C 346 3 



Protea Mellifera. Honey-Bearing 

 Protea. 



CAt/} <a;;/^ Order. 

 Tetrandria Monogynia. 



Generic Character. 



Cor. 4-petala : interdum bafi vel apice coherentibus. Antherx 

 lineares vel oblongas petalis infra apiccm infertae. Cat. pro- 

 pius o. Nitx fupera, 1-locularis, evalvis. 



Specific Character and Synonyms. 



PROTEA mellifera foliis lanceolato-ellipticis capituloque ter- 



minali oblongo glabris. Thank. Prot. n. 37. Linn. 



Syft. Veget. ed. 14. Mnrr. p. 139. Ait. Kcw. vol. 1. 



p. 127. 

 LEUCADENDRON repens foliis lanceolatis, floribus ob- 



longis, calycum fquamis glabris. Linn. Sp. Pl> ed. 



3. p. 135. 

 LEPIDOCARPODENDRON foliis anguftis brevioribus fa- 



lignis, calycis fquamis elegantiffimi ex roleo aureo 



albo atro rubro variegatis, florum plumis albis. 



Boerh. Lugd. 2. p. 187. 



To a magnificent appearance, the blofTom of the Protea 

 joins a ftrufture extremely curious and interefting ; but, at the 

 fame time, difficult to be undcrftood by fludents, who are apt 

 to confider the whole as one great fimple flower, while in 

 reality it is compofed of a number of florets enclofed within a 

 common calyx formed of numerous leaves or fcales placed one 

 over the other, and fitting on one common receptacle, being 

 in fa& what Botanifts term an aggregate flower, approaching 

 indeed near to a compound one, there being in the ftruBure 

 and union of the antherx a confiderable fimilarity to thofe 01 

 the Syngenefia clafs, much more fo than in the flowers 01 



Plantain, Scabious, Teafcl, and others. 



The 



