NAP 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



N AR 



161 



capsule ovate-oblong, blunt, compressed, grooved on each 

 giik', one-celled, two-valved, shorter than the calix. Seeds: 

 numerous, very small, fastened to a flat receptacle in the 

 middle of the partition. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: 

 live-leaved. Corolla: five-parted. Capsule: one-celled, 



two-valved. The only known species is, 



1. Kama Jamaicensis. Root simple, thready; stem her- 

 baceous, from two inches to half a foot in length, subdivided, 

 procumbent, pubescent, tender, three-winged, from the de- 

 current petioles ; branchlets from the axils of the leaves, pro- 

 cumbent. Browne says, that this little plant spreads about 

 the root, and seldom grows above five or six inches in length ; 

 that the whole of it is somewhat hairy, with the stalks and 

 branches margined. It is an annual, and native of Jamaica, 

 on cultivated grounds, and on rocks. 



Nandina ; a genus of the class Hexandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix; perianth many- 

 leaved, imbricate in six rows ; scales about six in each row, 

 ovate-acute, smooth, caducous. Corolla: petals six, oblong, 

 concave, acute, longer than the calix, caducous. Stamina : 

 filamenta six, very short ; anthene oblong, erect, the length 

 pf the corolla. Pistil: germen ovate, smooth, superior; 

 style three-cornered, very short ; stigma three-cornered. 

 Pericarp : berry juiceless, globular, smooth. Seeds: two, 

 hemispherical, smooth. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: 



many-leaved, imbricate. Corolla: six-petalled. The only 



known species is, 



1. Nandina Domestica. Root perennial ; stems several, 

 shrubby, upright, loose, branched at top, a fathom in height, 

 the thickness of a finger or thumb. Native of Japan, where 

 it is generally cultivated in their gardens, flowering in May 

 pr June. 



Napcea ; a genus of the class Dioecia, order Monadelphia, 

 or of the class Monadelphia, order Polyandria. GENERIC 

 CHARACTER. Male. Calix: perianth bell-shaped, five- 

 cleft, round, permanent. Corolla : petals five, oblong, con- 

 cave, patulous, convex, with oblong claws. Stamina: fila- 

 menta very many, capillary, of a middling length, connected 

 in a column ; antherse roundish, compressed. Pistil : ger- 

 men conical, minute ; style cylindric, ten-cleft, capillary ; 

 stigma none. Pericarp: abortient. Female: on a distinct 

 individual. Calix and Corolla : as in the male. Stamina : 

 filamenta as in the male, but shorter ; antherse small, effete. 

 Pistil : germen conical ; style as in the male, longer than the 

 stamina ; stigmas blunt. Pericarp : capsules ten, converg- 

 ing into an ovate form, sharpish, awnless. Seeds:, solitary, 

 kidney-form. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: five-cleft. 

 Petals : five. Male. Stamina : mouadelphous, very many, 

 fertile. Styles : several, barren. Female. Stamina : mona- 

 delphous, very many, barren. Styles: several, longer than 

 the stamina. Capsule: orbicular, depressed, ten-celled. 

 Seeds: solitary. The plants of this genus are easily propa- 

 gated by seeds sown in a bed of common earth in the spring. 

 Keep them clear from weeds till autumn, and then transplant 

 them where they are to remain. They delight in a rich moist 

 soil, in which they will grow very luxuriantly, and must be 



allowed room. The species are, 



1. Napsea Leevis ; Smooth Napcea. Peduncles naked, 

 smooth and even ; leaves alternate, serrated, lobed, smooth. 

 Root perennial, frequently creeping ; stems smooth, about 

 four feet high. This, as well as the next species, grows na- 

 turally in Virginia and other parts of North America. They 

 flower from July to September, the seeds ripen in autumn, 

 and then the stalks decay. From their bark a sort of hemp 

 might be produced, of the same kind as that afforded by 

 many of the malvaceous tribe. 



