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'H k 



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which are rouadifli at the top, but are contracted to 

 narrow tails a: their bafe; they fpVead open, and are 

 beautifully variegated with a deep red or Orange co- 

 lour, yellow, and fome l^ocs of green-, they have a 

 very agreeable odour, tn the center of tile flower is 

 fuuated a fiender ftyle above three inches long," upon 

 whioh the germen fits, and is accompanied by tenlla- 

 mina nearly of the fame length with the ftyle, termi- 

 nated by o^bbng fummits. After the flower is paft, 

 the germen becomes a broad flat pod about three 

 iijches long, divided into three or four cells by tranf- 

 verfe partitions, each including one flattifli irregular 

 feed- . The leaves of this plant are ufed inftead of Se- 

 na in the Wefli-Indies to purge, and in Jamaica the 

 plant is titled Sena. 



Ligon fays' the feeds of this plant were firfl: carried to 

 Barbadoes from CapeVerd Iflands, and the beauty of 



O 



The Characters are. 

 The flower has a permanent cmpakmcnt ofcnejeaf, uibich 

 is cut into five fcgments \ it has one petal, of the wheel 

 fljape.. The tube is veryjhcrt -, the upper part, which is 

 divided, fpreads open. It hathfiveflenderfiamina zvhich 



'tferted in the valves of the tuk •, thefc 

 ire fhorter tha'n the pet aU and are . 



M ft 



of 



by 



an acute oval germen, fupporiing 

 .. is equal with the petal, crowned by a revchi-ng'^trifdjiig' 

 ma. The germen afterward turns, to a three-cornered oval 

 capfuk having three cells, filled, with irrcgufar jzculc^ 

 pointed feeds. 



This genus of plants is ranged in the firft feftlon of 

 Linnseus's fifth clafs, which includes thofe plants 

 whofe flowers have five fl:amina and one ftyle." 



The Species are, ■ 



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the flowers was fuch^ that the inhabitants foon fpread i. Polemoniu?^ (C^rukmn) calycibus corollic tubo Ion- 



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' it over that ifland, and afterward it was tranfported 

 into moft of the neighbouring iflands. This may have 

 been fo, but it is very certain that the plant grows 

 naturally in Jamaica, where the late'Dr. Houftoun 

 found it in the woods at a great diftanc'e from any 

 fettlements. He alfo found it growing naturally at 

 La Vera Cruz, and at Campeachy, where he alfo 

 found the two varieties with red and yellow flowers. 

 The only difference between thefe and the firft fort be- 

 ing in the colour of their flowers, ^nd their branches 

 having fewer fpines. ■ ' 



- The feeds of this plant are annually brought over in 

 plenty from the Weft-Indies, which, if fown upon a 

 hot-bed, will rife eafily. WTiqn the. plants are come 

 up, they fliould be tranljplanted each into a fmall pot, 

 and plunged into a hot-bed oirt:an'ners"Bar1c', *obferv- 

 ' . ing to fliade them from. tKe.'Iun pill they have taken 

 .Vfoot \ aftey which you muft give them air in propor- 

 ■',.tion to' the warmth of thefeafohi they muft be fre- 

 .\'^^quently'refreflied with water in lummer. When the 

 ■,;,j)lants have filled the pots with their roots, th^y ftiould 

 ;^tl5e ft:aken out, and placed into larger ones, that their 



,,* roots may have room to fpread. If care, be taken to 

 ■ !-water and fliift then! as often' as is 'hegefl^ary, they 

 ^ will grow to be three fget high the firli. feafqn. At 

 Michaelmas the pots fliould be plunged into a frefh 

 ^ Iidt-bed of tanners bark in the ftove, wKich ftiould 



* "be kept to the Ananas heat marked on the botanical 

 tl^ermqrnet^rs, and frequently refreftied with water, 

 tut tney muft not have it in large quantities, which 



^ „ is very inj urious^ to thefe plants at that feafori.; - The 



* .e^rth which thefe. plants ftiould b^ pUnted ip> .muft 

 r be frefli, light, and fandy (but not over-rich,) in 

 *" which they will ftand the winter better than if planted 

 'iln a ftfon'ger foil, .^^heri 'the plants are grp%h larg^^ 

 '., tbei-e muft be great care taken when they are fhifted 

 .' , into larger pots, not to fliffer the ball of earth to fall 



. from their roots ; For when this happens, the plants 



sieldom furvixeit. . : v.^^ . f - - . V:^^ '.^$6. .^.>t 

 V: Thefe ol^pts muft conftantly remaya in the bark-ftove, 



J:. where in warm weather tKev fhould have'alarge flbare 



'^^''ofair, bui: ttiey'muft not Dc'^ex^^ they 



j^arc' very impatient .of mojfture in 'winter,^ and, if 



J. damp feizes their top, it v£ry often kills the plants, 



^br'at leaft occafions the lofs ' of. their heads. ''...With 



^ 'proper management they will grow l^uch taller here 



l^^thzn they ufually dc?^ in Barbadoes, but their ftems 



/.'.Vill not be larger than a man's finger, which is pc- 



■*rca{ton'ed by their being 'drawn up by tlie^ glafles of 



r.tTie 'ftovel I, have" had foma of thefe plantCocar 



* eighteen feet higli^io the ChclfeaGardenj,. which have 

 |. produced their beautiful flowers fome years. Thefe 

 ^/ flowers have always appeared in December, 'but in the 



,1. Weft-Indies lam informed they flower twice a year, at 



which tifpes they make a moft beautiful appearance. 

