The heathery; or, A monograph of the genus Erica. vol. 3 — Context and Discussion

LATIN AND ENGLISH DESCRIPTIONS, DISSECTIONS, ETC.

THE KNOWN SPECIES OF THAT EXTENSIVE AND DISTINGUISHED TRIBE OF PLANTS.

SECOND EDITION, CORRECTED AND ENLARGED.

HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 1845.

DISSERTATION concluded.

The limits of this extensive family may be considered, with some degree of accuracy, to be bounded by about three hundred (species and distinct varieties): consequently, in the termination of this Volume, the Genus may be regarded as half delineated. The Cape of Good Hope has been, and still continues to be, the emporium for this unrivalled tribe of plants; and unless some new source should be found to extend this already numerous Genus, by the discovery of some unexpected mine of novelty; we otherwise have little doubt but the termination of the Sixth Volume will be found to contain all the species and distinct varieties. The difficulty of preserving many of this fine tribe is still a subject of general complaint, and by no means easy to be remedied where the situation is low, as the great enemies of the Ericas are the fogs, which invariably gravitate towards the marshes and low grounds; but where the situation is elevated and open, the preservation of the major part of them is by no means so difficult. Greater care is requisite in the watering of them than is generally imagined, as too much renders them weak, and subjects them to damp off; whilst, on the contrary, too little is frequently fatal; for, if they once droop their heads for want of water, they very rarely survive the neglect.

Antheræ muticæ, inclusæ. Flores fasciculati, sub-terminales. Pedunculi breves. Corolla sub-cylindrica, ore arctata, pollicaris, purpurea; laciniis ovatis, revolutis. Folia quaterna, trigona, retorta, acuminata, lucida, supra plana, subtus sulcata. Caulis fruticosus, pedalis, ramossissimus. Rami flexuosi, filiformes.

Tips beardless, within the blossom. Flowers grow in bunches, nearly terminal. Footstalks short. Blossom nearly cylindrical, narrowed at the mouth, an inch long, and purple. Segments of the border are egg-shaped, and rolled back. Leaves by fours, three-sided, rolled back, sharp-pointed, and shining, flat on their upper surface, and furrowed beneath. Stem shrubby, a foot high, very branching. The branches are flexuose, and thread-shaped.

Native of the Cape of Good Hope. In bloom from July till October.

1. A leaf shown from the under side, magnified. 2. The empalement magnified. 3. Chives and pointal, one tip magnified. 4. Seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified. 5. Seed-bud magnified.

Antheræ basi bicornes, inclusæ. Flores terminales, umbellati, terni. Pedunculi longi, purpurei, bracteis tribus instructi. Corolla sesquipollicaris, sulcata, linearia, summo inflata, ore arctata; laciniis cordatis, maximis, expansis, extus carneis, intus albidis. Folia terna, erecto-patentia, serrata, acuminata, crassa, subtus sulcata. Caulis sesquipedalis. Rami et ramuli filiformes, flexibiles. Rami simplices, longi.

Tips two-horned at the base, and within the blossom. Flowers grow at the summit of the branches, three in a bunch. The footstalks are long, purple, and furnished with three floral leaves. Blossom an inch and a half long, furrowed and linear, swelled at the end and narrowed at the mouth; the segments of the border are very large, and expanded, flesh-coloured on the outside, and white within. Leaves by threes, between erect and spreading, sawed, sharp-pointed, thick, and furrowed beneath. Stem a foot and a half high. The large and small branches are thread-shaped and supple. The branches are simple and long.

Native of the Cape of Good Hope. In bloom from July till October.

1. The empalement magnified. 2. The chives and pointal, one tip magnified. 3. Seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified.

Antheræ basi bicornes, inclusæ. Flores umbellati, sæpe quatuor, viscosi, terminales. Pedunculi longi. Corolla basi inflata, apice attenuata, longitudinaliter striata, sub-sesquipollicaris, ore arctata, saturate purpurea. Folia quaterna, trigona, ciliata, retorta, mucronata. Caulis fruticosus, pedalis, ramosus.

Tips two-horned at the base, within the blossom. Flowers grow in bunches mostly of four, are clammy, and terminate the branches. Footstalks long. Blossom swelled at the base, and tapering to the end, striped longitudinally, nearly an inch and a half long, straitened at the mouth, which is of a deep purple. Leaves by fours, three-sided, fringed, rolled back, and sharp-pointed. Stem shrubby, a foot high, and branching.

Native of the Cape of Good Hope. In bloom from July till October.

1. A leaf. 2. The empalement magnified. 3. The chives and pointal, one tip magnified. 4. Seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified.

Antheræ muticæ, inclusæ. Flores in ramulis terminales, umbellati, terni vel seni, cernui. Pedunculi brevissimi, bracteis tribus hispidis adpressis. Corolla tubulato-ventricosa, setis densissime circumsessa, lutea, pollicaris, ore obsolete quadrifida. Folia quaterna, lanceolata, aculeata, subtus sulco exarata. Caulis erectus, bipedalis. Rami pauci; ramuli numerosi, simplices.