M 



ties are frequencly upon the fame plant, and at othf^rs 

 on different plants •, the ocher has red and yellow 

 flowers, which are generally mixed in the fame flow- 

 ers, but are often with plain flowers of both colours 

 on the fame plane, intermixed with thofc which are 

 variecrated ; but fome planes have only plain flowers •, 

 and I have never found that the feeds of the purple 

 and white fort, ever produced the yellow and red, nor 

 the latcer ever vary to the former, and I have con- 

 ft-andy cultivated both more than forty years ; but al- 

 though thefe do not change from one to the other, 

 yet as there is no other difference between them than 

 in the colour of their flowers, I have not enumerated 

 them as difl:inft fpecies. 



The fecond fort is very common in all the iflands of 

 the Weft-Indies, where the inhabitants call it the 

 Four o'clock Flower, from the flowers opening at 

 that time of the day. Of this fort I have never feen 

 any with variable flowers ; they are of a purplifh red' 

 colour, and not much more than half the fize of the 

 other. The ftalks of this fort have thick fwollen 



. joints ; the leaves are fmaller, and the fruit is very- 

 rough, fo there can be no doubt of their being dif- 

 tinft fpecies, for I have never feen any alteration in 

 . this from feed, and I have cultivated it many years.. 

 Tournefort was informed by Father Plumier, that 

 the root of this plant was the officinal Jalap, upon 

 which he conftituted the genus, and gave that title to 



' it i but the late Dr. Houftoun was fully informed ia 

 the Spanifh Weft:-Indies of the contrary, and brought 

 over a drawing of the plant which was made by a 

 Spaniard at Halapa, and he carried two or three of 

 the plants to Jamaica, where he planted them in a 



"garden, but after he left the ifland they were de- 

 ftroyed by hogs : however, he was fully fatisfied of 

 Its being a Convolvulus, which Mr. Ray liad many 



■years before given the Jalap the title of, but upon 



what authority it does not at prefent appear. Some 



M I 



T 



r 



Wefl: 



Jalap 



became a large plant, having a bulbous root, as large 

 as thofe of the Jalap which are imported, but the plant 

 produced no flowers in the three years it lived ; and 

 •an the winter 1739-40 it died, fince when I have not 

 ibeen able to procure any feeds ; however, I am fully 

 latisficd that the Jalap is a fpecies of Convolvulus : 

 indeed the roots of the Marvel of Peru are purgative, 

 and when given in a double quantity for a dofe, will 



Jalap 



^^ V 





h < s 



Mexico 



» fmce. The feeds of this were firft fent me from Paris, 

 by Dr. Monier, of the Royal Academy of Sciences^ 

 and afterward I had fome fent iiie from Madrid, by 

 Dr. Hortega. The ftalks of this fort fall on the 



aground, if they are not fupported ; thefe grQw^bout 

 three feet lone;, and divide into feveral branches, which 

 are garniflied with heart-uiaped leaves, placed oppo- 

 ":fite; thefe, as alfo the ftalks, areliaiiy and vifcous, 

 . flicking to the fingers ofthofe that handle them. The 

 flowers come out at the end of the branches ; they are 

 'White, and have very long (lender tubes, and a faint 



' muflcy odour ; thefe are like the other forts, clofely 

 ihut all the day, but expand every evening when the 

 fun declines. The feeds of this fort are larger than 

 thofe of any other fpecies, and are as rough as thofe 



ofthefecondlbrt. -' ' :■ h ^^ . . t; ' r:-;t ^ f nV ; : 

 The two varieties of the firft fort are very ornamen- 

 tal plants in gardens, during the months of July, Au- 

 guft, and September ; and if the feafpn continues 

 niild, they often laft till near the end of Oftober. The 

 flowers do not open till toward the evening, while 

 the weather continues warm, but in moderate cool 

 weather, when the fun is obfcured, they continue open 

 almoft the whole day. The flowers are fo plentifully 

 produced at the'ends of the branches, as that when 

 tucy are open, the plants feem entirely covered with 

 them, and there being fome plain, and others varie- 



'. gated on the fame plants, they make a Ene appearance. 

 The plants are propagated by feeds, in the choice 



'^ which there fliould be care taken not to fave any 



from thofe plants whofc flov/ers are plain i and thof^ 

 who arc dtrlirous of having only the variegated kinds^ 

 are careful to pel! off all the plain flowers from thofe 

 plants v/hich they intend for feeds, to prevent them 

 from bearing any feeds ; by this method they rarely 

 have any plants with plain flowers. 

