frsLETOE tlORTUS JAMAICE^fSrS. 50^ 



CerriCD sub-ciU!Jeel, terminating, wLt!i thrcc-corncred br^nchlcts ; the last pedicels 

 trifid, one-fjowerecl; flowers red; calyx do'ible; Ip.ver- iir.diviucd, pitcher-shapcJy 

 suiail ; upper, margin or the g-erm, ermre. Petals six, very long-, coiuigaioiis be!o\v, 

 spreading abuve, rcvuiiua; before thty are iiiifolJeJ foniiiiig a slightij iijturved co- 

 rolla; fiiaineiits tasteaed to tiie petals above the 11. iuile, (nifomi, purple; anthers ob- 

 long, vertical, yellow; genu ovale ; style fiU.bnii, the length of the corolla; stigma 

 bluut. pubescent ; berry ovate, oiie-seeded .5a. This api roaches near to tlie viscum, 

 both in its nature and beiiY, but all tiietltmers ai'e herniaphrodite. This spiecies is 

 frequently found on matichioneal trees about Hunt's Bay ; and has been observed to 

 grow into imali twiggy shrubs beyond the careening place on the Falisadocs.'^ Browne. 



2. OCi IDENTaLI:}. WFSTEKN. 



Visciiynlatioribus et suh^otundis folyis, Jlore purpureo. Sloane, v. 2, 

 p. 92, t. 200, f. 2. Piirasiticafnliisraujonbussabrotundis, spici:- 

 tloi'uni simplicLbus, ulunbus. Browne, p. li'T. 



Eacemes simple ; flowers irregular. 



Branches divaricating, sub-divided, loose, round, rugged, brittle; leaves larije, 

 on short petioles, opposite, ovate-rounded, margined, spreading, nerved above, 

 smooth, succulent, pale green R-acemes axillary, solitary, erect, shorter than the 

 le.ives, roiiudi-'h, on very siiort thick pe>iivncles ; flowers sessile, mintite, dark purple ; 

 calyx supeT-ior, minute, undivided; petals ainio.st connate at the base, three a little 

 shorter, upright, acute ; filaments shorter than the petals, and placed on the middle 

 of them ; anthers three, ovate, yellow, fertile ; three barren, liollowed on the sides 

 for the fertile ones ; germ inferior, roundibb, covered with the calvx, and margined; 

 style the length of the petals; stigma iiaiple, blunt; berry roundish, viscid, one- 

 seeded. Su\ 



Tlie folloiving observations on this plant are from BTr. A. Robinson's manuEcript : 

 " I piucked souve of the broad-Wated misletoe described bv >ir Hans Sloane, the 

 sciimda of Dr. Browne, which, upon chewing for a vertigo, 1 found the wood, llowcr, 

 pedicels, and leaves, of a very astringent, and somewhat bitter, taste, leaving no small 

 degree of acrimony upon the throat and palate. This proves that it is not merelj' as-, 

 tringent, for, as Parkinson sa s, ' the misletoe is hot an 1 dry in the tnirJ degree, thai 

 leaves and berries heat and dry, and are of subtle parts, for some acrimony is in them, 

 which o\erconieth the bitterness ;' wuich 'emark is very just, fur the acrimonv remains 

 a good wliile alter the re?tringency is no more perceptible to the palate ; therefore this 

 plant is not astringent and viscid, as Quiiicey says, but restringent, bitter, and acrid, 

 by which means it renders the saliva thin and fluid. Flerman sa}s it yields an acid 

 spirit and an oil, by distillation. It is said to be a specific against the epileps}-. The 

 nervous fibres are probi^bly too much relaxed in epiieptics, in whuh case thtir porea 

 V/ill also be necessarily too large ; gentle astringents, such as misktoe, will therefore 

 be useful; the mis'etoe especially, whi'-h, although by its astringi iic\ it strengthens 

 the fibres, yet does not thicken the fluids, henue it lias been of service in curing qiiar- 

 tens, in which peculiar quality it )-esetiibles the bark, for it strengthens the fibres and 

 tiiies tbe fluids. Tlie ieavisand flower pedicels seeai to be eiuuied v\ith greater vir- 

 tues dian the stem, the bark of which is not to be despised, but tne mi Idle part is lig- 

 neous, insipid, and of no efficacy. Habitual Oriukers of tea, espenally those of a 

 phltgiuatic temperament, are soniciimes afllicaed ith vcrligos, wliicii, in all probabi- 

 lity, oiay bl; caiwcd by dniikin^;; it too Wdfin, by vvhith means it may rclaJi too much i 



buv 



