MZ nORTUS JAMAICENRIS. wossss, 



luncco]; t?. !ipri:,ht. Kative of the mountaina'.is parts of Jam ira, flowering the \vlr>Ie 

 ycai, opcijiijg ai ioiir o'tlock in liu' afieinooii, out' flouc-r ualy coining out at a time, 



llQ%SG.\^6l-c Horse-1{add!IshTrle?!J Nil ears. 



MOHASS-WEED on HORN-WORT. CERATOPIH^LLUM. 



Cl. 21, oa. S. 3Ionocc'a polyandria. Nat. or. Inundata. 



This genc-ric name is derived n-om two Greek words signifying Ijoniedieaf. 



Ge >. CHAR. M..le calyx a n)au3--psrtea peruintli, divisions subulate, equal ; no co- 

 r<)lla ; the .staiiien.s are filanieius, doable tiie number of the dhisioiis of tiie calyx 

 (sixteen or i\vent_\), liaidly conspicuous ; anthers oblong, erect, longer tiian the 

 calyx. P'enialt-s, on the saniepiant with tiie males calyx a many-parted jicrianth, 

 division.-) subulate, equal; no corolla ; the pistil has an ovate-compressed germ, 

 no style, stigma obtuse, oblique ; no pericarp , the seed a nut, ovate, unilocular, 

 acuiiiinute. One species is a native of Jamaica. 



DKMERSU.M. ' DROV.'NED. 



Foliis rcrticilLdh et tubercuUitis, vudtifariavi incisis ; laciniis conioii 

 (ict/tis. Browne, p. 345. 



Leaves two-fold, dichotomous ; fruits three-horned. 



This plant is very common in all the brackish waters of Jamaica, and generally useti 

 to cover tisii or water ))lants, which are carrieit a long way to market; for it retains a 

 deal of moisture, which keeps them fresh and cool for a considerable time. It may be 

 also used, with great success, to cover the tender seeds of the cacao, for a few days 

 ^fier tiiey are planted. Bro'wnc. 



MOSSES. MUSCUS. 



Cl. 24, OR. 3. Ciyptogayyiia musci. 



What hotatiical writers st-ictly understand by the word moss, is a class of plants ap- 

 pearing of an inferior ran!; to the common vegetables ; the less perfect genera of which 

 have been supposed to be vvliolly destitute of flower or seed, or anj- thing analogous to 

 cither, and to consist of simple, similar, and uniform, parts. The genera a little above 

 these have some diversity of parts, and carry something that looks analogous to vegeta- 

 tion in the common way, having a resemblance of those parts which serve other plants 

 for their fructifi^ ation. The more perfect genera of the mosses not only consist of dif- 

 ferent parts, but have also their appropriated organs, containing a pulp,- matter, which 

 finally becomes tlrv, and as>umes the form of a fine and subtle powder, composed of 

 granules, each of whicn is either a seed or a granule of farina, serving for the propa- 

 gation of the species. 



Tne more imperfect mosses are distinguished from the otliers by their appearance to 

 the naked eye ; they are either iu form of a fine lanugo or down, covering the surface 



of 



