800 



WEE 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



WEE 



inserted into the margin of the tube ; antherse linear, incum- 

 bent, spreading. Pistil: germen roundish, inferior; style 

 simple, longer than the tube of the corolla ; stigma club- 

 shaped, with ten furrows. Pericarp : berry nearly globular, 

 of two cells, crowned with the permanent enlarged calix. 

 Seeds : from two to four in each cell, angular. ESSENTIAL 

 CHARACTER. Calix : superior, in five permanent segments. 

 Corolla : funnel-shaped, five-cleft. Stamina : in the mouth 

 of the tube. Stigma : club-shaped, with ten furrows. 

 Berry: inferior, of two cells. Seeds: several, angular. 

 The species are, 



1. Webera Corymbosa; Corymbose Webera. Leaves ellip- 

 tic-oblong, on short thick stalks, entire, coriaceous, very 

 smooth, four inches long, rather acute, with a stout rib, and 

 numerous reticulated veins; their upper side shining, lower 

 paler; corymb terminal, forked, many-flowered ; stipules in- 

 trafoliaceous, triangular, short, pointed; flower-stalks hairy; 

 flowers three-quarters of an inch long, whitish, agreeably 

 fragrant, turning yellowish as they fade; berries firm, the 

 size of a currant, blackish, sweetish, but not eatable. The 

 stem is shrubby, about the height of a man, with smooth, 

 .leafy, somewhat compressed branches. Found upon sandy 

 ground in the East Indies. 



2. Webera Cymosa ; Cymose Webera. Leaves ovate, 

 pointed; cymes axillary, stalked, many-flowered, convex; 

 Hower-stalks downy; corolla half the size of the former; style 

 much longer than the corolla; stigma capitate, cloven ; berry 

 the size of Juniper. A tree, with round, downy branches. 

 Native of the East Indies. 



Wedelia; a genus of the class Syngenesia, order Polyga- 

 mia Necessaria. GENERIC CHARACTER. Common Calix: 

 simple, of four or five large leaves. Corolla: compound, 

 radiant; florets of the disk perfect, numerous, funnel-shaped, 

 five-cleft; those of the radius from eight to twelve, roundish- 

 ovate, cloven. Stamina: in the florets of the disk; filamenta 

 five, capillary, short ; antherae united into a tube, as long as 

 the partial corolla. Pistil: in the same florets, germen minute, 

 imperfect; style thread-shaped, the length of the antheree ; 

 stigma simple or divided: in those of the radius, germen ob- 

 long, quadrangular; style thread-shaped; stigmas two, revo- 

 lute. Pericarp: none, the calix remaining unaltered. Seed: 

 in the disk, imperfect; in the florets of the radius solitary, 

 obovate, gibbous, crowned with four, five, or ten teeth. 

 Receptacle : chaffy, slightly convex ; the scales ovate, con- 

 cave, as long as the florets. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. 

 Receptacle: chaffy. Seed-crown: of from five to ten teeth. 

 Calix: simple, of four or five leaves. The species are, 



1. Wedelia Frutescens; Shrubby Wedelia. Stem shrubby, 

 climbing, with round leafy branches; leaves distinct, stalked, 

 lanceolate, acute, two or three inches long, somewhat ser- 

 rated, bristly on both sides, the upper rough, with callous 

 points, lower paler; flowers terminal, stalked, solitary, yel- 

 low, near an inch broad, with a rough calix, the outer scales 

 of their receptacle looking like a coloured inner calix: seed- 

 crown of ten teeth. Native of Carthagena in South America, 

 where it flowers in July and August. 



2. Wedelia Perfoliata; Perfoliaie Wedelia. Stem herba- 

 ceous, four feet high, angular or furrowed, leafy, branched, 

 often purplish ; leaves rhomboid, tapering at the base, perfo- 

 liate, three or four inches long, serrated, triple-ribbed, light 

 green, roughish ; seed-crown five-toothed ; flowers yellow, 

 stalked, much smaller than the foregoing; calix broad, ex- 

 tending far beyond the rays. Native of Mexico. 



