1S>3" HORTUS JAMAICEKSrS; mwA-- 



Thid is a trailing plant, spreading out eiglit or nine iiiciies every vva}', atid'liaTirig 

 six or seven sma'l leaves at each joiut, ,sj)reudiiig outinforiii of a suir, i<'lovvrs smalj, . 

 like those of chickweed,. one on eacii footstalk, succeeded by oval caijsules, lilicd witii 

 small seeds, about twelve in each ceii Br.owne says this plant is prctiy common in the 

 dry savannas in I.,iguanea; . its h'aves and~branchcs are very small ; tbaitiie staik sciduui 

 riiiis above six or eight iachcs fro,in tiie root ; tiuit tiie flowers are generally four or live, 

 together, and grow on single tufts on the sides of the wiioris. 



2; BELUDIFOLU. Will r-f l-OWEKED, 



Alsini (ijtmisyj'oi'is hdlidis minonSy caid'c nudo. Sloane, r. l, p- 

 2(X'3,, t. 1 2S, f 2. . 



White-flowered, with naked sta!ks>. 



This species of inolliioo is not mentioned by Linneus, who, it is remarkable, never 

 quotes Sloane, and has been ovi^rlooked in vhe latest botanical works. Sljane takes 

 particular notice of it,, .and has given a correct figure. It is a rare plant. Tjie leaves 

 of the cup perform the office of petals, they are white above and expanded, but as tlie 

 fruit increases, they become green and connivent, closely embracing the capsules, 

 whose vaUvs, b'.iiig very thh and tender, they help to strengthen. This littie plant 

 flourishes in September, tiie, root is perennial, the leaves are sweet in taste as liquorice,, 

 but with souie a Ijav of bitterness. Sloane describes it as follows ; It hatha crooked 

 white root with many hairs. . The Icf.^^s lie on the stuiace of the earth, spread round 

 the root, being aiiout an inch long, froai a narrow beginning increasing by degrees to 

 a round fnd, not iiniikethe leaves of the lesser daisy. From tiu; miJoie of tne leaves 

 rises a staik or two, four or five inclies long, without leaves, being branched tov.ards 

 the top, the branches divided into small twigs, each whereof sustains a small head, En- 

 closed by four v.hitish capsular leaves, havii\g within thern a round whitish seed vessel, . 

 iiill of roundish blark seeds, very siijall. . It grew in sandy piaces of the town savaaua- 

 towards Tavo Mde Wood* 



CHINA ROOT. SMILAX. 



Cu 22, OR. 6. Dioecia hcxandria. Nat. OR. Sarmentaceoe. 



C^F.N. CHAR. Male calyx a six-leavd perianth, spreading, bell-shaped ; leaflets ob-- 

 long, approximating at the base, bent back, and spreading at the tip ; there is no 

 corolla except the calyx ; the stamens are six simple filaments, with oblong an- 

 thers. The l< mule calyx as in the male, deciduous; there is no corolla ; the pistil 

 has an ovate germ, three very small styles, stigmas oblong, bent back, pubescent ; 

 the pericarp is a globular three-ceiled berry j seeds two, globular. Two species 

 aie natives of Jamaica. 



1.- CHINA. 

 Smilax aspera, fructu niaro, radice nodosa, magna, levi, farinacea, 

 China dicta. Sloane, v. 1, p. 231, t. 143, f I. Sarmento tereti^ 

 infcrne aculeato ; foliis subrohoido cordatis, triherviis^ petinlis- 

 <hviciila mia vd atcra rcfcrtis, Brovvue, p. 359. 



^tem 



