*% 



/ I 



«' 



R 



R 



/rf/ 



The Characters are, 



^ath male and female fl. 

 fl(rjoers have eretl fpn 



; 



of fix oval convex leaves^ vohofe borders are refexcd- 

 they have no petals^ hut have an oval ne'dariv.m the f.ze 

 of the enipalementy v:hich is eretl and inflated^ openip<^ 

 at the mouth •, they have noflarnina^ hut each has three 

 fpreading furamits^ fitting on the top of the ne^larmn^ 

 which are joined at their hafe. The female floivers haz-e 

 empalements but no petals^ and ncBariums like the male : 



Ji 



fupp 



ed by an obtufe fiigma^ fianding above the mouth of 

 neoiarium. "The germen afterward becomes a 

 berry vuith tzvo or three cells, inclofing tzvo globular feed. 

 This genus of plants is ranged in the twelfth lection 

 of Linnasus's twenty-fecond clafs, which contains 

 the plants which are male and female in diftindt: 

 plants, and the ftamina or fummics are joined to- 



gether. 



The Species are, 



1, Ruscus (y/(:«/^^/«y) foliis fupra fioriferis nudis. Hort. 

 Cliff. 465. Rufus with leaves -which bear flowers on their 

 upper fide, and are staked. Rufcus myrtifolius aculea- 

 tus. Tourn. Inft. 79. Knee-holly, or Btitchcrs-brGcr.:, 

 with prickly Myrtle leaves. 



2. Ruscus illypophylluni) foliis fdbtus floriferis nudis. 



Hort. Cliff. 465. Rufcus with leaves which bear flo'wtrs 

 on the tinder fitde of the leaves, ivhich are naked, Rufcus 

 latifolius, frudlu folio innalctnte. Tourn. Inll. yc^. 

 Butcher* s-broom with broad leaves, upon which the fruit 



grows 



-i - 



{Hypoglojfu 



Rufcus with fl( 



'leaves.' Rufcus anguflifolius, fruftu folio innafcente. 

 ''Tourn. Infl. 79.' '^ Butcher'' s-broom with narrow leaves. 



> r..- 



fown in autumn foon after they are ripe, for thofe I drina, from one of the forts growing In A!c:c.indria.l 



feeds which are fown in the ipring rarely grow the | Knee-holly, or Butcher's-broom ; m Frenc!; //^x,"! 



fame year : when the plants come up, they will re- 

 quire no other care but to thin them where they are 



too clofe, and keep them clean from weeds. They 



all delight in a muift rich foil. 



The thirteenth fort Is commonly known among the 



gardeners by the title of Sorrel-tree. This came 



originally from the Fortunate, or Canary lilands, but 



has-been long an inhabitant in fome EngUlli gardens j 



it rifes with a ligneous flalk ten or twelve feet high, 



covered with a fm-ooth brown bark, fending out ma- 

 ny Qender branches -, thefe are garnlQied w^ith fmooth, 



roundifli, heart-fliaped leaves two inches Ipng, and 



an inch and a half broad, fianding alternately upon 



pretty long foot-ftalks. The flowers come out in 



loofe panicles toward the end of the branches \ they 



are of an herbaceous colour, and are fometimes fuc- 



ceeded by triangular feeds with fmooth covers, but 



they rarely ripen in England. This plant is eafily 



propagated by cuttings, which may be planted in any 



of the fummer months, in a bed of loamy earth, and 



ihaded from the fun until they have taken pretty good 



root ; then they fliould be taken up, and planted in 



pots filled with kitchen-garden earth, placing them 



in the Hiade till they have taken new root j after which 



they may be moved to a fheltered fituation, and placed 



with other hardy green-houfe plants till autumn, when 



they muft be removed into the green-houfe, and 



treated in the fame way as other hardy kind of plants, 



which only want proteftion from froft. 



The fourteenth fort is a low annual plant, which 



grows naturally in Italy and Spain j this is generally 



found on fwampy moift ground •, the flalks are flen- 



der, branching at the bottom, and rife about four 



inches high -, the lowej; part is garnifhed with fmall, 



oval, fucculent lobes ^their upper part is furnifhed 



with fmall herbaceous flowers growing in whorls, and 



have no leaves between them -, they are Succeeded by 



fmall feeds, whofe covers are fhafply indented and re- 

 flexed. Thefe appear in June,^and the feeds ripen 



in Auguft, which, if permitted to fcatter, will tur- 



nifh a fupply of, young plants the following fprinjg ; 



or if the feeds are then fown, the plants will come up 



the following fpring, and require no other care but to 



thin tKem, and keep them" clean from weeds. " '^. 



