WIL 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



WIN 



809 



terminal, solitary, erect, the size of a pea; scales of the 

 calix about ten, rarely fewer, or more, loosely imbricated, 

 equal, oblong, pointed, brown, smooth, the length of the 

 nail, membranous at the edges ; corolla white, much 

 shorter than the drupe, and pressed close to its sides ; style 

 in two short, broad, yellow divisions; stigmas short, obtuse, 

 brown ; drupe ovate, black, dotted. Native of the Cape of 

 Good Hope. 



2. Willdenovia Teres; Smooth Willdenovia. Stem and 

 branches leafless, round, smooth and even. The former is 

 shrubby, much branched, and jointed, simply or triply forked, 

 erect, a foot or more in height, not striated; the branches are 

 somewhat level-topped. Sheaths at each subdivision ovate, 

 brown, smooth, as long as the nail. Flowers terminal, soli- 

 tary, erect; scales of the calix about six, ovate, awned, gray 

 and smooth ; petals very short, emarginate, shining, sur- 

 rounding the base of the fruit; style undivided, very short; 

 stigmas feathery, tapering, purplish ; drupe hard, ovate, black, 

 smooth, of one cell. It differs from the preceding, in having 

 fewer calix-scales, a smooth and more branched stem, and a 

 smooth uudotted fruit. Native of the Cape. 



3. Willdenovia Compressa; Compressed Willdenovia. Stem 

 leafy, smooth and even ; branches compressed. The former 

 is two feet high, or more, shrubby, erect, smooth in every 

 respect, simply or triply forked ; the latter are compressed or 

 semicylindrical, wand-like: sheaths of the subdivisions ovate, 

 pointed ; leaves on the young branches, and resembling them, 

 thread-shaped, tapering; flowers terminal, solitary, upright, 

 the size of a pea; scales of the calix ovate, awned, smooth, 

 membranous at the edges ; petals ovate, acute, as long as the 

 fruit. Native of the Cape. 



William, Sweet. See Diantlms. 



Willichia; a genus of the class Triandrin, order Monogy- 

 nia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth inferior, of 

 one leaf, in four ovate, acute, spreading, permanent seg- 

 ments. Corolla : of one petal, wheel-shaped, twice the length 

 of the calix ; tube scarcely any ; border flat, in four roundish 

 convex segments. Stamina : filamenta three, inserted into 

 the clefts of the limb, except the lowermost, and shorter 

 than its segments; antherse erect, roundish, of two cells. 

 Pistil: germen superior, roundish, compressed; style thread- 

 shaped, the length of the stamina, declining towards the 

 lower clefts of the corolla ; stigma obtuse. Pericarp : cap- 

 sule roundish, compressed, sharp-edged, of two cells and two 

 valves, with an opposite partition. Seeds : several, roundish, 

 minute. Receptacle : globular, formed of two hemispheres. 

 ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix : four-cleft. Corolla : 

 four-cleft. Stamina: in three of its clefts. Capsule: supe- 

 rior, of two cells, with many seeds. The only species 



known is, 



1. Willichia Repens; Creeping Willichia. Root fibrous, 

 annual ; stem herbaceous, creeping, thread-shaped, branched, 

 hairy, about two feet in length; leaves alternate, stalked, 

 rather distant, orbicular, somewhat peltate, crenate, hairy, an 

 inch in diameter, reddish underneath ; footstalks very long, 

 hairy, thicker than the stem ; flower-stalks axillary, in pairs, 

 single-flowered, thread-shaped, hairy, the length of the foot- 

 stalks ; flowers small, rose-coloured, with a hairy calix. 

 Native of Mexico. 



Willow. See Salix. 



Willow Herb. See Lythrum. 



Willow, French. See Epilobium. 



Willughbeia ; a genus of the class Pentandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth inferior, 

 of one leaf, fleshy, in five deep acute segments, very small. 

