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The fixch fort grows naturally in uncultivated places 

 and alfo by the fide of fooc-ways in many parts of 

 England. The leaves of this are divided into many 

 vt^ry narrow fegments j the ftalks rife a foot and a 

 halt high ; they are garniflied with winged leaves, 

 whofe lobes are finely cut, refenibling thofe of the 

 true Roman Wormwood. The flowers are produced 

 in loofe fpikes at the top of the llalk; they are 

 fmall, yellow, and compofed of four petals fet inform 

 of a crofs ^ thefe appear in June, and are fucceeded 

 by flender pods filled with fmall roundifh feeds which 

 ripen in Auguft, and then the plant dies. The feeds of 

 this plant are ufed in medicine, and are by fome greatly 

 recommended for the gravel and ftoppaees of urine. 

 The feventh fort grows naturally in^France and 

 Italy. The lower leaves of this arc flaccid, and cut 

 in form of winged leaves ending in arrow-pointed 

 lobes. The fl:alks rife three or four feet high, gar- 

 nilhed with linear wing-pointed leaves ; it branches 

 out greatly on every fide j the flowers grow foarfed- 

 ly toward the end of the branches, which are fuc- 

 ceeded by very long flender pods which are fmooth, 

 filled with fmall yellowifli k^ds. It flowers in June, 

 the feeds ripen in Auguft, and the plant dies foon after.' 

 The twolaft arc prcferved in botanic gardens for the 

 lake of variety. If their feeds are permitted to fcatter 

 the plants will come up in plenty, and require no 

 other care but to thin them and keep them clean ' 

 from weeds ; or if their feeds are fown in autumn, 

 they will fucceed better than in the fpring.'"' 



b V 



The eighth fort grows naturally in many parts of 

 England, fo is feldom admitted into gardens ; this is 

 an annual plant which fows itfelf, and comes up with- 

 out care. It was remarked, after the great fire of 

 London, that this plant came up in great plenty on 

 the ruins. • ' ^ ■ ^"■ 



The ninth fort grows naturally on the Plelvetian 

 mountains ; this hath a perennial root, from which 

 arife feveral branching ftalks near three feet high, gar- 

 niflaed with fpear-fliaped leaves, about three inches 

 long and one broad, fawed on their edges, aftd of a 

 deep green, fl:anding alternately on the ftalks. The 

 flowers grow in loofe fpikes at the top of the ftalks ; 

 they are fmall, yellow, and compofed of four petals 

 placed in form of a crofs ; thefe appear in June, and 



are fucceeded by taper pods filled with fmall feeds 

 which ripen in Auguft. . 



This is prcferved in fomegafdens for the fake of va- 

 riety, but it has no great beauty i it is^ propagated by 

 feeds, which fucceed beft when fown in autumn, for 

 thofe which are fown in the fpring feldom come up the 

 fame year.' The plants require no farther care but 

 to keep them clean from weeds, and love a cool fliady 



fituation. / - ■-:'.. -->Lv--^-^--i^W::^ '':'^''''^Y'xi'w ,,... 



ISYRINCIIIUM. Lin. Gen/T^... 



+ _r 



mudinana. Tourn. Inft. R. H. 387. tab. 208. 

 , The Characters are, • 



"The Jheath which indofes the flowers faces both ways^ 

 and is compofed of two compreffed keel-fhaped leaves, 

 ^he flower has fix ohlong petals which fpread open, 

 and have an acute pointy and three very fhort ftamina 

 terminated by bifid fummits which are fixed to the bafe 

 of the ftyle^ with an oval germen fituated tinder the 

 flower^ fupporting an awl-fljaped ftyle, crowned by a tri- 

 fld reflexed ftigma, ne germen afterward turns to an 

 oval three-cornered capfule with three cells, filled with 

 roundifh feeds. 



This genus of plants is ranged in the fecond fedlion 

 ofL.inn^us's twentieth clafs, which includes thofe 

 plants whofe flowers have their male and female or- 

 gans joined, and have three ftamina. 



The Species are, 

 SiSYRiNCHiuM {Bermiidiana) follis gladiolatis am- 

 plexicaulibus, pedunculis brevioribus. Sifyrinchium 

 with fword-floaped leaves embracing the ftalks^ and fhort er 

 • fcot-Jlalks to the flower. Bermudiana iridis folio fibro- 

 sa radice, Tburn. Inft. R. H. 338. Bermudiana with 

 an Iris leaf and a fibrous root, 



2. SuvRiNCHiUM {AnguflifcHa) foliis lineari-gladiolatis 



I. 



