OCR Text |
Show 7he Hi.ftory of P L A N T S. C E N T U N C U L U S. The root of this little plant is a {lender, white .fibre, divi~ed into two or three. ra~i-fi · d h bottom and furnifhed with a few captllaments. From thts anfe cations towar t e , . d b . h 1 fi a lk d two or three mches long an procum ent . t e eaves four or ve na s, roun ' ' 1 {b d fc h frand alternately, and at confiderable difiances; they are fmal, ort, an. omew .at b d d · nted at the end : in the ala of every leaf ftands a very mmute, wh1tc; fl~~e; aFcar~:1vifible, and fading very foon ; but in ies place there comes a capfule, round' and very large, for the bignefs of the pl~nt. . . This little plant is a nfltive of England, but IS not common; I found It dus year o~ Houn!low-heath. SANGUISORBA. T HE calyx of the Sanguiforba is a perianthium, compofed of two very fhort le:J,ves, placed oppofite to one another, apd foon falling off. The corolla is formed of a fingle petal, pla,ne, and divided into four pa~ts ; the fegments are oval, obtufe, and connected only by the extremities, The fiamma are four filaments, of the le~gth of the corolla, broader at the top than elfewh7re : the anther~ are fmall and roundtfh: the germen of the pifl:il is quadrangular, an? IS fi~uated between the. c~lyx and coro~la ~ the fiyle is filiform, and very lhort: the {bgma 1s obtufe; the frmt 1s a fmall, pilq,. cQlar capfule; the feeds are fmall, 1. Sanguiforba fpicis avatis-. Tbe oCQal-fpiked Sanguflorba. The root of this fpecies is thick, oblong, and of an acrid, bitt~rifh tafl:e, Fron~ this rife pinnated leaves, of fix or eight inches in length, comp9fed of fl. ~umber of pmnre, {et in pairs, and refembling the leaves of betony, b~t more deepl~ mdented, ~mooth, and glofiy , among thefe rife feve~al fl:alks, th~ee feet h1gh, round, Hnated, not hatry, and hollow; on thefe frand leaves, hke the radtc~l ones, but fmaller, alternately, an? at confiderable difian~es. At the tops of the branches fiand the flowers, arrang~q mta ihort, oval fpikes, of a brown colour. . , This fpecies is frequent in meadows, in fome parts of England. C. Bauhme calls .tt, Pimpinella fang1,1iforp~~r ~ajor ; B~Her1 Pimpin~lla foHis oblo11ge cordati~, fptca brevi, 2. Sanguflorba JPicis o!Jlongis. The oblong-fpil<ed Sanguiforba. Atmtticn.n 115u.rnet~ The root of this fpedes is very large, oblong, and whitifh 1 the radical leaves are a foot and halflong, compofed of a great number of large pinna!, dentated at the edges, and of a cordated, oblong figure. The fialk grows to four feet high, and has leaves like the radical ones, but fmaller, placed alternately on it: toward the top ic fends out many branches, and, at the top of ~ach, fi~nds a fpike of f1owers, two or three inches Ion~, and of th~ thickpefs of a fin~er ; the flowers are fmall~ and of a ~reeni!hwhlte. This fpecies is a native of North America, but we have it in our gardens. Cornutus calls it, Pimpinella maxima; Gerard, and others, Pimpinella Canadenfis, and Hortenfis maxima. Th~ other fpecies of Sanguiforba aJTe! 1. The auriculated-leaved, tall Sanguiforb~. 2. The great, glomerated-headed Sanglllforba. 3· The great, purple-fpiked Sangmforba.. 4· The agrimon~-leaved Sanguiforb:1. 5· The little, hairy Sanguiforba. 6. The httle, fmooth Sangmforba. 7. The ever-green Sangui!orba. The great Sanguiforba is celebrated as a cordial, or iudorific, and afl:ringent, but, thoug~ gr~at cures are faid to have been performed by it, the prefent practice neg· lt!Cl:S It, C l S S US, Tbe Hiftory of P L A N T S. 2 37 C I S S U S. T H E calyx is a plane perianthium : the corolla is compofed of a fingie petal lightly divided into four fegments at the edge 1 the framina are four !lender fila~ ments : the anthera~ are oblong, and tumid : the germen is roundilh : the fryle ii fhort: the frig~a ~mple. The fruit is a roundifh berry, containing only a fingle feed, and is lodged Withm the corolla. Thefe charaCters are fufficiently difl:inetive and obvious, without any farther defcription. Clafs the Fourth. Order the Firfl. Divijion the Fourth. Tetandria Monogynia, with tetrapetalous compleat .flowers. E P I M E D I U M. THE calyx of the Epimeclium is a deciduous perianthium, cotnpofed of four ovat, obtufe, hollow, little leaves, placed immediately under the petals of the corolla, not alternately with them : the corolla confifis of four oval, obtufe, hollow petals : the neetaria are four in number; they are formed like cups; their bottom is obtufe; they are of the fize of the petals, and are incumbent on them, and the edge of their opening is affixed to the cup : the framina are four fubulated filaments, compreffing the ftyle : the antherGe are oblong, erecr, and bilocular, formed of two valves, and fplitting longitudinally : the germen is oblong: the il:yle is lhorter, and is only of the length of the framina : the il:igma is fimple: the fruit is an oblong pod, pointed at the end, formed of two valves, and having only one cell: the feeds are numerous, and of an oblong figure. Of this genus there is only one known fpecies. Epimedium. Barrenwort. The root of the Epimedium is very long, flender, and creeping : the radical leaves frand on pedicles of five inches long, round, !lender, and gloffy; thefe divide at their top into three ramifications, and each of thefe is again divided into three; and, at the extremity of each of thefe lafl: ramifications, ftands a fingle leaf, an inch, or more, in length, half an inch in breadth, of a pale green, auriculated, and pointed at the end; nine of thefe compofe the compleat radical leaf: three or four of thefe ufually arife from the fame part of the root, and among them a fralk, a foot, or fomewhat more, in height, round, rigid, fmooth, and furnifhed with one compound leaf about it's middle; above this it divides into three or four branches, and each fufiains five or fix very beautiful purple flowers, with a mixture of yellow. This elegant plant is a native of England: I have found it in fome of the woods in Yorkfhire; it grows alfo abundantly in a wood near Thorndon in Effex, but this has probably been from roots thrown out of the late lord Petre's garden. C 0 R N U S. T HE calyx of the Comus is double : the common involucrum is formed of four leaves, and contains feveral flowers, with their peduncles : the leaves it is compofed of are coloured: of an oval figure, and deciduous ; the two oppoflte ones are fmaller than the others. The proper perian thium is alfo deciduous ; it is very fmall, and is placed on the gerrnen; it is formed of a fingle leaf, dentated in four places on the rim : the corolla confifi~ of four oblong, acute, plane petals, fmaller than the involucrum : the fiamina are four ereCt, fubulated filaments, longer than the corolla: the antherGe are roundifh and incumbent: the germen is roundifh, and is placed beneath the receptacle: the fiyle is filiform, and of the length of the corolla : the frigma is obtu(e. The fruit Ppp ~ |