S W I 



S Y M 



SUN-DEW. SceDROsERA. 

 SUN- FLOWER. See Helianthus. 

 SUN-SPURGE. See Euphorbia. 

 SWALLOW-\VORT. See Asclkpias. 

 SWEET APPLE. See Annona. 

 SWEET BRIER. See Rosa. 

 SWEET FLAG. See Acorus. 

 SWEET GUM. Sie LiauinAMBAK. 

 SWEET JOHNS. Sec Dianthus. 

 SWEET MAUDLIN. See Achillea. 

 SWEET PEA. See Lathyrus. 

 SWEET RUSH. See Acorus. 

 SWEET SOP. See Annona. 

 SWEF:T SULTAN. See Ckntaurea. 

 SWEET WEED. See Capraria and Sco- 



PAItlA. 



SWEET WILLL\M. See Dianthus. 

 SWEET WILLOW. See Myrica. 

 SWIETENIA, a genus furnishing a plant of 

 the exotic tree kinrl for the stove. 



It belono-s to the class and orc'er Decandria 

 Mono:yyiiiu, and ranks in the natural order of 

 Trthitatfe. 



The characters are : that the calyx is a one- 

 Icafed perianth, five-cleft, obtuse, very small, de- 

 ciduous : the corolla has five petals, ohovate, ob- 

 tuse, concave, spreading: nectary one-leafed, cy- 

 lindric, length of the petals, mouth ten-toothed : 

 the stamina" have ten filaments, very small, in- 

 serted below the teeth of the nectary : anthers ob- 

 Iong,erect : the pistillum is an ovate germ: style 

 awl-shaped, erect, length of the nectary : stigma 

 headed, flat : the pericarpium is an ovate cap- 

 sule, large, woody, one-celled, at the top five- 

 celled, five-valved, valves opening at the base : 

 the seeds very many, imbricate, compressed, 

 oblong, obtuse, having a leafy wing : receptacle 

 large, five-cornered. 



The species cultivated is S. Mahagoni, Ma- 

 hogany Tree. 



In its native state it is a lofty and very branch- 

 ing tree, with a wide handsome head ; the 

 leaves reclining, alternate, shining, eight inches 

 Ions;, numerous on the younger branches : leaf- 

 lets for the most part four pairs, but often three, 

 seldom five, without any odd one, falcate-lan- 

 ceolate, quite entire, acuminate, bent in back- 

 wards, petioled, opposite, an inch and half 

 long: the racemes subcorymbed, with about 

 eight flowers in each, axillary, solitary, two 

 inches long ; the flowers are small, whitish ; 

 the capsule large, (sometimes attaining the size 

 of a child's head,) woody, ovate, ofasnioky- 

 rufescent colour (or ferruginous), towards the 

 top five-celled, but in other parts widely one- 

 celled, five-valved : valves thick, opening from the 

 base, caducous, covered within by a thick flexile 

 coriaceous lamina, exactly equal to them in size. 

 A natite of the warmest parts ofAmerica, Sec. 

 S 



Culture. — ^This plant may be increased bv 

 sowing the seeds obtained from abroad in small 

 pots, filled with light sandy mould, in the spring, 

 plunging them in a hot bed, and watering 

 them occasionally : when the plants are a tew 

 inches high, they should be carefully removed 

 into other pots separately, replunging them in 

 the hot-bed, giving; them shade till re-rooted i 

 thev should afterwards have the management of 

 other stove plants. They afford variety and cu- 

 riosity ill stove collections. 



SYMPHYTUM, a genus containing plants 

 ofthe hardy herbaceous perennial kind. 



It belongs to the class and order Pcritandria 

 Moiw^ynia, and ranks in the natural order of 

 ^spKrifol'ice. 



The characters are: that the calyx is a five- 

 parted perianth, erect, five-cornered, acute, 

 permanent: thecorollaone-petalkd, bell-shaped:, 

 tube verv short : border tubular-bellying, a little 

 thicker than the tube : mouth five-toothed, ob- 

 tuse, reflexed : throat fenced by five lanceolate 

 ravs, spinulose at the edge, shorter than the 

 border, converging into a cone : the slamina 

 have five awl-shaped filaments, alternate with 

 the rays of the throat ; anthers acute, erect, 

 covered; the pistillum is as four germs : style fili— 

 form, length ofthe corolla : stigma simple : there 

 is no pericarpium : calyx larger, widened: seeds 

 four, gibbous, acuminate, converging at the tips. 



The species cultivated are: 1. S. officinale, Com- 

 mon Comfrey : 2. S. tuhnrosum, Tuberous- 

 rooted Conifrey, 3. S. orientalv, 'Or\&x\\.a\ Comfrey» 



The first has a perennial root, fleshy, exter- 

 nally black ; the stem two or three feet high,, 

 upright, leafy, winged, branched at the top, 

 clothed with short bristly hairs that point rather 

 downward : the leaves waved, pointed, veiny, 

 rough ; the radical ones on footstalks, and 

 broader than the rest; the clusters of flowers 

 in pairs on a common stalk, with an odd flower 

 between them, recurved, dense, hairy : the co- 

 rolla yellowish-white, sometimes purple : the 

 rays downy at each edge.. It is a native of Eu- 

 rope and Siberia. 



There are varieties with white flowers, purple 

 flowers, with blue flowers, and with red flowers. 



The second species has the roots composed of 

 many thick fleshy knobs or tubers, which are 

 joined by fleshy fibres : the stalks rise a foot and 

 half high, and incline on one side : the leaves 

 on the lower part are six inches long, and two 

 inches and a half broad in the middle, ending 

 in acute points, and not so rough and hairy as 

 the first; they are alternate and sessile: the two 

 upper leaves on every branch stand opposite, 

 and just above them are loose bunches of pale 

 yellow flowers, the corolla of which is stretched 

 out further beyond the calyx than in the com- 