2. Napaea Scabra; Rough Napaa. Peduncles involucred, 

 angular ; leaves palmate, rugged. Root perennial, compos- 

 ed of many thick fleshy fibres, striking deep into the ground, 

 and connected at the top into a large head, from which come 

 out many rough hairy leaves. See the first species. 



Narcissus : a geuus of the class Hexandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: spathe oblong-, 

 obtuse, compressed, opening on the flat side, shrivelling. 

 Corolla : petals six, ovate, acuminate, flat, equal, inserted 

 into the tube of the nectary, externally above the base ; nec- 

 tary one-leafed, cylindric, funnel-form, coloured on the bor- 

 der. Stamina : filamenta six, awl-shaped, fixed to the tube 

 of the nectary, shorter than the nectary ; antherce oblongish. 

 Pistil: germen roundish, obtusely three-sided, inferior ; style 

 filiform, longer than the stamina; stigma bifid, concave, 

 obtuse. Pericarp : capsule, roundish, obtusely three-cor- 

 nered, three-celled, three-valved. Seeds: many, globular, 

 appendicled. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Petals: six, equal. 

 Nectary ; funnel-form, one-leafed. Stamina : within the 



sectary. The species are, 



1. Narcissus Poeticus ; Poetic or White Narcissus. Spathe 

 one-flowered ; nectary wheel-shaped, very short, scariose, 

 renulate. This has a smaller and rounder bulb than the 

 ommon Daffodil. The stalk or scape does not rise higher 

 than the leaves, which are of a gray colour. At the top of 

 the stalk comes out one flower from the spathe, nodding on 

 one side ; corolla snow white, spreading open, flat, the petals 

 rounded at the points. The nectary or cup in the centre is 

 very short, and fringed on the border with a bright purple 

 circle. The flowers have an agreeable odour, appear in 

 May, and seldom produce seeds. The Double White Nar- 

 cissus is a variety of this. It is a native of Italy, the south 

 of France, .Switzerland, and Ca.rniola ; said also to be found 

 wild in England on sandy heaths, as at Shorne, between 

 Gravesend and Rochester ; and at Wood Bastwick, and 

 other places in Norfolk. From the descriptions of Theophras- 

 tus, Dioscorides, and Pliny, there is little doubt of this species 

 being the Narcissus of those authors and of the ancient 

 poets. The next species, if it be really distinct, was probably 

 not considered as a separate species by the ancients, since 

 Ovid describes his Narcissus to have a yellow cup ; whereas 

 Dioscorides makes it purple, and Pliny sometimes one and 

 sometimes the other. This, and the nine following species, 

 and all the hardy sorts of Daffodil and Narcissus, may be 

 planted in large borders of the flower-garden, where, being 

 intermixed with other bulbs, they create an agreeable variety. 

 They will thrive in almost any soil or situation, and even 

 under the shade of trees, where they will produce annually in 

 the spring great quantities of flowers for several years toge- 

 ther without transplanting, and make a good appearance be- 

 fore the trees come out in leaf. They increase abundantly 

 by offsets. The double sorts should be taken up yearly, to 

 prevent their becoming single. 



2. Narcissus Biflorus ; Two-flowered Narcissus, or Pale 

 Daffodil. Spathe two-flowered ; nectary wheel-shaped, very 

 short, scariose, crenulate; leaves acute on the keel, the 

 edges turned inwards. This is called the Primrose Peerless 

 by our old authors. It often produces only one flower, and 

 may then be mistaken for one of the varieties of the preced- 

 ing species. It has however usually two flowers, and some- 

 times, though very rarely, even three. It may be distinguished 

 from the first species by the following differences: the petals 

 are of a yellowish hue, or rather a pale cream colour; the nec- 

 tary is wholly yellow, not having the orange or crimson rim ; 

 and it flowers at least three weeks' earlier. The top of the 

 flowering-stem, very soon after it emerges from the ground, 



