248 



PAS 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



PAS 



glabrous ; leaves lanceolate-linear, serrulate-ciliate : culm 

 decumbent. Grows in Virginia and Carolina, in those clay- 

 soils where iron-ore abounds. 



18. Paspalum Lseve. Spikes many, alternate ; glumes 

 biseriate, suborbiculate-ovate, glabrous ; leaves glabrous ; 

 ligules ciliate ; sheaths compressed ; stalk suberect Grows 

 in dry meadows and grassy hills from Pennsylvania to Caro- 

 lina. This plant is named Paspalum Lentiferum in the 

 Encyclopedic Mtthodique, Botanique, par M. le Chevalier de 

 Lamarck ; and Paspalum Membranaceum, in Walton's Flora 

 Caroliniana. 



Pasque Flower. See Anemone. 



Passerina ; a genus of the class Octandria, Order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth of one 

 leaf, shrivelling ; tube cylindrical, slender, ventricose below 

 the middle ; border four-cleft, spreading ; segments concave, 

 ovate, blunt. Corolla: none. Stamina: filamenta eight, 

 bristle-shaped, the length of the border, placed upon the 

 point of the tube; antherae subovate, erect. Pistil: germen 

 ovate, within the tube of the corolla ; style filiform, springing 

 from the side of the very point of the germen, the same 

 length with the tube of the corolla ; stigma capitate, hispid 

 all over with villose hairs. Pericarp: coriaceous, ovate, 

 one-celled. Seed: single, ovate, acuminate at both ends, 

 with the points oblique. Observe. The fourth species has 

 flowers without a tube, and sixteen stamina, the eight inner 

 ones castrated. The sixth has eight stamina, besides the 

 rudimenta of eight anthene at the bottom of the flower. 

 ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix,: four-cleft. Corolla : none. 

 Stamina: placed on the tube. Seed: one, corticate. The 

 first thirteen species are diandrous, have the smell of Syringa 

 flowers, and are evergreen. They are not separated from 

 their natural genus, though the number of the stamina be 

 less. The Struthiolce might have been referred to this genus, 

 had it not been for the nectaries.' Daphne also agrees with 

 Passerina. The species are, 



1. Passerina Filiformis ; Filiform Sparrow-wort. Leaves 

 linear, convex, imbricate in four rows, (three-cornered, 

 acute;) branches tomentose; flowers racemed. This rises 

 with a shrubby stalk, five or six feet high, sending out 

 branches the whole length, which when young grow erect, 

 but as they advance in length they incline towards a hori- 

 zontal position. The flowers come out at the extremity of 

 the young branches, from between the leaves on every side; 

 they are small and white, so that they make no great appear- 

 ance. It flowers from June to August. Native of the Cape 

 of Good Hope. This, with all the other Cape plants, may 

 be increased by cuttings during the summer months, planted 

 in a bed of loamy earth, or closely covered with a bell or 

 hand glass to exclude the air, shading them from the sun, 

 and refreshing them now and then with water. They will 

 take root in about two months, when they m.ay be planted 

 each in a small pot filled with loamy earth, placing them in 

 the shade to take new root ; then remove them into a shel- 

 tered situation, there to remain till October, when they must 

 be placed in the green-house, and treated as Myrtle. Those 

 also which produce seeds, or when seeds can be procured, 

 may also be propagated that way. Sow them in autumn 

 soon after they are ripe, in small pots filled with light earth, 

 plunged into an old bark-bed, under a common frame in 

 winter. The plants will come up in the spring, and may be 

 treated like the cuttings ; but the seedling plants will grow 

 more erect, and make a handsomer appearance. 



