370 



POL 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



POL 



leafed, half five-cleft, inferior, goblet-shaped, acute, perma- 

 nent. Corolla : one-petalled, wheel-shaped ; tube shorter 

 than the calix, closed by five valves placed at the top ; bor- 

 der five-parted, wide, flat; segments roundish, blunt. Sta- 

 mina: filamenta five, inserted into the valves of the tube, 

 filiform, shorter than the corolla, inclining; antherse roundish, 

 incumbent. Pistil; germen ovate, acute, superior ; -Style 

 filiform, the length of the corolla; stigma trifid, revolute. 

 Pericarp: capsule three-cornered, ovate, three-celled, three- 

 valved, opening at the top, covered ; partitions contrary to 

 the valves. Seeds: very many, irregular, sharpish. ESSEN- 

 TIAL CHARACTER. Corolla: five-parted, the bottom closed 

 by valves bearing the stamina. Stigma: trifid. Capsule: 

 three-celled, superior. The species are, 



1. Polemonium Coaruleum; Common Polemonium. Leaves 

 pinnate ; flowers erect ; calices longer than the tube of the 

 corolla. Root perennial, fibrous ; herb smooth ; stems upright, 

 rising to the height of eighteen or twenty inches, seldom 

 more, leafy, panicled. Mr. Miller remarks, that the lower 

 leaves have eleven or twelve pair of leaflets, besides the odd 

 one ; that they are broadest at the base, end in points, and 

 are sessile ; that the stem-leaves are of the same form, but 

 decrease upwards in size ; that the stalks are hollow, chan- 

 nelled, and terminated by bunches of flowers, which sit very 

 close, and are of a beautiful blue colour: hence this is called 

 Blue-flowered Polemonium; it is also called Greek Valerian, 

 and Jacob's Ladder, or Ladder to Heaven. Besides the 

 variety with white flowers, which is very common, and fre- 

 quently rises from the seeds of the blue, there is another, 

 with variegated flowers ; and a third, with variegated leaves. 

 Caspar Bauhin observes, that this plant has nothing in com- 

 mon with the Valerians, except something in the shape of 

 the leaves. It has not in fact the least affinity, in appear- 

 ance, character, sensible qualities, or medical virtues. The 

 flowers appear at the end of May, and the seeds ripen in 

 August. Native of Asia; and of the north of Europe, in 

 Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Lapland, and Denmark. 

 To propagate it, sow the seeds in the spring, upon a bed of 

 light earth ; when they come up pretty strong, prick them 

 out into another bed of the same earth, four or five inches 

 asunder, shading and watering them until they have taken 

 root; keep them clear from weeds until Michaelmas, and 

 then transplant them into the borders of the pleasure-gar- 

 den. They are not of long duration, but by taking up the 

 plants in autumn, and parting them, they may be continued 

 some years ; but as seedling plants flower stronger than 

 offsets, few persons propagate them by slips. The varieties 

 may be continued by parting the roots at Michaelmas. They 

 should have a fresh light soil ; if too rich, the roots will be apt 

 to rot in winter, and the stripes on the leaves to go off. 



2. Polemonium Reptans ; Creeping Polemonium, also 

 called Greek Valerian. Leaves pinnate, with about seven 

 leaflets; flowers terminating, nodding. This has creeping 

 roots, by which it multiplies very fast. The stalks rise nine 

 or ten inches high, sending out branches their whole length. 

 The flowers are produced in loose bunches, on pretty long 

 peduncles; they are smaller than those of the common sort, 

 and of a lighter blue colour. Native of North America. It 

 may be increased by seeds or offsets like the preceding ; but 

 though equally hardy, is less beautiful. 



3. Polemonium Roelloides ; Roella-like Polemonium. 

 Erect: stem filiform; leaves lanceolate, ciliate; panicle few- 

 flowered, peduncled, naked. Found at the Cape. 



