- MASSONIA” -VIOLACEA. 
Purple-flowered Maffonia. 
| CLASS VL. ORDER I. : 
HEX ANDRIA MONOGYNIA. Six Chives. One Pointal. . 
GENERIC CHARACTER. . a 
stos EMPALEMENT non es : 
os gine ae neétario impofita, Biossom fe cceak Petals placed on the a 
~ Tanceolata ta, pate: cup, are lance-fhaped and fpreading. = 
og eee iplindticom, membra- Honey-cup beneath, cylindrical and tkinny. 
fr ‘Sra ‘ gee fex, neétarii dentibus in- Cuives. Six threads, fixed into the teeth of the # 
ea filiformia declinata, petalis paulo lon- honey-cup, thread-fhaped, bent downward, 
~ giora, Anthera ovate. and a little longer than the petals. Tips ‘ 
| egg-fhaped. i 
~Pistirtum. Germen (refpectu nettarii) fupe- Poinra. Seed-bud (with regard to the honey- 
rum. Stylus fubulatus, declinatus, longitu- cup) above. Shaft awl-fhaped, and bent ; 
= ftaminum. Stigma fimplex, acu- downward the le of the chives. Sum- i 
oe . mit fimple, and point : 
:  Pancanie Capfula triquetra, glabra, tri- Seep-vessEL. Capfule three. iil and fmooth, m 
: 
ris, trivalvis, angulis dehifcens. of three cells and three valves, fplitting at a 
ss the angles. 
“Benawa Sati globofa, glabra, magnitudine SrEps many, globular, fmooth, the fize of a muf- 
femi: pios. d feed. 
SPECIFIC CHARACTER. ' 
‘onl ia, fliis {pathulatis, glabris; {capus fili- Maffonia with {patula-fhaped, and fmooth leaves; 
bipollicaris; flores pedun- flower-ftalk thread-fhaped, upright, two =” 
i, violacei, fparfi, pedunculi uni- inches high; the flowers have foot-ftalks, 
are of a violet colour, and grow feattered; 
the foot-ftalks have each but one flower. 
a ——— 
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE. 
1. A Flower complete. 
2. The fame cut open, to fhew the infertion of the Chives. 
3. The Pointal. 
: ae 
us of plants perpetuates the name, as a botanift, (would it could likewife the mild, unaffam- . 
univerfally allowed amiablenefs of chara@ter) of Mr. Francis Maffon, botanical colle@tor to Z 
-_ exploring the untrod regions of North America, to add to the extenfive colleétions 3 
-munificent Mafter, which fland fo much indebted to his indefatigable induftry for 
ent fplendour. The Maffonias are all rather tender, and require the fame fitu ation as 
s &e; that is, a dry ftove; they are natives of the Cape of Good Hope, or, at leaft, grow 
that point of Africa generally fo called, but at fome diftance from the Cape town, neat 4 
(according to Thunberg) of the name of Bocklands Berg. ‘The root of this {pecies _— 
= the leaves are , if watered at that time; therefore, like the Ixias, thould 
ide, or taken out of the pot for two or three months, after flowering. It is very difficult © 
ate, as the feeds are feldom perfected, and rarely makes any offsets; flowering in mary. - 
= ein which month this figure was taken, from a plant in the colleétion of Ee 
: Clapham Com n. It appears to thrive beft in a mixture of peat and fandy lo loam. 
eh 
