SP I 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



SPO 



617 



eradicated. Native of high chalky or gravelly pastures in 

 England, and other parts of Europe, flowering in July. The 

 whole herb is astringent. A decoction of the roots operates 

 by urine, and brings away gravel. A tincture of it made in 

 wine is good in epileptic fits and other disorders; and given 

 in powder, it has been found serviceable in the whites, and 

 also in the bloody flux. Hogs are fond of the roots. It is 

 an elegant plant, very common in high pastures, on a cal- 

 careous soil, where it is sometimes very small. In gardens 

 it often becomes very luxuriant, producing double flowers, 

 which appear early in July; they are cream-coloured, often 

 tipped with red, or red on the outside. 



20. Spiraea Ulmaria ; Meadow-Sweet. Leaves interrupt- 

 edly pinnate, tomentose beneath, the end leaflet larger, lobed ; 

 flowers cymed, many-styled, white. Root perennial, fibrous 

 stems erect, three or four feet high, angular and furrowed, 

 tinged with red, leafy, branched in the upper part. It 

 abounds in moist meadows, about the banks of rivers, brooks, 

 and ditches, perfuming the air with the sweet Hawthorn-like 

 scent of its plentiful blossoms, from June to August. The 

 green parts of the herb partake of a similar aromatic flavour, 

 when rubbed or chewed, approaching to the taste of Orange- 

 flower water; a flavour possessed in higher perfection by the 

 American Gualtheria. The flowers infused in boiling water 

 give a fine flavour, which rises in distillation. Sheep and 

 bogs eat the herb; goats are fond of it; and cattle generally 

 refuse it. An infusion of the fresh-gathered tops of this plant 

 promotes sweating, and has a small degree of astringency. 

 It is an excellent medicine in fevers attended with purgings, 

 and may be given to the quantity of a moderate bason-full 

 once in two or three hours. It is likewise a good wound 

 herb, whether taken inwardly, or externally applied. The 

 flowers infused in any kind of liquors, impart a pleasant taste 

 thereto, and, mixed with mead, give it the flavour of the 

 Greek wines. A water distilled from them is good for in- 

 flammation of the eyes. There is a variety with double 

 flowers, and another with variegated leaves; both are to be 

 found in some gardens. 



21. Spiraea Digitata ; Finger-leaved Spiraea. Leaves pin- 

 nate, tomentose beneath, the end one larger, seven-Iobed, 

 the lateral ones five-lobed ; corymb branched, contracted. 

 It has much of the habit, taste, and smell, of the preceding 

 species. Native of the eastern parts of Siberia, in meadows 

 and moist valleys in the subalpine regions. 



22. Spiraea Lobata; Lobe-leaved Spiraa. Leaves pinnate, 

 smooth, the end one larger, seven -lobed, the lateral ones 

 three-lobed; corymbs proliferous. Flowers red, in large 

 clusters; root sweet-smelling. Native of North America. 



23. Spiraea Camtschatica ; Enr-petioled Spirtca. Leaves 

 five-lobed; petioles eared; stem hirsute; corymbs proliferous. 

 Root thick, white, black on the outside ; stems two or three, 

 a fathom high or more, as thick as the finger or thumb at 

 bottom ; flowers a little larger than those of the Meadow- 

 sweet, with white ovate petals. Willdenow remarks that the 

 petiole is furnished above with roundish leafy appendages, 

 and that it appears to be allied to the next species. Native 

 of Kamtschatka and Behring's Island. 



24. Spiraea Palmata ; Hand-leaved Spircea. Leaves pal- 

 mate, serrate ; panicle superdecompound ; stem herbaceous, 

 striated, erect, wholly smooth. Flowers white or red, the 

 latter with four styles. Native of Japan. 



