464 



D O D 



THE UNIVERSAL IIERRAL; 



D O D 



towards the upper lip, and shorter than it ; anthera small, 

 roundish, twin. Pistil : gerinen roundish ; style subulate, 

 length of the corolla ; stigma compressed, oblong, obtuse, 

 two-cleft, the lamellas converging. Pericarp : capsule glo- 

 bose, two-celled. Seeds, : numerous, very small. Receptacle: 

 convex, growing to the dissepiment. ESSENTIAL CHARAC- 

 TER. Catix : five-toothed. Corolla : lower lip twice as 



long as the upper. Capsule : two-celled, globular. The 



species are, 



1. Dodartia Orientalis ; Oriental Dodartia. Leaves linear, 

 quite entire, smooth. It has a perennial root, which creeps 

 f'.ir under the surface, and sends out new stalks at a great dis- 

 tance from the parent plant; these stalks are firm, a little 

 compressed, and growa foot and halfhigh, sending out several 

 side-branches ; leaves long, narrow, fleshy, opposite, of a deep 

 green colour, those on the lower part of the stalk are shorter 

 and broader than those above : the flowers come out singly 

 on each side the stalk, sitting close to it ; they are nearly an 

 inch long. The flower is of a deep purple colour, and ap- 

 pears in July, but rarely produces seeds in England. First 

 discovered by Tournefort near Corvirap, not far from the foot 

 (if mount Ararat, in Armenia. This plant propagates very 

 last by its creeping roots, so that when it is once established 

 in a garden, it will multiply fast enough ; it loves a dry light 

 soil, and may be transplanted, either in autumn when the 

 stalks decay, or in the spring before the new stalks arise. 



2. Dodartia Indica. Leaves ovate, serrate, villose ; stems 

 roundish, villose, somewhat branching ; raceme terminating 

 with small leaves; flowers opposite, pointing one way, sub- 

 sessile ; calix obtuse, villose ; corolla yellow, with the outer 

 lip straight and short. Native of India. 



Dodder, See Cuscuta. 



Dodecas ; a genus of the class Dodccandria, order Mono- 

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

 turbinate, permanent, half four-cleft, superior ; divisions 

 ovate, spreading. Corolla : petals roundish, sessile, inserted 

 into the calix. Stamina : filamenta twelve, capillary, shorter 

 than the calix, inserted into the receptacle : antherte oblong. 

 Pistil : germen half superior ; style filiform, longer than the 

 stamina ; stigma simple. Pericarp .- capsule ovate, one- 

 celled, inferior, growing to a patulous calix, within which 

 the apex is naked and four-valved. Seeds : numerous, ob- 

 long, minute. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Corolla: five- 

 petalled. Calix : half four-cleft, bearing the corolla 



superior. Capsule : one-celled, connate with the calix. 



The only known species is, 



1. Dodecas Surinamensis. A shrub, somewhat four-cor- 

 nered, even ; the branches opposite, short ; leaves opposite, 

 obovate-oblong, or wedge-shaped, subpetioled, even, obtuse, 

 ijuite entire ; peduncles axillary, one-flowered, short, solitary, 

 the length of the calix ; bractes in pairs, minute under the 

 calix ; calix before it unfolds four-cornered, four-valved, tur- 

 binate at bottom, columnar; petals inserted into the calix at 

 the divisions; stamina inserted into the receptacle, next the 

 germen, not into the calix. Native of Surinam. 



Dodecatheon ; a genus of the class Pentandria, order Mo- 

 nogynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : involucre many- 

 leaved, many-flowered, very small ; perianth one-leafed, half 

 five-cleft, permanent ; divisions reflex, finally longer, perma- 

 nent. Corolla: one-petalled, five-parted; tube shorter than 

 the calix, naked at the throat ; border reflex ,- divisions very 

 long, lanceolate. Stamina ; filamenta five, very short, ob- 

 tuse, seated on the tube ; antherae sagittate, converging into 

 a beak. Pistil : germen conic ; style filiform, longer than 

 the stamina; stigmaobtuse. Pericarp: capsule oblong, one- 

 celled, gapingat the tip ; (according to Gzcrtner, subcylindric, 



opening into five parts.) ESSENTIAL CIIARACTEU. Corolla : 

 rotate, reflex. Stamina: placed on the tube. Capsule : one- 

 celled, oblong. The only known species is. 



