CLAYTONIA CLETHRA. 



63 



This plant was called Theophratta by Linn&us and 

 other botanists. It flowers frequently, though the 

 little purple racemes produced from the stem are not 

 very showy. The foliage, however, is handsome. 



CLAYTONIA (Willdenow). A genus of tube- 

 rous rooted perennials and curious annuals from 

 North America. They belong to the fifth class of 

 Limucus, and to the natural order Portulacece. The 

 annual and perennial species are sowed or planted in 

 the open air, and thrive best on borders of moor- 

 earth. 



CLEAVERS. A very common British plant, the 

 Galiuii/ aparinc of botanists. It receives its name 

 from its seeds, leaves, and slender stalks, being armed 

 with honked hairs, which cling or cleave to every- 

 thing. It is, moreover, called goose-grass, from gos- 

 lings being particularly fond of the leaves soon as 

 they are hatched. It is a troublesome weed to the 

 farmer, it being difficult to separate the seeds from the 

 samples of corn. When these seeds are seen among 

 corn, they are called burrs by the millers. 



CLEM ATIS( Linnaeus.) Herbaceous and shrubby 

 climbers, found in manydifferent parts of the world. Lin- 

 nasan class and order, PolyandriaPolygynia; and natural 

 order, Ranuncnlacca:. Generic character : calyx of 

 four to six sepals ; nectary, none ; stamens fixed 

 below the gerrnen ; filaments, dilated at the apex ; 

 anthers, two-celled ; style persisting, downy ; cary- 

 opses tailed. The clematis, or virgin's bower, or 

 traveller's joy, is a well-known European plant. It 

 is this plant which covers our hedges in the autumn 

 with that grey feathery substance, by which it has 

 also gained the name of " old man's beard." It is 

 most abundant, and grows with great vigour, in chalky 

 districts. The presence of chalk at a great depth 

 under the surface is often pointed out by the exist- 

 ence and growth of the clematis. It is an embower- 

 ing plant, and soon takes possession of the whole 

 head of any plant it can lay hold of; the petioles of 

 the leaves acting like tendrils, by curling round the 

 twigs of the plant which lends support. Almost the 

 whole tribe are attractive one way or other ; and 

 some from the easy flowing position of their branches, 

 and elegant tassel-like flowers are much and deserv- 

 edly admired. The C. florida, single and double ; 

 the vilict'lla, and crtmpanijtora, are fine plants, and 

 merit a place in every flower garden. The hot-house 

 species require plenty of space to flower well. 



CLEODORA (Lamarck, CLIO PYUAMIDATA ; Lin- 

 naeus). A molluscous animal, but the posterior end of 

 its body is covered by a firm, somewhat cartilaginous, 

 straight, and transparent shell, like an in verted pyramid, 

 or in the form of a spear, truncated and open at the 

 upper part, of a distinct shape in different species, and 

 not opened laterally, or at the posterior end, as in the 

 genus Hyalcea. The body of the animal is length- 

 ened, conical, more or less depressed, divided into 

 two parts, as in the Hyalcva; two tentacula, two eyes, 

 and two swimming organs at the anterior part ; the 

 posterior conical. It differs but little from the 

 J/i/a/cea, next to which it stands in the first order, 

 Aporobranchiata ; first family, Thecosmnata. 



CLEOME (Willdenow). A genus of undershrubs, 

 perennial and annual herbs, mostly natives of Ame- 

 rica. Linntean class, Tetradynamia ; and natural 

 order, Capparidtw. Generic character -. calyx of 

 four sepals, the fourth inferior ; petals unequal, 

 ascending, three nectariferous glands at the base ; sta- 

 mens man}', but only a few fertile ; filaments inserted 



in the calyx, declining ; anthers, ovate and erect ; 

 style, simple ; stigma, headed ; pod, slipitate or sit- 

 ting, one-celled, and two-valved. These plants 

 flower and ripen seeds readily ; they are easy of 

 management, potted in light rich soil, and may be 

 increased bj cuttings when they fail to produce 

 seeds. 



CLERIDjE(Nob. ; TILLID^E, Leach). A family 

 of coleopterous insects belonging to the section 

 Pentamera, and sub-section Serricornes, distinguished 

 by the dilated tarsi ; hatchet-shaped palpi, toothed 

 jaws ; the antennae are more or less serrated, and often 

 thickened at the tips ; the eyes are notched inter- 

 nally, and the thorax is generally narrower than the 

 elytra ; the body is elongate, sub-cylindric, and of a 

 firm consistence. These insects, in the perfect 

 state, are often found upon flowers ; many of the 

 species, however, are only met with under the bark 

 of rotten trees, where they have resided in the larva 

 state. They are of a moderate size, and are gene- 

 rally handsome insects, being much variegated in 

 their colours. 



The larvae, which have hitherto been observed, are 

 carnivorous in their habits. The genera are Clcrus, 

 Geoffrey (Trichodes, Fabr.) ; Cylidrm, Tillus, Prio- 

 cera, Axina, Eurypus, Thanasimiisopihis, Clerus, Nc- 

 crobia, Corynctcs, and Enoplium. 



The first-mentioned genus is distinguished by hav- 

 ing the labial palpi terminated by a hatchet-shaped 

 joint ; the basal joint of the tarsi is nearly as large as 

 the following, and the antennae are terminated by a 

 three-jointed club, the last joint of which is alone ter- 

 minally produced intoanangle. There aretwo British 

 species belonging to this handsome genus, namely, the 

 Attelabus apiarins of Linnaeus, which is blue, the 

 elytra red with blue bands, the extremity being also 

 blue. The larva of this insect is found in the hive 

 of the common bee, where it devours the larvae of 

 this useful insect, and thus occasions much injury to 

 the hive. It is, however, very rare in this country. 

 The other is the Trichodes alvearius, Fabr., very much 

 resembling the preceding ; but the region of the 

 scutellum is blue, and the extremity of the elytra red. 

 Its lame resides in the nests of the mason bees 

 (Otmia) feeding upon the grubs of these insects. 



CLERODENDRUM (Limueus). Shrubs and a 

 few climbers, mostly natives of eastern Asia. Linnsean 

 class and order Didynamia Angiospermia, and natural 

 order Verbenacca:. Generic character : calyx five- 

 toothed ; corolla, tube elongated, graceful, limb spread- 

 ing, of five equal lobes ; stamens protruding, widely 

 parted ; anthers incumbent, bursting transversely ; 

 style long, filiform ; stigma acute, and cleft ; drupe 

 tetrapyrene, embraced by the calyx, one-seeded. 

 Some of this genus are splendid flowering plants, and 

 all are more or less ornamental. They are all easy 

 of propagation by young cuttings, or pieces of the 

 roots. Some of the species increase themselves by 

 suckers. 



CLETHRA (Linnanis). A genus of handsome 

 hardy shrubs, natives of North America, and a few 

 greenhouse species from Madeira. Linna^an class 

 and order Dccandria Monogynia, and natural order 

 Ericecc. Generic character : calyx five-parted, 

 persisting ; petals five, spatnlate, concave, longer than 

 the calyx ; stamens inserted in the receptacle ; fila- 

 ments like hairs ; anthers inversely egg-shaped, 

 opening at the apex ; capsule invested with the calyx, 

 three celled, cells full of seeds. The hardy clethras 



