SVyoi'.SLS. siii 



PRIIVIITLA.— See -'rulyaiitliu*." p, 105. 



SCILIjA. — See "Liliuin.''' p^ 1Q9_ 



DI A]N"TH US, from '/io.s, cUviue, and foithos, flower, the divine flower, 

 or flower of tln^ f^-ods. N.(^>., (.'iiri/nplii/UdccfP. LlNN.T^AN : 10, Deeandria : 

 4, rnidu/ynui. — A sketdi of tlie essentials of tlie order will be found under 

 "Lychnis"; the genera number 53, and the sjsecies 1,055, in Lindlej^'.s 

 estimate. It is interesting^ to make note of the characters of those thu.t lie 

 far apa.rt from the dianthus, as the silene, saponaria, spergula, and arenaria. 

 A cerastium, for example, is a member of the order, and so also is a stellaria, 

 or chiekwced. But the relations are easilj^ reco^-nised in the opi^osite and 

 entire leaves on stems with tumid nodes, and the general fashion of the 

 flower. The nearest alliance of the caryophyllaceous plants is witli tlie 

 purslanes, which have unsymmetrical flowers. j>. 113. 



CALCEOLARIA, from mlrmhi.^, a sUpper, the shape of tbe flower 

 suggesting the name. N.O., 'Scrap// /(I</ri(tn'tf, or Figworts. Linx,t5AN : 

 2, li'Ku/ilria ; 1, Moiiof/nnni. — The plants of this order are herbs or slirubs, 

 varying iu leafage and in the disposition of the flowers. Tlie calyx remains 

 after the corolla has fallen ; the latter is irregular, variable, and sometimes 

 two-lipped. The fruit is a two-celled capsule, usually of a. dr}^ n;itiu'e, but 

 occasionally somewhat fleshy, opening variously. Tin.; order is of great 

 extent, and one of the most difficult to study iu detail. Many of tlie spi^cies 

 have a stigma composed of two plates, one placed next the back an-l tlie 

 other next the front of the flower. Wheu the corolla first expands, these 

 plates stand apart, but when touched they collapse suddenly and with some 

 force. A good type flower of the order is the foxglove ; the calceolaria is 

 also strongly typical ; but salpiglossis, which is included in the order, illus- 

 tz'ates the borderland where it appears to merge into the nightshades. The 

 English garden is rich in plants of the flgwort familj^ for it includes not only 

 the plants above mentioned, but also the schizanthus, verliascum, antirrhinum, 

 pentstemon, mimulus, and many others. It is i)Oor in ^jlants of utility, and 

 the few that are of service to man are mostly of an acrid or bitter qualitj-^ 

 and employed rather as medicines than as food. A pasture herb called 

 Melaiiipi/non pratcii'ie is reputed to be serviceable, not only iu promoting the 

 richness of milk, but also as contributing to the butter a fine yellow colour. 

 The calceolaria which we so prize for the adornment of the greenhouse with 

 its splendid flowers is valued in Chili because of the colouring property of its 

 roots, wdiich are employed in dyeing woollen cloths crimson. p. 117. 



AG-ERATUM, from a combination of n, the privative, and fieras, 

 old, meaning a plant ever young, in allusion to the fact that the flowers do 

 not chauge colour with age. X.O., Composites, or A^ieyicae. Lixn^ean : 

 19, ISfji/ijenesla ; \, JEqinihti. — See sketch under " Aster." p. 121. 