The fifteenth fort is ah annual plant ; this hath pretty 



thick fucculent ftalks, which rife a foot high, and di- 

 vide into many branches •, the leaves are of the round 



heart-fhape and undivided, having very long foot- 



ftalks. The flowers grow in loofe fpikes at the end 



of the branches i thefe are herbaceous, and are fuc- 



ceeded by large covers to the feeds, which are in- 

 flated, and have broad membranaceous borders ; the 



feeds are triangular, and ripen m autumn. 



The fixteenth fort grows naturally in Egypt ; this is 



alfo' an annual plant, whofe flalks rife a foot and a 



half high, dividing upward intofeveral branches ; the 



ftalks are garnifhed with arrow-pointed leaves about 



three inches long, whofe fides are irregularly torn, 



as if they had been gnawed by infedts ; they ftand 



upon pretty long foot-flalks, and have fmooth fur- 

 faces ', the flowers are difpofed in loofe fpikes ; fome 



fpikes have only male flowers, and others Have all 



hermaphrodite flowers, and fome plants have only 

 - male, and others hermaphrodite flowers. The latter 



are fucceeded by triangular feeds, inclofed in large 



inflated covers of a deep red colour, having mem- 

 branaceous borders. The feeds of this ripen in 



autumn. 

 _.The feeds of both thefe forts grow very freely, if 



lown in a bed of light earth in the fpring, where the 



plants are defigned to remain. When they come up, 



they will require no other care but to keep them 



clean from weeds, and thin them where they are too 

 clofe. 



RUSCUS. Tourn. Infl:. R. H. 79. tab. 15. Lin. 



Gen. Plant. 1008. [fo called of rufticus, becaufe 

 rough and pric|:ly. It is alfo called Laurus, becaufe 



. fit for the making of Laurel garlands ; and Alexan- 



id fruit fit t 



4 



of 



•^ - - 



tico. Hort. Cliff. 469. Rufcus with hermaphrodite 

 'flowers in long hunches terminating the ftalks. Rufcus 



anguflifoliusV ^fru6lu fummis ramulis innafcente. 

 .Tourn. Infl. yg. Butcher'' s-broom with narrow leaves, 

 ' and fruit grooving at the top of the branches. 



fupra 



ifoliatum) 



Rufcus with oval acute-pointed 

 vhich are placed by threes, and flowers on their up- 

 per fitde. 

 6, Ruscus {Flexuofus) foliis ovatis acuminatis, fupra 

 floriferis nudis, caulibus flexuofis. Rufcus with acute- 



'ng flowers on their upper fide, and fit 





»*_ 



ible ftalks. Rufc 



fcente. Michel. Greater broad-leaved Rufcus with fruit 



fitting upon the leaf. 



7, Ruscus {Androgynus) foliis margine floriferis. Hort. 

 Cliff. 464. Rufcus with flowers grooving on the borders of 

 the leaves. Rufcus latifolius e foliorum finu florifcr 

 & fruftifer. Hort. Elth. 532. tab. 250. Broad-leaved 

 Rufcus, with flowers and fruit grooving on the edges cfthe 



leaves. '^^ "' " " 



8. Ruscus {Frtitefcens) caule fruticofo ramofo, foliis Ian- 

 \, ceolatis rigidis, floribus pedunculatis terminahbus. 



Rufcus with a fhrubby branching ftalk, fpearfljapcdflif 

 leaves, and flowers growing upon foot-ftalks terminating 

 the branches. Rufcus latifolius frutefcens"; floribus ra- 

 cemofis rubris. Houft:. MSS. Shrubby broad-leaved 

 Rufcus, with branching red flowers. ' / 

 The firfl: fort is very conrmon in the woods in divers 

 parts of England, and is rarely cultivated in gar- 

 dens. The roots of this kind are fometimes uied in 

 medicine, and the green fhoots are cut, bound into 

 bundles, and fold to the butchers, who ufe it as bc- 

 foms to fweep their blocks, from whence it had the 

 name of Butcher's-broom. It is alfo called by fome 



Knee-holly. ' ' i • *; 



This hath roots compofed of many thick white fi- 

 bres, whicli flirike deep in the ground, ^nd twine 

 about each other, from which arile feveral Ibff green 



ita!k% 

 4 



I ■" 



T I 



-■ 



' ■ 