25. Spiraea Triibliata ; Three-leaved Spiraea. Leaves ter- 

 nate, serrate, almost equal ; flowers snbpanicled, on slender 

 peduncles; petals long, lanceolate, spreading; stamina no 

 longer than the tube of the flower. Root perennial ; stalks 

 annual, about a foot high, sending out side-branches the 



whole length. This is one of the most elegant species, and 

 is a most desirable plant; it is by no means common, but 

 rather scarce, and increases but little, being difficult to pro- 

 pagate, and liable to be wholly lost, except planted in a 

 favourable soil and situation. Found in shady woods, and 

 on bogs, from Canada to Florida, flowering in June and July. 

 Sow the seeds on a shady border soon after they are ripe ; 

 for if they are sown in spring, the plants will either never 

 come up at all, or at best not till the year after. Remove 

 them in autumn, when the leaves begin to decay, either 

 where they are to remain, or into a nursery-bed, where 

 they may grow a year or two to get strength. It delights 

 in a shady situation, and a moist light soil. It is usually 

 increased by parting the roots; which possibly might succeed 

 as cuttings. The best situation, according to Mr. Curtis, is 

 a north border, in a light bog or peat earth, or bog or peat 

 mixed with hazel loam. 



Splachnum; a genus of the class Cryptogamia, order 

 Musci. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Capsule: cylindrical, 

 placed on a fleshy receptacle. Fringe: simple, of sixteen 

 teeth, standing in pairs. This genus is more remarkable 

 than any of its tribe for size, beauty, and singularity. There 

 are between twenty and thirty species, the most remarkable 

 of which are : The Green Tapering Gland Moss : receptacle 

 globular, green ; leaves elliptic-lanceolate, bearded, entire ; 

 fruit-stalk capillary: is principally found in moist alpine 

 situations in Wales and Scotland, growing on the dung of 

 badgers and foxes. The Green Globular Gland Moss; found 

 in Germany, Scotland, &c. The Purple Gland Moss; the 

 most common species in England, growing chiefly on rotten 

 cow-dung on moist turfy heaths in the spring. The Crim- 

 son Globular Gland Moss ; found in the turfy bogs near 

 Upsal in Sweden. The Red Umbrella Gland Moss; found 

 in Norway, Sweden, Russia, and Siberia: and, the Yellow 

 Umbrella Gland Moss, native of Lapland and Sweden. 



Spleenwort. See Asplenium, Blechnum, and Osmunda. 



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

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

 subcampanulate, small, five-cleft, coloured, deciduous. Co- 

 rolla : petals five, oblong, flat, spreading. Stamina : fila- 

 menta ten, awl-shaped, erect, shorter than the corollas, alter- 

 nately longer; antherae oblong. Pistil: germen ovate; styles 

 five, short, distant, erect; stigmas obtuse. Pericarp: drupe 

 oblong, large, marked with five dots, from the falling of the 

 styles, ten-valved. Seed : nut ovate, woody, fibrous, five- 

 cornered, five-celled. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix : 

 five-toothed. Corolla: five-petalled. Drupe: with a five- 

 celled nut. The species are, 



1. Spondias Mombin ; Purple Hog Plum, or Spanish 

 Plum. Leaves with the common petiole compressed. Browne 

 describes this as a small spreading tree, which seldom rises 

 above ten or twelve feet in height, with dark gloomy green 

 foliage, which generally begins to shoot as the blossoms fall. 

 It is cultivated by many for the sake of the fruit, which is 

 rather pleasant, though not greatly esteemed in Jamaica, 

 where superior fruits are very abundant. There is a variety 

 called the Leathercoat, from the appearance of its skin ; but 

 the variation proceeds from the dry soil in which it is found. 

 Native of South America, whence it has been transplanted 

 into the Caribbee islands; it is very common in St. Domingo, 

 also in Jamaica, Cura9ao, and St. Martin's, but scarce in 

 most of the other islands. Like the other plants of this 

 genus, it grows easily from cuttings planted in pots filled 

 with rich light earth, and plunged into a hot-bed, covering 

 them down either with bell or hand glasses to exclude the 

 external air, and shading them from the sun. The best time 



