-S28 - H O R T U S J^ A WA I C E N S I-S. mushrooms 



base ; the upprr one more ohliqiie, or stretchin-;- mtuli farther bacl; on one side of the 

 petiole than they c!o on the other;; petioles sliort, round, liirsn'i.e; stipules solitar}', 

 the length of liie petioles, filiform, .hirsnte in front at tlu; base of the leaves ; the hairs 

 of the leaves are glandular. .' Peduncles two to four, between the petioles, and not a.v- 

 -jllary, clustered, lonocr ilian uie petiole, .sli>rttr than the leaf, one-ilowereil, round, 

 viilo'^e-viscid. Jacquui remarks tiiiit they- successively turn tiie flower when it is abouj; 

 to expiiiKi, to the face of the ie;'.f, v^Jiich befo e was rcflexed to tiie back of it. -Flowers 

 without seen;, Itut handsome, an inch in diameter, resembling those of the bramble, 

 according to Sioane. :The calyx is ash-coloured, and the petals white; the former is 

 five or six-parted, the parts the same length with the petals, hirsute and viscid; the 

 la'ter five or six in number, with a very short claw, and plaited ; filaments twenty five 

 to tiiirt}-, shorter tlian the ET'^rm; anthers twin, germ smooth; stigma five or six-cor- 

 nerv J, five or six rayed. ^'li; K Jacqzihi. Berry spherical, crowned with the .sessile 

 stigum, which has from four to si It grooves, succulent, many-celled; partitions mem- 

 branaceous, veiy tl.in, sub-divided towprtls the periphery, wiien die cells are unequal 

 and irregular; seeds very smooth and shining, whitish or pale straw colour, ne.stling in 

 the puip without ~any receptacle. Gtsrtrur. It is frequent in the hills and lower 

 mountains of Jamaica ; the branches are very irregular and spreading, the tvyigs slender, 

 an 1 the leaves hairy and narrow, stretching much furtlier back on one side of the foot- 

 stalk than they do. on the otiier. Broicnc. 



MUSHROOMS. FUNGI. 



Cl. 24, OR. 5. Criiptogamia fungi. 



So little is known about the fructification oi funguses, that the clraracters ate taiken 

 f:oui external form. It is evident that they are vegetables and produce seed, by which 

 tiicy have been propagated. The following- arc indigenous to Jamaica : 



I. AGARICU3. 



Gen. char. Cap with gills underneath; gills differing in substance from the rest of 

 the plant, composed of twolaminasj seeds in the gills. Of tiiis there are two 

 species. 



1. SRRIATUS. STRIATED. 



Stemless, convex, ferruginous hairy ; margin entire ; lamellce alternate, in- 

 . terrupted, ash-coloured. S'lt". 

 Browne calls this the larger vi\\\X.e agaricus with interrupted laminse, frequent enoii^-h 

 in the w;;oJs of Jamaica. It is easily distinguished by its white colour, thicker mass, 

 and tiie interrupie i disposition of its lamina; or seed plates. lie adds that this vegeta- 

 ble has lately been discovered to be the most effectual application hitherto known to 

 rescrain the effusion of blood \\\ recent or old wounds, as well as in chirurgical opera- 

 tions, and was iound to answer where considerable arteries had been cut ; applied in 

 small pieces to the extremities of the vessels ; for this purpose the middle part is only 

 used, the outward coats being strpped off. See Cases in Surgery, by Joseph Warner, 

 1754. Browne mentions another species, which be calls the oblong fringed agaricus, 



beautiful 



