SON 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



SOP 



603 



17. Sonchus Quercifolius; Oak-leaved Sow-Thistle. Stem 

 shrubby; leaves wedge-form, lobed at the edge; lobes remote, 

 acute, toothed, the end ones in threes. Stem one or two feet 

 high, branched, thick and fleshy. Flowers yellow; floscules 

 twice as long as the calix. This is quite distinct, and a very 

 handsome and singular species. Native of the mountains of 

 Cafsa in Barbary. 



18. Sonchus Angustifolius; Narrow-leaved Sow-Thistle. 

 Leaves glaucous, smooth, linear; pinnules distant, toothlet- 

 ted. Root long, fusiform, the thickness of a goose-quill, or 

 the little finger, putting forth fibres all over; stem none or 

 short ; corolla yellow. Found near Cafsa in Barbary. 



19. Sonchus Chondrilloides. Root-leaves unequally pin- 

 natifid, toothed, narrow ; branches rod-like, rushy, one- 

 flowered ; plant glaucous and very smooth; floscules yellow, 

 twice as long as the calix; seed small, oblong, brown. 

 Native of sandy fields in Barbary, Sicily, and Zante. 



20. Sonchus Pulchellus. Plant with squamous peduncles; 

 flowers corymbose-racemose ; stem-leaves cordate-amplexi- 

 caul, ovate-oblong, acute, very entire, glabrous. The flowers 

 of this plant are large, and of a beautiful blue colour. It 

 grows on the banks of the Missouri. 



Sonneratia ; a genus of the class Icosandria, or Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth one- 

 leafed, bell-shaped, flat, six-cleft, permanent; segments ovate. 

 Corolla : petals six, awl-shaped, spreading, inserted into the 

 base of the calix, and scarcely longer than it. Stamina: 

 filamenta very many, filiform, inserted into the base of the 

 calix, long; antherae globular. Pistil: germen superior, 

 globular; style filiform; stigma simple. Pericarp: berry 

 placed upon the permanent patulous calix, subglobular, acu- 

 minate, smooth, with a bladdery pulp, many-celled. Seeds: 

 some in each cell. Observe. Sonnerat says, the cells are com- 

 monly twenty-six: Gartner says, twelve or more. ESSEN- 

 TIAL CHARACTER. Calix: six-cleft. Petals: six. awl- 

 shaped. Berry : many-celled, with several seeds in each 

 cell. The species are, 



1. Sonneratia Acida; Red-flowered Sonneratia. Leaves 

 opposite, subeessile, oblong, quite entire; flowers terminating, 

 solitary, large; petals red. This tree is often cultivated near 

 the houses by the Malays, for the sake of the fruit, which 

 smells like rotten cheese, and is, as well as the young leaves, 

 eaten with fish and other food. The beautiful half-expanded 

 flowers are worn as ornaments for the dead. Native of the 

 Moluccas, the bogs of New Guinea, and of Cochin-china, on 

 the banks of rivers. 



2. Sonneratia Apetala; Small-flowered Sonneratia. Leaves 

 on the twigs few, opposite, oval-lanceolate, one of the mar- 

 gins more gibbous than the other, quite entire, commonly 

 blunt, without nerves or veins, flat, somewhat fleshy; flowers 

 drooping, greenish, smooth, the size of a nutmeg, axillary, 

 subsolitary, the terminating ones mostly in threes; corolla 

 none; calix coriaceous, thick, four-cleft beyond the middle; 

 segments patulous, acute. This is clearly distinguished from 

 the preceding species, by having the calix divided into four 

 parts only, and in the want of a corolla; but in these distinc- 

 tions it recedes from the generic character. It is a most 

 beautiful tree, resembling the Weeping Willow, but loftier. 

 The branches are scf itered, pendulous, round, and smooth; 

 the twigs opposite, divaricating, subbrachiate, smooth, fili- 

 form ; fruit an orbicular depressed pome or berry, containing 

 very numerous seeds, having the appearance of fragments of 

 broken teeth, but for the most part irregularly club-shaped, 

 curved, and resembling ivory; they lie in the pulp like peb- 

 bles in a pavement. Native of Rangoon, in the kingdom of 

 Ava, upon inundated banks on the sea-coast. 



