PLATE LIU. 



1. SEMPER VIVUM ARACHNOIDEUM. 



COBWEB HOUSELEEK. 



THIS genus contains plants of the succulent, hardy, herbaceous, 

 evergreen, and shrubby perenial kinds. 



It belongs to the class and order Dodecandria Polyginia, (Dode- 

 cagynia,) and ranks in the natural order of Succulents. 



The characters are: that the calyx is a six to twelve-parted pe- 

 rianth, concave, acute, permanent : the corolla has six to twelve 

 petals, oblong, lanceolate, acute, concave, a little bigger than the 

 calyx; the stamina have from six to twelve filaments (or more), su- 

 bulate-slender: anthers roundish : the pistillum from six to twelve 

 germs, in a ring, erect; ending in as many spreading styles: stigmas 

 acute. 



The species cultivated are: 1. S. tectorum, Common Houseleek ; 

 2. S. globiferum, Globular Houseleek ; 3. S. arachnoideum, Cobweb 

 Houseleek; 4. S, montanum, Mountain Houseleek; 5. S. arboreumi 

 Tree Houseleek ; 6. Canariense, Canary Houseleek. 



The first has a perennial fibrous root: the root-leaves in form of 

 a full-blown double-rose, sessile, wedge-shaped or obovate, somewhat 

 more than an inch long, very fleshy, thick, flat above, a little con- 

 vex beneath, keeled and whitish, smooth on both sides, the edges 

 fringed with hairs and generally tinged with red, pointed, upright 

 gradually smaller inwards: offsets on long footstalks, globular, the 

 size of a pigeon's egg or larger, composed of erect leaves lying over 

 each other: the flowering-stem upright, from nine inches to a foot 

 in height, round, fleshy, pubescent, having alternate, lanceolate, 

 thinner leaves on it, of a reddish colour, at top branched and form- 



