444 1 ERODIUS-E 



natural order Geraniacece, This division of the order 

 have mostly regular flowers, and the seeds when united 

 resemble a heron's beak; hence the generic name. 

 They are mostly natives of Europe ; three of them 

 are British. 



, ERODIUS (Latreille), a genus of coleopterous 

 insects, belonging to the section Heteromera, subsec- 

 tion Melasoma, and family Pimeiid<z, having the body 

 short, ovoid, gibbose above, with the thorax short and 

 as broad behind as the base of the elytra, terminated 

 posteriorly on each side by an acute angle ; the pro- 

 sternum is dilated behind into a plate resting upon 

 the mesosternum. The genus comprises three sub- 

 genera, Erodius, Zophosis, and Nyctelia. In the first 

 of these the two terminal joints of the antennae are 

 united so as to form a small mass, and the anterior 

 tibiae are furnished on the outer edge with a central 

 and terminal spine. These insects, of which the spe- 

 cies are very numerous, inhabit the sandy districts of 

 the south of Europe, and the southern parts of Asia, 

 and the north of Africa. The type is the Erod-gibbus 

 of Fabricius : it inhabits Egypt. 



EROTYLUS (Fabricius), an extensive genus of 

 coleopterous insects, found only in South America, 

 arranged by Latreille in the section Tetramera, but 

 which possess so many characters, both as regards 

 their habits and structure, in common with the Engidce, 

 that it appears much more natural to consider the 

 structure of the tarsi as entitled only to a secondary 

 importance. The three basal joints of the tarsi are 

 dilated, cushioned beneath ; the penultimate joint 

 being bilobed. The antennae are terminated by a 

 dilated club composed of several joints, the lower 

 jaws are armed with a corneous tooth, and the palpi 

 terminated by a large transverse semilunar joint. 

 The species are adorned with numerous colours, in 

 which yellow and red, with black spots and marks, 

 are most prominent. From analogy with some allied 

 British genera, we may consider these insects, which 

 are of a moderate size, as inhabitants of fungi, boleti, 

 &c. M. Duponchet has published a valuable mono- 

 graph of the genus, all the species of which have been 

 .figured therein. 



,i ERPETION (Sweet). A genus of plants separated 

 from the genus Viola by the late Mr. Sweet. Class and 

 order Pentandria Monogynia, and natural order Viola- 

 riecB. Its species grow well in a warm border, and 

 produce abundance of flowers. In sharp frost they 

 require covering with a mat. 



ERVUM (Linnaeus) is the generic name of the 

 family of tares, so profusely scattered over Europe. 

 They are all climbing annuals, some of them trouble- 

 some weeds among corn. Two of them, the E. lens 

 and E. ervilia, are cultivated in the south of Europe 

 and north of Africa as human food, and have so been 

 from very remote antiquity. Lentils when boiled 

 readily dissolve into a pulpy mass of a chocolate 

 colour ; and we learn that " it was for a mess of this 

 'red pottage'' which Esau sold his birthright. In 

 Egypt and Syria they are parched over the fire in 

 pans, and commonly sold in shops, being considered 

 by the natives the best food to be taken on long 

 journeys. The use of lentils is very common on the 

 continent, especially by the Roman Catholics during 

 Lent. Lentils are also imported into London from 

 Hamburgh, for the use of cooks, who prize them as 

 an ingredient in soups and sauces." Bur. Bot. 



Tares and vetches (Vicia) afford abundant green 

 food for horses, sheep, and hogs ; sometimes they are 



R Y T H R I N A. 



made into hay, or reserved for seed, or for feeding 

 pigeons. The winter vetch ( Vicia saliva) is indispen- 

 sable^to the farmer ; when sown along with a little rye 

 in September, they stand the winter, and together are 

 the first green food fit for use in the beginning of 

 May ; and then most acceptable as well as serviceable 

 to horses which have been long kept on dry fodder. 



ERYCINA (Lamarck). Only one species of this 

 shell is described by Lamarck, and the equivocal . 

 character of these shells renders it very difficult to 

 judge of their hinge. The shell is not quite so high 

 as it is long ; it is subtrigonal, regularly equivalve, 

 inequilateral, slightly, or not at all gaping ; the apices 

 well marked, and inclining rather forward ; the hinge 

 sublunar ; two unequal cardinal teeth, converging 

 to the summit, and leaving a cavity between them ; 

 two lateral slightly distant teeth, lamellar and pene- 

 trating ; the ligament interior, placed in the cavity ; 

 the valves exhibiting two rounded muscular impres- 

 sions. The only recent species described inhabits 

 the sands of New Holland, but several fossil are 

 enumerated by De France, and others are figured by 

 Deshayes in his work on the Fossil Shells found in 

 the neighbourhood of Paris. This genus belongs to 

 the eighth family Conchacea, first section, third order, 

 Lamellibranchiata, third class Acephalophora. 



ERYNGIUM (Linnreus). A genus of perennial 

 herbs found in every quarter of the world. Linnaean 

 class and order Pentandria Digynia, and natural order 

 UmbcllifercE. Generic character : flowers in a head ; 

 receptacle chaffy ; involucrurn rather spinous ; petals 

 inflexed ; fruit chaffy or scaly, crowned with the 

 calyx. Several individuals of this genus are admitted 

 into the flower garden. Their coloured bracteas 

 being their most striking feature. They affect light 

 soil, and are increased by seeds, which ripen readily. 



ERYSIMUM (Linnaeus). This genus is called 

 in Britain hedge-mustard, from the acrid qualities 

 with which it abounds. The species are mostly 

 European, having tetradynamous flowers, conse- 

 quently belonging to the natural order Cruciforce. 

 It is propagated by seeds or cuttings. 



ERYTHR^A (Richard). A genus of annual, 

 biennial, and perennial herbs, chiefly natives of Europe. 

 They are ranked in the fifth class of sexual botany, 

 and belong to the order Gentianeae of the natural sys- 

 tem. Generic character : calyx in five parts and five 

 sided; corolla funnel-shaped, limb five-cleft; stamens 

 joined to the tube of the corolla ; anthers shed spirally ; 

 style short ; stigmas two, roundish ; capsule of two 

 valves, bent inwards, and having a placenta. The 

 British species called centaury, are met with on moors 

 or dry pastures, and are considered most elegant 

 native plants. When introduced into the flower 

 garden, where they well deserve to be, the seed should 

 be sown in the autumn to ensure their rising in the 

 following spring. 



ERYTHRINA (Linnaeus). A splendid genus of 

 exotic trees, shrubs, and herbs, remarkable for their 

 high coloured flowers, hence called coral trees. They 

 belong to LeguminoscE. Generic character : calyx 

 tubularly bell-shaped, truncated, sometimes with five 

 or two teeth, or two lipped, often spatlmceous ; vex- 

 illum very long ; keel of two petals ; pod elongated 

 and twisted. Some of the species require the heat of 

 a stove ; others stand well in the greenhouse ; but 

 the E. cristagalli and E. laurijulia will live in the 

 open air if protected from the frost of winter ; for 

 though the steins die down, they shoot again from the 