 Corolla: of one petal, salver-shaped; tube cylindrical, enlarged 



at the bottom ; border horizontal, in five deep, oblique, acute, 

 wavy segments, more dilated at one side than the other, 

 lying over each other at the base. Stamina: filamenta five, 

 very short, inserted into the tube just above the base ; antherse 

 arrow-shaped. Pistil: germen superior, roundish; style 

 quadrangular ; stigma capitate, ovate, thick, striated, double- 

 pointed, subtended by a flat orbicular disk. Pericarp : berry 

 ovate, coated, of one or two cells. Seeds: numerous, angu- 

 lar, compressed, imbedded in pulp. ESSENTIAL CHARAC- 

 TER. Corolla: salver-shaped, contorted. Stigma: capi- 

 tate. Berry: coated, with many angular seeds. The 



species are, 



1. Willughbeia Acida; Acid Willoughbeia. Stem erect; 

 flowerstalks the length of the footstalks. The trunk is seven 

 or eight feet high, and seven or eight inches in diameter, 

 with a grayish bark, and soft white wood. The head con- 

 sists of very numerous straight knotty branches, subdivided 

 in an opposite manner ; leaves opposite, on short stalks, ellip- 

 tical, somewhat pointed, entire, wavy, smooth and shining, 

 with one rib, and many transverse parallel veins, their 

 greatest length seven inches by three in breadth ; flowers 

 axillary, three or four together on one common footstalk ; 

 bractes scaly, solitary at the base of each general^ as well as 

 partial stock ; corolla whitish ; fruit lemon-coloured, oval, 

 corrugated or warty, two inches long, separated by a longi- 

 tudinal fleshy partition into two cells, filled with acid viscid 

 pulp, and containing many rough brown seeds. The fruit, 

 though milky, is wholesome and agreeably acid, notwithstand- 

 ing a degree of viscidity by which the pulp adheres to the lips 

 and teeth. After the rind is taken off, the remainder is soak- 

 ed for a while in water. It is preserved in sugar, either with 

 or without the ri'nd ; in the latter mode it is cooling, and 

 slightly acid ; in the former, moderately purgative, and use- 

 ful in dysenteries. The whole plant when wounded dis- 

 charges' a milky very tenacious juice. Native of forests in 

 Cayenne and Guiana, bearing flowers and fruit in September. 



2. Willughbeia Scandens; Climbing Willoughbeia. Stem 

 twining ; flowerstalks branched, as long as the leaves. The 

 trunk is about three inches in diameter, sending off long knotty 

 trailing branches, which twine round the neighbouring trees 

 to their very summits, from whence the extremities hang down 

 clothed with opposite, oval, smooth, entire leaves, of the 

 same size, and resembling those of the preceding species ; 

 they are on short stalks, their rib and lateral veins reddish ; 

 flowerstalks axillary, solitary, wavy, alternately branched, 

 resembling tendrils, terminating in several little tufts or 

 umbels of yellow flowers, rather smaller than the first species ; 

 fruit roundish or obovate, the size and colour of a quince, 

 of an agreeable scent when ripe, pulpy, yielding but a small 

 quantity of milky juice when cut. Native of the woods of 

 Guiana, flowering in May. 



Wilsonia ; a genus of the class Pentandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: pitcher-shaped, 

 five-sided, five-toothed. Corolla : funnel-shaped, of one 

 petal, imbricated in the bud. Germen : of two seeds. Style: 



cloven. Stigmas: capitate. The only known species, and 



that imperfectly described, is, 



1. Wilsonia Humilis ; Humble Wilsonia. Leaves small, 

 sessile, thickish, imbricated in two ranks ; flowers axillary, 

 solitary, sessile, without bractes. This is a little, dwarf, 

 shrubby, prostrate, much branched, downy plant. Found in 

 the south part of New Holland. 



Wintera ; a genus of the class Polyandria, order Tetragy- 

 nia. GENERJC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth inferior, 

 of one leaf, splitting into two 01 three segments. Corolla 

 petals six, or more, ovate, spreading. Stamina : filamenta 