 The feeds fliould be fov;n on a moderate hot-bed in 

 March, and v/hen the plants come up, they fliould 

 have plenty of air admitted to them, when the wea- 

 ther is mild, to prevent their being drawn up weak ; 

 and when they are about two inches highy they fliould 

 be tranfplanted on another very moderate hot-bed ; 

 or if they are each planted in a fmall pot filled with 

 light earth, and plunged into a moderate hot-bed, it 

 will be a more fccure way, for then there Will be no 

 danger in fli:iking them out of the pots, when they 

 *. .are to be planted in the borders, fo as to preferve 

 all the earth to their roots \ by this method, they will 

 not require to be fliaded, whereas thofe that are to 

 be tranfplanted from the fecond hot-bed to the bor- 

 ders, often rife with little earth to their roots, fo 

 muft be carefully fliaded, ptherwife they often {Xiif- 

 carry. 



When they are in the fecond hot-bed, they fliould be 

 fli,aded till they have taken frefli root, after which they 

 ^ muft have plenty of free air admitted to them to pre- 

 : -f vent their beingdrawn up weak, and in May they muft 

 ; be gradually inured to tlieopcn air. The beginning of 

 .' June, if th? l^afon is foyourable, they fliould be tranf- 

 planted into the borders of the pleafure-garden, giv- 

 ing them proper room^, and after tbey have taken 

 , new root, they will reqinre no further^care. If thefe 

 feeds are fown in a warrii border the beginnino-" of 

 April, they will grow yery well, but the plants will 

 be late in the leafon before they flower* j '^•^'^'^ " - 

 As the feeds of thefe plants ripen very well every 

 year, fo thefe are not many who are artne^ tiouble of 

 preferying their roots ; but if thefe are talcen out: of 

 the ground in autumn, and laid in dry fand all the 

 Winter, fecured from froft, and planted again in the 

 fpring, they will grow much larger, and flower earlier 

 than the feedling plants : or if the roots are covered 

 in winter with tanners bark to V^eep out the froft, 

 they may remain in the borders, provided the foil be 

 dry. If the roots which are taken out of the ground, 

 are planted the foilowing fpring in large pots, and 

 plunged into a hot-bed, under a deep frame, they 

 may oe brought forward, and raifed to the heio-ht of 

 four or five feet, as I have frequently p raft ifed 5 and 

 .thefe plants Jh_av? come earlier in the feafon to flower, 

 . : fo have been intermixed with other ornamental plants, 

 to decorate halls and ftiady courts, where they have 

 ^ appeared very beautiful. " . ^V- * 



' • The other two fpecies require the fame*treatment, but 

 ., the fecond fort hnot.quite fo h^rdy as the other two, 

 ' fo unlefs the plants are brought forward in the fprino-, 

 'they will not flower till very late, fo "their feeds will 



» - .* * 



. .'*« 



not ripen. . ; . -i?-, 



MIS LE TOE. See Viscujvi. '• u ^ ^^^^^^ T-^ 

 MITELLA. Tpurn. Inft,r R. H, 24i'rtabri26. 



Lin. Gen. Plant. 496. [fo called of Mitella^ Lat, a 

 . little mitre, becaufe the feed-vefl^elof this plant re^ 



fembles a biftiop's mitre.] Baftard American Sanicle. 



: ...The Char ACTERs.are, 



-^.' -— . - ■ :^-' 4 J --' _fc-, 



^^he flower has a ^M-Jhaped eni;^glcmnt pj one leaf ^ cut 



Jnto five points y which is permanent, ^'p hath five'petah^ 



: ending in many hairy -points^ and arc infer ted in the em- 



palement-i as are alfo the ten anjol-fhaped flarrAna^ which 



are fhorter jban the petals:^ and Jerpunated ly roundifh 



fummits. It hath ^rgupdifh ^ermen^ which is hifid^ with 



' fcarce any ftyle^ crowned ly two ohtufe fiigmas, The em^ 



it. 



filled with fmall feeds 



This genus of plants is ranged in the fecond feftion 

 of Linn^us's tenth clafs, which contains thofc plants 

 whofe flowers have ten ftamina and two ftyles or 



•» J ^ 



«• •.- ^« *. 



■> 

 -> 



.ftigmas. t 



The Species are, 

 I. MiTELLA (D/pj^//^) fcapo dlphyllo. Lin. Gen, Nov. 

 29. Mitella with flower-ftalks ^ having two le£oes. . Mi- 



9 C / - ' tella 



