T A 



iivc coloured leaves, which are called petah, the fta- 

 mina being only encoinpaired by the tiower-cup ^ of 

 this fort are the male plants of Nettles, Spinach, 



Hemp, &c. 

 STAPELIA. Lin. Gen. Plant. 271. Afclepias. 



Tourn. Inft. R. H. 94. Swallow-wort, or Fritillaria 



crafla. 



The Characters are, 

 T'ke flo'wer has a permanent anpalement cf one leaf^ ait 

 into five acute fcgments\ it has one large plain petal, cut 

 into five acute fegments above the middle^ and a plain 

 five-pointed ft arry ne barium v:ith linear fiegmcnts, zvhofe 

 torn points furround the parts of generation -, it has fi 



S T 



A 



■hfide theft 



ftamina^ with linear ftummits faftened 



four taper pods joined at their bafe, v/hvJi aiv \v::xv 

 a fpan long, and almoft as thick as a man's niv.-.-"- 

 which are filled with flat feeds crowned v/i-Ji n 'km- 

 thery down, lying over each other like the Icales of 

 lift, but thefe pods are feldom formed in l^n^dand • 

 for in upward of forty years which I have cnlnvared' 

 thefe plants, I never law them produce their pods 

 but three times, and thofe plants vv^ere 'pIunn;ed^:uo 

 the tan-bed in the ftovc, into which the brandies 

 had pu: out long roots, and thereby becanie vei 

 luxuriant. 



/ 



O'er tiK^.n 



tertv 



ftyle^ crozvned by a blimt ftigraa. The germ en aft 



oblong; taper pods filled voith comprefjec 



feeds^ crovoned with a feathery down^ lying over each other 



like the fcales of fifto. ^ ^ ^ 



This o-enus of plants is rancred in the fecond fedion 

 ofLinnxus's fifth clafs, which includes thofe plants 

 wliofe flowers have five fl:amina, and two fl:vles or 



germcn. 



The Species arc, 



. Stapelta {Variegata) denticulis ramorum patentibus. 



Vir. Cliff". 20. Stapelia with fpreading indentures to the 



branches, Afclepias Africana aizoides. Tourn. Infl:. 



c)4. African Swallow-wort like Ilctifeleek^ commonly called 



The branches of the fecond fort are much iar_ 



thofe of the firll, and Hand more ereft, butVoread 

 and emit roots in the fame way ^ they have four lon- 

 gitudinal furrows, which divide them into four -r.. 



on tiKMr 



# 



futa) denticulis ramorum eredlis. 



2. Stapelia 



Hort. ClifF. 77. Stapelia with ereol indentures to the 

 'branches. Afclepias Africana aizoides, flora pulchre 

 fimbriato. Com. Rar. Plant. 19. African Swallow-wort 

 like Houfeleek, with a fine fringed flower. 

 There are fome other fpecies of this genus, which 

 grow naturally at the Cape of Good Hope -, the fi- 

 gures and defcriptions of fome forts, having been ex- 

 hibited by the learned Dr. Burman, profeflbr of bo- 

 tany at Amfterdam, though we have not more than 

 three fpecies in England, one of which has not "yet 

 . . flowered here.-; There is "a:.ya'riety of the iirft fort 

 - ' mentioned in books, with flat crefted branches, and 

 '■ is by fome'^ga;rdeners titled Coxcomb Fritillary ; but 

 'j-)this is no other than three, four, or more brancliies. 



