LI N 



OK, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



L I N 



45 



flowered tun bel; peduncles a little hairy, unpuicular; pedicels 

 tomentose about half the length. The Japanese use the wood 

 for making soft brushes to clean their teeth with. Native of 

 Japan. 



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

 spermia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Cali.i .- perianth five- 

 parted; divisions linear, sharp, permanent. Corolla: one- 

 petalled, ringent, two-lipped ; under lip very short, concave, 

 emarginated ; lower lip upright, three-cleft; the middle one 

 rather larger. Stamina: filamenta four, twin ; the superior 

 ones simple; the two inferior ascending, with a terminal 

 upright tooth; untlienv. twin, the inferior ones sublaieral. 

 Pistil: germen ovate; style filiform ; stigma etnargmated. 

 Pericarp: capsule oval, one-celled, two-valvcd. See/is: 

 numerous. Receptacle cylindric. ESSENTIAL CHARAC- 

 TER. Calif: live parted. Corolla: ringent, with the upper 

 lip very short. Stamina: the two lower with a terminating 

 tooth, and a suhlateral anthcrst*. Capsule: one-celled. The 

 species are, 



1. Lindernia Pyxidaria. Leaves sessile, quite entire ; 

 peduncles solitary; root annual ; stem smooth, square, brittle, 

 sometimes branched, and putting forth runners; tlowers axil- 

 lary, solitary, on a long slender peduncle ; corolla pale blue. 

 -Native of Virginia, in watery and boggy places ; flowering 

 in July and August. Hence it has migrated into Europe; 

 and is now found in similar situations in Alsace and Piedmont. 



2. Lindernia Dianthera. Leaves petioled, ovate, round 

 is!i, subset-rate; stem creeping. Annual, and a native of 

 St. Domingo. 



3. Lindernia Japonk-a. Leaves obovate, toothed, the lowest 

 petioled; root annual; stem herbaceous, branched, weak; 

 blanches alternate, somewhat villose, from an inch to a span 

 in length; flowers at the ends of the branches in racemes; 

 corollas rnfescent. Native of Japan. 



Linntta; (so named by Gronovius, in honour of the illus- 

 trious Carl von Linne or Linnaeus,- a native of Sweden, and 

 the prince of botanists;) a genus of the class Didynamia, 

 order Angiospermia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: peri- 

 anth double. Piriattth nf the fruit : inferior, four-leaved; 

 the two opposite leaflets very small, acute; the remaining 

 two elliptic, concave, upright, hispid, embracing the germen, 

 converging, permanent. Perianth of t/ie Jlowtr: superior, 

 one-leafod, five parted, upright, narrow, sharp, equal. Co- 

 rolla: one-petalled, bell-shaped, half five cleft, obtuse, sub- 

 equal, twice as large as the calix of the flower. Stamina : 

 liianienia four, awl-shaped, inserted into the bottom of the 

 corolla; of which two are very small, the two nearest longer ; 

 shorter than the corolla; aniheiae compressed, versatile. 

 Pistil: germen roundish, inferior; style filiform, straight, 

 Irilgth of the corolla, declinate; stigma globose. Pericarp: 

 berry juiceless, ovate, three-celled, coveted by the hispid 

 glutinous perianth of the fruit, deciduous. Seeds: two, 

 roundish. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: double, of 

 the fruit two leaved, of the flower five-parted, superior. 



Corolla: bell-shaped. Berry: dry, three-celled. The 



only known species is, 



1. Linuxa Borealis; Twojlcni-ered Linncea. Root peren- 

 nial, fibrous; stems filiform, from three to six feet long, 

 loose, creeping, round, perennial, ferruginous, with a few 

 while hairs scattered over them ; leaves opposite, roundish, 

 ovate, spreading, attenuated into the petioles; branches alter- 

 n lie, simple, upright, with six or eight leaves on them; 