2. Passerina Hirsuta ; Shaggy Sparrow-wort. Leaves 

 fleshy, smooth on the outside ; stems tomentose. This has 

 shrubby stalks, which rise to a greater height than the for- 



mer; the branches are more diffused, and covered with a 

 mealy down ; flowers small and white like those of the for- 

 mer, and appearing about the same time. Native of Spam 

 and Portugal, Provence, Italy, and the Levant, in heathy 

 places. It will live abroad in common winters, in a dry soil 

 and warm situation, but in hard frosts the plants are fre- 

 quently destroyed ; one or two ought therefore to be kept in 

 pots, and sheltered during the winter. 



3. Passerina Ericoides ; Heath-like Sparrow-wort. Leaves 

 linear, even, subimbricate ; corollas globular. This has so 

 entirely the appearance of an Erica, that at first sight no 

 one would doubt of its being one. It has the stature of the 

 first species ; which see. Native of the Cape. 



4. Passerina Capitata ; Headed Sparrow-wort. Leaves 

 linear, smooth ; heads peduncled, tomentose, terminating, 

 globular ; peduncles tomentose, thickened ; flowers many, 

 white, sessile, without a tube ; stamina above the throat, six- 

 teen, the eight inner of which are castrated ; stems shrubby, 

 compound, with rod-like red branches. Native of the Cape. 



5. Passerina Ciliata ; Ciliated Sparrow-wort. Leaves lan- 

 ceolate, ciliate ; branches naked ; flowers subsolitary ; stalk 

 shrubby, rising five or six feet high, sending out many 

 branches, which are naked to their ends, where they have 

 oblong leaves standing erect, and having hairy points. The 

 flowers are small, white, and come out among the leaves at 

 the end of the branches. It flowers here in June, but no 

 seeds are produced. Native of the Cape. 



6. Passerina Uniflora ; One-flowered Sparrow-wort. 

 Leaves linear, opposite, (lanceolate, even ;) flowers termi- 

 nating, solitary ; branches smooth ; stalk shrubby, seldom 

 rising more than a foot high, dividing into many branches, 

 which are slender, smooth, and spread out on every side. 

 The flowers are larger than those of the former, and the 

 upper part of the petals is spread open flat; they are of a 

 purple colour, and appear about the same time as the former. 

 Native of the Cape. 



7. Passerina Anthylloides. Leaves oblong, villose ; flow- 

 ers in heads, terminal, externally bristly. A handsome 

 species. Native of the Cape. 



8. Passerina Spicata; Spiked SparYow-wort. Leaves 

 ovate, villose ; flowers lateral, solitary. The flowering 

 branches resemble a leafy spike. Native of the Cape. 



9. Passerina Laxa; Loose-branched Sparrow-wort. Leaves 

 ovate, hairy ; flowers in terminal leafy heads ; branches loose. 

 Native of the Cape. 



10. Passerina Grandiflora ; Great-flowered Sparrow-wort. 

 Very smooth : leaves oblong, acute, concave, wrinkled on 

 the outside ; flowers terminating, sessile, solitary ; branches 

 one-flowered. It is easily distinguished by the large borders 

 of the flowers, silky on the outside. Native of Africa. See 

 the first species. 



11. Passerina Gnidia.' Two-stamined, very smooth: leaves 

 lanceolate, acute. Native of New Zealand, in the fissures 

 of rocks on the sea-coast, and on mountain-tops. 



12. Passerina Pilosa ; Hairy Sparrow-wort. Two-sta- 

 mined, hairy: leaves linear, blunt. Native of New Zealand. 



13. Passerina Prostrata ; Prostrate Sparrow-wort. Two 

 stamined, hairy : leaves ovate. Native of the dry mountains 

 in New Zealand. 



14. Passerina Cephalophora ; Great-headed Sparrow-wort. 

 Leaves three-cornered, in four rows ; heads woolly. Native 

 of the Cape. 



15. Passerina Linoides ; Flax-like Sparrovi-wort. Leaves 

 linear-lanceolate, smooth, three-ribbed ; flowers terminating, 

 solitary. A hardy green-house plant, flowering in May and 

 June, and easily increased by cuttings, Native of the Cape. 



