404 



PRO 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



PRO 



on both sides, mucronate-serrulate, pubescent. The flowers 

 are from four to five cleft, white; die male flowers crowded 

 together at the bottom of the branchlets ; the female ones 

 solitary. Berries red, larger than those of the Prinos Ver- 

 ticillatus. Grows in sandy wet woods, and on the borders 

 of swamps, from New Jersey to Carolina. 



9. Prinos Leevigatus. Leaves deciduous, lanceolate, ad- 

 presso-serrate, acuminate, glabrous on both sides, shining 

 on the upper side; female flowers axillary, solitary, subses- 

 sile ; male flowers scattered ; both male and female flowers 

 six-cleft; berries large, dark red. Grows on the Allegany 

 Mountains from New York to Virginia; flowering in July. 



10. Prinos Lanceolatus. Leaves deciduous, lanceolate, 

 very slightly and remotely serrulate, acute on both sides, 

 glabrous on both sides ; female flowers scattered, peduncu- 

 lated, six-cleft ; male flowers aggregate, triandrous ; berries 

 small, scarlet. Grows in the lower countries of Carolina and 

 Georgia; flowering in June. 



11. Prinos Coriaceus. Leaves evergreen, cuneate-lanceo- 

 late, coriaceous, glabrous, shining, very entire ; corymbs 

 axillary, very short, sessile, many-flowered; flowers six-cleft. 

 There are two varieties, one with obovate-lanceolate and 

 acuminated leaves; the other with lanceolate-acute leaves. 

 This is a handsome tall shrub, of the appearance of Ilex 

 Dahoon : and grows in the sandy woods of Georgia, near the 

 banks of rivers; flowering in June and July. 



Privet. See Ligustrum Vulgare. 



Prockia ; a genus of the class Polyandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth three- 

 leaved ; (occasionally with two very small leaflets at the 

 base.) Corolla: none. Stamina: filamenta numerous, capil- 

 lary, the length of the calix; antheroe roundish. Pistil: 

 germen roundish, slightly five-sided ; style filiform, the length 

 of the stamina; stigma purplish. Pericarp : berry five-angled. 

 Seeds: very many. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Cafe: three- 

 leaved, besides sometimes two leaflets at the base. Corolla: 



none. Berry: five-cornered, many-seeded. There are 



eight species, chiefly natives of the Mauritius and the isle of 

 Bourbon; only one of which we shall describe: 



1. Prockia Crucis. Leaves heart-shaped, ovate, toothed; 

 flower stalks terminal, somewhat racemose. A round branch- 

 ed shrub, the whole of which is smooth, and the bark of the 

 branches purplish. Native of the island of Santa Cruz. 



Proserpinaca ; a genus of the class Triandria, order Tri- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth three- 

 parted, superior ; leaflets erect, acuminate, permanent. 

 Corolla : none. Stamina : filamenta three, awl-shaped, 

 spreading, the length of the calix; antheree twin, oblong, 

 acute. Pistil: germen inferior, three-sided, very large; style 

 none ; stigmas three, pubescent, thickish, the length of the 

 stamina. Pericarp: drupe small, juiceless, ovate, three-sided, 

 three-winged, crowned with the permanent closed calix. 

 Seed: nut somewhat bony, three-sided, three-celled; kernels 

 oblong, fastened by a thread. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. 

 Calix: three-parted, superior. Corolla: none. Drupe: with 

 a three-celled nut. The species are, 



1. Proserpinaca Palustris. Root annual, creeping; stems a 

 foot high, roundish ; leaves alternate, lanceolate, serrate, end- 

 ing in petioles; the lower, or those that are under water, pin- 

 natifid, with linear segments ; flowers axillary, solitary. 

 Native of the mnrshes of Virginia, North America. 



2. Proserpinaca Pectinata. All the leaves pectinate-pin- 

 rmtifid. This specific description sufficiently distinguishes it 

 from the preceding plant. It is found in overflowed places 

 and ditches from New Jersey to Carolina, and flowers in July 

 and August. 



Prosopis ; a genus of the class Decandria, order Mono- 

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

 hemispherical, slightly four or five toothed. Corolla : petals 

 five, lanceolate, sessile, equal. Stamina: filamenta ten, fili- 

 form, equal ; antherse incumbent, grooved, versatile. Pistil : 

 germen oblong; style filiform, the length of the petals; stigma 

 simple. Pericarp: legume oblong, linear, roundish, attenu- 

 ated at both ends, jointed, smooth, pendulous. Seeds: many, 

 rounded, oblong, coloured, immersed in a mealy substance. 

 ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: bell-shaped, four or five 

 toothed. Stigma: simple. Legume: linear, many-seeded. 

 The only species discovered is, 



1. Prosopis Spicig-era. This grows to a large tree, with 

 a tolerably erect trunk; a deeply cracked ash-coloured bark; 

 and irregular numerous branches, forming a globular shady 

 head. It is a native of most parts of the Coromandel coast; 

 flowering during the cold and at the beginning of the hot 

 season. The pod of this tree is the only part ustd; it is 

 about an inch in circumt'erence, and from six to twelve inches 

 long: when ripe, it is brown, smooth, and contains, besides 

 the seeds, a large quantity of a brown mealy substance, 

 which has a sweetish agreeable taste like the Spanish Alga- 

 raba, or Locust Tree, Ceratonia Siliqua. 



Protea; a genus of the class Tetrandria, order Monogynia. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth common usu- 

 ally imbricate ; scales permanent, various in form and pro- 

 portion; perianth proper none. Corolla: universal uniform; 

 proper one, two, or four petalled, with the petals different 

 in figure. Stamina : filamenta four, inserted into the petals 

 below the tip; antherue linear. Pistil: germen superior, 

 awl-shaped, or roundish; style filiform ; stigma simple. Peri- 

 carp: none; calix unchanged. Seeds: solitary, roundish. 

 Receptacle: commonly naked, or villose, or chaffy. Observe. 

 The species of this genus differ very much from each other 

 in all the parts of fructification, but agree in the essential 

 character of the stamina, inserted below the tip of the corolla. 

 ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Corolla: four-cleft, or four-petal- 

 led. AnthertK : linear, inserted into the petals below the tip. 

 Calix: proper none. Nut: one-seeded, superior. The habit 

 of the whole genus is shrubby; the height very various : some 

 few are almost stemless : the leaves entire, coriaceous. As 

 they all, except two, come from the same country, the fol- 

 lowing directions are generally sufficient for their propa- 

 gation and culture. The warmth of a common green-house 

 is generally sufficient for their protection ; but many of them 

 are delicate with respect to damp, and are apt to suffer if 

 too much crowded, or over-watered, or placed in a damp 

 part of the house. In summer they may be placed in the 

 open air in a sheltered situation, for if exposed to winds the 

 plants will be torn and rendered unsightly, nor will they make 

 any progress in their growth. In warm weather they must 

 be frequently but sparingly watered, and have but seldom 

 any in cold weather. Several of them have not flowered in 

 this country, and many do not perfect their seeds. Such 

 therefore can only be increased by cuttings, and some are 

 very difficult to increase in this way. The cuttings should 

 be taken off in April just before the plants begin to shoot. 

 Plant them in small pots, filled with light earth, place them 

 from the sun, and refresh them with water gently and spar- 

 ingly. About Midsummer, by which time they will have put 

 out roots, shake them gently out of the pots, plant each in a 

 separate small pot filled with light earth, place them in a 

 frame, and there shade them until they have taken root, 

 afterwards gradually inuring them to the open air, and treat- 

 ing them like the old plants. They are ornamental among 

 other potted plants. The species are, 



