390 



FOR 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL: 



FOR 



five-cornered, retuse, two-celled, two-valved, opening at the 

 top ; partition contrary- Seeds : very many, roundish, com- 

 pressed, imbricate. Observe. The first and fourth species 

 have four and six stamina. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Co- 

 rolla : club-funnel-shaped. AutJierte : longitudinal. Capsule: 

 five-cornered, obtuse, two-celled, two-valved, many-seeded, 

 crowned with the permanent calix. The species are, 



1. Portlandia Tetrandra ; South-Sea Portlandia. Flowers 

 tetrandrous ; leaves oblong, blunt, (obovate, according to 

 Forster ;) stipules wide, dilated with a point. Stem shrubby, 

 with rugged branches ; flowers axillary, solitary, stalked ; 

 corolla white. Native of Savage Island, in the South Seas. 



2. Portlandia Coccinea; Scarlet Portlandia. Flowers 

 pentandrous; leaves ovate, coriaceous. This is a shrub, 

 two or three feet high, erect, branched. Flowers deep scarlet. 

 Native of Jamaica, in the western parts, on mountainous 

 precipices, where, however, it is not common, but flowers 

 in June and July. 



3. Portlandia Grandiflora ; Large-flowered Portlandia. 

 Flowers pentandrous. Swartz says, leaves lanceolate, ellip- 

 tic; Smith, calicine leaflets ovate. Stem shrubby, but weak, 

 and trailing; leaves opposite, elliptical, pointed, a span long, 

 of a fine dark shining green ; flowers white, rather longer 

 than the leaves. The flowers exhale a very grateful and 

 refreshing odour in the evening. Dr. Browne gathered it 

 plentifully among the rocks at the foot of mountains in 

 Jamaica. It may be propagated either by seeds or cuttings. 

 The seeds, when they can be obtained, may be sown in pots 

 of light earth in the spring, and plunged in the tan-pit : the 

 cuttings do not strike very easily. They must be managed 

 in the same way as other woody plants from Jamaica, and 

 require a stove-heat. 



4. Portlandia Hexandra; Laurel-leaved Portlandia. Flow- 

 ers hexandrous ; tube subincurved ; peduncles ternate ; leaves 

 ovate ; calicine leaflets lanceolate. This is a shrub, six feet 

 in height : the flowers are handsome, sweet, numerous, nearly 

 three inches in length ; the petals flesh-coloured on the out- 

 side, white within, marked with lines. The seeds are gene- 

 rally eaten by insects. It flowers in August and September. 

 Native of woods and coppices about Carthagena, Guiana, 

 and Cayenne. 



Portulacaria ; a genus of the class Pentandria, order Tri- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth two-leaved, 

 coloured, permanent; leaflets roundish, concave, obtuse, 

 spreading very much, opposite. Corolla : petals five, obovate, 

 obtuse, quite entire, concave at top, flat at the base, with 

 the sides mutually incumbent, spreading very much, almost 

 three times as long as the calix, permanent. Stamina: fila- 

 menta five, awl-shaped, very short, erect, two on each side of 

 the germen, the other solitary ; anthetse erect, ovate. Pistil : 

 germen three-cornered, superior, the length of the petals ; 

 style none ; stigmas three, spreading very much, ascending at 

 the tip, muricated above. Pericarp : none. The calix and 

 corolla, now erect, closely embrace the base of the seed. 

 Seed : single, ovate-oblong, obtuse, winged, three-sided. Es- 

 ENTIAL CHARACTER. Cafe: two-leaved. Petals : five. Seed: 

 one, three-sided, and winged. The only known species is, 



1. Portulacaria Afra; Purslane Tree. This plant rises 

 with a strong thick succulent stalk, to the height of three feet, 

 sending out branches on every side, so as to form a kind of 

 pyramid. It is very easily propagated by cuttings, planted 

 during any of the summer months, and having been laid to 

 dry for some days before, in pots filled with sandy earth. It 

 must be placed in a warm glass-case in winter, where it may 

 enjoy the full sun, and should have very little water during 

 that season. In summer the plants should be placed abroad 



in a sheltered situation, and, in warm weather, should be 

 refreshed with water twice a week; but the stalks being very 

 succulent, too much wet always injures these plants. 