Weeds may be distinguished into the annual, biennial, and 

 perennial, like all other plants; for the term weed merely 

 implies that they are useless, and perhaps noxious, and 



require to be destroyed. The first division comprehends all 

 such as die after perfecting their seeds in the first year. 

 This class is very prolific in seeds, but may be extirpated 

 without any great difficulty. The second class includes all 

 such weeds as live beyond a year, and which perish in the 

 second year after perfecting their seeds. These, like the 

 former, are very abundant, and harder to be rooted out. The 

 third division comprises all those weeds which are capable of 

 continuing many years. Some perfect their seeds annually 

 without being destroyed ; while others, less prolific in seeds, 

 have the faculty of reproduction in their vivacious roots; and 

 others increase both ways. Such are the worst of all weeds, 

 and the most difficult to eradicate. There is considerable 

 diversity in the nature and vegetation of different sorts: some 

 sprout forth as soon as they receive a sufficient degree of 

 moisture, sending down their roots, though not in exact con- 

 tact with the earth; others only begin to germinate when they 

 are deposited and enclosed in a suitable soil, and have the 

 proper influence of the atmosphere; and there are many of 

 these seeds, even of the very small sort, which remain for a 

 considerable length of time in an inactive state, and vegetate 

 on being placed in a favourable situation. The seeds of some 

 are provided, as is the case with Thistles, &c. with a foft fea- 

 thery material for wings, which convey them from their native 

 places to other lands at a considerable distance. There is 

 also a difference of some consequence in the vivacious roots 

 of weeds: some being branched, others entire; some descend- 

 ing directly downwards, others inclining; some fibrous, others 

 tuberous; some creeping, and others knotted or jointed. The 

 plants we term weeds, are not, however, totally useless to man- 

 kind ; many of them have valuable medicinal, and perhaps 

 other qualities and properties, and some may be applied to 

 uses so as to pay the expense of clearing the ground. Thus 

 Sow-thistle will feed either rabbits or hogs; and the Hog- 

 weed is useful for either pigs or cattle. Horses are fond of 

 young Thistles, when partially dried ; and the seed may be pre- 

 vented from spreading by gathering the down, which makes 

 good pillows; however, there is some danger in trusting them. 

 till this stage of their growth, as a high wind frequently dis- 

 perses them over a whole country. Chadlock, it appears, may 

 be made into good hay, and cows are very fond of it. Net- 

 tles, Fern, and the more bulky hedge-weeds, may be collected, 

 and annually burnt, to form their ashes into balls, which are 

 valuable to make a ley for scouring cloths and cleansing linen. 

 The seeds of weeds are eaten in vast quantities by many sorts 

 of birds. It has been observed, that bees have not thriven 

 so well since the extirpation of weeds has been generally 

 attended to in this country. The vegetables termed weeds 

 are more hardy and tenacious of growth than any others : 

 nor is their production inconsistent with the Divine goodness, 

 as displayed in that of the most valuable plants; for myriads 

 of diminutive creatures, enjoying life and animation, are fed 

 and supported by them ; while man has the intelligence to 

 select and cultivate such vegetables as are adapted to his 

 use, and proper for his sustenance, and to destroy and extir- 

 pate others, thereby appropriating to himself what propor- 

 tion he may think proper of the earth's surface, which, if he 

 should neglect to dress and cultivate properly, would in 

 some degree revert to its natural state, and severely punish 

 by its barrenness the indolence of its inhabitants. Every 

 necessary particular concerning the great variety of weeds, 

 will be found under their respective genera; which the reader 

 will easily find by the following alphabetical arrangement of 

 the principal, under their English names. 



Angelica, Wild. See Angelica. 



Arsmart. See Polygonum Perskaria. 



