm . Tdh 1s afterwadr ds expands into a foliaceous matter, of a greenilh colour on the out~ ~k anf greih u~ erneath In the midll of this there rife up ten, twenty, or mor~ a s, rom e arne crull .' thefe row to the height of two inches, and are of the th1cknefs of a [mall• packthread. Th~y are fometimes firait, fometimes crooked) ~nd, though ufually fing~e all the wa u ), they fometimes divide, toward the top, mto t~o, three, or more branches. y T~ey are hollow, of a greyifh colour, and are fo~et1mes fmooth., fome- . d 'th a dufiy excrementitious mattet and fomet1mes they have little ex-times covere WI ' • 'h f th fc fi om the crufr crefcences like leaves, growing on their furface, m t ~ ma?ner o o e r · p le w'ho have met with it in this ftate, have defcnbed 1t under the name of. a 1\t:!ufc~~ pco~niculatus, never fuppofing that it would, when. perfect, ~e. of the cup-kmd. When full grown, the tops of the plant, or of it's ramificatiOns, 1f.It have any, open into a ver [mall and {hallow kind of cup, round the edges of ~h1ch there fiand. t~1e fruCl:ificatfons, in form of fmall, brown tubercles. ~hefe, as m the other Pyxr?ra, r. · fi d 1 fc on the edge of the cup fometimes they are elevated on httle 1omeumes an c o e ' . . h' h ft 't 1 pedicles, and, in fome places, it is met with proliferous, m w 1c ate 1 rna {es a very fingular figure. 1 h · ' The variety of forms under which this Mofs .appears, n?t on y w en 1t ~ cu~s are 0 ened, but before, is furprifing. It is accordmgly defcnbed by authors und~r the n~mes of ·various fpecies of lichenoides; and thefe errors have helped not a ltttle to f well that genus into fo vafi an extent. . d It is extremely common on our heaths, and m other barren places. M~rret ~as ~fcribed it under the name of Lichen tubulatus; Doody calls It l\:1~fcus hchemformis cornu fimplici, uhder which name it ftands in the Synopfis of Bnt1~1 ~la~ts. Tournefort calls it Lichen tubulatus cinereus, and Linnreus, ~ho . met 'Ylth .tt m Lap~and, calls it Lichen caule fimplici, tubulato, rarius bifido. Mtcheh defcnbes 1t, three tunes, under as many names, in three of it's diffe~e~t ftates. . The other fpecies of this. genus, really dtfi~nct from thefe, and ~ro~ one ai?other, me confiderably numerous: of the Pyxidia with perfect cups, the ~n_ncipal fpecies are, ,r. The Pyxidium with fcarlet tubercles. 2. The lhort-footed Pyx1dmm. 3· Th~ elkshorn Pyxidium. 4 . The tall-branched and j~gged Pyxidiu~: Among thofe wr.th lefs confpicuous cups the principal are, r. The thrgh-bone Pyxtdmm. 2. The corn~c~late Pyxidium. 3. The ramofe Pyxidium. 4· The fcarlet-headed,. branched Pyxtdmm. 5. The brown-headed, fimple, tall Pyxidiu.m. Th.e .na~es of thefe, after the defcription at large of the others, will be fufficient to dtfimgu!lh them. All the Cup Moffes have been famous, throughout feve~al ages, ~or th~ cure of cou~hs of the mofi inveterate kinds, and particularly for what IS called m ch1ldren the chmcough ~ the common one is the fpecies mofi recommend~d.. It has not been of late received into the lhops, or prefcribed by phyficians ; but It ~s of the number of thofe things which an efiablilhed reputation for ages, and a multitude of accounts of cures performed by them, ought to recommend to a trial in the !hops. M 0 s S E s. Clafs the Fourth. Such as conjijl merely of a dry, crujlaceous, or e!fe of a gelatinous matter. Genus the Firjl. P LAC 0 DIU M. P LAC 0 DIU M is a genus of Moffes, confill:ing of. a friable, or of a gelatinous matter, formed into crufis, or flat cakes, fomettmes merely fcabrous, and granular, but, at others, fomewhat foliaceous about the edges. The The Hijlory of P L A N T 97 The fructification in this genus appears in form of bractere, or fpangles, on the furface of the plant, and principally about the center; thefe are very various in their figure, fometimes prominent, like the tubercles of the pyxidia, fometimes flat, and fometimes hollowed, like the fcutellre of the fpecies of platyfma. Thefe different .figures appear not only on the different fpecies, but in