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Show 630 The Hijlory aJ P LAN T ~· Ruflus foliis Jupine jloriferis nudjs. . ', The Rufcus, with naked leaves Jlowertng ·on the ufpet p(lrt. li5Uttbtt~ S 1J5~oom. The root is creeping, white, and tender: the plant grows to two feet high; the fialk is tough, woody, firm, firiated, and ramofe_; the leaves are of an oblong fhape, and pointed at the extremity fo fuarply, as to pnck the fingers; they ar~ about half an inch long, and of a deep green colour: t~e flowers ftand on the ~uddle of the leaves, and are fmall and greenifu; the berry 1s large and .red. . . It is common in our woods and on heaths. .C. Bauhme calls ut, Rufcus ; .others, Rufcus vulgaris. . • . . • The other fpecies are, 1. The Rufcus, called t~e Alexandnan l~urel, . with the frUlt on the leaf. 2. The U vularia of the £hops, or H1ppogloifur;n, With a httle leaf on the larger. 3. The narrow-leaved Rufcus, with the berries on the tops of the ftalks. Clafs the Twenty· Second. Order the Fourteenth. D I OE C I A. G Y N A N D R I A. . • : l . j ~ c L u T I J\. , ,.. I ~, [ :J .. J • I T HE calyx of the male flower is compofeq of five leave~ ; the corolla is formed of five petals. The calyx of the female flower is compofed of five leaves, and the corolla of five petals : the ftyles are three ; the capfule contains three cells, and in each a fingle feed. Of this genus there is but one known fpecies. l • t .. • • -' C L U T I A. • ' The root is brachiated and fpreading: the lhrub rifes to eight feet high; the llem or trunk is covered with -a brown, unequal bark : the branches are numerous and £lender ; the leaves are of an oblong figure, pbtufe, anq about an inch in len~th~ fle!hy, and of a duiky green : the flowers are fmaU, and of a greeni!h white. · It is a native of .!Ethiopia. • . · , ' Clafi the Twenty Third. POLY GAM I A. r ·• ·I Plants which have hermaphrodite flowers, and others which are either JimPlY male, or Jimply female. 0 F thefe fome have the feparate flowers on different parts of the fame plant ; others have them op two different plants, and o~hers have the three kinds, and thofe on three different plants, all of tht1 fa,JAe fpecies. · The Polygawia may hence be conveniently arranged into three orders, according to thefe diftinClions. Clafs the Twenty Thlrd. Order the Firjl. P 0 L Y G A M I A , !vi' 0 N OE C I A. Plants which hav: fiparate her.nitJplJ;oiJitejlowers, and either male or Jemal~ ones, or dijferent hermaphrodite ones, on the different parts of the. fame plant.· 1 , J • Pi •. 1 . I ~ M u s A. .1.1 c I I • : f , I N the male hermaphrodite flower, the calyx is a fpatha: the corolla confifrs of two petals, one of which is erect, and divided by five indentings at the edge, and the other Tbe Jlijiory of P L A N T S. ~ther is hollow, lhorter, and rteClariferous : the 'flam ina are fix; five of them are fer..; t1le, ?r have anther~ on th~m: the fiyle is fingle: the germen under the flower is abortive, or prod?ces no frutt. .I~ the female hermaphrodite flowers, the calyx, the corolla, the ftamma, and the ptfttl are the fame in number, figure, and fituation as in the .others ; but, of the :fix fiamina, only one is fertile, or produces an anthera: thefu 'flowers are· fucceeded by the fruit, which is an oblong, triquetrous berry. Mifa tacemo Jimpliciflimo. The jimple-cluflered Mufo. 1tbt 10lt~n::: tatn.~trtt .. The root is oblong and thick, blackilh on the outlid~, white within, and fibrated : the plant ~rows ~o fix, eight,, or more fe~t .in height, and has the appearance of a tree: the fiem IS as ~h1ck .as. a mans leg, but It IS tender, and may be cut through with one firoke of a kntfe ; It IS green, and feems compofed of feveral feries of leaves, wiled over one another: the leaves grow from the top; they are eight or ten in number; thefe are each fix or feven feet long, about a foot and a half broad, of a fine green colour, and of a firm and fomewhat harlh texture, eafily fplitting, and cracking tranfverfely on each fide to the middle rib: from the center of thefe leaves rife the pedicles of the flowers ; they are oblong, thick, and robufi, and at their tops fiands, at .firft, a large, oblong body, formed of a feries of broad and lhort leaves; thefe daily expand, and then curl up, and, at length, fuew the flowers they had inclofed, which are in each feven or eight in number, large, oblong, and of a whitiili-yellow colour : the fruit is large, and of the fize 9f a cucumber: there are a great many of thefe on the fame pedicle, placed in feveral clufiers round it, at fmall difiances ; they are of an oblong and triquetrous forin: there are from ten to twenty of thefe fruits ufually on the whole pedicle, which lengthens and increafes every way, as they appear fucceffively upon it: the frpit is ~fculent. , It ·is a native of the Eaft Indies. Clufius calls it, Mufa; C. Bauhine, Palma humilis longis latifque foliis, and Ficus Indica fruClu racemofo, folio oblongo. The other fpecies are; 1. The clufie:r-fruited, racemous Mufa. 2. The fmallerfi ·uited Mufa. 0 P H I 0 X Y L 0 N. I N the hermaphrodite flower, the calyx is divided into five fegments: the coroJla is . alfo divided into five fegments, and is of an infundibuliform iliape : the fiamina are five : the pifiil is fingle. In the male flowers) the calyx is divided into two parts : the corolla is of an infundibuliform ihape, and divided into five fegments at the mouth : the neCl:arium is of a cylindric form: the ftamina are only two. Thefe characters fufficiently difiinguilh the Ophioxylon, without a farther defcription; VERA 1' RUM. T H E hermaphrodite flowers have no calyx : the corolla is formed of fix petals : the fiamina are fix : th.e pillils are three, and the fruit is compofed of three capfules, each containing a great number of feeds. The male flowers have no calyx: the corolla is divided into fix parts : the fiamina are fix in number, and there appears a rudiment of a pifiil. l7eratrum Joliis latioribus. Broad-leaved l7eratrum. mrtbttt ~tlltbOlt• The root is compofed of a clufier of thick, whitilh fibres : the p]ant rifes to three feet high : the ftalk is round and robufi : the leaves are numerous; they fur round .the fialk at the bafe and are ten inches long, and eight broad, nervous, fomewhat ha~ry, and foft to the ~ouch: the flowers are fmall, and of a greeniih-white colour; they fiand in clufiers, and form a kind of fpike from the middle to the top of th~ plant. . It is a native of Germany, and many other parts of Europe. C. Bauhme calls It, Helleborus albus flore fubviridi. It's root dried is the white Hellebore of the £hops, a powerful fl:ernutatory. There is but one other known fpecies, which is the early-flowering, nnrrow-Ieaved, purple Veratrum, 3 CELTIS. |