ANA 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



ANA 



the stomach, to which they are very subject, by eating the 

 fleshy parts of the fruit, the acidity of which dissolves the 

 tough humour which prevents the free circulation of the blood 

 and juices, and thus removes the complaint by destroying its 

 cause. It is however necessity, not choice, which leads the 

 negroes to the use of this fruit, which they are far from being 

 fond of ; but their masters, the Portuguese, deny them every 

 other kind of sustenance. Being constrained to use this food, 

 in a few days they recover from their indisposition, and return 

 to their masters with health and vigour sufficient to perform 

 the labour usually allotted to them. These trees are easily 

 raised from the nuts, sown in small pots, and plunged into a 

 hot - bed : they generally appear in a month; but are with 

 difficulty preserved in England. 



Anacydus; a genus belonging to the class Syngenesia, 

 order Polygamia Superflua. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : 

 common hemispherical, imbricate, with many ovate, flat, 

 sharp scales. Corolla : compound radiate, with numerous 

 hermaphrodite corollets in the disk ; from five to ten females 

 in the ray, scarcely higher than the disk. Hermaphrodites 

 funnel-shaped, with a quinquefid spreading border; females 

 with a flatted tube, and an ovate entire border. Stamina: in 

 the hermaphrodites ; filamenta five, capillary, very short ; 

 antherae cylindric. Pistil: germen flatted, stigma bifid, in the 

 hermaphrodites, with a membrane on each side ; style fili- 

 form, the length of the corollet ; and two slender reflex 

 stigmas in the floscules. Pericarp: none; call* unchanged. 

 Seed: in the hermaphrodites, solitary, oblong, compressed, 

 naked, or without down ; in the females, with a very broad 

 raembranaceous wing on each side, and emarginate at top, 

 but without down. Receptacle: chaffy; chaffs obtuse with 

 a point. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Receptacle: chaify. Down: 

 emarginate. Seeds: in the ray, membranaceous. All the 

 plants of this genus are annual. The species are, 



1. Anacyclus Creticus ; Trailing Anacydus. Leaves de- 

 compound, linear; divisions subdivided, flat. Flowers small, 

 white. Native of the islands of the Archipelago. 



2. Anacyclus Orientalis ; Eastern Anacyclus. Leaves com- 

 pound, bristly, acute, straight. This plant has white flowers 

 resembling the chamomile. Native of the islands of the 

 Archipelago ; first discovered by Tournefort. 



3. Anacyclus Aureus ; Golden-flowered Anacydus. Leaves 

 bipinnate, roundish, hoary, hollow-dotted ; stems many, 

 seven inches high, and erect. It is a native of the south 

 of Europe, and the Levant. 



.4. Anacyclus Valentinus: Fine leaved Anacydus. Leaves 

 decompound, linear; divisions subdivided, roundish, acute; 

 flowers flosculose. Grows a foot and half high, with flowers 

 of a bright yellow colour, and a silvery scaly calix. It is a 

 native of Spain, flowering in June and July. 



Anagallis ; a genus of the class Pentandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth five-parted, 

 sharp, permanent ; division keeled. Corolla: wheel-shaped, 

 border five-parted; divisions ovate-orbiculate, with the 

 claws connected. Stamina : filamenta erect, shorter than 

 the corolla, shaggy below ; antherae simple. Pistil : germen 

 globose ; style filiform, slightly bending ; stigma capitate, 

 Pericarp; a globose one-celled capsule, opening transversely. 

 Seeds ; very many, angular. Receptacle : globose, very large. 

 ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Corolla; rotate. Capsule: opening 

 horizontally. The four first species are annuals, propagated 

 from seed, which must be sown after they are ripe, and shel- 

 tered from extreme cold. The species are, 



1. Anagallis Arvensis ; Common Pimpernel. It is an an- 

 nual plant, with a quadrangular stem and scarlet corollas, 

 with purple bottoms ; the blossoms open about eight in the 

 VOL. i. 8. 



morning and close in the afternoon, except it rain, in which 

 case they neither open nor close ; hence it is called the Shep- 

 herd's or Poor Man's Weather-glass. Cows and goats feed 

 upon it, but sheep reject it. It is common in corn-fields, and 

 in other cultivated places, and blossoms from May till August. 

