O S Y 



O T H 



tlie pois should be freqiientlv removed, to prevent 

 the plants from rooting throuefh the holes in the 

 bottoms of the pots into the ground, which they 

 are very apt to do when they continue long undis- 

 turbed, and when thev shoot very luxuriantly; 

 and on their being removed, these shoots, and 

 sometimes the \<'hole plants, are destroyed. 



As the plants are too lentler to live in the open 

 air in this climate, they should be placed in the 

 green-house in October, and be treated in the 

 same manner as Myrtles, and other hardy green- 

 house plants, which require a lait^e share of air 

 in mild weather; and in the beginning of May 

 the plants removed into the open air, and placed 

 in a sheltered situation during liie sunnner sea- 

 son. As the first and second sorls are very 

 thirsty plants, ihey should have plenty of watei-. 



These plants aftbrd variety among others of 

 the green-house kind. 



OSWEGO TEA. See Monarda. 



OSYRIS, a genus containing a plant of the 

 shrubby kind. 



It belongs to the class and order Dioecia 

 Triandria, and ranks in the natural order of 

 Cahjafiorce. 



The characters are : that in the male, the 

 calyx is a one-leafed perianthium, trifid, turbi- 

 nate: segments equal, ovate, acute : there is no 

 corolla, except a triple nectariferous rim: the 

 stamina have three filaments, very short : anthers 

 roundish, small : in the female, the calyx is a 

 perianthium as in the male, superior, permanent, 

 very small : there is no corolla, as in the male : 

 the pistillum is a turbinate germ, inferior : style 

 the length of the stamens : stigma three-parted, 

 spreading, (roundish) : the pericarpium is a 

 globular berry, one-celled, umbilicated : the 

 seeds bony, globular, filling the pericarpium. 



The species cultivated is O. alha. Poet's Casia. 



It is a very low shrub, seldom rising above 

 two feet high, having woody branches : the 

 leaves long, narrow, of a bright colour : the 

 flowers of a yellowish colour ; succeeded by 

 berries, which at first are green, and afterwards 

 turn to a bright red colour, like those of the 

 Asparagus. It is a native of France, &c. 



Culture. — These plants are increased, by sow- 

 ing the berries in autumn as soon as ripe, in some 

 gravelly, stony, or similar situation, on the side 

 of a rising ground, either in the places where the 

 plants are to remain, which is the most success- 

 ful, or in a nursery-bed for transplanting. As 

 the seeds often remain two years before they ve- 

 getate, the places should be kept clear from 

 weeds during that time, or till the plants appear. 

 They afterwards require only to be freed from 

 weeds. 



''"hey aflord variety in beds, borders, or other 

 places, by the beauty of their fruit. 



OTHONNA, a genus containing plants of 

 the shrubby exotic evergreen kind. 



It belongs to the class and order uvugencsla 

 Pohjgnm'm Neccssann, and ranks in the "natural 

 order of Cni/iposiUc Dhco'idca-. 



The characters are : that the calyx is conininn, 

 quite simple, one-leafed, blunt at the base, sharp 

 at the end, equal, divided into eight or twelve 

 segments: the corolla compound, rayed : corol- 

 lets hermaphrodite many, in the disk': females in 

 the ray, the same number with the segments of 

 the calyx, often eight (about ten,) : iirojier of the 

 hermaphrodite, tubular, five-toothed, scarcely 

 longer than the calyx : of the female, ligulate, 

 lanceolate, longer than the calyx, three-toothed,- 

 reflex : the stamina in the hermaphrodites, fila- 

 ments five, capillary very short: anther cylindric, 

 tubular, the length of the corollet ; the pistillum 

 in the hermaphrodites, germ oblong: style fili- 

 form, commonly longer than the stamens : stia- 

 ma bifid, simple : in the females, germ obloncr : 

 style filiform, the same length as in the others : 

 stigma reflex, larger: there is no pericarpium : 

 calyx unchanged, permanent : the seeds in the 

 hermaphrodites none : in the females solitary, 

 oblong, naked or downy : the receptacle is nak- 

 ed, dotted : (somewhat villose in the middle, ex- ^ 

 cavated about the edjie.) 



The species cultivated are: 1. 0. lulhosa. 

 Bulbous African Ragwort ; 2. 0. peclinata. 

 Wormwood-leaved African Ragwort; 3. 0. 

 alrotanlf'olia, Southernwood - leaved African 

 Ragwort; 4. 0. cornnopifulia, Bnckshorn-leav- 

 ed African Ragwort ; 5. 0. chelrifoUa, Stock- 

 leaved African Ragwort ; 6. 0. arboresctns. 

 Tree African Ragwort. 



The first has a thick shrubby stalk, dividino- 

 into several branches, which rise five or six feet 

 high; the leaves come out in clusters from one 

 point, spread on every side ; they are smooth, 

 narrow at their base, enlarging gradually to their 

 points, which are rounded ; their edges are acute- 

 ly indented like those of the Holly : from the 

 centre of the leaves arise the foot -stalks of the 

 flowers, which are five or six inches long, 

 branching out into several smaller, each sustain- 

 ing one yellow radiated flower, sha|)cd like the 

 former ; these are succeeded by slender seeds 

 crowned with down. It flowers in May and June. 



It is herbaceous, and varies with ovate, 

 quite entire leaves; with the root-leaves pin- 

 nate, quite entire; with the leaves linear, very 

 narrow; with the leaves lanceolate, quite en- 

 tire ; with the leaves lanceolate, toothed ; with, 

 the leaves ianceolate-sub-elliptic; with the leaves 



