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Show The Hi.ftory of p L A N T S. There is only one fpecies of this genus known. SphtErocarfus. J · f·\n kes is in forfu of a foliaceous crufl:, of an inde..; The firft appearanc:e thts pl~~s it!elf to an inch, or more, in diameter, and is va-terminate figure, whtch Jxte hi . fa duiky colour but of a tolerably fmooth furrioufly undulated at the e g~; t s 1~ 0 b multitude of fibrous roots.: On it's fur£1ce f~ce, and is fi~ed dow~ to t k~n~~f~~nfl.are~ vaginre ; they are about a fixt!l of an inch there appear, Ill clufiet s, a th b fi lde near the upper part, but agam contracted in length, and are nharror fiat d e 0~ ~~t:.ally open but rot away, and fo let loofe the into a narrow ~out : t le ed 1 °t n t t'he r.eed . but' if cut open, there is found, near fi . t i tt's turn an e ou 11 ' ' h' h h thrmet.tr btoa fer,o a rno un d b ° d,y , con l1lhde rably l large in proportiort to the plant, w IC ' w en d . found full of {moot granu es. h fi fi h open~ , .Is uarrels with Micheli for taking thefe for• feeds, and rat er uppo es. t em Dlll~mus q . d the lobule containing them an anthera ; but he IS cer-ttao. m bley gwlorbounlges .1 1o1 fth ~tasr; m:he ~~rina ofa ll thefe plants is affixed to filaments, thefe globules areT pheerf epcltalnyt lI?So fneo. t of E ng l"tl h growth' ·but is ·f requent in Italy, in garden-walks, and · d mp places It flowers in A~ril. · If h m T~efe are the genera and more fingular fpecies of Moifes known. . we ave · h · r. e which make a figure in the works of authors, It has b. cen omitted t e nammg JOID f1 fi d t to be dift" ct owin to our having difcovered them, however pompou ~ gur~ , no m ii eci! but mere varieties of other fpecies, na~ed as ~uch m their p~aces. , . p we' iliould not pafs over in filence our havmg omttted one of Lm?reus.s genet a of Moifes the blafia; that authdr took the account of the genus from ~tchelt, w!1o h.ad but im' erfectly examined what he declares to be the only fpeci~s of It; and. D1lle.mus h 5 b p a very accurate enquiry into it's nature and charaCters, JUfi:ly .determmed It to b: ~ ftecies of mnium ; as fuch, it is mentioned in our lift of the fpectes of that genus, affixed to our defcription. T I-I E .. ( I 27 ) THE H- s T 0 R y 0 F p L A N T s. P A R T II. CRYPTOOAMJ·A. P !ants of, or approaching to, the figure of what are called the more perfeEt ones, but whofe parts of fruElijication are not diflinEl or obvious. SALVINIA. SA L V I N I A is a genus of plants, producing feparate male and female flowers, on the different parts of the fame individual. The male flowers are very numerous, and fiand on the furface of the ]eaves. They have neither calyx nor corolla, but confift of an obtufely conic body, fupplying the place of a filament, on which there are placed four antherc.c: thefe are ereCt, oblong, and flender, pointed at the end, and twified fpirally all the way up. The female flower has neither cup nor corol1a. The fruit is of a roundiili figure, and contains four difiinct cells, in each of which are contained feveral roundi{h feeds. Linnreus calls this genus Marjilea ; but, that being a name already given by Micheli to another very different genus of plants, we have thought it more proper to retain to this genus the original name Salvinia, given it by the fame Micheli. This genus comprehends the Salvinia of Micheli, and the Pilularia of Dillenius. I. Salvinia foliis brevibus obtujis. Short, obtttfi-leaved Salvinia. The root of this fpecies is fibrous, and the fibres hairy; the fialks are fimple, and about four or five inches long: they are round, hairy, and folid. The leaves fiand in pairs; they are oblong, very broad, and obtufely pointed ; their pedicles are very fhort and thick, and, from the fame part of the fl:alk whence every pair of leaves iffues, there alfo proceeds a clufier of roo ts adhering to an oblong head. The leaves are even at the edges, fomewhat cordated at the bafe, and of a bright green colour, Their furface appears puncta ted from the frequency of the male flowers. Thefe |