,28 



before damping begins. Other causes, 

 some unknown, affect different plants, 

 and bring about their destruction in 

 this way ; but the primary ones are 

 those here indicated. — Diet, of Oard. 

 , Dasyphyl'lds — Where the leaves are either 

 densely aggregated, ■ or else covered 

 with close woolly hairs. 



Dealba'tds — Covered with a greyish-white 

 powder, whitened. (See the under side 

 of the fronds of the Silver Tree Fern 

 of New Zealand, CijatJiea dealbata.) 



Deoa or Decek — Ten in composition. 



Deoi'duous— Applied to the leaf, it desig- 

 nates those trees and shrubs which 

 shed all their leaves annually at the 

 same period, so that their branches 

 . become bare. Applied to other organs, 

 it means that these fall p£f sooner or 

 later, after their functions have been 

 performed, whilst the other parts re- 

 main, or are persistent. The leaves of 

 the Peach are deciduous. The foliage 

 of naany Queensland trees are rather 

 semi-deciduous than deciduous,for there 

 s no certainty of the leaves falling ; 

 they at times are retained upon the 

 trees until long after the young growth 

 has appeared. 



De'olinate — Where an organ or set of 

 organs is bent or inclines towards one 

 side. (See Carex declindta. ) 



Dbcoo'tion — A preparation or digest by 

 boiling water. 



Deoom'pound — Having many divisions. 

 (See fronds oiAspidium deeompositum.) 



Deoo'bus — Adorned or beautiful, as Indigo- 

 fera decora. 



Deodm'bent, Decum'bens — Applied to 

 stems when they recline upon the 

 surface of the earth, but have a ten- 

 dency to rise again towards their ex- 

 tremities. 



Dbcdk'eent, DEO0EBEN3 — Continued 

 downwards, as the blade of the leaves 

 of some plants, forming a wing-like 

 appendage to the stem, (See Acacia 

 decurrens, the Green Wattle, the bark 

 of which is so largely used for tanning.) 



Deoue'sivelt-pinnate — A form of pm- 

 natified leaf. (See, for example, 

 Melianthus.) 



Decus'satb, Deoussa'tus — Synonym for 

 "Brachiate" but usually applied to 

 leaves when they are arranged in 

 alternating pairs, forming four lines. 



Ds'i-lNlTE-jApplied to the stamens when 

 they do not exceed twelve in number 

 and are constant in the same species. 



Dbplbx'bd, Deflexus — Bending gradually 

 downward through the whole length. 

 - Dbhis'cbnoe — The manner in which an 

 organ, closed at first, ultimately 

 bursts ; but more especially applied 

 where the bursting is with regularity 

 along particular lines of suture, as in 

 the anthers for discharge of the pollen ; 

 in many pericarps for the escape of 

 the seeds. 



Deuques'oent— Applied to certain fungi 



which soon dissolve, and to the branches 



of inflorescence when all trace of the 



principal axis is lost in the ramifioa- 



. tions. 



Dbl'toid, Dbltoi'dens— Resembling the 

 Greek letter A. applied to silcpulfent 

 leaves, whose transverse sections have 

 a resemblance to a A- 



Demis'sus — Hanging down. 



DEMtTL'CENT— Saving the property of 

 softening anything. This property is 

 taken advantage pf for formmg the 

 leaves of the common Mallow into 

 poultices. 



Dendei'ticus, Dbndeoi'dhs— In form re- 

 sembling a tree. ' , . , 



DbndeO'logt— That part of botany which 

 treats pf trees. 



Den'tatb, DENTAT0S— Toothed, having 

 triangular teeth. Dentatii-cebnate — 

 Having rounded or pointed teeth. 

 Dentate-seeEatb — Having tapering, 

 sharp-pointed teeth projecting or 

 curved towards the tip of a leaf like 

 the teeth of a saw. 



Dbn'teifioe — Powder made to scour the 

 teeth. The gum of some Acaoeas are 

 used forthis purpose. 



Denuda'tds — Made naked. 



Depanpeea'tus — Impoverished, starved. 



Depen'dens — Hanging down, pendent. 



Depla'natb — Flattened or expanded. 



Depebs'sus— Where the longitudinal exten- 

 sion is much smaller than the trans- 

 verse. Flatt||)ed vertically. 



Detee'minate — An inflorescence ia said to 

 be terminal or determinate when the 

 main stem and principal branches end 

 in a flower or inflorescence. 



Deus'tus — Having the appearance of being 

 scorched. (See Mesomelcena deiista'.)' 



Dbx'teinb, or Vegetable MnoiLAOE — A 

 gummy substance, between mucilage 

 and starch, and is one of the principal 

 organized cell-contents. 



Dexteoe'sum— Towards the right hand ; 

 applied to a spiral whoSS successive 

 convolutions would appear to a person, 

 placid in its axis, to rise from left 

 to right. An example is furnished by 

 the Hop plant, Bumulus lupulAis. 



Di, in compounds, signifies tWo. Thus, 

 DiADELPHUS, where the stamens are 

 united into two distinct bundles ; 

 DiANDEUS, a flower containing only 

 two stamens ; Diohotomus, where any 

 part forks or subdivides into ' two 

 branches, and each of these again into 

 two others. 



Dl'ALYEETALOUS^-A modem word some- 

 times iised for , the better known 

 "Polypetaloua." 



Dianth'us Caeyophylws —^ The parent 

 of those lovely flowers,' Carnations, 

 Picotee, Clove. 



The English Florist classifies these 

 flowers thus : — Bt'zajTcs^-Flowers with 

 white ground, rayed or striped from 

 the centre to the circumference, with 

 bands of two or three clearly defined 

 different colours or different tints of 

 the same colour. Flakes— Thes6 have 

 also a white ground, but they are only 

 striped or streaked with one colour. 

 Picotees — Instead of having their jjBtala 

 longitudinally striped, have them 

 bordered Tyith a,, different colour from 