3 



pedunculis longionbus. Sifyrinchium with linear fword- 

 fhaped leaves, and longer foot-ftalks to the flower, 

 Bermudiana graminea, flore minore cxMulco. Hort. 



Elth. 49. Grafs-leaved Bermudiana with a fnaller bike 

 flower, ■ 



. SiSYRiNCHiuM (Bulb(^a){ol\h plicatis, fpatha biflora. 



Sifyrinchium with a plaited leaf and two flovms in a 

 fheath, Bermudiana palmte folio, radice bulbofa. 



Lign. Tourn. Inft. 381. Bermudiana with a Balm leaf 



and a bulbous root. 



from 



The firft fort grows naturally in Bermuda, 

 whence it had the title of Bermudiana given to it by 

 Tournefort ; this hath a fibrous root, from which arife 

 fome ftiff^ fword-fliapcd leaves, four or five inches 

 long and half an inch broad, of a dark green colour 

 and entire; between thefe come out the ftalk which 

 rifes fix inches high ; it is compreflrd, and has two 

 borders or wings running the whole length, and has 

 three or four Ipear-fliaped leaves which embrace it; 

 thefe grow ereft, and are hollowed like the keel of a 

 boat. Th ' 





ftalk is terminated by a clufter of fix or 

 feven flowers, ftanding uponfliort foot-ftalks, which 

 are inclofed by a two-leaved keel-fliapedlheath before 

 they open ; the flowers are of a deep blue colour with 

 yellow bottoms j they are compofed of fix oval petals 

 ending in acute points ; they fpread open, and the 

 flowers, when fully expanded, are an inch over. In 

 the center is fituated an upright ftyle, at the bottom 

 of which are three ftamina v/hofe fummits fit clofe to 

 it, and the top has a ftigm^ut into three parts which 

 are reflexed back to the ftyle ; thefe are of a gold co- 

 lour. The flowers appear in June, and when they 

 ' fall away, the germen, which was fituated under, turns 

 - to an oval obtufe capfule with three cells, filled with 

 roundifli feeds. " , " .' - " ' . 



' ■ * * 



The fecond fort" grows naturally in' Virginia; this 

 hath a perennial fibrous root,, from which arife rhany , 

 very narrow fpear-Ihaped leaves about three inches 

 long, and fcarce an eighth part of an inch broad, of 

 a light green colour, and entire. The ftalks rife 

 about three inches high ; they are very flender, com- 

 prefled and bordered like thofe of the firft-, and have 

 fliort, narrow, fword-ftiaped leaved, v/hofe bafe em- 

 brace them ; they a're terminated by two fmall pale 

 blue flowers, inclofed in a two leaved flieath, ftanding 

 upon longer foot-ftalks than thofe of the other, which 

 flower about the fame time, and their feeds ripen in 



- Auguft. ^, . . ■; -^^,^^^ -^:^ . ,:-:j^v ^ -^;^. : . V . • N 

 Thefe t\vo fpecies have been blended together by ma- 



. ny botanifts, who, it is very probable, have not ken 

 them both, or at leaft have not had an opportunity of 

 cultivating them, for thofe who have, ^an be under 



"^no doubt of their being diftinft fpecies." I have cul- 



■ttivated both in the fame foil and fituation upward of 

 twenty years,' during which time I frequently raifed 

 both forts from feed, and have never obferved either 

 of them alter. The leaves, ftalks, and flowers of 

 the firft are three times as large as thofe of the fecond, 

 and the flieith inclofes fix or feven flowers ; whereas 

 thofe of the fecond have rarely more than two, and 

 thefe do not expiand but for a fliort time in the morn- 

 ing, whereas thofe of the firft fort condnue open the 

 whole day. ' ' ' • 



Thefe plants are propagated by feeds, and alfo by 

 parting of their roots ; if they are raifed from feeds, 

 thefe ftiquld be fown in autumn foon after they are 

 ripe, upon an eaft afpefted border, where they may 

 have only the morning fun: the beft way will be to 

 fow them in drills at three or four inches diftance, 

 covering them about half an inch with light earth. 

 In the fpring the plants will appear, when their leaves 

 v/ill have much refemblance to Grafs, therefore care 

 fliould be taken that they are not pulled up as weeds 

 by thofe who clean the ground. During the firft 

 fummerthey will require no other" care but to keep 

 them clean from weeds, unlefs the plants ftiould 

 come up fo clofe as not to have room to grow, in 

 which cafe, part of them fiiould be drawn out to give 

 room to the others, and thefe may be planted in a 



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