'- -*..'- 5 =- -V 



->. joined together and becoming flat, fo will return 

 ' . back to its onginal again, therefore is\ not wortfiy 



The firfl: fort rifes with many fucculent branches^about 

 .. the fize of a man's finger, which are four or five 

 inches long, having feveral protuberant indentures on 

 their fides, which ipread open horizontally, ending 

 in acute points ; thefe branches fpread on the ground 

 and emit roots from their joints, fo where they have 

 room will extend very wide -, they are angular, and of 

 a deep green colour in furnmer, when they are free in 

 n: growth, but in winter they change to a purplifti co- 

 lour; they abound with a vifcous juiceof a naufeous 

 tafl:e. From the' fide of the branches "toward their 

 bottom, comes out the foot-Italk of the flower at one 

 of the finufes, which is ftiort, and fufl:ains one flower, 

 ' ■ having a large thick petal which is cut half way into 

 .•: five points like a ftar, which fpreads open flat ; thefe 

 , •: are greenifli on the outfide, but yellow within, having 

 ^^ a circle of piurple round the ncdtarii, and tKe whole 

 ■ petal IS finely fpotted with purple, refembling the 

 -,- belly of a frogi ^'•Tn the center are the five compreflfed 

 - neftarii which are prominent, of a livid colour, which 

 include the genital parts. The flower, when blown, 

 has a very foetid odour like that of carrion, fo like 

 as that the common flefh fly depofit their eggs on it, 

 - ■ which frequently are hatched, but wanting proper 

 food die foon after •, for I have many years watched 

 the progrefs of thefe, to fee if the maggots produced 

 from thefe eggs ever eat any part of the flower, or 

 lived any time, but could never obferve either ; nor 

 have ever heard that any other perfon of credit has, 

 though it has been aflTerted, that they have devoured 

 great part of the petal, and come to maturity, chang- 

 . ing afterward into" their lafl: fl:ate of fliesr^ After 

 the flowers are pafl:,' the double germen changes into 



gles, which have protuberant indentures 

 edges, whofe points are erect ; they are nearly oft!:, 

 fame colour as thofe of the firil, beincr of 'a dark 

 green in furnmer, but inclining to purj)le in autumn" 

 The flowers come out upon Ihort foot-flalks from the 

 fide of the branches ; thefe are of the form witii thofe 

 of the former, but are m.uch larger ; the petal is of a 

 thicker fubft:ance, and on the inlide covered Vv'ith fine 

 purpli(h foft hairs ; tlie ground of the flower is an 

 herbaceous yellow, Itreaked and chequered with pur- 

 plifli lines. This fort produces its flowers in much 

 greater plenty than the firfl: fort, fo that in furnmer 

 and autumn thefe plants are feldom long deflitute of 

 flovvxrs, but I have never fcen any of"^ the pods of 

 this fort produced in England. 



Both thefe plants grow naturally upon the rocks near 

 the Cape of Good Mope, where they ftrike their 

 roots into the crevices of the rocks and fpread th.em- 

 felves greatly. They are propagated here very eafily, 

 by taking off any of the lide branches durin<:^ any of 

 the furnmer months, which, when planted, put out 

 roots very freely. The branches ftiould be flipped 

 :::off from the plants to the bottom, where they are 

 ' joined by a fmall ligature, fo will not occafion a threat 

 -; wound, the joints at the place wfccre they are conneft- 

 ed being almoft clofed round v for if they are cut 

 through the branch, the wound will be fo great as to 

 occafion their rotting when planted r thefe fliould be 

 laid in a dry place under cover for eight or ten days, 

 -L- that the wounded ^art may dry and heal over before 

 ^-ly.they are planted, otherwile they will rot ; then they 

 : "-nibuld be planted in pots filled with earth, compofecl 

 : of frefh Tandy earth, mixed with lime rubbilh and 

 fea fand j and if the pots are plunged into a very mo- 

 derate hot-bed, it will prom.oce their taking root 5 

 they fliould be now and then fprinkled with water, 

 .rvbut it^muft be given them fparingly ; and as foon as 

 . they have taken root, they mufl: be inured to the open 

 air. It thefe plants are kept in a very moderate 

 -^ fl-ove in winter, and in fummer placed in an airy glafs- 

 -xafei-where they may enjoy much free air, but be 

 \, fcreened from wet and cold, they will thrive and flow- 

 er very well ; for although they will live in the open 

 air in fummer, and may be kept through the winter 

 ^ in a good green-houfe, yet thofe plants will not flower 

 • fo well as thofe managed in the other way. ' Thefe 

 plants muft h^ve little water given them, efpecially 



in winter.. . 



; » 



* -- • 



STAPH YL^A. Lin. Gen. Plant.' 336. Staphylo- 

 . dendrori. Tourn. Inft. R. H. 616. tab. 386. fo call- 

 ed of s-ocpvXviy a Grape, and Siv^ocv^ a tree, becaufe its 

 fruit grows upon trees in clufters.] Bladder'-nut ; in 

 -French, Nez-Coupez, 



'*.* '/-'•-\4'~ 



The Characters are. 



s y 



^he empalement is roundifh^ concave^ and coloured,, fo 

 ' large as to inclofe the flower^ which has five oblo?ig ere5l 

 petals like the empalement^ and a pitckcr-ftjaped concave 

 7je£larium at the bottom of thefi...wer^ with five oblong 

 ■ erect ftyles terminated by ftngle fiimmits^ and atktckger- 

 . men divided in three parts fupporting three ftyles, to which 

 there are obtufe ftigmas contiguous. The germcn afterward 

 become two hard almoft globular feeds,, included in three-cor- 

 nered bladders^ joined by a longitudinal feam^ with an acute 



point opening within. 



■ * 





•. - 



f -- 



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: 1 





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This 



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