OLD 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



OLD 



sessile, cylindrical; stamina shorter than the corolla; petals 

 obcordate. Native of Upper Louisiana. 



16. CEnothera Linearis. The whole plant pubescent, 

 slender ; leaves linear, entire ; capsule stipitated, subrotund- 

 tetragonal, villose. Grows in the dry barren fields of Vir- 

 ginia and Carolina. 



17. CEnothera .Chrysantha. Stalk feeble, pubescent; 

 leaves lanceolate, plain, entire, somewhat obtuse ; tube of 

 the calix as short again as the segments; capsule clavated, 

 acute-angled, sessile ; flowers small, of a golden yellow colour. 

 Grows on the barren lands of Canada, and on the moun- 

 tains of Pennsylvania and Carolina, and flowers in July and 

 August. 



18. CEnothera Pusilla. Plant upright, subpubescent ; 

 stalk small, somewhat simple ; leaves lanceolate-oblong, some- 

 what obtuse, entire; flowers axillary at the summit, small; 

 capsule sessile, clavate-turbinate, with eight nearly equal 

 sides. Michaux discovered this plant on the rocks near 

 Lake Mistassino. It has also been found on the high moun- 

 tains of Pennsylvania and Virginia. 



19. CEnothera Minima. Stalk simple, one-flowered; leaves 

 small, lanceolate, very entire, hairy; flower sessile, rough; 

 germen prismatic. Grows in the barren pine-woods of 

 Georgia. This plant seldom exceeds an inch in height, and 

 its flower is the smallest of all the genus. 



20. CEnothera Glauca. Plant very smooth ; leaves wide- 

 jval, repand-subdentate, smooth, hoary; capsule ovate tetra- 

 gonal, pedicellate. Grows on the banks of -he Mississippi, 

 in Illinois, and on the peaks of Otter, Virginia; and flowers 

 in July. x 



21. CEnothera Hybrida. Stalk erect, villose; leaves pubes- 

 cent on both sides, lanceolate, remotely subdentate, wavy; 

 capsule subspicate, standing on a short pillar, ovate-tetra- 

 gonal. Grows in the sandy fields of Virginia and Caro- 

 lina. . wbio ni biup 10 fiat sai 



Oil Seed, Oil Tree. See Ricinus. 



Oily Grain. See Sesamum, 



Olax; a genus of the class Triandria, order Monogynia. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth one-leafed, 

 concave, very short, quite entire; according to Gaertner, 

 trifid, with blunt teeth. Corolla: one-petalled, funnel-form; 

 Border trifid, blunt, the third segment deeper ; nectaries 

 four, (according to Gaertner, three,) round, petioled, shorter 

 than the corolla. Stamina: filamenta three, awl-shaped, 

 alternate with the nectaries, and shorter; antheree simple. 

 Pistil: germen superior, roundish; style filiform, longer 

 than the staining caducous; stigma capitate. Pericarp: 

 berry fleshy, three-celled, half covered with the permanent 

 calix and corolla. Seeds: several, six or eight in each cell, 

 small, oblong, pale, with a navel in jthe middle of the inner 

 side. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix : entire ; trifid, 

 according to Geertner. Corolla: funnel-form, trifid. Nec- 

 tary: four; three, according to Gsertner. Berry: three-celled, 

 many-seeded. The species are, 



1. Olax Zeylanica. This is a tree, with flaccid branches, 

 wrinkled like those of Viscum or Misletoe, alternate; leaves 

 ovate, smooth, reinless, alternate, quite entire, petioled ; 

 peduncles very short, somewhat branched, from the axils of 

 the leaves. Native of Ceylon. 



2. Olax Scandens. Leaves elliptic, obtuse, downy beneath; 

 calix minutely fringed; flowers in short axillary clusters, 

 small, whitish. Native of forests on the coast of Coro- 

 rnandel, flowering all the year. 



Oldenlandia ; a genus of the class Tetrandria, order 

 Monogynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth 

 four-parted, the parts awl-shaped, superior, permanent. 



