S EM 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



SEM 



559 





pounded well into a pulp, makes good birdlime. The pure 

 black acrid juice of the shell, is employed by the natives 

 externally to remove rheumatic pains, aches, and sprains ; 

 in tender constitutions it often produces inflammation and 

 swelliug, but where it has not these inconveniences it is an 

 efficacious remedy. The Telinga physicians employ it in the 

 cure of almost every sort of venereal complaint. It is in 

 general use for marking cotton cloths: the colour is improved, 

 and prevented from running, by a Jittle mixture of quick- 

 lime and water. This juice is not soluble in water, and only 

 diffusible in spirits of wine; for it soon falls to the bottom, 

 unless the menstruum be previously alkalized : the solution 

 is then pretty complete, and of a deep black colour. It sinks 

 in expressed oils, but soon unites perfectly with them : alka- 

 line lixivium acts upon it with no better success than plain 

 water. The wood of this tree is reckoned of no use, not 

 only on account of its softness, but also because it contains 

 much acrid juice, which renders it dangerous to cut down 

 and work upon. The fleshy receptacles, on which the seed 

 rests, are roasted in the ashes, and eaten by the natives; their 

 taste is exceedingly like roasted apples: when raw, they taste 

 astringent and acrid, leaving a painful sensation upon the 

 tongue for some time afterwards. The kernels are rarely 

 eaten. Native of mountainous dry woods throughout the 

 East Indies, flowering in July and August. 



Sempervivum ; a genus of the class Dodecandria, order 

 Polygynia.or Dodecagynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: 

 perianth six to twelve parted ; segments concave, acute, per- 

 manent. Corolla: petals six to twelve, oblong, laneeolate, 

 acute, concave, a little bigger than the calix ; nectaries usu- 

 ally wanting. Stamina : filamenta six to twelve or more, 

 subulate, slender ; antherse roundish. Pistil : germina six to 

 twelve, in a ring, erect, ending in as many spreading styles ; 

 .tigmas acute. Pericarp : capsules six to twelve, oblong, 



impressed, short, in a ring, acuminate outwards, opening 



wards. Seeds : many, roundish, small. Observe. Being 

 ery frequently luxuriant, it becomes greater as to the num- 



r, especially as to the female parts of the flower. It is 

 allied to Sedum, but differs in having more petals than five. 

 ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix : twelve-parted. Petals: 

 twelve. Capsules: twelve, many-seeded. 'The species are, 



1. Sempervivum Arboreum ; Tree Houseleek. Stem arbor- 

 escent, even, branched ; leaves wedge-form, smoothish, ciliate ; 

 cilias patulous, soft. The flower-stalks rise from the centre 

 of the heads or clusters of leaves, and the numerous bright 

 yellow flowers form a large pyramidal spike or thyrse. 

 Native of Portugal, the Levant, and Barbary, near Algiers. 

 It flowers through the winter, commonly only from Decem- 

 ber to March. It is easily propagated, by cutting off the 

 branches, which, when planted, soon put out roots. The 

 cuttings should be laid in a dry place for a week before they 

 are planted, that the bottom may be healed over, otherwise 

 they are apt to rot, especially if they have much wet. When 

 the cuttings are in pots, they should be placed in a shady 

 situation, and must have little wet; and if they are planted 

 in a shady border, they will require no water, for the moisture 

 of the ground will be sufficient for them. The variety with 



.triped leaves Is the most tender, and least able to endure the 

 r et in winter. 



