D I S 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



D O D 



463 



awl-shaped, ascending; stigma acute. Pericarp : legume 

 large, ovate, compressed, thick, one-celled. Send: single, 

 ovate. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix : two, upper segments 



winged. Legume : ovate, compressed, one-seeded. The 



species are, 



1. Dipteryx Odorata ; Coumarouna. Leaves alternate. 

 This is a large tree, sixty feet high, very much branched at 

 top ; leaves large and pinnate ; leaflets perfectly entire, two 

 or three on each side, affixed alternately on the midrib. 

 The flowers are borne on racemes, which are axillary and 

 terminal ; their colour purple, dashed with violet. The 

 almonds or fruits are fragrant, and are put by the Creoles 

 into chests, in orderto drive away insects, as well as for the 

 sake of their smell : they are known in London by the name 

 of Tongo Means, and are used to give a flavour to snuff. It 

 grows in the large forests of Guiana. 



'2. Dipteryx Oppositifolia ; Taralea. Leaves opposite. 

 This, like the former, is a tall tree, and very branchy at top ; 

 tlie leaves are opposite, and pinnate ; the leaflets large, ovate, 

 sharp, strong, and perfectly entire ; the flowers are panicled, 

 axillary, and terminal, and when blown, their fragrance is 

 very diffusive. Native of the woods of Cayenne. 



Dirca ; a genus of the class Octandria, Order Mono- 

 gynia. GEN-ERIC CHARACTER. Calix: : none. Corolla : one- 

 petalled, club-shaped ; tube bellyingabove ; border obscure, 

 with unequal margin. Stamina .- filamenta eight, capillary, 

 inserted into the middle of the tube, longer than the corolla; 

 antheroe roundish, upright. Pistil : gerraen ovate, with 

 oblique tip ; style filiform, longer than the stamina, crooked 

 at the tip ; stigma simple. Pericarp : berry one-celled. 

 Seed : single. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. (Mix : none. 

 Corolla tubulous, with an obscure border. Stamina : 



longer than the tube. Berry .- one-seeded. The only 



known species is, 



1. Dirca Palustris ; Marsh Leatherwqod. Height five or 

 six feet, but in Europe seldom exceeding three : it sends out 

 many jointed branches near the root ; leaves oval, pale yel- 

 lowish, and smooth ; the flowers come out from the side of 

 the branches, two or three upon each peduncle ; they are of 

 a greenish white colour, and appear early in the spring, when 

 the leaves begin to shoot. It is a little shrub, growing on 

 lulls towards swamps and marshes in North America : the 

 bark is very tough, as is also the shrub itself, insomuch that 

 the branches cannot easily be separated without cutting. The 

 twigs are used for rods, and the bark for ropes, baskets, &c. 

 for which it is very suitable, being equal in strength and 

 toughness to the bark of the Lime-tree. The French in Canada 

 call it bois de plomb, or leaden-wood. This shrub is very 

 difficult to propagate in Europe, where it does not produce 

 seeds, and can therefore only be propagated by layers or 

 cuttings, and these are generally two years before they put 

 out roots, and as it naturally grows in very moist places, it 

 is with difficulty preserved in gardens, unless it be planted 

 in wet ground : it is seldom injured by cold. 



Disa ; a genus of the class Gynandria, order Diandria. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix ; spathe one-valved, acu- 

 minate, oblong, gaping longitudinally on one side. Corolla : 

 petals three, ovate, spreading, large, neaclyequal ; the upper 

 one unequal, somewhat horned obtusely at the base behind. 

