D 



C 



■ ■ 



' ^iantccJ in fmall clumps, of fix or eight roots in ^ach, 

 where the flowers being of difterenc colours, fct off 

 each other to advantage. 



Thofe wh.o are curious in thefe flowers, take parti- 

 cular care in faving their feeds, for they never permit 

 any fingle flowers to fl:and among their double, but 

 pull them up as foon as they fhew their flowers, and 

 alfo draw out all thofe which are not of lively good 

 colours •, where this is obferved, the flowers may be 

 kept in great perfeftion; but where perfons have 

 trufty friends, who live at fome difl:ance, with whom 

 they can exchange feeds once in two or three years, 

 it is much better fo to do, than to continue fowing 

 feeds in tlie fanie place many years in fucceflTion, and 

 this holds true in mofl: forts of feeds : but the great 

 difficulty is to meet with an honefl: perfon of equal 

 Ikill, v/ho will be as careful in the choice of his plants 

 for feed, as if he was to fow them himfelf. 



DI APENSlA. SeeSANicuLA. 



D I C T A M N U S. Lin. Gen. Plant. 468. Fraxinella. 

 Tourn. Inft. R. H. 430. tab. 243. White Dittany, 

 or Fraxinella *, in French, Fraxinelle. This plant was 

 titled Fraxinella, from Fraxinus the Afli-tree, the 

 leaves of this having fome refemblance in their form, 

 to thofe of the Afli-tree, fo it was called Little Afli, 

 But as this plant has been long mentioned under the 

 title of Di6tamnus albus, i. e. White Dittany in the 

 difpenfaries, fo Dr. Linnseus has adapted that title to 



tliis genus. 



The Characters are. 

 The empalement of the flower is tompofed of five fmall 

 cblong leaves^ ending in points, The flower hath five 

 chlong petals which are unequal^ t*^o of tbem turnim up- 

 wardy two are oblique on thejsdes^ and one turns down- 

 ward. It hath ten rijing ftaminay which are as long as 

 the petals y which are Jituated between the two fide petals -^ 

 they are not equal in lengthy and are lefimnated by dbtufe 

 four-cornered fummits ftanding ereSt. ' In the center is Ji- 

 tuated a five-cornered germeny Jupporting a port incurved 

 ftyle., crowned by an acute fiigma ; We germ'eh afterward 

 becon^es a capfule with five cells ^ each having a compreffed 

 margin^ which fpreads open at their exterior parts^ but 

 join together at their inner, opening with two valves, and 

 inclq/ing feveraj roundifh, hard, fhining feeds, 

 Tliis genus of plants is ranged in the firft feftion of 



We 



ftyl 



Monogy 



VIZ. 



DicTAMNus {Albus), Hort. CliflT. 161. Fraxinella. Cluf. 



vulsfo Fraxinella 



JVh 



There arc three varieties of this plant, one with a 

 pale red flower ftriped with purple, another with a 

 "white flower, and one with ihorter Ipikes of flowers j 

 but as I have obferved them to vary when propagated 

 by feeds, fo I efl:eem tliem only feminal varieties. 

 T'his is a very ornamental plant for gardens, arid as 

 it requires very little culture, fo deferves a place in 

 all good gardens. It Tiath a perennial root, which 

 ftrikes deep into the ground, and the Head annually 

 increafcs in fize ; thefe fend up many fl:alks, which 

 'rife from two to three feet high, garnilhed with winged 

 leaves' placed alternate, compofed of three or four 

 pair of oblong lobes, terminated by an odd one : 

 they are fmooth and ftiflT, fitting clofe to the midrib, 

 which liath a longitudinal furrow on the upper fide > 

 the lobes (or fmall leaves) placed on ' each fide the 

 midrib, ai:e oblique, but thofe which terminate the 

 leaf have their fides equal. The flowers are produced 

 in a long pyramidal loofe fpike or thyrfe ; on the top 

 of the ft^lk, which is nine or ten inches long; the 

 flowers of one fort is white, and of the other they are 

 of a pale red, marked with red or purple fl:ripes. 

