HYP 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



HYP 



727 



the ground ; stems several, slender, somewhat compressed, 

 naked at bottom, but having two or three small leaves at top; 

 peduncles each sustaining one small yellow flower, appearing 

 in June and July, producing seed in August. Native of the 

 south of Europe. 



2. Hypecoum Pendulum; Pendulous Hypecoum. Siliques 

 pendent, not jointed, bivalved, incurvated. Stalks slender. 

 This flowers and seeds at the same time as the first species. 

 Native of the south of France. 



3. Hypecoum Erectum ; Upright Hypecoum. Siliques 

 erect, round, torulose. The juice of this and of the other spe- 

 cies is of a yellow colour, resembling that of Celandine, and 

 is said to operate like opium. Native of Dauria and Istria. 



Hypelate; a genus of the class Polygamia, order Monrecia. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Hermaphrodite Flowers, Calix : 

 perianth five-leaved, seldom four-leaved ; leaflets ovate, con- 

 cave, spreading, deciduous, two less than the others. Corolla: 

 petals five, ovate, a little less than the calix, deciduous, with 

 a nectariferous umbilicus about the germen. Stamina: fila- 

 nienta eight, spreading round the base of the germen, the 

 length of the corolla; antheree ovate, cordate. Pistil: ger- 

 men globular, superior; style short, upright; stigma bent 

 down, three-sided, three-grooved, acute. Pericarp: drupe 

 pulpy, roundish. Seed: nut oval, very smooth, with a single 

 kernel. Male Flowers on the same tree, but upon a distinct 

 panicle ; calix and corolla as in the hermaphrodite : nectary 

 also as in that; from the middle of this, the Stamina: filamenta 

 eight, converging at the base, from erect reflex, and ascend- 

 ing, broader at the base; antherse ovate, cordate. Pistil: 

 three-cornered rudiment of a germen ; style awl-shaped, 

 very small. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix : five-leaved. 

 Corolla: five-petalled. Stigma: bent down, three-cornered. 

 Drupe: one-seeded. The only known species is, 



1. Hypelate Trifoliata. This shrubby tree has several 

 trunks, each as big as a man's leg, straight, eight or nine 

 feet high, covered with a smooth cinnamon-coloured bark. 

 Browne observes, that it is full of slender branches, and fur- 

 nished with many leaves, of the same texture and grain as 

 those of Lignum Vitse, yet remarkably different in form and 

 disposition. Native of the low lands of Jamaica. 



Hypericum ; a genus of the class Polydelphia, order 

 Polyandria. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth five- 

 parted ; segments subovate, concave, permanent. Corolla : 

 petals five, oblong-ovate, obtuse, spreading, wheel-shaped, 

 according to the sun's apparent motion. Stamina: filamenta 

 numerous, capillary, united at the base in five or three bodies; 

 antheree small. Pistils: germen roundish ; styles three, some- 

 times one, two, or five, simple, distant, the length of the 

 stamina ; stigmas simple. Pericarp : capsule roundish, with 

 the same number of cells as there are styles. Seeds: very 

 many, oblong. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: five- 

 parted. Petals: five. Filamenta: many, connected at the 

 base in five bundle;. This extensive genus consists of herbs, 

 shrubs, or under-shrubs, with cylindrical, ancipital, or qua- 

 drangular stems ; roots perennial ; leaves simple, opposite, 

 sessile, entire, frequently with pellucid dots ; flowers some- 

 times in cymes, but more frequently in corymbs, with the 

 peduncles often trichotomous and three-flowered, terminating 

 or axillary also; corolla yellow and brilliant. The whole 

 herbage generally smooth, with glandular pellucid dots, and 

 an aromatic scent; rarely downy. Linneus divides this 

 genus into four subordinate parts from the number of styles. 

 The predominating number however is three. Jussieu re- 

 marks, that it admits of being split into six genera: 1. With 

 five styles, No. 1 to 12 ; and a capsule with five cells. 2. 

