Ill 



ERIODENDRON. 



KHLANITE. 



(11 



who ha* written a monograph of the South American specie*, state* 

 that in that part of the world, although they prefer marshy and 

 inundated place*, yet some are found upon damp sand, others among 

 grass, and some in dry and stony place* ; they are also frequently 

 met with in alpine lituations, some a* high as 5590 feet above the 

 sea on the summit of Mount ItiuuW. The preceding figure of 

 fnocanton JeMiIroiiltvm give* a correct notion of the appearance of 

 the*e plants. 



ERIODEXDRON, a genus of PlanU belonging to the natural order 

 Sitrculiacnr, known by the name of Wool-Trees. The wool-trees are 

 large trees, with a spongy wood which is used for little besides making 

 canoes in the district* where they grow. The leaves are palmate, and 

 the flower* are large, red, white, or scarlet, and rising singly or in 

 cluster* from the sides or tops of the branches. The calyx is naked, 

 irregularly 5-lobed, with the lobe* usually twin ; the petals are 5, 

 joined together, and are connected with the column of the stamen* 

 at the base. The filaments of the stamens are joined together into 

 shor' tube at the base, and divided into 5 bundles at the apex ; 

 these bundle* are filiform, and each bears 1, 2, or 3 linear or anfnux 

 tuous anthers at the apex, which have the appearance of one anther, 

 and are either adnate or versatile. The stigma is 6- or 6-cleft. There 

 are 6 specie* of Eriodtndron, 5 of which are natives of America, and 

 1 of Asia and Africa. 



anfractuotum ha* versatile anfractuous anthers ; leaves with 5, 

 7, or 8 entire cuspidate leaflets, glaucous beneath and a usually prickly 

 trunk. This tree attains a height of 150 feet or more. There are two 

 varieties described, the one growing in the East Indies and the other 

 in Guinea. They differ chiefly in the colour of their flowers. The 

 Indian species, a. InJicum, has flowers yellowish inside and white 

 outside ; whilst the Guinea species, a. Africanum, has large crimson 

 flowers. In Guinea this tree is one of the largest and tallest of the 

 forest-trees, and the trunk is employed for making the largest-sized 

 canoes. 



Samamna has versatile anfractuous anthers; leaves with 5-7 

 oblong, quite entire, acuminated leaflets; the petals obovately 

 spatulate, covered with glabrous down on the outside. The flowers 

 are cream-coloured, and are seated on the tops of the branches. The 

 wool contained in the fruit is used in Brazil for stuffing pillows, 

 bolsters, beds, Ac. It is found hi Brazil near the river Yupm-.i. 



JatMinotlorumhag anfractuous anthers; a jointed style; leaves 

 with 3 ovate, acute, entire leaflets ; the petals reflexed ; the tube of 

 the stamens thickened at the top and entire, with the filaments 

 1-anthered. This plant is a native of Brazil, in the province of Minos 

 Novas. It has white flowers smelling very like to those of the jasmine. 



The wool-trees may be grown in this country with heat They 

 may be propagated by cuttings which will root freely in sand under 

 a hand-glass, but the plants which are produced from seeds thrive 

 best. They, do not usually produce their beautiful flowers till they 

 are of large size in their native countries ; therefore it con hardly be 

 expected they should flower in this country. 



ERIOMYS. [CHincnn.LiD.] 



ERIO'PHORUM, the systematic name of the sedge-like Plant 

 which i* called in this country Wild Cotton or Cotton-Grass, in conse- 

 quence of the long cottony tufts which wave upon its stalks in marshy 

 and sedgy heaths and wastes in all parts of thig country. The 

 appearance is owing to the hypogynous scales, which, in this gluina- 

 ceous genus, represent the calyx, being extended into long numerous 

 white hairs, which project for beyond the scales of the flower-head. 

 It is not a little curious that while, in most of the species, these hairs 

 are indefinitely numerous, they should in one, alpinum, be reduced 

 to the regular number, six, which is the general proportion of floral 

 envelopes belonging to Endogens. Professor Kuntb enumerates twelve 

 species, all inhabiting the colder part* of the northern hemisphere. 

 The silky or cottony substance which clothes the fruit of the species 

 of this genus is made into paper and the wick* of candles ; it is also 

 used for stuffing pillows, Ac. The leave* of comoium are in the 

 Himalayas extensively employed in the manufacture of ropes. 



KKI'i'HIA, LatreiUe'* name for a genus of lirachyurous or Short- 

 Tailed Crustacean*. 



Carapace le** wide, and more quadrilateral than hi the other 

 Cancerian* ; length two-third* more than the breadth ; the fronto- 

 orbital border occupies more than one-half, and sometime* more than 

 three-fourth* of its breadth ; and the latero-anterior borders', directed 

 nearly right backwards, only describe a slight curvature, and prolong 

 themselves but little. Orbit*, as in the genus JtnpptUia; but the 

 space which separate* their edge* from the basilary joint of the 

 external antenna) i* very considerable ; this joint is but little developed, 

 and does not occupy a .fourth of the space comprised between the 

 antennary foacette and the internal con thus of the eye*; on the con- 

 trary, the moveable item of the external antenme i* much more 

 developed than in the BitppeUia, and is inserted at a small distance 

 from the antennary fossette. For the rent, not differing from the 

 other Cancerions. 



M. Milne-Edwards, whose description we have given, says, that the 

 Sriphur, which he places among the Quadrilateral Crustaceans, 

 approach the Ituj.ptUut nearly, but that the general form of the body 

 of Eriphi't tend* to establish a passage towards the Hulpkuta. He 

 divide* the ipecie* into the following sections : 



a. Specie* having the hands (uianus) tuberculous. 



* Kr >ut armed with spines. 



Ex. E. tpinifront (Cancer ipinifront, llerbst). It inhabits all 

 (Milne-Edwards.) 



ipinifrml. 



" Front devoid of spines. 



Ex. E. gonagra (Cancer yonagra, Fabrioiiis). Found on the coast* 

 of South America. 



gonapra. 



B. Species having the hands (inauun) smooth, not tuberculous. 

 Ex. I:' i-liiii'it'i. It inhabits the Isle of France. 



Xi-ijihia lttc!ma*a. 



M. Milne-Edwards observes that the. /:'/-,'/<//<> figmvtl by Suvigny 

 ('Egyp'., pL 5, fig. 1), and referred with doubt by M. Audouin (.. 

 ipinifront, appears to him (Edwards) to be a distinct specie*; 

 and that firitmatica of Hiaso ha* not been described with 

 sufficient detail* to justify its reference to this genus with ci r- 

 tainty. Cancer ury. t) appears to M. Edwards to be 



mi Erip/iiit. 



KKI.ANITK, a Mineral containing Silica, Alumina, &c. It occurs 

 massive and amorphous. It* fracture is in some specimens foliated, 



