CHE 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



CHE 



285 



Corolla : none. Stamina : filamenta none ; antherae globose, 

 before the germen ; beyond the calix, beneath. ESSENTIAL, 

 CHARACTER. Male. Calix and Corolla: none. Anthera : 

 before the germen, underneath. Female. Calix : four- 

 leaved. Corolla: none. Stigma: five-cleft. Seed: one. 

 These plants possessing no beauty, and growing only in 

 w;iter, are not cultivated in gardens. The species are, 



1. Charn Tomentosa -, Brittle Cham, or Stonewort. Prickles 

 on the stem, ovate. This plant is always Hcoh-coloured when 

 alive, but when dry it becomes ash-coloured ; stem twisted, 

 brittle, and gritty in the mouth. In summer it abounds in 

 oblong berries, growing yellow when ripe, and having very 

 .small black seeds in them. It is annual, flowering from 

 June to October; and is found in salt marshes, ditches, pools, 

 lakes, &c. in many parts of Europe. In England it has been 



n near Evansham Ferry, three miles beyond Oxford : near 

 Chislehurst in Kent; near Bath, and Besorsleigh ; in the 

 rivulet that runs from Malham Tarn ; and is very common 

 in the peat ditches of Lancashire and Westmoreland. 



2. Chara Vulgaris ; Common or Stinking Cltara, or Stone- 

 wort. Stems glossy ; leaves toothed on the inside ; prickles 

 on the stem capillary, crowded. The whole plant is yellow- 

 ish or reddish green when fresh, and extremely fetid. It is 

 an annual, flowering in July and August : found in ditches 

 and pools. 



3. Chara Hispida ; Prickly Chara, or Stonewort. Prickles 

 on the stem capillary, crowded. The whole plant has a strong 

 scent of garlic. It is found upon the sea-coasts, &c. in seve- 

 ral parts of Europe ; and with us upon Hiuton-moor, near 

 Cambridge ; Ellingham in Norfolk ; near Gayton, Stafford- 

 shire ; in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Westmoreland ; East 

 Lothian, in Scotland ; and in the turf-bogs of Ireland. 

 Annual ; flowering from June to October. 



4. Chara Flexilis ; Smooth Chara, or Stonewort. Joints of 

 the stem unarmed, diaphanous, broader upwards. Stems 



. eight or ten inches long, fistular, tender, dull green, pellucid. 

 Native of the sea-coasts in several parts of Europe ; in 

 England it is found in lakes, ponds, ditches, and bogs ; as, 

 about Henley, near Ipswich, near Knaresborough, near 

 Hornsey, and in Loch Lomond, and several of the Scotch 

 lakes. It is annual, flowering from June to October. 



Charlock. See Sinapis Arvensis. 



Chaste-Tree. See Vitex. 



Cheese Renning or Rennet. See Galium. 



Cheiranthus ; a genus of the class Tetradynamia, order 

 Siliquosa. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth four- 

 leaved, compressed ; leaflets lanceolate, concave, erect, 

 parallel-converging, deciduous, the two outer gibbous at the 

 base. Corolla : four-petalled, cruciform ; petals roundish, 

 longer than the calix ; claws the length of the calix. Sta- 

 mina . filamenta six, subulate, parallel, the length of the 

 calix, two of them within the gibbous leaflets of the calix, a 

 little shorter than the other four ; antherae erect, bifid at the 

 base, acute at the tip, and reflected ; a nectareous gland 

 surrounds the base of the shorter stamina on each side. 

 Pistil: germen prismatic, four-cornered, the length of the 

 stamina, marked with a tubercle on each side ; style very 

 short, compressed ; 'stigma oblong, two-parted, reflected, 

 thickish, permanent. Pericarp : silique long, compressed, the 

 two opposite angles obliterated, marked with a toothlet, two- 

 celled, two-valved, furnished with the very short style, and 

 the erect bifid stigma. Seeds : many, pendulous, alternate, 

 subovate, compressed, with a membranous edge. ESSENTIAL 

 CHARACTER. Germen with a glandulous toothlet on each 

 side. Calix: closed, with two leaflets gibbous at the base. 

