EPIDENDRUM-EQUISETACEJE. 



489 



which serve, not only as organs of respiration, but 

 also of locomotion, being moved with facility. The 

 tarsi have but a single claw. The extremity of the 

 body is furnished with several short ciliated filaments. 

 The pupa differs only from the larva in having rudi- 

 ments of wing covers. 



One of the species, which, from its abundance, has 

 been termed Ephemera vulgctta, is well known to the 

 angler as a famous bait for the trout. It appears in 

 May and June. Gilbert. White says of it : " June 

 10/1771 Myriads of May Hies appeared for the 

 first time on the A Ires ford stream. 'The air was 

 crowded with them, and the surface of the water 

 covered. Large trouts sucked them in as they lay 

 struggling on the surface of the stream, unable to rise 

 until their wings were dried. This appearance recon- 

 ciled me iji some measure to the wonderful account 

 that Scopoli gives of the quantities emerging from the 

 rivers of Carniola. Their motions arc very peculiar, 

 up and down for many yards almost in a perpendicular 

 line." 



The number of species of this family ascertained to 

 be inhabitants of this country is about fifty, -the 

 majority of wh : c'i are as yet undescribed. They are 

 divisible into generic section?, from the number of 

 wings and caudal filaments, as follows : 

 Genus Sac/is, Leach ; filaments 2 ; wings 4. Type, 

 E. biloculuta, Linn. 



Clocon, Leach ; filaments 2; wings 2. Type, 



E. diptcra, Linn. 



Ephemera, Linn. ; filaments 8; wings 4. Type, 



E. vulgata, Linn. 



Bracliycercm, Curt. ; filaments 3 ; wings 2. 



Type, E. brcvicauda, Fab. 



We presume that the latter semis was intended to 

 have been named Macroccrcua (long-tailed), instead 

 of Brai'ln/cercus (short-tailed), the tails in the typical 

 species being exceedingly long. The largest species 

 in the family is the Ephemera Swammerdamiana, 

 being that whose transformations and anatomy were 

 described by Swammerdam. It belongs to the genus 

 Bael'is, if indeed it be not the type of a distinct genus, 

 as its large size seems to indicate. The largest British 

 species of the family is the common rnay-fly described 

 above. 



EPIDENDRUM (Linnaeus). A rather extensive 

 and curious genus of plants, belonging to the natural 

 order Oi-ckideae. Generic character : sepals free, 

 spreading, labellum clawed, claw united to the tube 

 of the column; the lip often three-lobcd ; pollen 

 masses parallel. This genus, like all the rest of the 

 order, are remarkable plants. One section of the 

 epidendra has a kind of gouty stcms^vhich are neither 

 bulbs nor tubers. Another section is destitute of 

 these swollen stems, and is more terrestrial than 

 the others ; some of which are epiphyte?, living on 

 the stems of trees, and when removed will preserve 

 their vitality for a considerable time, and flourish 

 suspended by a string without either earth or con- 

 densed water ; hence they are called air plants. 



EPIGCEA (Linnieus). A small creeping plant 

 found in North America. It belongs to the tenth 

 class of Linncean botany, and to the natural order 

 Khodoracea:. It is a hardy plant, and thrives well in 

 our common borders. 



EPILOB1UM (Linnaeus). A genus of herbaceous 

 plants, mostly perennials and natives of Europe. Class 

 and order Octandria Monogynia, and natural order 

 Qnagraria. One of the most common is the willow 



herb, often seen in shady places in hedge banks; 

 nine others are natives of Britain. 



EPIPACTIS (Richard). A genus of two orchi- 

 deous plants, both natives of Britain, found in most 

 woods and marshes. The E. latifolia was formerly 

 called Serapids latifolia by Linnaeus. They are ad- 

 mitted into the flower garden, where they thrive much 

 better than many other wild orchises. 



EPIPHYLLUM (Haworth). A genus of remark- 

 ably showy succulent plants separated from the genus 

 Cactus. The flowers are icosandrious, and the plants 

 belong to the natural order Opuiitiaccee. These 

 plants are leafless, but the stems are dilated into leaf- 

 like forms, and bear their splendid crimson flowers on 

 the edges. They require a dry compost of a little 

 loam and lime rubbish. The pots should be small 

 and well drained, the plants needing but litile water. 

 They are readily struck from cuttings, which should 

 be laid to dry for some time before they are planted. 

 EPOMIS (Bonelli). A handsome genus of cole- 

 opterous insects, belonging to the section Pentamera, 

 family Ctirabidce, and sub-family Harpatides. separated 

 from ' Clilesmns, to which it is very closely allied, by 

 having the maxillary palpi terminated by an elongated 

 hatchet-shaped joint, which is more dilated in the 

 male than in ihe female ; the lower lip has a bind 

 tooth in the centre. The type of this genus, of which 

 there are but very few species, is the Caralnis circinn- 

 scriptus, two or three specimens of which existed in 

 the old British collections. 



EQUISETACE^E the horse-tail family. A natu- 

 ral order of acoryledonous or cellular plants, contain- 

 ing only one genus, but numerous species. This is a 

 remarkable order of plants, having little affinity with 

 any other tribes. It may be said to approach the 

 CycadefB and Comftrcc. It resembles the fern-tribe 

 in the want of the sexes and the presence of annular 

 ducts without spiral vessels; while its germination is 

 similar to that of mosses. 



The essential characters of the order are : fructifi- 

 cation terminal, in spikes or catkins, consisting of 

 many-sided, shield-like scales, on the lower side of 

 which are from four to seven involucres. These open 

 longitudinally, and contain numerous round bodies 

 having at their base four elastic club-shaped filaments, 

 twisted spirally round them when dry, but expanding 

 when moistened. 



The plants belonging to the order are branched 

 and leafless. Their sterns are rigid, streaked, and 

 hollow, and consist of several easily separated joints, 

 each of which is surrounded by a membranous toothed 

 sheath. Under the cuticle a quantity of siliceous or 

 flinty matter is secreted. The branches are mostly 

 in whorls. 



The Eqmsetacecc are widely dispersed over the 

 globe, and generally grow in moist, marshy places. 

 None of the species have as yet been found in New- 

 Holland. It would appear from the fossil remains 

 discovered, that a great part of the original vegeta- 

 tion of our globe consisted of gigantic cqmsetums 

 several yards long, much larger than any of our 

 present species, which have generally weak stems, 

 and. seldom exceed three or four feet in height. 



Equisctum is the only genus of the order. It 

 includes numerous species, and some of which were 

 formerly used medicinally as astringents and diuretics. 

 From the quantity of flinty matter which they con- 

 tain they are used for various domestic purposes, 

 such as polishing furniture. The flint in the living 



