D O D 



D O D 



ilecp srccn colour; those on the lower part of 

 ihe stalk shorter and broader than on the upper, 

 on vvliich tliey are entire; at these jomts the 

 iiowers eome out -ingiy on each side the stall?, 

 sittinir close to it, are nearly an inch long,and of 

 y deep purple colour ; appcarinir in July. It is 

 a native of the Eiist ; but rarely produces seeds 

 here. 



(;i,Jlure. — These plants are readily increased 

 hv planting pieces of their creeping roots, either 

 in the autumn, at the time when the stems 

 decay, Of i" the spring before they shoot up ; 

 ihcy succeed best in light dry soils. 



It serves for ornament ing the borders and other 

 parts of the ijarden or pleasure-ground. 



J30])f:CATlJf:0.\, a genus furnishing a 

 plant of the low flouering perenuiai kind. 



It belongs to ilie class^aiid order I'entandr'in 

 MmosijiiKi, ^iid ranks in the natural order of 

 I'll (he. 



The characters arc : that the calyx is a many- 

 leaved, nianv-flowered involucre, very small : pe- 

 rianthium one-leafed, half livc-cleft, permanent : 

 divisions rellex, iinally longer, permanent; the 

 corolla one-petalled, live-parted: tube shorter 

 than the calyx : (naked at the throat) bortler 

 reflex: divisions very long, lanceolate: the sta- 

 mina consist of five filaments, very short, ob- 

 tuse, seated on the tube : anthers sagittate, con- 

 verging into a beak : the pistilluni is a conic 

 gcrni : style filiform, longer than the sta- 

 mens : stigma obtuse: the perieaipium is an 

 <.blong, one-celled capsule, gaping at the tip : 

 (subeylnidrlc, opening into five parts) : the 

 seeds vcrv many, and small: receptacle free, 

 small. 



The only species is D. Mcadia, Virginian 

 Cowslip, or Meadia. 



It has a yellow perennial root, from which come 

 out in the spring several long smooth leaves, 

 near six inches long, and t\\ o and a half broad ; 

 at first standing erect, but afterwards spreading 

 on the ground, especially when much exposed 

 to the sun : from among these leaves arise two, 

 three, or four flower- stalks, in proportion to the 

 strength of the roots, which rise eight or nine 

 inche-s high, smooth, naked, and terminated by 

 an umbiT of flowers, which are purjjle, incli- 

 ning to a peach-blossom colour. Itis native of 

 Virsinia, flowering about the end of April or 

 beginning of the following month. 



Culture. — The methods of propagation in this 

 plant are either by seeds, or ofl-sets from the 

 roots ; but the last is the best. 



In the first, the seeds should be sown either in 

 flie autunm, soon after thev are fully ripened, or 

 in the spring, in a nioi>l shady s|ioi, or in pots 

 to be placed in such situations. When the plants 



appear, they should be kept free from weeds, 

 and have occasional water when the weather is 

 drv, being shaded from the heat of the ^un. 

 When the stems decay, tliey may be carefully 

 remo\ed ;;iid planted in moist shady places, at 

 the distance of twelve or eighteen inches, to 

 remain till the following autumn, when they 

 should be liuailv planted in the borders and other 

 places where tiiere are due shade and moisture. 



The roots may be removed, and the off-sets 

 carefully taken off from them about the latter 

 end of Au:rust or the following month, and im- 

 mediatclv planted in such situations as the above, 

 when lliev will be fullv established before the 

 frosts set in. 



These plants are found to be hardv, but inca- 

 pable of succeeding iu drv soils or sunny situ- 

 aticjns. They afford ornament in the beds, bor- 

 ders, or other parts of pleasure-grounds. 



DODONjEA, a genus eom)irelieiKling plants 

 of the shrubby exotic kind. 



It belongs to the class and order Octaii'lna 

 ]^lotioj,)jnia, and ranks in the natural order of 

 Diimosic. 



The characters are : that the calyx is a four-leav- 

 ed, flat peiiantliium; leaflets ovate, obtuse, con- 

 cave, deciduous: there is no corolla: the stamina 

 consist of eight verv short filaments : anthers 

 oblong, bowed, converging, length of the calyx : 

 the pistilluni is a three-sided germ, length of 

 the calyx : style cylindric, three-furrowed, up- 

 right : stiirma slightly three-cleft, a little acute : 

 the pericarpium a three-furrowed capsule, in- 

 flated, three-celled, with large membranaceous 

 corners : the seed in couples, and roundish. 



The species are: 1. D. vUcosa, Broad-leaved 

 Dodonaa ; '^. D. anguslifoUa, Narrow-leaved 

 Dodonsea. 



The first sends up several stalks from the root, 

 about the size of a man's arm, with several up- 

 rioht branches, covered with a light brown haik, 

 which frequently separates from the wood, and 

 hansrs loose: tlie leaves are stiff, varying greatly 

 in shape and size, some being four inches long, 

 and an inch and a half broad ; others not three 

 inches long, and a quarter of an inch broad ; 

 they are spear-shaped, entire, and of a light 

 green, growing with their points upward, and 

 have verv short foot-stalks. 'J"he flowers arc 

 produced at the end of the branches in a sort of 

 raceme, each standino- upon a slender foot-stalk 

 about an inch long. It is a native of the coun- 

 tries between the tropics. 



The second species resembles the first, but the 

 leaves are lanceolate-linear, and the fructifica- 

 tion pi)lygamous. It is a native of the Cape, 

 flowerinirlrom Mav till the latter end of sum- 



