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Show The Hiflory of p L A N T S. 2. Echittm corollis vix calycem excedentibus margine villojis. The little-flowered Ecbizan, witb villoje edges to the flower. · bl and brown . the radical leaves are two inches and a The root IS fimpleh o -~ng, d ointed 'at the ends : the ftalk grows to two feet half long, !lalf an ~~c ft· WI ~' b~:uti~ully fpotted . the leaves ftand thick on it ; they high, ~ndhJS vdery hrolfu lo'nagn and fcarce more than. a third of an inch broad, of a pale are an me an a a ' f h E h' Th d h · b t ot fo rough as thofe o t e common c mm. e green colour, an airy' u ~ be ond the cu and are of a bluifh-white colour. flowe.rs are f?1all, /~arfe app~a~~n~fo ;ild with ut' C. Bauhine calls it, Echium rna. It IS fia n~tlv~~re a\ab~' :~d Lycopfis . Camerarius, Echium flore albo. JUS et a perms ' ' 3· Echium calycibtts fruElijeris ~i)lantibus. The Echium, with dijlant, fruE!iferous cups. The root is long and black; the radical leaves are ~wo inc~es long, and approach to an oval figure : the ftalks rife to twelve or fourteer: mches high, and ar~ roun~, firm, h ·,. and beautifully fpotted: the leaves fiand thick on them, and ate an mch, or maol.r ye,, ·m 1e ng th , and very narrow '. the ftalk is divided into df evedr al branc·h es toward the to and has a number of flowers on it; they are large an r~ . . It i~'a native of Hungary> and many parts of Ge~m~ny, and ~s a~fo common m the Eafi. C. Bauhine calls it, Echium Creticum angufhfolmm et lat1fohum rubrum. Ray, Echium flore rubro. 1 E h' Th The other more fingular fpecies are, 1. The gr~at-leaved, Portuga c mm. 2. e great-flowered, narrow-leaved, very rough Echmm. 3· The great-flowered,. SeaEchium. 4· The narrow, hairy-leaved Echium. 5· The rofemary-leaved Eclu um. A S P E R U G 0. T HE calyx of the Afperugo is a permanent perianthium, ~ompofed of .a lingle leaf, erect, and divided into five fegments at the edge, with two dentJcles b~ween each pair of the fegments. .The corolla c.o~fifis .of a fingle petal; the tube IS cylindric, and very fhort : the limb IS fma~l, and divided. mto five fegments: the opening of the flower is clofed up by five promment and conmvent convex fquammulx . The fiamina are five very fhort filaments, in the mouth of the corolla; t~e an.therre are oblong, and covered : the germina are. four, an~ co~preffed ; the fiyle IS fihform and fuort . the fiigma is obtufe. There IS no pencarpmm, but the cup becomes v~ry large,' erect, compreffed, and connivent, in manner of two parallel pla~e~, and havmg five teeth on it's rim. The feeds are four, and oblong: the cup, contammg the feeds, is the great characterifiic of this genus, of which there is only one known fpecies. A s p E R u G o. The root of the Afperugo is white, oblong, and flender: the radical leaves are three inches long, narrow at the bafe, and broadefi: in the middle, terminating in an obtufe point. The fialks grow to two feet in length, but they do not ftand ~reet, ?ut lie on the ground : they are much branched, angular, hollow, and armed with a lund of crooked fpines, fo that they flick to every thing they touch. The leaves ftand fingle and alternate ; on the lower part of the fialks, toward the top, there are ~ornetimes two or three together : they are two inches long, near half an inch broad m the middle, and narrower at each end ; the lower ones are more obtufe than the upper; they are all hairy: the flowers fland fingly in the alre of the leaves or divarications of the branches ; they are very fmall, and of a deep purplith blue. As foon as the flower is fallen, the cup afiumes the fingular figure, which fome have likened to a goofe's foot. , It is found in fame parts of England, but is not common. I met with it, ~his year, near Lincoln-heath. Tournefort calls it, Afperugo vulgaris ; C. Bauhme, Blugloffum fylvefire caulibus procumbentibus,; Rudbeck, Alyifon echioides Ger-manorum. CER INTHE. The