 Seeds : flat. The species are, 



VOL. i. 24. 



1. Cheiranthus Erysimoides; Wild Wallflower, or Stuck. 

 Leaves lanceolate, toothed, naked ; stem erect, quite simple ; 

 siliques four-cornered. Root perennial ; flowers yellow, and 

 in loose spikes or corymbs. It is a native of Italy, Spain, 

 France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Sweden, 

 and England, where it is found about Godstow, near Oxford, 

 and East Grinstead, in Sussex. It flowers in June, and 

 ripens its seed in autumn. If the seeds be allowed to scatter 

 themselves, the plants will come up without care, and will 

 thrive in any soil or situation, and upon walls among rubbish, 

 as the common Wallflower. 



2. Cheiranthus Helveticus : Swiss Wallflower, or Stock. 

 Leaves lanceolate, toothed, naked ; stem erect ; siliques 

 four-cornered, acuminated with the style. Root perennial ; 

 stem somewhat angular, eighteen inches high ; leaves pale 

 green. It flowers in May and June, and the seeds ripen in 

 July. Native of Switzerland. 



3. Cheiranthus Alpinus ; Alpine or Straw-coloured Wall- 

 flower, or Stock. Leaves linear, entire, subtomentose ; stem 



branching. The whole plant is roughish : root biennial : the 

 flowers are pale yellow, or sulphur-coloured, and have little 

 or no smell. They appear in June and July, and the seeds 

 are perfected in September. It is found on banks and walls 

 in Austria and Provence, in Switzerland, and on the moun- 

 tains of Piedmont. This sort, when cultivated, grows as 

 large as the common Wallflower, and makes a fine appear- 

 ance, the racemes being longer, and the flowers growing 

 much closer : but as it has little sqent, it has on that account 

 been much neglected. 



4. Cheiranthus Strictus. Leaves linear, acute, smooth ; 

 stem sbrubby, erect. Native of the Cape of Good Hope. 



5. Cheiranthus Callosus. Leaves lanceolate, entire, cal- 

 lous ; stem angular, shrubby. Native of the Cape. 



6. Cheiranthus Cheiri ; Common Wallflower. Leaves 

 lanceolate-acute, smooth ; branches angular ; stem shrubby. 

 On walls it is seldom more than six or eight inches high, with 

 very tough roots, and firm stalks, the leaves short and sharp- 

 pointed, and the flowers small ; but in gardens it is two feet 

 high, and branches wide ; the leaves are broader, and the 

 flowers much larger. The principal varieties are, 1. Common 

 Dwarf Yellow ; 2. Large Yellow ; 3. Large Yellow Bloody ; 

 4. True Bloody; 5. Narrow-leaved Straw-coloured; 6.Varie- 

 gated-leaved Yellow; 7. Winter; 8. White, and these are 

 either single or double. The Common Wallflower is a native 

 of Switzerland, France, Spain, &c. and is common on old 

 walls and buildings in many parts of England. It is one of 

 the few flowers which have been cultivated in our gardens 

 from time immemorial, on account of their fragrancy : being 

 of a firm texture, with little sap, it is never affected by cold, 

 so that in severe winters, when the plants are frequently killed 

 in the gardens, those upon the walls receive no injury, though 

 they are much more exposed to wind and frost. The variety 

 of this with very double flowers, is propagated from slip's 

 planted in the spring, which readily take root. Another 

 variety, which has variegated leaves, is not so hardy : the 

 Large Bloody Wallflower will frequently rise with double 

 flowers from seeds, if they be carefully saved from such as 

 have five petals ; and these double flowers may be increased 

 from slips, but the plants so raised will not produce suck 

 large racemes of flowers, as those which are propagated by 

 seeds. The old Bloody Wallflower, the petals of which are 

 shorter and more numerous, approaching to the common 

 double, but much larger, is propagated also by slips ; as are 

 likewise all the intermediate varieties, distinguished by florists 

 from the size and colour of the petals. The Wallflowers that 

 are single, produce seeds in plenty, but the largest and deeu- 



4D 





