PLATE XVII. 



PROTEA FORMOSA. 



Coronet Protect. 



CLASS IV. ORDER I. 

 TE TRANDR I A MONO G YNIJ. Four Chives. One Pointal. 



GENERIC 



Calyx. Perianthium commune, imbricatum; 

 fquamis inrequalibus, perfiflentibus. 

 Proprium nullum. 



Corolla tetrapetala. Petala faepe cohasrentia, 

 laepius divifa, lineari-oblonga: unguibus 

 ereftis, limbo patenti. 



Stamina. Filamenta nulla. Anthera? quatuor, 

 lineares, vel oblongas, fub apice limbi co- 

 rolla: infertae. 



Pistillum. Germen fuperum, oblongum. Sty- 

 lus filiformis, corolla longior. Stigma fim- 

 plex, clavatum. 



Pericarpium nullum. Calyx patens, indura- 

 tus, vix mutatus. 



Semina folitaria, fubrotunda, vel compreffa. 



Receptaculum commune nudum, villofum, 

 paleaceum, vel conus. 



SPECIFIC 

 Protea, foliis lanceolatis, pubefcentibus; caule 

 villolb; flore aurantio flavo; femine fub- 

 rotundo, glabro, magnitudine pili majoris. 



fcales 



CHARACTER. 



Empalement. Cup common, fcaled; 



unequal, and remaining. 



Proper none. 

 Blossom four-leaved. Petals frequently ad- 

 hering, oftener divided, of a linear oblong 



fhape: claws upright, border fpreading. 

 Chives. Threads none. Tips four, linear, or 



oblong, fixed within the border of the 



bloilbm. 

 Pointal. Seed-bud above, and oblong. Shaft 



thread-fhaped, longer than the bloilbm. 



Summit fimple, and club-ihaped. 

 Seed-vessel none. Cup fpreading, hard, and 



fcarcely changing. 

 Seeds folitarv, nearly round, or flat. 

 Receptacle the common, is naked, hairy, 



chaffy, or a cone. 



CHARACTER. 



Protea, -with lance-fhape downy lea\ r es; ftem 

 hairy; bloflbm orange yellow; feed nearly 

 round, fmoolh, the lize of a large pea. 



REFERENCE TO THE PLATE. 



1. The Flower complete, as it ftands on the Receptacle. 



2. The Bloilbm expanded, to ihew the fituation of the Chives. 



Of all the varied genera of plants which decorate that mine of botanical riches, the Cape of Good 

 Hope, and the adjacent country, no one ftands more confpicuous than Protea. Few travellers who 

 have not noticed the fingularity and beauty of their foliage; indeed they are of fuch extreme bril- 

 liancy, that no one, however indifferent to botanical refearches, can pals them unobferved; forelis of 

 them being fo numerous, the Protea Argentea, or Silver Tree, produces almoft the only wood of the 

 country; growing to the height of thirty or forty feet. But although the leaves of this numerous 

 tribe are moftly beautiful, many of their blolfoms are but trifling, except in the eye of the botanift: 

 the Protea Formofa, however, is one amongft many which Hand as powerful exceptions: the great 

 beauty of this charming plant has induced us to adopt the trivial name it here bears. It has been 

 introduced to the Royal Gardens at Kew by Mr. F. Maffon, botanical collector to his prefent Majefty; 

 from whofe liberal patronage the fcience of Botany has of late been brought into fuch general efti- 

 mation. This fpecies, from the downy cbarafter of the whole plant, is apt to damp, if not kept in an 

 airy fituation in winter; though the warmth of a common greenhoufe is quite fufficient for its pro- 

 tection. It is with difficulty propagated by cuttings; and has not hitherto perfected its feeds in this 

 kingdom. Our drawing was made from a plant which flowered in the nurfery of Mef&s. Lee and 

 Kennedy, in the year i"Q6, about the month of Auguft. 