 Stamina : filamenta subulate ; antherae two, connected into 

 a lanceolate form, a little shorter than the corolla, subulate 

 at the base, gaping, mounted on the style ; dorsal petal of 

 the stamina two-parted, shorter than the stamina ; divisions 

 oblong, obtuse, converging. Pistil -. germen inferior, length 

 of the spathe ; style tongue-shaped, short, hollowed at the 

 base, two-horned backwards. Pericarp : capsule oblong, 



three- valved. Seeds: numerous, minute. ESSENTIAL CHA- 

 RACTER. Spat/ie : one-valved. Petals : three ; the third 

 less, two-parted, gibbous at the base. The species are, 



1. Disa Grandiflora. Horn shorter than the petals, with 

 about two flowers on the stem. Stem a foot high, erect, quite 

 simple, even ; leaves shorter than the stem, those next the 

 root lanceolate- linear, those on the stem sheathing, alternate, 

 three in number ; the disk shorterthan the sheath, acuminate 

 at the end ; flower terminating, peduucled, inclined, some- 

 times two, and then the second comes out on alonger pedun- 

 cle from the spathe of the former ; this flower is red, and 

 elegantly veined ; it is very conspicuous and beautiful. Na- 

 tive of the Cape of Good Hope. 



2. Disa Raeemosa. Horn shorter than the petals; flowers 

 in racemes. Native of the Cape of Good Hope. 



3. Disa Longicornis. Horn longer than the petals ; scape 

 one-flowered. Flower blue, beautiful, and singular in it? 

 form. Native of the Cape of Good Hope. 



4. Disa Maculata. Horn conical, very short ; scape one- 

 flowered. Root-leaves oblong ; stem and sheath spotted witis 

 red ; flowers blue. Native of the Cape of Good Hope. 



Disandra ; a genus of the class Heptandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GKNKRIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth one-leafed, 

 from five to eight parted ; divisions straightish, permanent. 

 Corolla : one-petalled, wheel-shaped ; tube very short ; 

 border five-parted ; divisions ovate. Stamina : filament;! 

 from five to eight, bristle-form, from erect, becoming pa- 

 tulous, shorter than the corolla ; uutkcrte sagittate. Pis- 

 til : germen ovate ; style filiform, length of the stamina ; 

 stigma simple. Pericarp : capsule ovate, length of the 

 calix, two-celled. Seeds : several, ovate. ESSENTIAL CHA- 

 RACTER. Calix: seven-leaved. Corolla: seven-parted, flat. 

 Capsule : two-celled. The species are, 



1. Disandra Prostrata. Leaves reniform, crenate ; pedun- 

 cles in pairs. Stems from a foot to two feet in height, pros- 

 trate, round, pubescent ; leaves alternate, petioled, pubes- 

 cent ; peduncles axillary, usually two together, but sometimes 

 one or three, erect, filiform, one-flowered, higher than the 

 petioles ; corollas yellow. The foliage greatly resembles that 

 of Ground-ivy ; the branches also trail upon the ground in a 

 similar manner, to the length of several feet. It varies ex- 

 tremely in the number of stamina, and in the divisions of the 

 calix and corolla ; seven is thought to be the most usual 

 number of the former, and five the most natural. It flowers 

 during most part of the summer, and is a native of Madeira. 

 It grows readily from cuttings ; in the winter it must be kept 

 in the green-house, but will bear the open air in summer ; it 

 should be planted in rich earth, and plentifully watered in dry 

 weather : it appears to most advantage in a pot placed upon 

 a pedestal, or in some elevated situation, where its branches 

 may hang carelessly down. 



2. Disandra Africana. Leaves orbiculate, entire, crenate, 

 peduncles solitary. It is doubtful whether this be a distinct 

 species. Native of Africa. 



Dittander. See Lepidium. 



Dittany of Crete. See Origanum. 



Dittany, White. See Dictamnus Fraxinella. 



Dock. See Rumex. 



Dodartia ; a genus of the class Didynamia, order Angio- 

 spermia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth one- 

 leafed, bell-form, five-toothed, with ten corners, tubular, 

 nearly equal, flat, permanent. Corolla; one-petalled, rin- 

 gent ; tube cylindric, bent downwards, muchlonger than the 

 calix; upper lip small, emarginate, ascending; lower lip 

 spreading, wider, three-cleft, twice longer, obtuse ; middle 

 division narrower. Stamina : filamenta four, ascending 



