P LE 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



P LO 



361 





flowers ; leaves opposite, on very short hairy stalks, of a beau- 

 tiful green, glaucous beneath ; flowers solitary, from the axils 

 of the uppermost leaves, opposite, on short hairy peduncles ; 

 standard of the corolla orange-coloured, striated almost half 

 way to the edge, with beautifully radiant crimson lines, from 

 a pale yellow spot at the base ; wings deep yellow ; keel 

 whitish, tipped with a rich crimson ; pod an inch and half 

 long, and half as broad. Native of New South Wales, where 

 it blooms all the year. 



2. Platylobium Parviflorum ; Small-flowered Flat-pea. 

 Leaves ovate-lanceolate ; germen nearly smooth ; stalk of the 

 legume longer than the calix ; bractes smooth. Native of 

 New South Wales. 



3. Platylobium Triangulare; Triangular-leaved Flat-pea. 

 Leaves somewhat triangular or hastate, with spinous angles; 

 flower-stalks bracted at the base and summit, naked in the 

 middle ; legume several times longer than the calix. Found 

 ID Van Diernen's land. 



Plectranthus ; a genus of the class Didynamia, order 

 Gymnospermia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Cafe: perianth 

 one-leafed, subcampanulate, short, two-lipped; upper lip 

 ovate, wider, ascending ; lower lip four-cleft, acute, the two 

 lowest segments a little longer. Corolla: one-petalled, rin- 

 gent, resupine ; tube compressed, longer than the calix. 

 One lip turned upwards, wide, trifid ; the middle segment 

 larger, emarginate ; the lateral ones small : the other lip 

 turned down, narrower, entire, ovate-, acute, concave. Nec- 

 tary a spur or bump from the base of the tube of the corolla, 

 produced upwards. Stamina: filamenta four, declined, awl- 

 shaped, of which two are a little shorter ; antherae simple. 

 Pistil: germen four-parted; style filiform, the length and 

 situation of the stamina; stigma bifid, acute. Pericarp: 

 none ; but the calix contains the seeds at bottom. Seeds : 

 four, roundish. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: upper 

 segment large. Corolla: resupine; gibbous or spurred at 

 the base. Filamenta : simple. The species are, 



1. Plectranthus Frnticosus ; Shrubby Plectranthus. Nec- 

 tary spurred ; racemes compound ; peduncles three-parted ; 

 stems shrubby, levigated, several, erect, very much branched, 

 brachiate, pithy, ash-coloured ; branches opposite, spread- 

 ing, obscurely marked with lines the thickness of a reed, 

 brittle ; tender shoots four-cornered, pubescent, green ; leaves 

 broad, ovate, or shaped like a heart, only they are not 

 emarginate, but produced at the base, acute or acuminate, 

 doubly serrate, with equal, bluntish, waved serratures, 

 wrinkled, nerved, and veined, with the nerves and veins 

 prominent on the lower surface only, villose, appearing dot- 

 ted underneath when viewed with a magnifying glass, spread- 

 ing, fragrant, four or five inches long, and three or four 

 wide; flowers pedicelled ; corollas blue, five lines in length. 

 It flowers from June to September. Native of the Cape of 

 Good Hope. It perfects seads in England, and may be pro- 

 pagated by them, or by cuttings, but must have the protec- 

 tion of the dry-stove. 



2. Plectranthus Punctatus; Dotted Plectranthus. Nec- 

 tary gibbous ; flowers in spikes. Stem herbaceous, rough- 

 haired; leaves ovate, acute, toothed, nerved, very much 

 wrinkled, villose, commonly spotted with brown in the disk, 

 the spot having stiffish brown hairs scattered over it, spread- 

 ing, reclining, from two to three inches long, from eighteen 

 to twenty-four lines wide, stinking; spikes solitary, termi- 

 nating; and besides this, others short and solitary from the 

 upper axils, erect, compact, bracted, hirsute, two inches 

 long ; flowers on short pedicels, in a sort of whorl, aggregate 

 under each bracte, two or three lines in length ; corollas 

 very pale blue, marked with purple lines on the disk of the 



upper lip ; on the lower more intensely dotted towards the 

 tip ; seeds compressed, of an ash-bay colour. It flowers from 

 January to May.- Native of Africa. This generally ripens 

 its seeds, and can be propagated only by them. It may be 

 preserved in the dry-stove or green-house. 