 It is of a cordial sudorific nature, and a strong infusion of it 

 is an excellent medicine in feverish complaints, which it re- 

 lieves by promoting a gentle perspiration. The same simple 

 preparation is much used among country people in the first 

 stages of consumptions ; and is' often the happy means of 

 checking the disorder, and preventing its fatal consequences. 

 The whole plant, dried and powdered, is good for the fulling 

 sickness; and there are, says Hill, many well-authenticated 

 accounts of that dreadful disorder being absolutely cured by 

 it. A decoction of it in wine, drank in bed, causes sweating, 

 and is a preservative in pestilential and contagious diseases ; 

 a water distilled from it is excellent for sore eyes. The ex- 

 pressed juice is serviceable in the beginning of dropsies, and 

 in obstructions of the liver, spleen, and reins. It brings away 

 stony and gravelly concretions from the bladder and urinary 

 passages, and is good in consumptive cases, ulcerated lungs, 

 and other disorders of the breast. The infusion is best made 

 by pouring boiling water upon it fresh gathered. The dried 

 leaves may be given in powder, or an infusion made of the 

 whole dried plant, but nothing equals the infusion of the fresh 

 plant. This species grows wild in Sweden, Germany, and 

 Switzerland ; and with us between Stockwell and Camber- 

 well; near Mitcham in Surry; near Histon in Cambridge- 

 shire; and Bredon-Hill in Worcestershire. 



2. Anagallis Montlli ; Upright Pimpernel. Leaves undi- 

 vided ; stem erect. This is a very beautiful small plant, 

 producing great numbers of fine blue flowers in April and 

 May. It is a native of Verona 



3. Anagallis Latifolia; Broad-leaved Pimpernel. Leaves 

 heart-shaped, stem-clasping; stem compressed. This is very 

 nearly allied to the preceding species ; corolla blue; filamenta 

 purple; antherae oblong, yellow. It is a trailing annual 

 plant ; and was imported from Spain. 



4. Anagallis Linifolia; Flax-leaved Pimpernel. Leaves 

 linear ; stem erect, three or four inches high. It grows wild 

 in Spain and Portugal. 



5. Anagallis Tenella ; Bog Pimpernel, Purple Loosestrife, 

 or Moneywort. Leaves ovate, sharpish ; stem creeping. 

 Roots perennial, numerous ; corolla large, of a pale-red co- 

 lour, with deeper veins. Not uncommon on bogs, flowering 

 from June to August. Moneywort is cooling and astringent, 

 and a good antiscorbutic ; excellent against spitting of blood, 

 and in bloody fluxes, for which purposes it is best to give the 

 leaves in powder. The juice of it is a well-known remedy 

 among country people, for overflowings of the menses ; and 

 the roots dried and powdered are good in purgings ; and the 

 leaves, bruised, and applied to green wounds, speedily heal 

 them. 



6. Anagallis Verticillata ; Verticilled Pimpernel. Stem- 

 leaves verticilled ; stem erect, a foot high ; corolla a bright 

 blue : has not yet been cultivated in England. 



7. Anagallis Pumila; Dwarf Pimpernel. Stem erect; leaves 

 roundish, acute, sessile. Annual ; and a native of Jamaica. 



Anagyris; a genus of the class Decandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth bell-shaped ; 

 mouth five-toothed, the upper pair of teeth more deeply 

 divided. Corolla : papilionaceous ; standard obcordate, 

 straight, emarginate, broader than the other petals twice as 

 long as the calix ; wings ovate-oblong, flat, longer than the 

 standard; keel straight, very long. Stamina: filamenta pa- 

 rallel, distinct, rising; antherae simple. Pistil: germen ob- 

 SB 