 peduncles terminating the older branches, solitary, a finger's 

 length, upright, having different hairs sniftered over them, 

 some very minute, reHex-pellucid, others spreading, secreting 

 a glutinous juice ; corolla ttirbinate, three times as long as the 



4 



calix, smooth and white on the outside, having a few hairs 

 scattered over it within, with blood rid leins within the 

 cavity, which are yellow on the lower side. The smell of the 

 flowers approaches to lint of Ulnmrin, or Meadow Sweet; 

 and is so strong during the night, as to discover tin's little 

 plant at a considerable distance. In Sweden, where the plant 

 is common, an infusion of the leaves in milk is employed in 

 the rheumatism. In Norway they cure the itch with a decoc- 

 tion of it. And in Ostrobothnia they apply il in a cataplasm, 

 or by fomentation, to disorders of the feet in sheep. Native 

 of Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Silesia, Italy, Russia, 

 Siberia, and Canada, in large forests and woods, especially 

 where moss abounds; and flowers in June. It has been dis- 

 covered in an old fir-wood at Mearns, near Aberdeen in 

 Scotland. 



Linociera ; a genus of the class Diandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth very 

 small, four-toothed, obtuse, permanent. Corolla: petals four, 

 equal, linear, channelled, upright, spreading at lop, manv 

 times longer than the calix. Stamina: filamenta two, very 

 short, rather broad ; antheraj linear, two-furrowed, length of 

 the corolla, upright, each adhering slightly to the other side 

 of the two petals. Pistil: germen superior, ovate, four- 

 cornered; style short ; stiirma oblong, two cleft. Pericarp: 

 berry ovate, sharp-pointed, two-celled. Seeds: solitan, 

 oblong. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix; four-toothed. 

 Corolla: four-petalled. Antheret : connecting two opposite 

 petals at flic base. Kerry: two celled. Dr. Smith suggests, 

 that by examining the fruit in an early state, it will be found 

 that the Linociera of Schreber is not distinct from Chionanthus. 

 See Chionanthus. There is but one species, Linociera Ligus- 

 trina, a native of open places in the West Indies. 



Linum; a genus of the class Pentandria, order Pentagynia. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth five-leaved, Ian- 

 ceolate, upright, small, permanent. Corolla: funnel-form. 

 Petals: five, oblong, gradually wider above, obtuse, more 

 spreading, large. Stamina: filamenta five, awl-shaped, up- 

 right, length of the calix ; (also five rudiments, alternating f) 

 antherae simple, arrowed. Pistil: germen ovate; styles five, 

 filiform, upright, length of the stamina ; stigmas simple, reflex. 

 Pericarp: capsule globose, rudely pentagonal, ten valved, 

 gaping at the tip; partitions membranaceoiis, very thin, con- 

 necting the valves. Seeds: solitary, ovate-flatfish, acumi- 

 nated, smooth. Observe. In many species, if not in all, the. 

 filamenta are united at the base: in the twenty-third, a fifth 

 part is excluded. ESSENTI AI. CHARACTER. Calix: five- 

 leaved. Petals: five. Capanle : ten-valved, ten celled. 

 Seeds: solitary. The species are, 



* With alternate Leaves. 



1. Linum Usitatissimum ; Common Flax. Calices-and 

 capsules mucroiiHte; petals eremite; leaves lanceolate ; stem 

 generally solitary ; roots annual, simple, fibrous, pale brown; 

 stem upright,' eighteen indies, two fret, and even more, in 

 height, round, smooth, leafy, branched only at top; flowers 

 large, growing in a panicle, on round smooth peduncles ; 

 petals wedge-shaped, deciduous, sky-blue, streaked with 

 deeper-coloured lines, white at the "claws, and somewhat 

 gnawed at the tip. Flax is now found wild in many parts 

 of Europe, in corn-fields. In England we cannot assert it 

 to be aboriginal, though it is said to be very common in the 

 western comities, not only in corn fields, bat in pastures and 

 on downs. It flowers in June and July. The plants of Flax, 

 \\h.Mi crowded together in cultivation, rise only a foot and 

 half high, with a slender uttbranched stalk ; yet when liiev 

 are allowed room, will rise more than two feet* high, and pu't 

 out two or three side-branches towards the top, especially in 



