i; R T 



U R T 



which afe taper, stiff, ami have a liark-grecn 

 bark : the leaves about two inches and a quarter 

 broad, dark-green above, and palc-grecii beneath, 

 u|i<m pretty iune; lootstalks : the flowers axidary, 

 solitary, sessile, shaped like those of the Mal- 

 low, but siTiail and of a deep blush colour. It 

 is a native ot Chma, flowering here in July and 

 August. 



'I'he second species has a suflVuticose ste-.n, 

 vipright, three feet high, with ascending branch- 

 es : the leaves sinuate-palnuUe, with obtuse 

 sinuses, serrate, rough, alternate, pctioled, 

 having a sinu.le glandular pore on the middle 

 rib underncaUi : the flowers are rose-coloured, 

 sn)all, subsolitary, axillary. It is a native of 

 the East Indies. 



Culture. — ^Thcsc plants maybe increased by 

 seeds, which should be sown on a hot-bed, or 

 in pots plunged into it, in the early spring sea- 

 son. When the plants have some growth, they 

 should be removed into separate ])ots, being re- 

 plunged in a fresh hot-bed, requiring afterwards 

 the same management as tender exotic plants. 

 When placed in the stove in the spring, they 

 ripen seeds the first year, but otherwise in the 

 second, and seldom continue longer. 



Thev afford variety among other stove plants. 



URTICA, a genus furnishing plants of the 

 hardy herbaceous kind. 



It belongs to the class and order Monoecia 

 Tehand'ia, and ranks in the natural order of 

 ScaLndce. 



The characters are : that in the male flowers 

 the calyx is a four-leaved perianth : leaflets 

 roundish, concave, obtuse: the corolla petals 

 none : nettarv in the centre of the flower, cup- 

 -fhaped, entire, narrower below,- very small : 

 the stamina have four awl-shaped filaments, 

 length of the calyx, spreading, each within each 

 talyx-leaf: anthers two-celled: female flowers 

 either on the same or a distinct plant : the calyx 

 IS a two-valved perianth, ovate, concave, erect, 

 permanent : there is no corolla: the pisliUum is 



an ovate germ : style none : stigma villose : there 

 is no pericarpium: calvx converging: the seed 

 one, ovate, blunt, compressed, shining. 



The species cultivated are: 1. U cannahirm. 

 Hemp-leaved Nettle: 2. U. Canadensis, Canada 

 Nettle; 3. U. nivea, Chinese or White-leaved 

 Nettle. 



The first has a perennial root : the stems five 

 or six feet high : the leaves oblong, deeply cut 

 into three lobes, which are acutely indented on 

 their edges, and placed on long petioles : the 

 flowers axillary in long cylindrical catkins : 

 males on the Unver part, females on the upper. 

 It is a native of Siberia, flowering in July. 



The second species has also a perennial root: 

 the stems two feet high : the flowers in axillary 

 branching aments; appearing towards autumn, 

 but seldom followed by seeds in this climate. 

 It is at first male only, but afterwards has male 

 and female flowers on the same plant. It is a 

 native of Canada and Virginia. 



The third is a perennial plant, sending up 

 many stalks from the root, which rise three or 

 four feet high : the leaves are four inches long, 

 and two inches and a half broad, serrate, of a 

 deep sreen on their upper side, but very white 

 on their under ; having five longitudinal veins; 

 they stand upon very long footstalks : the flowers 

 axillary in loose aments, and not succeeded by 

 seeds in this climate. It is a native of the East 

 Indies. 



Cidture. — These plants may be increased by 

 parting or slipping the roots in the autumn or 

 early in the spring, and planting them out where 

 thev are to remain. 



Tile third sort is rather tender, and should 

 have a dry situation where it is warm and shel- 

 tered, or be kept in pots to be sheltered under 

 frames, or in the green-house, during the seve- 

 rity of the winter season. 



The two first sorts aflbrd variety in the borders 

 and clumps of pleasure grounds, and the last 

 among potted plants. 



V A L 



\7"ALER1ANA, a genus containing plants 

 ' of the hardy herbaceous perennial kind. 



It belongs to the class and order Triandrm 

 Monosynia, and ranks in the natural order of 

 AggregatcE. 



The'characlers are: that there is scarcely any 

 calyx ; a superior margin : the corolla a nectari- 

 ferous tube on the lower side, gibbous : border 

 five-cleft: segments obtuse: the stamina three. 



Vol. II. 



V A L 



or fewer (in one species four) : filaments awl- 

 shaped, erect, length of the corolla: anthers 

 roundish : the pistillum is an inferior germ : 

 style filiform, length of the stamens : stigma 

 thickish : the pericarpium a crust not opening, 

 deciduous, crowned : the seeds solitary, oblong. 

 The species cultivated are : 1 . V. riihva, Com- 

 mon or Broad-leaved Red Valerian ; 2. V. an- 

 guitiJ'oUa, Narrow-leaved Red Valerian ; 3. /'- 

 3 R 