Hi.ftory of P L A N T s. ' I CERINTHE. T HE calyx of the Cerinthe is a permanent perianthium, divided into five oblong, equal fegments. The corolla confiil:s of a: fingle petal : the tube is fhort and thick; the limb is a little thicker than the tube, and is fomewhat bellied ; it is divided into five fegments, and the mouth is open and pervious. The fiamina are five very fhott, fubulated filaments;. the. ·antherre are acufe and eretl:: the !?ermen is ?ivided into four parts; the ftyle IS filiform, and of the length of the ftamma; the ihgtna is obtufe. The fruit confifis of two hard o!feous bodies, of an oval figure, gibbous on the out:fide, plane within, acute, emargihated, and cohtaining e~ch two cells : the feeds are fingle, roundifh, ancl acuminated. ' This genus comprehends the Cerinthe and the Cednthoides of Boerhaave. The Cerinthoides has four diilinct feeds, but, the efiential charatl:er being in the flower, this is not to be regarded as a generical charatl:er. 1. Cerinthe foliis cordatis fe.flilibus. . ~Utplt ll)OntF:::: The Cerinthe, with heart-jajhioned leaves without lbO~t. pedicles. ' The root is oblong, white, thick, and furnilhed with many .fibres. The ftalks grow to two feet in height; they are round, thick, and green, and are divided from the very root into a number of ramifications : the leaves fiand very thick upon them ; they are oblong, broad, and obtufely pointed, of a bluifh green colour, and fpotted with blotches of white: the branches bend downward toward their tops, and are furnilhed with a great many flowers, each on it's feparate pedicle. They are fmall, and of a purplifh colour; fometimes yellowifh or whitiih. It is a native of mofi of the fou thern parts of Europe ; we have it in our gardens. C. Bauhine call it, Cerinthe flore ex rubro pul'purafcente; and, as if another fpecies, a fecond time, Cerinthe flavo flore afperior. 2. Cerinthe foliis anguflioribus, corollis brevibus. The narrow-leaved, Jhortjlowered Cerinthe. The root is oblong, as thick as a finger, and blackilh : the radical leaves are three inches long, and moderately broad, fomewhat rough to the touch, and of a bluifhgreen. The ftalks are a foot, or more, in length, but weak and procumbent: the leaves ftand alternately, and are fmall, oblong, and of a bluilh colour, with a fiivery caft, narrow, and even at the edges. The flowers ftand in the alre of the leaves : they are large, and red, before they open; but when fully expanded, bltie. This is a native of England; we have it by the fea-coafts, in fome of our northern counties, in abundance. Boerhaave calls it, Cerinthoides argentea .flore pulchre creruleo; Ray, Echium marinum. Morifon makes it a Cynogloffum, and others a ·Bugloifum, but it's characters fhew it a true Cerinthe. The other fpecies are, I. The little~ yellow Cerinthe. 2. The Alpine Cerinthe, with firiated flowers. 3· The narrower and rougher-leaved Cerinthe. M E S S E R S M I D I A. THE calyx is a ihort, hairy perianthium, divided into five fegments; the corolla confifi:s of a fingle petal of a cylindric form, but open at the mouth : the ftamina are five long, flender, filiform filaments; the anthera~ are tumid; the germen is formed of four parts; the fiyle is very flender, and moderately long : the fi·uit confifts of four feed s. Of this genus there is only one known fpecies. M E s s E R s M I D I A. The root is long, thick, and of a brownilh colour. The radical leaves are three incl1es long, two and a half broad, and of a lanceolated {hape : the ftalk is branched, round, ~nd hairy; it grows to a foot in height : the leaves on it fiand alternately; they are two J~ches long, more than an inch broad, and lanceolated of a duiky greenifh colour. 1 h.e flowers ftand in clufiers about the tops of the fialks; their pedicles are more than an 1.nch long, and grow fi·om the alre of the leaves: the calyx is ·hairy. The whole habit of the plant has much the appearance of a cerinthe. I t |