1. Dodecatheon Meadia ; Virginian Cowslip, or Meadia. 

 This plant has a yellow perennial root, from which come out 

 in the spring several long smooth leaves, nearly six inches in 

 length, and two and a half in breadth, at first standing erect, 

 but afterwards spreading on the ground, especially^' it be 

 much exposed to the sun ; from among the leaves arise two, 

 three, or four flower stalks, in proportion to the .strength of 

 the roots, which reach to the height of eight or nine inches, 

 and are smooth, naked, and terminated by an umbel of 

 flowers, of a purple, inclining to a peach-blossom colour. 

 The flowers appear at the end of April, or the beginning of 

 May; and the seeds ripen in July ; soon after winch Uiestalks 

 and leaves decay, and the roots remain inactive till the follow- 

 ing spring. Native of Virginia. It is propagated by offsets. 

 which the roots put out pretty freely when they are in a loose 

 moist soil and shady situation; the best time to remove the 

 roots, and take away the offsets, is in August, after the leaves 

 and stalks are decayed, that they may be fixed well in their 

 new situation before the frost comes on. It may also be 

 propagated by seeds, which the plants generally produce in 

 plenty, and which should be sown in autumn, soon after they 

 are ripe, either in a shady moist border, or in pots, which 

 should be placed in the shade. In the spring the plants will 

 come up, and must then be kept clean from weeds, and, if 

 the season prove dry, be frequently refreshed with water; 

 nor should they be exposed to the sun, for while the plants 

 are young they are very impatient of heat. The young 

 plants should not be transplanted till their leaves are decayed, 

 then they may be carefully taken up and planted in a shady 

 border, at about eight inches' distance from each other, 

 where the soil is loose and moist, where they may remain for 

 a year, by which time they will be strong enough to produce 

 flowers, and may then be transplanted into some shady bor- 

 ders in the flower-garden, where they will appear very or- 

 namental while they continue in flower. This plant is not 

 only very elegant, but also hardy. 



Dodoiuea ; a genus of the class Octandria, order Monogy- 

 nia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth four-leaved, flat; 

 leaflets ovate, obtuse, concave, deciduous. Corolla: none. 

 Stamina. : filamenta eight, very short ; antherae oblong, 

 bowed, converging, length of the calix. Pistil ; gerinen 

 three-sided, length of the calix; style cylindric, three-fur- 

 rowed, upright; stigma slightly three-cleft, a little acute. 

 Pericarp . capsule three-furrowed, inflated, three-celled, 

 with large membranaceous corners. Seeds : in couples, 

 roundish. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: four-leaved, Co- 

 rolla: none. Capsule: three-celled, inflated. Seeds: in 

 couples. The species are, 



1. Dodoneea Viscosa ; Broad-leaved Dodonaa. Leaves 

 oblong. A tree ten or twelve feet high, according to Sloam 1 . 

 with fibrous deciduous bark ; branches round, when young 

 unequally quadrangular ; leaves deciduous, alternate, nearU 

 sessile, oboratc with a taper base, nearly entire, bluntish with 

 a little point, about two or three inches long, very glutinous, 

 especially when young, destitute of all pubescence ; flowers 

 greenish, in little terminal, often branched clusters. The 

 taste of the whole plant is acrid and bitterish. In Jamaica 

 it is called the switch sorrel. Native of the countries be- 

 tween the tropics, in sandy ground. It is propagated by 

 seeds, which, if obtained fresh from abroad, will rise easily 

 upon a hot-bed. When the plants are fit to remove, they 

 should be each planted in a separate small pot filled with 

 light loamy earth, and phmged into a hot-bed of tanner's 



