SPA 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



SPE 



609 



15. Spartium Umbellatum ; Umbelled Broom. Leaves 

 ternute and simple ; branches very numerous, round, striated, 

 opposite and alternate ; rlowers in terminating heads ; corol- 

 las and legumes silky. Native of Barbary, on dry hills on 

 the sea-coast, near Arzau. 



16. Spartium Ferox; Sharp-thorned Broom. Leaves ter- 

 nate and simple, mucronate; rlowers in terminating racemes; 

 branches striated, spinescent ; legumes compressed, some- 

 what torulose, elongated, hoary, with a very short lanugo. 

 Stem upright, three or four feet high, with numerous straight 

 leafy branches ; flowers numerous ; corolla yellow. Native 

 of Barbary. 



17. Spartium Horridum ; Rough Broom. Leaves ternate, 

 complicate, silky ; branchlets round, spiny, opposite ; corolla 

 yellow. This is a very densely branched shrub like a Furze 

 bush, beset with innumerable thorny, clustered, somewhat 

 hairy branches, bearing a very few and small leaves. Found 

 in Spain. 



18. Spartium Patens ; Woolly-podded Broom. Leaves ter- 

 nate ; branches rod-like ; flowers lateral, in pairs, drooping. 

 The branches being fully furnished with flowers in every 

 part, during the continuance of the flowers this shrub makes 

 a fine appearance. Native of Portugal. See the third spe- 

 cies for its culture. 



19. Spartium Arboreum ; Tree Broom. Leaves ternate, 

 obovate; branches striated; flowers aggregate, axillary, 

 nodding; legumes villose, with the hairs pressed close. 

 This grows from eight to twelve feet high, with a trunk often 

 as thick as the human arm; corolla deep yellow, shining, a 

 little inflated. Native of Mount Atlas, and the valleys near 

 Algiers. See the fourth species. 



20. Spartium Biflorum ; Two-flowered Broom. Unarmed : 

 branchlets angular; leaves petioled, ternate, linear, sub- 

 villose ; flowers in pairs, terminating ; legumes smooth. 

 Native of Mount Atlas, near Tlemsen. 



21. Spartium Linifolium ; Flax-leaved Broom. Unarmed: 

 branches angular ; leaves sessile, ternate ; leaflets linear, 

 hoary beneath ; flowers in terminating racemes ; corolla yel- 

 low. Native of the mountains near Algiers. 



22. Spartium Sericeum ; Silky Broom. Unarmed, silky: 

 leaves ternate; leaflets linear ; racemes terminating ; branches 

 angular. Native of the Cape. 



23. Spartium Cytisoides; Cytisus-leaved Broom. Un- 

 armed, silky: leaves ternate ; leaflets lanceolate, bluntish; 

 racemes terminating; branches round. It flowers in April. 

 Native of the Cape. 



24. Spartium Nubigenum ; Cluster-flowered White Broom. 

 Leaves ternate, lanceolate, hairy, petioled ; flowers in lateral 

 bundles ; legumes smooth ; branches round, striated. This, 

 at first sight, resembles the third species, but the leaves are 

 ternate, and the branches grooved ; the ends of the branches 

 are often leafless. It is a valuable shrub, on account of the 

 abundance of its white flowers. Native of the Peak of 

 Teneriffe. 



25. Spartium Radiatum ; Starry Broom. Leaves ternate, 

 linear, sessile ; petioles permanent; branches opposite, angu- 

 lar; clusters capitate, terminal ; legume ovate, hairy. In'its 

 natural state this is a low shrub ; when cultivated, it becomes 

 much larger, though rarely exceeding two feet and a half in 



ight ; but the branches spread very much, and form a large 

 ish. The great abundance of naked radiating branches, 

 irowned with tufts of handsome yellow flowers, readily dis- 

 tinguish this species. It flowers in June, and the seed ripens 

 in August. Native of the mountains of Italy and Carniola. 