Portulacca; a genus of the class Dodocandria, order Mo- 

 nogynia. GENEIUC CIIARACTE-R. Calix: perianth bifid, 

 small, compressed at the tip, permanent, (Gsertner says, two- 

 leaved, superior, caducous.) Corolla : petals five, flat, erect, 

 blunt, larger than the calix. Stamina : filamenta many, 

 sometimes twenty, capillary, shorter by half than the corolla; 

 anthera simple. Pistil: germen roundish, (half inferior, 

 according to Gsertner ;) style simple, short ; stigmas five, 

 oblong, the length of the style. Pericarp: capsule covered, 

 ovate, one-celled, (cut transversely, according to Gsertner.) 

 Receptacle: free. Seeds: numerous, small. Observe. The 

 first four species have a circumcised capsule ; in the fifth, 

 seventh, eighth, and twelfth, the capsule is three-valved : the 

 last also has a five-leaved calix. The third species has a 

 four-parted corolla, eight stamina, and an inferior germen. 

 ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: bifid or two-leaved. Co- 

 rolla: five-petalled. Capsule: one-celled, cut round, or 

 three-valved. Receptacles: according to Gsertner, five, free, 

 distant. The s.pecies are, 



1. Portulacca Oleracea; Garden Purslane. Leaves wedge- 

 shaped ; flowers sessile. This is an annual and herbaceous 

 plant, with a round, smooth, procumbent, succulent stem ; 

 leaves clustered, stalked, above an inch long; flowers clus- 

 tered, terminal, small, yellow, opening but for a short time 

 towards noon. It differs from the wild sort only in having 

 larger and more succulent leaves. If the garden kind be 

 permitted to scatter the seeds, in two years it will become in 

 every respect like the wild plant. There are two other vari- 

 eties ; one with deep green leaves ; and the other with yellow 

 leaves, which is called Golden Purslane ; but they are only 

 seminal variations. Native of both Indies, China, Cochin- 

 china, Japan, and the Island of Ascension, and of many 

 parts of Europe. It is a pleasant salad herb, and so whole- 

 some that it is a pity it is not more used for that purpose, 

 especially as it is excellent for those who are troubled with 

 scorbutic disorders ; and the expressed juice, taken while 

 fresh, is good for the strangury and stoppage of urine. Sow 

 the seeds upon a bed of rich light earth during any of the 

 summer months; but to have it early in the season, it should 

 be sown upon a hot-bed. This seed being very small, little 

 of it will be sufficient for a family. Keep the plants clear 

 from weeds, and in dry weather water them two or three times 

 a week ; in warm weather they will be fit for use in six weeks. 

 To continue a succession, sow three or four times, at the 

 interval of a fortnight or three weeks. If the seeds are 

 intended to be saved, leave some of the earliest plants for 

 this purpose, drawing out all such as are weak, or have small 

 leaves. When the seeds are ripe, cut up the plants, and 

 spread them upon cloths to dry ; then beat out the seeds and 

 sift them, to clear them from the leaves and seed-vessels. 



2. Portulacca Pilosa ; Hairy Purslane. Leaves awl-shaped, 

 alternate ; axils hairy ; flowers sessile, terminating. This is 

 an annual herbaceous plant, with very succulent stalks, of a 

 purple colour, and branching out greatly. Native of the 

 West Indies. Browne says, it is cultivated in many of the 

 gardens in Jamaica, where it has been introduced on account 

 of its constant greenness, and the frequent shooting of its 

 flowers. It is found on the Quays, or smaller sandy islands 

 beyond Port Royal; and grows in spreading tufts or beds 

 about the root. All parts of the plant are very bitter, and 

 frequently used by the poorer people as a stomachic. This, 

 and the following, species, being too tender to live in the open 

 air, must be kept in pots, and placed in the dry-stove or 