 With three styles, and a three-celled capsule, with the 



pencils of filamenta scarcely united at the base, as No. 14, 

 &c. 3. With a soft pericarp resembling a berry, almost 

 one-celled, turgid, with a blood-red juice, Wo. 13, &c. 

 This division has three styles, and in other respects resembles 

 that immediately preceding. 4. With three styles, and a peri- 

 carp of three cells, No. 48, &c. the filamenta united up to the 

 middle, the disk of the germen glandular, as are also the 

 claws of the petals. 5. With two styles and a two-celled 

 pericarp, No. 54, 55, &c. and, 6. With one style, No. 56, 

 57, &c. or five styles so closely joined as to seem one. 



The species are, 



* With five Styles. 



1. HypericumBalearicum; Warted St. John's Wort. Stem 

 shrubby ; leaves and branches warted. It rises with a slen- 

 der, quadrangular, shrubby stalk about two feet high, but in 

 its native soil attains the height of seven or eight feet, sending 

 out several weak branches of a reddish colour, and marked 

 with scars where the leaves have fallen ofF. Flowers termi- 

 nating, large, bright yellow; capsules pyramidal, having a 

 strong smell of turpentine, and filled with small brown seeds. 

 It has a succession of flowers during great part of the year, 

 and is therefore valuable. Native of Majorca. This plant 

 requires no artificial heat. If placed in a dry airy glass-case 

 in winter, where protected from frost, it will thrive better 

 than in a warmer situation. Damp air, however, must be 

 avoided. They should be sparingly watered in winter, but 

 three times a week in summer, when they may also be ex- 

 posed to the open air. They are propagated by cuttings 

 planted in June, in pots filled with light earth, and plunged 

 into a very moderate hot-bed, shading them from the sun, 

 and refreshing them with water. They will put out roots in 

 six or seven weeks, when they should be carefully taken up, 

 and each planted in a separate small pot, placing them in the 

 shade till they have taken new root ; then they should be re- 

 moved to a sheltered situation, where they may remain till 

 frost comes, when they must be put into a green-house or 

 glass-case. It may also be increased by seeds in autumn. 



2. Hypericum Kalmianum ; Virginian St. John's Wort. 

 Stem shrubby; leaves linear-lanceolate. Shrubby with qua- 

 drangular branches : at the end of each branch is produced one 

 pretty large flower, with a blunt calix ; stamina as long as 

 the petals. Native of North America. This, with the other 

 North American sorts, seldom producing any seeds here, may 

 be increased by parting the roots in autumn. It should have 

 a light soil, and an open situation. 



3. Hypericum Cayanense ; Cayenne St. John's Wort. Co- 

 rollas bearded; calices striated; leaves ovate; stem shrubby. 

 This is an upright branching tree, eighteen feet high; racemes 

 compound, terminating; petals white, hirsute within; fruit 

 a berry, with a fulvous staining juice; seeds numerous. 

 Native of Cayenne. 



4. Hypericum Bacciferum; Berry-bearing St. John's Wort. 

 Corollas bearded ; calices even ; leaves ovate ; stem shrubby, 

 three fathoms high; flowers terminating, panicled, on short 

 peduncles. Native of Mexico and Brazil. It is a hardy plant. 



5. Hypericum Calicinum; Great-flowered St. John's Wort, 

 or Tutsan. Flowers solitary; stem suffruticose, branched; 

 calices obovate, very blunt; leaves distich, oblong. The 

 stalks of the large-flowering Tutsan are slender, and incline 

 downwards ; flowers terminating, peduncled, solitary, bright 

 yellow. The stems are only tinged with red in some places; 

 the leaves on the young shoots are of a beautiful light green, 

 of regular ovate form, and half embrace the stem. It is very 

 hardy, and increases much by the creeping roots. Like the 

 Periwinkle, it is a plant well adapted to cover a bank, or bare 

 spots under trees, where few other plants will thrive. Native 



