OCR Text |
Show The Hijlory of P L A N T S, pHHl is oblong; the fiyles are two, and ar~ capil1ary; the fiig~ata are fimpl~, The glume of the corolla ~dheres afterwards to the f~ed, which IS fingle, roun~h!h, ~nq pointed at each end. . . This is the only grafs, fo far as is yet know~, wh1ch has only two fiam~na, Of this genus there is only one known fpec1es. A N T H 0 X. A N T H u M, The root is compofed of a number .of white,. and not very thick, fibres t .th~ leave$ are four or five inches long, about a third of an mch ~road, and of ~ yellowi{}h·green i the ftalk is !lender, jointed, and fix or eight inches h1gh ; . at every JOint ther~ fiancls a leaf, like the radical ones, and, at it's top, a !hort lax fp1ke, ~boqt three quarters of an inch long, and lefs than half an inch broad, and of a browmfh, or yello":Ilh-green~ colour. It is a very common grafs in our meadows, and tlow~rs early m fpnn~, R~y (:ails it, Gramen vernum, fpica brevi laxa. Clafs the Second. Order th~ Third. D I A N D R I A T R I G Y N l A. P /ants which have two antherre) and three .flyles in each flower. P I P E R._ T H E Piper has no calyx, or, at the moft, only an unequal receptacle, of the pa ... ture of an amen tum, or catldn : there is no 'corolla, nor any fiamina, T he :m ... therre are two in number, and are roundifl1, and are placed oppofite, at the bafe of the germen: the germen of the piftil is large, and of an oval figure. There is no fiyle; the ftigma is triple, and hairy : the fruit is a round berry~ having in it only Ptle cell, in which is lodged a fingle globular feed. Of this genus there is but one known fpecies, p l . P E R. The root is compofed of a number of black fibres : the fialks ~re m,Jmerous~ gr~en, fomewhat woody, and jointed ; they are not robufi enough to ftand erett, bq.t He pp!O on the ground, unlefs fupported, and, qS they trail on the ground,. they fend out root~ from the joints. The leaves fiand fingly at the joints, and are large, of a rmindilh figure, and have four or five high, longitudinal ribs on them: they are four inches long, three broad, and of a firm texture. The flowers are fmall, and ftand in clufters, on the fpikes; they are fucceeded by the fruit, which is the common Pepper : twenty or thirty graihs of this grow on each fpike, and have no pedicles. lt is a native of Java, Sumatra, and Malabar i and is defcribed in the Hortus Mala .. baricus, under the name of Molago Coddi. There is a variety of this plant, the fruit of which is white : the plant, in all other refpeCI:s, is the fame. The common l3lack Pepper of our !hops is the fruit of the firll:~ and the genuine and native White Pepper of the fecond ; this genuine White Pepper, however, rarely comes to us; what we have is macle by art, from the Black, by taking off the rind. C!afs the Third, TRIANO RIA~ P /ants which have in every flow~r three jlamin(!. T HE Triandria have fome of them only one, fome two, fome three fi yles in the flower; they are hence 11aturally arranged into three orders, of which the fir~ comprehends, under the name of Triandria Monogynia, fuch as have three fta mma and one fiyle ; the fecond~ under that of Triandria Digynia, thofe which hav~ Tbe Hi)lory of P L A N T S. 179 have three ftamina and two ftyles ; and the third, under that of Triandria Trigynia; fuch as have three ftatnina and three ftyles in each flower. Order the Fir)}. TRIANDRIA MONOGYNIA. P !ants which have three ftamina and only one flyle in the .flower. OJ thefe fome have flowers neither Jpathaceous nor amentaceous; others have fpathaceous flowers, and all that have fo, have a!fo trilocular .capfules. Clafs the Third. Order the Firfl. Divijion the Firfl• Triandria Monogynia, which have flowers neither fpatbaceous nor amentaceous. VALERIAN A. T H E calyx of the Valeriana is fcarce difiinguifhable ; it is a mere margin, or edge, crowning the germen: the corolla confifis of a fingle petal; the tube is gibbous on one fide, and contains a fweet juice : the limb is divided into .five obtufe fegments: the ftamina are three, fometimes not fo many; they are of a fubulated ngure, erett, and of the length of the corolla. The antherre are round: the germen of the piftil is placed below the receptacle ; the fiyle is filiform, and of the length of the ftamina: the ftigma is thick. The fruit is a deciduous, coronated capfule, which does not open, while on the plant; the feeds are fingle, and of an oblong figure. This genus comprehends the Valeriana of Tournefort and Vaillant, the Valerianella of the fame authors, and the Valerianelloides of Vaillant. The feveral fpecies of it, however, differ very widely in the number and figure of the parts of fruttification : the margin of the cup in fome is fo fmall, as fcarce to be \Tifible; in others it is larger, and divided into .five fegments. The tube of the corolla .in fame is very long, in others very !hort, in fame it has a fpur, full of a honey juice : the limb in fome is equal, in others it is bilabiated, and the upper lip is bifid. In fome the ftamina are three, in others, as in the difform flowered ones, they are only two ; in fome others there is only one ftamen, and in fome the flowers are of diftinCl: fexes. The ftigma of the pifi:il is, in fome, bifid, in others emarginated, in others globular : the frui t, in fome, is a thick capfule, in others there is fcarce any; in fome the capfule is bilocular. The feed, in [orne fpecies, is winged with down, in fome covered with a capfule ; it's figure, alfo, frequently varies fi·om the general oblong one. 1. Valeriana floribtts triandris, foliis caulinis, pinnatis radi-calibus indivijis. <15at btn The Valerian with three .flamina, and with whole and pin- tlaltrtan. nated leaves. The root of this fpecies is obloug, of the thicknefs of a man's finger, and creeping. The plant rifes to three feet in height: the ftalk is round, fmooth, and hollow; the leaves, which arife immediately from the root, are undivided, and of an oblong figure, and confiderably broad ; thofe which ftand on the ftalks are pinnated ; they ftand in pairs, at confiderable dill:ances, and have broad pedicles, which furround the ftalk. The flowers ftand on the ,top of the main ftalk, and of feverallittle branches, which arife from the alre of the upper leaves; they are difpofed in clufters, in form of umbels ; they are fmall and white, with a faint cafl: of red fometimes among it. This fpecies is a native of Alface, and many other places in Europe; with us it is not wild, but is common in gardens. C. Bauhine calls it, Valeriana hortenfis; Lobel) Valeriana major; and J. Bauhine, Valeriana major odorata radice. 2. f/a!eriand |