2. Sempervivum Canariense; Canary Houseleek. Stem 

 utescent; leaves orbicular-spatulate, villose; nectaries sub- 

 quadrate, truncate. At the top of the stalk is a very large 

 crown of leaves disposed circularly like a full-blown Rose : 

 they are large, succulent, soft to the touch, and pliable, 

 ending in obtuse points, which are a little incurved. The 

 flower-stalk comes out from the centre, and rises nearly two 



VOL. LI. 112. 



feet high, branching out from the bottom, so as to form a 

 regular pyramid of flowers of an herbaceous colour. Native 

 of the Canaries, flowering in May and June. It is propagated 

 by seeds, which should be sown soon after they are ripe, 

 in pots filled with light sandy earth, covering them but very 

 slightly, and placing the pots under a common frame to keep 

 out the frost. They should be exposed to the open air at 

 all times in mild weather. In spring they should be removed 

 to a situtation where they may have only the morning sun, 

 and be watered gently in dry weather. This treatment will 

 soon bring up the plants, which must be kept clean from 

 weeds, and when they are fit to remove should be planted in 

 pots of light loamy earth, and placed in the shade till they have 

 taken new root; they may then be mixed with other hardy 

 succulents in a sheltered situation for the summer, but in 

 winter must be placed in a frame, where they may be pro- 

 tected from frost, and enjoy the free air in mild weather. 



3. Sempervivum Glutinosum ; Clammy Houseleek. Stem 

 frutescent; leaves wedge-form, viscid, ciliate ; cilias cartila- 

 ginous, pressed close. It flowers in July and August. Native 

 of Madeira. This will succeed with the treatment of a green- 

 house plant in the summer, but does best in a dry-stove during 

 the winter. 



4. Sempervivum Glandulosum ; Glandulous-leaved House- 

 leek. Stem frutescent; leaves orbicular-spatulate, glandular 

 at the edge ; glands globular ; nectaries wedge-form, trun- 

 cate. Native of Madeira, flowering there from March to 

 May. To be treated as the third species. 



5. Sempervivum Tectorum ; Common Houseleek. Leaves 

 ciliate ; offsets spreading. Root perennial, fibrous ; root- 

 leaves in the form of a full-blown double Rose ; flowering- 

 stem upright, from ni'ne inches to a foot in height, round, 

 fleshy, pubesceirt ; leaves extremely succulent; flowers numer- 

 ous, clustered, upright, pubescent, flesh-coloured, all growing 

 one way. The juice of this plant, either applied by itself, or 

 mixed with cream, gives immediate relief in burns, and other 

 external inflammations; with honey, it is a useful application 

 in the thrush. Boerhaave found ten ounces of the juice bene- 

 ficial in dysenteries, and others have successfully prescribed 

 it in gonorrhoeas; but it is not admitted into modern prac- 

 tice. Linneus informs us, that this plant is a preservative to 

 the coverings of houses in Smoland. It may easily be made 

 to cover the whole roof of a building, whether of tiles, thatch, 

 or wood, by sticking the offsets on with a little earth or cow- 

 dung. Native of most parts of Europe, flowering in July. 

 This, and the species referred to this, are hardy: they love a 

 dry soil, and are proper to plant on rock-work, where they 

 will thrive better than in the full ground ; and when they are 

 once fixed will spread fast enough, so that the larger sorts 

 require to be reduced annually, to keep them within proper 

 compass. The heads die soon after they flower, but the 

 offsets soon supp.y their places. 



6. Sempervivum Globiferum; Globular Houseleek. Leaves 

 ciliate; offsets globular. Flowers large and handsome, in a 

 terminal cluster; their petals yellow, and lilac-coloured at 

 the base. It flowers in June and July. Native of Rnssia, 

 Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. 



7. Sempervivum Villosum ; Hairy Houseleek. Leaves 

 spatnlate, wedge-form, obtuse, villose ; nectaries palmate ; 

 segments subulate; petals eight, yellow. Annual. It flowers 

 in June. Native of Madeira. 



8. Semperyivum Tortuosum; Gouty Houseleek. Leaves 

 obovate, beneath gibbous, villose; nectaries two-lobed. This 

 is a shrubby plant, of low growth, producing numerous fleshy 

 evergreen leaves. It flowers in July and August. Native of 

 the Canaries. Propagated by cuttings. 



7C 