VOL. II. 116. 



Sophora; a genus of the class Decandria, order Monogy- 

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

 short, bell-shaped, gibbous at the base above ; mouth five- 

 toothed, oblique, obtuse. Corolla: papilionaceous, five- 

 petalled; standard oblong, gradually wider, straight, reflexed 

 at the sides; wings two, oblong, appendicled at the base, 

 length of the standard ; keel two-petalled, with the petals 

 conformable to the wings, the lower margins approximating 

 and boat-shaped. Stamina: filamenta ten, distinct, parallel, 

 awl-shaped, length of the corolla, within the keel ; antherse 

 very small, rising. Pistil: germen oblong, cylindrical; style 

 size and shape of the stamina; stigma obtuse. Pericarp: 

 legume very long, slender, one-celled, knobbed at the seeds. 

 Seeds : very many, roundish. Observe. This genus agrees 

 in every thing with the plants of the class Diadelphia, except 

 in having all the filamenta separate. ESSENTIAL CHARAC- 

 TER. Calix : five-toothed, gibbous above. Corolla : papi- 

 lionaceous, with the wings of the same length with the standard. 

 Legume: headed, many-seeded. The species are, 



1. Sophora Tetraptera; Wing-podded Sophora. Leaves 

 pinnate; leaflets numerous, (from seventeen to nineteen,) lan- 

 ceolate, oblong, somewhat villose ; legumes quadrangular, 

 membranaceous ; stem arboreous. This magnificent tree is 

 a native of New Zealand, where it displays its pendulous 

 branches of large golden flowers in May and June. Both 

 it and the following species may be raised from seeds, 

 which sometimes ripen in this country : they may also be 

 increased by cuttings and layers; and will endure our climate 

 if planted against a wall, where they may be covered with 

 mats to protect them from severe frost. A finer sight can 

 hardly be imagined than a tree of this sort, extending to a 

 great breadth on a wall with a western aspect. 



2. Sophora Microphylla ; Small-leaved Shrubby Sophora. 

 Leaves pinnate; leaflets very numerous, obovate, somewhat 

 villose; legumes quadrangular, membranaceous. Stem arbo- 

 reous; flowers large and yellow, appearing in May and June. 

 Native of New Zealand. See the preceding species. 



3. Sophora Flavescens ; Siberian Sophora. Leaves pin- 

 nate ; leaflets numerous, oblong, smooth ; stem herbaceous, 

 smooth all over. Native of Siberia. 



4. Sophora Alopecuroides ; Fox-tail Sophora. Leaves 

 pinnate; leaflets numerous, oblong, villose; stem herbaceous. 

 Root perennial, creeping, from which arise several stalks from 

 three to four feet high ; flowers pale, greenish-white, in long 

 axillary spikes, standing erect close to the stalk; they have a 

 sweet smell, and appear in July and August. This increases 

 fast enough by its creeping root, in the same manner as 

 Liquorice ; and being very hardy, may be planted in some 

 corner of the garden, at a distance from other plants, which 

 it will otherwise soon overbear. It will thrive in almost any 

 soil and situation. Native of the Levant. 



5. Sophora Tomentosa; Downy Sophora. Leaves pin- 

 nate; leaflets numerous, roundish, tomentose. Stem downy, 

 six or seven feet high ; flowers in .short loose axillary spikes, 

 large, pale yellow, scentless, not unlike those of Spanish 

 Bioorn. Native of the East and West Indies. This, and 

 the two following species, require the protection of a stove ; 

 and may be propagated by seeds, when they can be pro- 

 cured from the countries where they grow naturally. Sow 

 the seeds in pots, plunging them in a good hot-bed, and 

 they will appear in a month or six weeks. When fit to re- 

 move, transplant them into separate pots, filled with soft 

 loamy earth, and plunge them into the bark-pit; shading them 

 till they have taken new root. They must be kept in the 

 bark-pit, and have little water in winter. 



6. Sophora Occidentalis ; Occidental Sophora. Leaves 

 70 