3. Plectranthus Galeatus ; Helmet-flowered Plectranthus. 

 Nectary gibbous ; pedicels branched ; leaves cordate-ovate, 

 acuminate, serrate. Stem villose, grooved ; peduncle ter- 

 minating ; pedicels opposite, branched ; bractes none ; corol- 

 las pu-bescent, with the lower lip galeated. Native of Java. 



4. Plectranthus Forskohleei. Nectary gibbous ; racemes 

 leafless ; stem equal ; leaves ovate, approximating towards 

 the top of the branches, hairy, very blunt, grossly crenate, 

 transverse at the base, quite entire ; corolla four times as 

 long as the calix, pale purple. Native of the mountains of 

 Arabia Felix and Madagascar. 



5. Plectranthus Crassifolius ; Thick-leaved 'Plectranthus. 

 Nectary gibbous ; racemes bracted ; leaves ovate, fleshy. 

 Native of Arabia Felix. 



Plectronia : a genus of the class Pentandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth one-leafed, 

 turbinate, obsoletely five-toothed, closed with sinuses, or 

 five villose scales, permanent. Corolla: petals five, lanceo- 

 late, sessile, inserted into the throat of the calix. Stamina: 

 filamenta five, very short; antheree two-lobed, roundish, 

 each covered with the calicine scales. Pistil: germen infe- 

 rior; style filiform, shorter than the calix; stigma ovate. 

 Pericarp: berry oblong, two-celled. Seeds: solitary, oblong, 

 compressed. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Petals: five, 

 inserted into the throat of the calix. Berry: two-seeded, 

 inferior. The only known species is, 



1. Plectronia Ventosa. Leaves opposite, petioled, lanr 

 ceolate-ovate, quite entire, even, longer than the internodes; 

 corymbs capillary, brachiate, shorter than the leaves. It is 

 a tree, with four-cornered branches. Native of the Cape. 



Pliant Mealy Tree. See Viburnum. 



Plinia ; a genus of the class Icosandria, order Monogynia. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth one-leafed, five 

 or four parted ; segments acute, flat, small. Corolla : four 

 or five petalled ; petals ovate, concave, widely spreading. 

 Stamina: filamenta numerous, inserted into^the calix, capil- 

 lary, the length of the corolla; antheree small. Pistil: ger- 

 men superior, small ; style awl-shaped, longer than the 

 stamina; stigma simple. Pericarp: drupe very large, glo- 

 bular, grooved. Seed: single, very large, globular, smooth. 

 ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: four or five parted. Pe- 

 tals : four or five. Drupe : superior, grooved. The spe- 

 cies are, 



1 . Plinia Crocea ; Saffron-fruited Plinia. Flowers five- 

 petalled ; leaves abruptly pinnate ; fruit eatable. Native of 

 America. 



2. Plinia Pedunculata ; Red-fruited Plinia. Flowers 

 four-petalled ; leaves opposite, petioled, simple, even, like 

 those of Myrtle, ovate ; berry roundish, the size of a plum : 

 in this species it is inferior. It flowers in January and 

 February, and is commonly cultivated in Madeira and the 

 East Indies. It is the same with Myrtus Brasiliana and 

 Eugenia Uniflora, which see. 



Plocama ; a genus of the class Pentandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth one- 

 leafed, very small, five-toothed, permanent. Corolla: one- 

 petalled, bell-shaped, five-parted ; segments oblong. Sta- 

 mina: filamenta five, short, inserted into the tube ; anthevsc 

 linear, from incumbent erect. Pistil: germen inferior, glo- 

 bular ; style filiform, subclavate, longer than the stamina ; 

 stigma simple, obtuse. Pericarp: berry subglobular, three- 



