L I C 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



LI C 



37 



bose ; squames ovate, erect, ciliate at the margin. The flow- 

 ers are large and handsome. Native of the high mountains 

 of Virginia and Carolina. 



10. Lialiis Pauciflora. Stalk simple, glabrous; leaves 

 linear; panicles virgated, leafy; branches with few flowers; 

 calices stibsessile; squames lanceolate, erect, acute, glabrous. 

 It grows in Georgia. 



14. Linlris Tpnicntosa. Stalk very simple ; leaves cuneate- 

 lanceolate, nniijh ; corymb with few flowers, depressed, diva- 

 ricated ; calix tomentose; squames ovate, acute. It grows 

 to the height of about eighteen inches, and is found in the 

 open swamps of Virginia and Carolina. 



Lichen; a genus of the class Cryptogamia, order Algae. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Male. Flowers: Vesicles con- 

 glomerated, extremely small, crowded or scattered on the 

 disk, margin, or tips of the fronds. Female. Flowers on 

 the same or on a distinct plant, ttcceptar/e: roundish, flat- 

 tish, convex. Tubercle: concave. Scvttlla: subrevolute, 

 affixed to the margin. Pelta: often differing from the frond 

 in colour, within containing the seeds disposed in rows. 

 Observe. The powder adhering to some Lichens seems 

 rather to be of the nature of buds than of male Fructifications. 

 The extremely numerous species of this genus may be con- 

 veniently divided into the following sections, some of which 

 by some author^ are made distinct genera. 



Lepra: a dusty crust. Fructification;-, hardly any. 



Tubercularia ; a leafless crust: the fructifications tubercles. 



Sculellaria : a leafless crust. Frs. Sculellae or shields. 



Collema. Fronds foliaceous, gelatinous. Frs. Sciitellse or 

 shields. 



Imbricala : fronds subfoliaceous, membranaceous, imbri- 

 cated, depressed, flexile. Frs. Scutellse. 



Phytria. Fronds foliaceous, membranaceous, depressed, 

 or ascendant, tubular within. Frs. Scutellae sessile or 

 pedunculatcd. 



Lobaria. Fronds foliaceous, membranaceous, ascending, 

 flexile. Frs. Scutellre sessile or pedunculated. 



Cornicularia. Fronds foliaceous, mcmhranaceous, or car- 

 tilaginous, somewhat upright, narrowed, stiff, with somewhat 

 sharp ''xtremilies; scutellae sometimes terminal, transverse. 



Slricta. Fronds foliaceous, subcoriaceons, scattered over 

 beneath with white excavated points. Frs. Scutellas or pelise. 



Peitigeree. Fronds foliaceous, coriaceous, ascending, 

 soft. Frs. Fella;. 



Umbilicnria. Fronds foliaceous, upright, stiff, shielded. 

 Frs. Scutelhe. 



Pyxidittm. Stems upright, funnel form, hollow within; 

 tubercles fungifnrm, unequal, marginal. 



C/urlnia. Steins uuriglit, somewhat columnar, branchy, 

 hollow within, with the appearance of a shrub; the axillae 

 often perforated. Frs. Fungiform tubercles. 



Sttrrocnuton. Sums erect, rather columnar, simple or 

 branchy, solid. Frs. Tuben les. 



Usnea. Stems erect or pendulous, filamentous, simple 

 or branched. Frs. Scutellae. 



Of this very numerous genus Dr. Withering, in the third 

 edition of his Arrangements, has enumerated no fewer than 

 two hundred and sixteen species, besides a great nuinbn of 

 varieties. Miiy of these are of considerable use for dyeing, 

 and other (Economical purposes: the most remarkable are the 

 following. Doubtless if more accurate and extensive trials 

 were made on these neglected plants, many other (economical 

 uses for them might be detected; or at 'least muny more of 

 the same species might be applied to the same purposes. 



Lichen Apthonus. The country people make an infusion 

 f it in milk, and give it to children who have the thrush. 



In large doses it operates by purging and vomiting, and 

 destroys worms. 



Lichen Ca/careits. So called because it is peculiar to 

 limestone rocks: when dried, powdered, and steeped in urine, 

 is used to dye scarlet, by the Welsh and the inhabitants of 

 the Orkneys. The colour is said to be very fine. 



Lichen Canimu ; called also Lichen Cinert-us Terrrstris, or 

 Ash-cohiiired Ground Lirerwort. This species is one of the 

 articles in tlif crlebrated Dr. Mead's prescription for the cure of 

 Hydrophobia, concerning which he says, " I can safely affirm 

 that I have never known this method to fail ot success where it 

 has been followed before the hydrophobia began: although 

 in the course of about thirty years, besides the experience 

 made by others both in town and country, I have used it a 

 thousand times. 1 have often wished that I knew so certain 

 a remedy in any other disease." The method is as follows. 

 Let the patient be blooded at the arm, nine or ten ounces. 

 Take of ihe herb called in Latin, Lichen Cinereus Terrestris, 

 or in English, Ash-coloured Ground Lirerworl, cleaned, 

 dried, and powdered, half an ounce. Of black pepper pow- 

 dere<l two driic'jms. Mix these well together, and divide the 

 whole into tour doses, one of which must be taken every 

 morning fasting, for four successive mornings, in half a pint 

 of cow's milk warm. After these four doses are taken, the 

 patient must go into the cold bath, or a cold spring, or river, 

 every morning, fasting, for a month : he must be dipped all 

 over, but not st.iy in (with his head above water) longer than 

 half a minute, if the water be very cold. After lliis he must 

 go in three limes a week for a fortnight longer. Later writers 

 have declared that this remedy has been tried without success; 

 but as Dr. Mead was no quack, but the most eminent phy- 

 sician of his lime, and as no certain cure for hydrophobia . 

 has yet been found, we think it would be some consolation 

 to those who may be umier the melancholy necessity ot' endea- 

 vouring to prevent or cure that dreadful calamity, and even 

 lo the poor sufferers themselves, to have done every thing in 

 their power, by employing the best means known to avert the 

 awful catastrophe. It is of course understood that Dr. Mead's 

 prescription is intended for those only who have been bitten 

 t>\ a rabid animal, and have either neglected to cut out the 

 wounded part through ignorance, or from a doubt whether 

 the animal were really mad ; and also where the removal of 

 the affected part would endanger the patient's life: for it 

 cannot be too universally made known, that for the bad effects 

 of Ihe bile of rnad doj>s or venomous reptiles, excision of the 

 bit!< n part is the only certain preventive, and should be 

 instantly performed wherever death is not likely to be the 

 consequence. Hesitating to do this, has cost thousands their 

 lives. An instance of the fortitude and presence of mindr 

 necessary on these occasions, we shall subjoin. In Bengal, 

 some years ago, when Capt. Hutchitison, on returning home 

 in the night, attended by a servant with a torch, casually 

 trod on a cobra de capella, which instantly bit him on the 

 calf of his leg: the poison of this snake being more immedi- 

 ately mortal than ihe bite of any other, Capt. H. with great 

 presence of mind cut out with his knife a large portion of the 

 calf of his leg, and applied the burning torch to cauterize the 

 wound, which prevented the poison from having its usual effect. 



Lichen /.landirus. The Icelanders boil this in broth, or 

 dry and convert it into bread. They likewise make gruel 

 with it to mix with milk; but the first decoction is always 

 thrown away, for it is apt to purge. It has recently obtained 

 a reputation for cuung consumptive complaints.; but upon 

 what foundation that reputation rest, we cannot determine. 



Lichen Omphalodes, dyes wool of a brown reddish colour, 

 or a dull but durable crimson, paler, but more lasting than 