Corolla; one-petalled; tube cylindrical, closed by a beard; 

 border four-parted, acute, spreading, a little longer than the 

 calix. Stamina: filamenta four, simple, within the tube; 

 antheree small. Pistil: germen roundish, inferior; style 

 simple, the length of the stamina; stigma bifid, obtuse. 

 Pericarp: capsule twin, roundish, two-celled, opening be- 

 tween ths teeth of the calix. Seeds: numerous, very small. 

 Observe. According to Schreber, this genus scarcely differs 

 from Hedyotis; there is, however, a difference in the calix, 

 corolla, and receptacle. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: 

 fastened to the pericarp, with four free awl-shaped teeth at 

 top. Corolla : one-petalled, four-cleft. Capsule ; inferior, two- 

 celled. Receptacles: free, fastened to the partition by the 

 base only. To propagate the plants of this genus, sow the 

 seeds early in the spring on a hot-bed; and when the plantg 

 come up, transplant them to another hot-bed, or into small 

 pots plunged into the bark-bed. Water and shade them until 

 they have taken root; then give them free air in warm wea- 

 ther, and frequently refresh them with water. Some seeds 

 will ripen in July: gather them from time to time, as they 

 become ripe; for there will be fresh flowers produced until 

 autumn. Or, if the seeds be permitted to scatter in the 

 pots, the plants will soon appear, and will live through the 

 winter in the stove, and flower early in the following spring. 

 The species are, 



1 . Oldenlandia Verticillata ; Whorled Oldenlandia. Flow* 

 ers in whorls, sessile; stipules bristle-bearing ; stems about 

 a foot high, simple, jointed, even, round, with a groove ou 

 each side. Native of Amboyna and Jamaica, on open hills. 



2. Oldenlandia Repens ; Creeping Oldenlandia. Capsules 

 sessile, hispid; leaves lanceolate; stem creeping, filiform, 

 branched, jointed, rooting at every joint, even. Native of 

 the East Indies, and of China near Canton. 



3. Oldenlandia Capensis; Cape Oldenlandia, Flowers in 

 whorls, peduncled; leaves linear. It strongly resembles the 

 above. Native of the Cape. 



4. Oldenlandia Uniflora; One-flowered, or Water Olden- 

 landia. Peduncles quite simple, lateral; fruits rough-haired ; 

 leaves subovate, acute; stems branched and creeping. In 

 Jamaica it is found frequently in the waters, and then grows 

 of a length proportioned to the depth of the stream, with 

 which it yields and bends : both leaves and stalks are thej 

 of a reddish colour. Sometimes it is found upon the bank, 

 and then it is of a green colour, and a creeper, generally 

 running more or less, according to the quantity of moisture. 

 Native of Virginia and Jamaica, 



. 5. Oldenlandia Biflora; Two-flowered Oldenlandia. Per 

 duncles two-flowered, longer than the petioles; leaves lanr 

 ceolate ; root very long, from one to two feet, slender, with 

 a few lateral fibres; when fresh, the bark is orange-coloured ; 

 in the cultivated sort it is longest, and with fewest fibres ; 

 stem in the cultivated sort erect, round, jointed below, very 

 ramous, somewhat scabrous, from six to twelve inches high. 

 Native of the East Indies. 



6. Oldenlandia Umbellata; Umbelled Oldenlandia, or East 

 India Madder. Umbels naked, lateral, alternate ; leaves linear. 

 This is a small biennial, but sometimes triennial plant; root 

 very long ; stem in the cultivated sort erect. It is used in dye- 

 ing red, purple, a deep clear brown, and orange, and to paint 

 the red figures on chintz. The woody part of the Chay root, 

 as it is called, is white and tasteless; it is the bark only that is 

 possest of the colouring principle: when fresh, it is orange- 

 coloured, tinges the spittle yellow, and leaves a slight degree 

 of acrimony on the point of the tongue for some hours after 

 chewing; to appearance it loses its yellow colour in drying 1 , 

 but still retains the above property on being chewed. Jt 



