ST A 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



ST A 



523 



corolla; the segments of which are large, ovate, acute; the 

 bottom concave, rushed, surrounded by an elevated ring. 

 The figure of the corolla as in the preceding, but the bottom 

 rugged, and the stem different. Native of Africa. 



47. Stapelia Humilis. Brunches four-cornered, spreading, 

 flowering at the base; peduncles solitary, shorter than the 

 corolla; the segments of which are larger, lanceolate, acute. 

 It differs from the other ten-toothed species, in the shortness 

 of the stem, the smallness of the flower, and the peduncles 

 being invariably simple. Native of Africa. 



48. Stapelia Reticulata ; Netted Stapelia. Branches five- 

 cornered, spreading, flowering at the base; peduncles in 

 pairs, shorter than the corolla, the segments of which are 

 larger, ovate, acute, the bottom bearded, surrounded by an 

 elevated ring; colour of the corolla dark purple, with white 

 lines like the meshes of a net. Native of Southern Africa, 

 found in hollow rocks. 



49. Stapelia Clavata; Club-shaped Stapelia. Stem simple, 

 thick, club-shaped, nettedly and obscurely warted, flowering 

 at the top. Native of Southern Africa. 



Staphylea ; a genus of the class Pentandria, order Trigynia. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth five-parted, con- 

 cave, roundish, coloured, almost as big as the corolla. Co- 

 rolla: petals five, oblong, erect, like the segments of the 

 calix ; nectary from the receptacle of the fructification, in the 

 bottom of the flower, concave, pitcher-shaped. Stamina : 

 filameuta five, oblong, erect, length of the calix ; antheree 

 simple. Pistil: germen thickish, three-parted ; styles three, 

 simple, a little longer than the stamina; stigmas obtuse, 

 contiguous. Pericarp: capsules three, inflated, flaccid, 

 united longitudinally by a suture, opening inwards by the 

 acuminate apices. Seeds: two, bony, globular, with an 

 oblique point, and an orbicular excavation by the side of the 

 apex. Observe. In the second species the germen, instead 

 of being three-cleft, is mostly bifid, and there are generally 

 but two capsules. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: five- 

 parted. Petals: five. Capsules: inflated, connate. Seeds: 

 two, globular, with a wart. The species are, 



1. Staphylea Occidentalis ; Jamaica Bladder Nut. Leaves 

 doubly pinnate; capsules three-eoruered ; seeds solitary; 

 stem arboreous. A tree from twenty to thirty feet high ; 

 flowers in terminal, erect, lax clusters, white, odorous. 

 Native of Jamaica; flowering there in spring and autumn. 



2. Staphylea Pinnata ; Five-leaved Bladder Nut. Leaves 

 pinnate ; styles and capsules but two. This has several 

 shrubby stalks rising from the same root, and growing ten or 

 twelve feet high, covered with a smooth bark, and divided 

 into several soft pithy branches; the flowers come out upon 

 long slender pendulous peduncles, from the axils of the stalks 

 near their extremity, in oblong bunches ; the petals are white, 

 and expand in the form of a rose. Native of the south of 

 Europe ; and found in the hedges and woods of several parts 

 of England. It is cultivated as a flowering shrub, and makes 

 a variety when mixed with others, though the flowers are not 

 very beautiful. The nuts, being hard and smooth, are strung 

 for beads by the Roman Catholics in some countries ; and 

 the children of the poor inhabitants eat the nuts, though 

 they have a disagreeable taste. Both it and the next species 

 are usually propagated by suckers from the root, which this 

 species sends out plentifully. These should be taken from 

 the old plants in autumn, and their roots trimmed, then 

 planted in a nursery, in rows, at three feet distance, and one 

 foot asunder in the rows ; in this nursery the plants should 

 stand one or two years, according to their strength, and then 

 be transplanted to the places where they are to remain. The 

 plants thus propagated from suckers, are more subject to 



VOL. II. 118. 



put out plenty of suckers from their roots than those which 

 are raised from seeds, or propagated by layers or cuttings, so 

 are not to be chosen when the others can be had ; hence 

 those who propagate them for their own use, should prefer 

 the other methods. If they are propagated by layers, the 

 young branches should be laid down in autumn, in the same 

 manner as is practised for other trees and shrnbs , these 

 will have put out roots in the following autumn, when they 

 may be taken from the old plants, and planted in a nursery, 

 where they may grow one or two years to get strength, and 

 then may be removed to the places where they are to stand. 

 When propagated by cuttings, it should be from shoots of 

 the former year; and if they have a small piece of the two- 

 years' wood at the bottom, they will more certainly succeed ; 

 for as the young shoots ate soft and pithy, so they are very 

 subject to rot when they have no part of the old wood to them. 

 They should be planted in autumn on a shady border, but 

 must not have too much wet. They may also be propagated 

 by sowing their seeds early in autumn, in beds of light fresh 

 earth, and when the plants are come up, they must be care- 

 fully kept clear from weeds ; and in very dry weather, if 

 they are now and then refreshed with water, it will greatly 

 promote their growth. In these beds they may remain until 

 October following ; at which time they should be carefully 

 taken up, and planted in a nursery, placing them in rows 

 three feet asunder, and the plants one foot distant in the 

 rows; and if the following spring should prove dry, it will 

 be convenient to give them a little water, to encourage their 

 taking root; after which they will require no farther care 

 but to keep the ground clear from weeds, in summer, and 

 every spring to prune off irregular branches, and dig the 

 ground between the rows, to loosen the earth, that the roots 

 may the more easily extend. In this nursery they may 

 remain two years, by which time it will be proper to trans- 

 plant them out where they are to remain, either in wilderness- 

 quarters, or in clumps of various trees, where they will add 

 to the diversity. The best season for transplanting these 

 trees is in autumn, with other deciduous trees. 



3. Staphylea Trifolia; Three-leaved Bladder Nat. Leaves 

 ternate ; styles and capsules three. This has a more substan- 

 tial stem than the preceding species ; the older branches 

 gray; the younger green, smooth. The flowers are pro- 

 duced from the side of the branches, in longer bunches than 

 those of the former sort, but their peduncles are much shorter; 

 the flowers are of a clearer white, and their petals are some- 

 what larger ; as are also the bladder capsules ; the seeds are 

 larger, and ripen better. Native of North America. 



Star Apple. See Chrysophyllitm. 



Star Hyacinth. See Scilla. 



Star of Bethlehem. See Ornithogatum. 



Star of the Earth. See Cucubalus Otites. 



Star Thistle. See Centaurea. 



Starwort. See Aster and Caltitrichc. 



Starwort, American. See Tridax. 



Statice ; a genus of the class Pentandria, order Pentagynia. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth common of a 

 different structure in the several species ; perianth proper 

 one-leafed, funnel-form ; tube narrowed ; border entire, 

 plaited, scariose. Corolla : funnel-form ; petals five, united 

 at the base, narrowed below, above wider, obtuse, spreading. 

 Stamina: filamenta five, awl-shaped, shorter than the corolla, 

 inserted into the corolla by their claws; antherse incumbent. 

 Pistil: germen very minute; styles five, filiform, distant; 

 stigmas acute. Pericarp : capsule oblong, somewhat cylin- 

 drical, membranaceous, five-cusped, one-celled, splitting at 

 the base only into five valves, clothed with the permanent 

 7T 