4. Polemonium Campanuloides ; Campanula-like Polemo- 

 nium. Erect, smooth: leaves linear-lanceolate, entire, erect; 

 flowers terminating, solitary. Native of the Cape. 



Poley, Mountain. See Teucrium. 



Polianthes; a genus of the class Hexandria, order Monogy- 

 nia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : none. Corolla : 

 one-petalled, funnel-form ; tube curved inwards, oblong ; 

 border patulous, with six ovate segments. Stamina : fila- 

 menta six, thick, blunt, at the top of the tube; antherse 

 linear, longer than the filamenta. Pistil: germen roundish, 

 at the bottom of the corolla ; style filiform, mostly shorter 

 than the corolla; stigma trifid, thickish, melliferous. Peri- 

 carp : capsule roundish, obtusely three-cornered, at the base 

 involved in the corolla, three-celled, three-valved. Seeds: 

 very many, flat, incumbent, in a double row, semi-orbiculate. 

 ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Corolla : funnel-form, curved 

 in, equal. Filamenta: inserted into the mouth of the tube, 



erect. Germen : at the bottom of the corolla. The only 



species is, 



1. Polianthes Tuberosa ; Common Tuberose. Root peren- 

 nial, tuberous, somewhat creeping; stem simple, erect, round", 

 leafy, about three feet high; leaves scattered, linear-lanceo- 

 late, sheathing, smooth, pale, and rather glaucous; flowers 

 several, in a terminal, oblong, bracteated spike, white, some- 

 times tinged with a blush of pink, their odour rich and deli- 

 cious, most powerful at night, This well-known plant has 

 been long cultivated in the English gardens, for the exceed- 

 ing beauty and fragrancy of its flowers : as the roots are too 

 tender to thrive in the full ground in England, there are few 

 persons who care to take the trouble of nursing up their offsets 

 till they become blowing roots, because it will be two or three 

 years before they arrive at a proper size for producing flowers ; 

 and as they must be protected from the frost in winter, the 

 trouble and expense of shelter is greater than the roots are 

 worth, for they are generally sold pretty reasonable by those 

 who import them from Italy. The Double-flowering Tuberose 

 is a variety of the first, which was obtained from Mons. le 

 Cour, of Leyden. Other varieties are, the Striped-leaved 

 Tuberose, and the Tuberose with a smaller flower. The last is 

 frequent in the south of France, whence the roots have often 

 been brought to England early in the spring, before their roots 

 have arrived from Italy, whence they are annually imported. 

 The difference between it and the common sort, lies in the 

 stalk being weaker and shorter, and the flowers smaller. As 

 there is no way of propagating the double-flowered sort but 

 by offsets, most people are careful to increase it; this is done 

 by planting them upon a moderate hot-bed early in March, and 

 covering the beds in cold weather with mats or straw, giving 

 them abundance of water in the drought of summer. In this 

 bed the roots may remain till the leaves decay in autumn ; 

 but if any frost should happen before that time, the beds 

 should be covered, because if the frost enters so low as to 

 reach the roots, it will kill them ; and if the leaves are injured 

 by the frost, it will weaken the roots. Where there is due 

 care taken to screen them from the frost and too much wet, 

 it will be the best way to let the roots remain in the bed till 

 the end of November, or the beginning of December, pro- 

 vided hard frosts do not set in sooner; for the less time the 

 roots are out of the ground, the stronger they will be, and 

 the sooner they will flower. When taken up, they should 

 be cleared from the earth, and laid in dry sand, secure from 

 frost and wet until the season for planting them returns. 

 The other sorts should be treated in the same way. It is 

 next necessary to give directions concerning the roots annu- 

 ally imported from Italy. In choosing the roots, select the 

 largest and plumpest, which, when perfectly sound, are the 

 best: the fewer offsets they have, the stronger they will flower; 

 but the under part of the root should be particularly exa- 

 mined, because it is there that they first decay. Before the 