the fructifications of the fame plant, in their different degrees of maturity. The foliaceous terminations of the matter of thefe Moifes are more perfect in fome, and lefs fo in others and in fotne they are clofely affixed down to the fubfiance they grow upon. In others they are more loofe and free; in fome they are regularly divided into fegments, and only fixed down by cirri. Dillenius has ranked thefe among his lichenoides, and Micheli and Linnreus, in their yet larger genus of lichen; and it is to be obferved, that fome of the lycogahe of Micheli evidently belong alfo to this genus, and alfo that fome plants which Dillenius has arranged among thefe are pyxidia, or cup Moifes; what he calls cruftaceous in them being no more than the foliaceous bafe common to all the plants of that genus. I. P lac odium braEteis majufculis limbo albo cinEtis. The P lac odium with large braEtece, edged with white. This is of the number of the lefs beautiful Placodire. It has nothing foliaceous about it, but is a mere fcabrous, irregular crufr, of a dry, fdable, granulofe matter, and of a grey colour. This crufi rifes in prominences in fome places, and has depreffions and cracks in others, with irregularly undulated lines in the feveral parts. It is ufually covered with a fomewhat coar !e grey powder, ea.fily rubbed off with the fingers; and, about it's center, it produces large bractere, twenty or more upon a plant. Thefe are at ~rfi clofed at the top, but they in time open in to a kind of cups. They have no ped1cles, and are l;mt little hollowed ; their cavi ty is brown, but their limb or edge all round is white. The whole plant is thick, but very brittle. It does not form itfelf into regularly figured £rufis, but extends any way to the length of an inch or two, and often as much in diameter. It grows on old walls, on the barks of trees, and on the ground. Micheli defcribes it under the nqme of Lic;hen crufiaceus, faxatilis, farin aceus, verrucofus., candidus, omnium craffiffimus, receptaculis florum nigricantibus. Dillenius calls it Lichenoides tartareum, farinaceum, fcutellatum umbone fufco, and tells us that Cellius., who fent it him from Upfal, told him it would make an excellent red dye. We have it in Leicefierlhire and Warwicklhire very abundantly; and not only this, but many other of the Moffes both of this and the former genus, contain a matter fo very like that of the orfella, that they deferve to be tried for producing the fame colour, moft of them being plentiful enough at home. 2. Placodium areolatum braEteis jlavis. Areolated P lac odium, with yellow braEtece. This is a much handfomer fpecies than the former. It always grows in a circular, or nearly circular form, and is clofely fixed down to the fubftance it grows on all the way through, but fomewhat lefs fo at the edges than in the middle. It confifrs of a yery thin and fine crufiaceous matter, of a firong yellow colour, very friable, and appearIng only granular toward the center, but formed into fomewhat' of a foliaceous appearance at the edges, and undulated and finuous, though without difiinction into leaves, lobes, or fegments. The male and female parts of fructification feem to be on different plants;_ fom~ of thofe, evidently of the fame fpecies, being lefs regularly formed, lefs round I? t~etr growth, and lefs foliated at the edges, and having a dufiy, farinaceous matter m ltttle granules ; and others producing bractere. Thefe are, at firfi, yellow in the.cen_ter, but. white at the edges, and a little hollow; but, as they grow larger, the w?ne lu~b vam~es, and they grow plain and ~ellow, and fometimes they become promment m the mtddle; the braCl:ere and the farmaceous matter are fometimes both feen on the fame plant in this fpecies, but that is lefs common. It is frequent with us on walls and fiones, and fometimes on old trees. Micheli de· fcribes it under the name of Lichen crufiaceus faxatilis, crufta tenuiore lutea re• ceptaculis florum faturate aureis. Buxbaum calls it Lichen faxatilis, leprofus, croc:us. Cc 3. Placodiu11z |