 The whole plant when gently rubbed, emits an odour 

 like that of Lemon peel, but when bruifed has fome- 

 tliing of a balfamic fcent. It flowers tKe latter end 

 of May, and in June, and the feeds ripen in Sep- 

 tember, 



Thcfc plants are 'propagated by feedsj^vhich, if fown 



III tlie autumn foon after they are ripe, the planh 

 will appear the following April ; but when they arc 

 kept out of the ground till the fpring, the feeds fel- 

 dom fucceed ; or if they do grow, it is the foliowin? 

 fpring before the plants appear, fo that a whole year 

 is lolt. When the plants come up, they muft be 

 confl:antly kept clean from weeds •, and in the autumn 

 when their leaves decay, the roots fliould be carefully 

 taken up, and planted in beds at fix inches diftance 

 every way ; thefe beds may be four feet broad, and 

 the paths between them two, that there may be room 

 enough to pafs between the beds to weed them.' In 

 thefe beds the plants may fl;and two years, during 

 which time they muft: be confl:antly kept clean from 

 weeds ; and if they thrive well, they will be ftrong 

 enough to flower ; fo in the autumn they fhould be 

 carefully taken up, and planted in the middle of the 

 borders of the flower-garden, where they will con- 

 tinue thirty or forty yeairs, producing more ftems of 

 flowers in proportion to the fize of the roots. AH 

 the culture thefe require, is to be kept clean from 

 weeds, and the ground about them dug every winter. 

 The roots of this plant are ufed in medicine, and 

 efl:eemed cordial and cephalic, refifl;ing putrefaftion 

 and poifon, and are ufcful in malignant and pe'ftilen- 

 tial difl:erhpers, as alfo in epilepfies. 



DICTAMNUS CRETICUS. See Origanum. 



DIERVILLA. Tourn. Aft. R. Par, 1706. Loni- 

 cera. Lin. Gen. Plant. 210. 



The title of this genus was given it by Dr. Tournefort, 

 after Mr. Dierville, a furgeon, who brought this plant 

 from Acadia, 



" '-The Characters are, 



^T'he mpakmfnt'of'the flowier is cut into five parts, 'hlmojt 



■ to the bottom j the flower is of one leaf, having a tube at 



"*th^e %ottom, but is cut into five parts at the' top, and has 



the appearance of ^d Up flower j it hath five Jiamina, 



'nated by oblong h ' 



with the petal. 



,1 



of the flower is fituatd 

 Jupp^ 



Jtyle equal with tbeftamina, cro^tkd by an obtufeftigm \ 

 the germen afterward becomes a pyramidal berry, dhidei 

 into four cells, which contain fmall round feeds. 

 This genus of plants is ranged iti'lhe fourth feftion 

 of Tournefort's third clafs, which includes the plants 

 with a tubulous anomalous flower of one leaf. It is 

 ranged by Dr. Linnaeus under his genus of Lohi'cera, 

 in the firft fedlioq of his fifth clafs, intitled Pentandria 

 Monogynia, the flower having five ftamina and one 

 ftyle. 



We know but one Species of this genus atpfefent, 

 viz. 

 DiERviLLA (Lonicera) Acadienfis fruticofa, flore luteo. 

 Act, R. Par. 1706. Shrubby Diervilla of Acadia with a 

 yellow flower. This is the Lonicera racemis termi- 

 nalibus foliis ferratis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 275. Lonicera 

 with bunches of flowers terminating the branches, and 

 Jawed leaves. - ^ 



This plant grows naturally in the northern parts of 

 America, from whence it was brought to Europe, and 

 is now propagated in the gardens for fale. It hath 

 woody roots which fpread farin the ground, and put 

 out Ihoots at a diftance 'fr(5m the principal ftalk, 

 whereby it multiplies greatly : the ftalks are ligneous, 

 and feldom rife more than a foot and a Tialt high ; 

 thefe are garniftied with oblong heart-fhaped leaves, 

 ending in acute points ; they are veiy flightly fawed 

 on their edges, and are placed oppofite, fitting clofe 

 to the ftalks: the upper part of the ftalks are' gar- 

 'niflied with flowers, which ufually come out from the 

 fide of the ftalk at the fitting 6n of the leaves, and 

 alfo at the top of the ftalks 5 there are two or three 

 flowers fuftained upon each foot-ftalk : they are of a 

 pale yellow, and being fmall, make no great ap- 

 pearance. Thefe come out in May, and if the feafon 

 proves moift and cold, they frequently flower again 

 m Auguft. 



It is eafily propagated by fuckers, which it fends out 

 !n -plenty, and loves a moift foil and ftaady fituation, 



'where the cold will never injure it. 



DIGITALIS 