 Sow the seed in autumn, in a bed of common earth, in rows. 

 e following autumn remove the plants from the seed-bed 



mu( 

 heif 









to the places where they are to remain, or into a nursery for 

 a year or two, to get strength ; but they will not bear trans- 

 planting when large. It is tolerably hardy with us, and will 

 bear our winters, except when severe. 



26. Spartium Spinosum ; Prickly Broom. Leaves ternate; 

 branches angular, spiny ; flowers numerous, pedicelled, axil- 

 lary, solitary, and aggregate ; corolla yellow, smooth, only 

 half the size of the Common Broom. Native of Italy and 

 Spain, near the sea-coast; also of Algiers. 



27. Spartium Villosum. Leaves ternate ; branches spiny ; 

 calices and legumes viliose. This resembles the preceding 

 very much ; but is distinguished from it by its thick legume, 

 covered with a very close wool.^Found in Barbary, and the 

 neighbourhood of Naples. 



Spathelia ; a genus of the class Peutandria, order Trigy- 

 nia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth five-leaved ; 

 leaflets oblong, coloured. Corolla: petals five, oblong, 

 equal. Stamina: filamenta five, awl-shaped, ascending, 

 marked with a tooth at the base; antherse ovate. Pistil: 

 germen ovate, shorter than the stamina ; styles three, very 

 short ; stigmas three, roundish. Pericarp : capsule oblong, 

 three-cornered, three-winged, three-celled ; cells accompa- 

 nied by a lateral resiniferous canal. Seeds: solitary, oblong, 

 three-sided. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix : five-leaved. 

 Petals: five. Capsule: three-cornered, three-celled. Seeds: 

 solitary. The only known species is, 



i. Spathelia Simplex; Rhus-leaved Spathelia, or Spathe. 

 This tree rises by a single slender stem, like the Palms, and 

 bears all its oval leaves in a pinnated order, on moderate 

 ribs, disposed closely together about the top, from the centre 

 of which the flower-spike rises ; this is very spreading, and 

 generally shoots so as to appear a large blooming pyramid 

 of purple flowers, many feet above the foliage. The trunk 

 is seldom divided, but is so very like that of the Maiden 

 Plum-tree (see Comacladia) both in size and appearance, that 

 they cannot be distinguished out of flower. This would make 

 a beautiful flowering shrub, for it seldom rises above fourteen 

 or sixteen feet, and its flowering top is generally from four 

 to six feet in height. Native of Jamaica, where Browne says 

 it is frequent by the sides of rivers, among the rocky hills ; and 

 makes a beautiful appearance in the woods when in bloom. 



Spatling Poppy. See Cucubalus Behen. 



Spear, King's. See Asphodelus. 



Spearmint. See Mentlia. 



Spearwort. See Ranunculus. 



Speedwell. See Veronica. 



Spelt, Spelta. See Triticum. 



Sperage. See Asparagus. 



Spergula ; a genus of the class Decandria, order Pentagy- 

 nia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth five-leaved ; 

 leaflets ovate, obtuse, concave, spreading, permanent. Co- 

 rolla: petals five, ovate, concave, spreading, bigger than 

 the calix, undivided. Stamina: filamenta ten, awl-shaped, 

 shorter than the corolla; antheree roundish. Pistil : germen 

 ovate; styles five, from erect reflex, filiform; stigmas thickish. 

 Pericarp: capsule ovate, straight, one-celled, five-valved. 

 Seeds: very many, depressed, globular, girt with an emar- 

 ginate rim.' Observe. It is distinguished from Cerastmm by 

 its entire petals. The second species has only five stamina. 

 ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix : five-leaved. Petals: five, 



entire. Capsule : ovate, one-celled, five-valved. The 



species are, 



1. Spergula Arvensis ; Corn Spurrey. Leaves whorled; 

 fruiting peduncles reflexed ; seeds kidney-shaped, angular, 

 rough. Root annual, small, fibrous ; stems numerous, a 

 span or a foot in length ; panicle dichotomous, divaricating, 