 POKE VIRGINIAN- See Phytolacca.' ' 

 POLEMONIUM. Tourn. Tnft. R. H. 146. tab. 

 ..61. Lin. Gen. Plant. 200. [fo called^ according to 

 l Pliny, fvom^ ztoXs^iTh Gr. towage\var, on account of 



> - the contcfts^ whidi arofe betwixt two princes, each 

 . afluming the honour of the difcovcry of it to hinifelf ] 



* ..Greek Valerian'j or Jacob's Ladder, '{'."' 



•. -- 



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' 4r 



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.* 



gioribus. Lin, Sp. Plant. 162. Grejk Valerian^ with an 

 empalement longer than the tuhe of the flower. Pole mo- 

 ■nium vulgare. casruleum. Tourn. Inft. R. H. 146. 



Common blue Greek Valerian. * ' ". 



2. PoLEMONiuM (/'i^//t2;25)foliis pionatis, radicibus rep- 

 tatricibus. Flor. Virg. 22. Greek Valerian,' with winged 



; leaves and a creeping root. 



. The firft fort grows naturally in many parts of Eu- 

 rope ; it has been difcovered growing wild in Carle- 

 ton Beek, and about Malham Cove near Craven, in' 

 Yorkfliire. Of this there are two or three varieties^ 

 ,one with a white, and the other a variegated flower, 

 and another with variegated leaves. 

 This plant has winged leaves, which are compofed of 

 feveral pair of lobes placed alternately. \ The lower 



- leaves have eleveri or twelve pair*, 'arid are terminated 

 by ali odd one'rthefe"^^rel?roacleffi at their bafe, end- 

 ing in^pqints, ^r^dfit clofe to the o^idril?^,. Theftalks 

 rife near a foot and*a' half .high j they iare. hollow, 

 chaiVnelled, arid arc'gafniftied witK winged leaves of 



, the fame forra with the lowel*, but decreafe' upward 

 in their fize, and are terminated by bun^ch^spf flow- 

 ers' which f(t yery clofe i they haveeachofie petal, 

 which' has a fhort tube, cuf ■irito"".fitv3^^rdu feg- 



ments at the top'; they are chiefly of;a"!bJ6a^^ blue 

 colour, and have each five ftamina, which are termi- 

 nated by yellow funimits. Thefe flowers appear the 

 latter end of May, and are fucceeded by oval acute- 



, pointed capfules, with three c^lls ftHed with irregular 



[^ feeds, which ripen in Auguft. : ' '. . - ' 



, Thefe plants are* eafily" propagated Ky fowing their 

 feeds , ill th^ fpring upq^* aT^s^^ earth^: and 



. .^when they are come up pretty ftronff,' they fliould be 

 ^, ,;pncked out into another bed of the fame light earth 

 ''about four oi* five incHes*aIunder, obferving to (hade 

 ^^and water them until they have taken root > after 

 ".^^ "which they will require no farther care, but to keep 

 .■/^,them clear from weed§^ lihtir Michael n^as, at which" 



-* 



- ■ 



tune they mult be^ tranlpjant^d into the 



.the flower-garden^ where^^ bemg interrpixed with dif- 



■fererit forts of floweVsV 'they will make a beautiful ap- 





.pearance 



'This plant is not naturally of long dpration,, Jjut by 

 ^taking them up in autumn and parting of them, they 



may be continued lome years •, but as the feedhng 

 > plpfnts^^^w.ays^ japJK^if jnuch ftrong^f ' tha'n *tRe 'offsets. 



cl 



n; 



"■tKeTceHs of tlie blue, 'as will alfo that with Variegated 



' . ftower;?, by f . thefe , m9.x be continued bjr'parting of 

 . -their roots.' ^ ■• - ^'^. -—•-■■■- ■ . -«= 



J V 



The fort with variegated leaves is preiervea Dy part- 

 ing of tlieTr roots, becaufe tlie"plants raifed from 

 feeds .would be fubjeft tp , degenerate and become 

 ■plain.' .The beft time to part them is about Michael- 

 . mas, that they may tate good root before the cold 



" er' prevents them. ' Thefe fliould have a frcfli 



light foil, but if it be top rich, their roots will rot in 

 winter, or the ftripes of the leaves will go off" in the 



fummer. 



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■ 



The fecond fort grows' naturally in Virginia and other 

 parts of North America. ; This hath creeping ' roots. 





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