DIDYNAMIA. 169 



It climbs to the height of 30 or 40 feet, and will adhere to 

 the side of a wooden building with great tenacity. 



GENUS Linn&a. Name, in honor of the celebrated Carl 

 Von Linne, ' ; the reformer of natural history, and the father 

 of the modern physical sciences." This genus contains only 

 a single species, called Linriaea borealis, and is not described 

 here on its own account. It is a small, branched, evergreen, 

 creeping plant ; leaves opposite ; calyx double ; that of the 

 fruit two-leaved; that of the flower five-parted; corolla cam- 

 panulate ; berry dry and three celled. It rises about three 

 or four inches from the ground, and according to a remark 

 formerly quoted, is an "abject, depressed," creeping plant, 

 long overlooked, and when found, has neither apparent use 

 nor beauty. It is sometimes arranged in the class Tetran- 

 dria, which would be its place were its stamens of the same 

 length. It is a native of Sweden and North America, and is 

 found in mountain woods. 



GENUS Digitalis. Fox Glove. Name, from digitabulum> 

 a thimble, in allusion to the form of the flowers. This genus 

 contains about 20 species, none of which are natives of Ameri- 

 ca. The purple Fox-glove (Digitalis purpurea,) grows wild 

 in different parts of Great Britain, where, among neglected 

 hedges and copses, it is one of the most ornamental flowers. 

 There is a variety bearing white flowers. The large, tall, 

 crowded spikes of this species, give it a conspicuous appear- 

 ance among the border flowers of our gardens. The multi- 

 tude of spotted bell shaped corollas, and the high coloring of 

 the purple kind, give it a very striking aspect, so that the 

 most ignorant and incurious spectator will always inquire its 

 name and use. This species is a violent poison, but at the 

 same time a valuable medicine. For this purpose the leaves 

 are employed, both in powder, and in the form of a spirituous 

 tincture. 



Scrophularia, (Figwort,) Antirrhinum, (Toad-flax,} Pe- 

 dicularis, (Louse-wort,) Gerardia and Mimulus, (Monkey- 

 flower,) are native genera belonging here, and are all worthy 

 of examination. 



Whence does the plant Linnaea derive its name ? From what circum 

 tance does the Digitalis take its name ? What are the qualities of digi- 

 talis ? 



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