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Show The Hijlory of P L A: N T S. but more robufl: 1 and the top of the branches more imbricated with leaves, and as it were fpiked. . Linnreus has thought of dividing this genus into two, from the difference of the fruit, calling the Stellaria of Dillenius, .which has four feeds in eve:y fruit, Callitriche; and the Corifpermum of JLillieu a_nd_ R?agroftis of Buxbaum, wh1c? ? ave only_ fingle feeds, Corifperm,u,m: but the .vaneties m the. flo_wer, as wel~ as this m the_frutt, are [o great, that it is of little confequence, though JU!l: ~nd exact. In the Confpermum foliis alternis, the lowell: flower ufually has four ftamma, the fecond three, the third two, and the rell: only one each. So that the fame plant has the characters not only of feveral genera, but even of fev~ral cla!fcs~: B LIT U M. ~HE calytc of the Blitum is a perianthium, conftfl:ing of one leaf divided into three -1 parts, and is permanent and patent; the fegments are of an oval figure, equal in iize, and two of them gape open more than the reft. There is no corolla; the ftamen is a fingle fetaceous filament, longer than the C 1up, and placed erect within the intermediate fegment. The anthera is didymous. The germen of the piflil is oval, and pointed : the ftyles are two in number ; they are erect, of the length of the fiamen 10 ~nd they gape open : the fiigl,llata are fimple; the frui t is a baccated calyx; it is of an oval figure, and fomewhat comprefied. The feed is fingle, of a globular figure, comp~eifed, and of the fize of the capfule. . , Th1s genus comprehends the Ch<mopodio-Morus of Boerhaave, and the Morocar-pus of Ruppius. 1. Blitum capite/lis Jpicatis terminalibus. The Elite, with fpicated, terminatory heads. The root of this fpecies is confiderably large, of an oblong figure, and white co~ lour, [oft and flelby, and of an agreeable tafte. From this there ufually arife feveral fialks together : they are round, ilriated, of a deep colour, and confiderably thick. tl~e~ grow to ten or twelve inches high, and are very much branthed_. They ufually ate m part procumbent, but the half, or more, of the ·ftalk generally nfes erect. The leaves fi:a~d on long pedicles ; they are of a triangular figure, lik~ thofe of fpinach. and ll:and Irreg1,1larly on the fialks : the lower ones are fomewhat dentated round the edges, the upper ones are even. The flowers and fi·uits grow on the tops of the branches. The flowers are fingly (mall, and inconfiderable, but with the fruit in the clufler they appear very fingular; the whole refembles very much a mulberry or rafpberry, and adheres ver~ ~rmly to the fial~; it is of the bignefs of a nut, of a fine red colour, and full of JUice, much refemblmg red wine in colour. The whole cl uf:. te~ of the fi·uCl:i_fications makes a kind of double globules, firmly fixed to the ftalk wHhout any ped1cles. · · . This fpecies is not a. n_ative of England, but it is not uncommon in our gardens. It IS an annual but a . fuffic1e~tly hardy plant, eafily raifed from feed, and ftanding in the ?pen ground .. It IS a nau.ve of Tyrole, and t~e country thereabouts. Boerhaave callc; It! Chrenopodwmorus. maJOr. Haller, Chrenop'odiomorus foliis pene integris. RuppiUs, Morocarpus maJor; and Ray, Atriplex baccifera. 2. Blitum capitellis Jparfis lateralibus. The Elite, with fparfed lateral heads. The root of this fpecies is oblong, as thick as a man's finger and of a wh'te cotur, and fweet tall:e; f:om this there rife ufually five or fix fia,ll<s, fometimesi only a. _mgle ~ne. The fialk IS ~omewhat ftriated, and very ramofe, dividing ufually almoft Immediately from the bafe mto three or four parts Thefe grow to a fioot · length and 1 £ d · , or more, 111 , eac 1 en s o~t a great number of branches, fo that the whole )lant is ver 1ra m1 ofe; thh e afta llkks areI m part' p. rocumbent , in part er·e.o. The 1 ftf d · y lr \...L. • eaves an Irregu- ~-~n ~ e a s ~ t 1ey are tnangular, hoary, and ferrated round the edges The rn · 11cat10ns grow m clull:ers, refembling fmall mulberries, not on the extre~itics of the 'The Hiflory of P L A N T S. 1 57 the fialks, but on it's fides; and in the a1re of the leaves they are juicy, and of a fine red colour, and give a great beauty to the plant. This fpecies is a native of Spain, Italy and Tartary ; it's fruit is ripe in Augufi. It is kept in fome of our gardens, but not /o frequently as the former fpecies. Clufius calls it, Atriplex fylvefiris baccifera. c. Bauhine, Atriplex fylveftris mori fruetu ; and Amman, Blilum fragiferum, maxi· mum, polyfpermum. Clqfs the Second. DIAN DR I A. P !ants which have in every .flower two ftamina. T HE Diandria are of three dill:inct kinds; [orne have only one fiyle in the flow· er, others have two, and, finally, others have three fiyles. The Diandria are hence arranged into three orders: the firft comprehending thofe which have only one ilyle, under the name of Monogynia; the fecond, thofe which have two fiyles, under the name of Digynia; and the third, thofe which have three 4yles1 under that of Trigynia. Clafs the Firfl. Order the Firjl. D I A N D R I A M 0 N 0 G Y N I A. P !ants which have only one }lyle, and two }lamina in each flower. ~HE Diandria Monogynia differ very confiderably in the feveral genera, in regard ".l to the c01·o1la and the fruit. Some of them have regular, others irregular corollre; and, of the latter, fome have the feeds contained in capfules, others have them naked~ Divijion the Firj}. Diandria Monogynia, which have regular corollce. NYCTANTHES. T H E calyx of the NyCl:anthes is a monophyllous perianthium, very [mall, of a cylindric figure, lightly divided into eight fegments, or denticulre, of :a fubulated figure, and permanent. The corolla confitls of a fingle petal, and is of the hypocrateriform kind. The tube is cylindric, and longer than the cup: the limb is plane, divided into eight fegments of an oblong figure, and patent. The !lamina are two ex~ treamly fmall filaments affixed to the receptacle, and of a fubulated figure : the antherre are ereCt, and fomewhat acute: the germen of the pill:il is roundifh and deprefTed. The fiyle is firnple, of the length of the tube: the fiigmata are two, and are ereCt. The fruit is a didymous berry, of a roundifh figure, and contains two cells. The feeds are roundiG1 and large, and one only is contained in each cell. .l· NyElanthes Joliis inferioribus cordatis obtufis, Juperioribus ovatis a cutis. The NyElanthes, with the lower leaves cordated and obtzife, and the upper ones ovated and acute. ~rabian jjafnttnt~ This elegant little 011'ub does not rife to more than two or three feet high, and often trails upon the ground, or winds about other things. It's bark on the trunk is grey, and full of cracks; the branches i·ifue two together, oppofite one to the other; they are round, fomewhat hairy and tender, fometimes wind round other things, fom etimes not. The firft leaves which appear in the fpring are cordated, obtufe, and almoft emarginated; thole which appear afterwards in the fummer are ovated, and acute; they all Hand on pedicles, and are nervous, fmooth at the edges, and not hairy ·on either fide, except that underneath, jull: at the ramifications of the veifds, there arc fometimes a few hairs : their ~~etioles are crooked, and feein to be jointed in the mid- S f clle i |
