PLATE CLVII. 



CORDIA SEBESTENA. 



Rough-leaved Cordia. 



CLASS V. ORDER L 



PENTJNDRU MONOGYNIA. Five Chives. One Pointal. 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Calyx. Perianthium monophyllum, tubulatum, 

 apice dentatum, perfiltt-ns. 



Corolla nioiiopttala, infnndibuliformis: tu- 

 bus patulus, loiigitudine calycis; limbus 

 erefto-patens, leitus in quinque (quatuor 

 vel iex), lacinias obtufas. 



Stamina. Filamt-iita quinque, fubulata. An- 

 therac obUinga;, longitudine tubi. 



PiSTiLLUM. Gernien fubiotunduni, acumina- 

 tum. Stylus (implex, longitudine rtami- 

 num, fuperne bitidus, laeiniis bifidis. Stig- 

 mata obtula. 



Pericarpium. Drupa globofa, acuminata, ca- 

 lyce accreta. 



Semen. Nux tulcata, quadrilocularis. 



Empalement. Cup one leaf, tubular, toothed 

 at the upper part, remaining. 



Blossom one petal, lunnel-lhaped; tube widen- 

 ing, the length of the cup; border upright 

 and Ipreading, cut into five (four or lix) 

 obtufe fegments. 



Chives. Five threads, awl-fhaped. Tips ob- 

 long, the length of the tube. 



PorNTAL. Seed-biid roundilh, tapered. Shaft 

 finiple, the length of the chives, twocleft 

 at the upper part, fegments two - cleft. 

 Summits blunt. 



Seed-vessi-l, pulpy, globular, tapered, growing 

 to the cup. 



Seed. A furrowed, four-celled nut. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 



Cordia follis oblongo-ovatis, fcabris; floribus 

 miniatis, crifpis, hexandris. 



Cordia with oblong egg-fliaped rough leaves; 

 tlowers deep orange colour, crumpled, and 

 with fix chives. 



REFERENCE TO THE PLATE. 



1. The Empalement. 



2. A Bloifom fpread open, with the Chives in their place. 

 6. The Pointal and Seed-bud. 



As it fhould feem a determined principle in the infcrutable arrangement of nature's productions, to 

 the greater humiliation of our very limited underllandings; that no etibrt as emanating folely from 

 thence, Ihall be perfect; fo mull we be content to purine our Botanical travel, under the guidance 

 of a fyftem decidedly defeilive; yet certainly, the beft we have to boaft. Scarce a genus, compre- 

 hending a number ot fpecies, but muft be ftrained in its clafs or order, for the introdudion of one, or 

 more Ipecies, evidently of the fame family. So convinced was our great mailer of the fcience, of the 

 impofiibility of forming fucli certain data, that to prevent the conlufion and difficulty, which muft 

 have arifen, from fuch an accumiilaiion of Genera, if every fexual character was attended to, that, 

 ■where certain other charafters (called by him elfential, and adopted as a fubllitute for fuch occafional 

 hiatus) are formed, the plant is retained under the Genus fo charafterifed. This dilquifitinn is the 

 nat\u-al refult of our examination of the prefeut plant, which, although the chives are fix, is placed 

 in the fifth cla>s! 



The Rough-leaved Cordia is a native of the Weft India Illands, and was cultivated, fays Martyn's 

 Dictionary, from Dillenius, in the year J 728. by Dr. Sherard. It is a tender hot-houfe plant, may be 

 increiled by cuttings made about the month of April, if kept from too much moifture, in a pot of 

 fandy loam, under a fmall ftriking glafs in the bark-bed. At prefeut it is rather a I'carce plant in our 

 colledions, and as it is rather difficult to propagate, is likely to continue fo, a' leaft for fome years. 

 From an imported plant, received by Meffis. Lee and Kennedy, Hammerfmith, from tiie illand of Bar- 

 bad jes, our figure was taken in the year 1789, about the month of July. It is grown to tlie greateft 

 perfeiifion by keeping it in a mixture of rotten dung and loam. 



