S E L 



S E L 



SEKIN, a town of Afiatic Turkey, in Caramania, 30 

 miles S.W. of Selefkeh. 



SEKMARA, a town of Africa, in the kingdom of 

 Wangara, on the Niger ; 340 miles E. of Ghana. N. lat. 

 45' 30'. E. long. 18°. 



SEKOOBOOM, a fmall ifland in the Sooloo Archipe- 

 lago. N. lat. 5° 5'. E. long. 120° 20'. 



SEL, Le, a town of France, in the department of the 

 llle and Vilaine, and chief place of a canton, in the dif- 

 trift of Redon ; 7 miles N.N.E. of Bain. The place con- 

 tains 3447, and the canton 4971 inhabitants, on a territory 

 of 1325 kiliometres, in 7 communes. 



Sel, in the Materia Medica of the Ancients, a name given 

 to the fruit of an Indian plaiit, refembling the cucumber 

 in its manner of growth, but bearing a fruit like a piita- 

 chia-nut. 



There are three of thefe fruits mentioned by the Arabian 

 writers, the bel, fel, znAfel. 



They tell us exprefsly that the bel and fel, as alfo the fruit 

 fel, were not the fruit of a tree, hut of a plant, and that 

 of the creeping kind. It is very probable, that the other 

 fel of Avicenna is the roct of the nymplnea Indica, which he 

 mentions in the chapter of nenuphar, as poiTefTrng the fame 

 virtues v/hich he attributes to this fort of fel, or the fame with 

 thofe of mandrake. 



SEL A, in Ancient Geography, a town of Palefline, in the 

 tribe of Benjamin, according to Jofhua. Here Saul was in- 

 terred in the tomb of his father Cis. — Alfo, a river of 

 Peloponncfus, the mouth of which is placed by Ptolemy on 

 the coaft of Mellenia, between the promontory Cyparifuni 

 and the town of Pybus. 



SELABINA, in Geography, a town of Hungary, 4 

 miles S.W. of Rofenburg. 



SELACHLEA, a town of Abyffinia ; 20 miles E. of 

 Sire. 



SELAGEREH, a town of Afl'am, on the Burram- 

 pooter ; 60 miles N.W. of Ghcrgong. 



SELAGINOIDES, in Botany, the name of a genus of 

 molles in the arrangement of Dillenlus, a fpecies of ly>.o- 

 podium 5 the characters of which are thefe : the capiules 

 are produced in the alas of the leaves, in the manner of thole 

 in the felago, but they are of a different form, being tricoc- 

 cous, and fometimes quadricoccous, and opening, when 

 mature, into fo many valves. 



Of this genus of mofs we have only one known fpecies, 

 which is the prickly felagiuoides, commonly called feeding 

 mountain mofs. This is found in the mountainous parts 

 of Yorkfhire, and in Wales, and loves rocky and moill 

 places. 



SELAGO, an ancient generic name in the works of 

 Pliny, who obferves that the plant fo called was in great 

 repute among the Celtic nations ; its juice being cxprcfTed 

 and uicd by the Druids as a remedy for many diforders, 

 efpecially for difeafes in the eyes. The name indeed (fays 

 DeTlieis) is cxprefTive of this latter quality, being derived 

 from the Celtic words yf/, fight, znAjack, good or falutary. 

 Tiie celebrated hall of Fingal, recorded in Ollian's poems, 

 owes its appellation to tlie fame fource, Selma meaning beau- 

 tiful to behold, helle-'vue. Selago has alfo been thought to be 

 derived from felego, to choofe ; the Druids having gathered 

 or felefted it both for medicinal and religious purpofes. It 

 is impoffible to make out the reafons which induced Linnxus 

 to apply this name to the genus under confideration, which 

 appears to have nothing in common with the celebrated fuc- 

 culent Selago of the ancients. — Linn. Gen. 317. Schrcb. 

 399. Willd. Sp. PI. v. 3. 181. Mart. Mill. Dift. v.4. 

 Ait. Hort. Kew. v. 3.431. Juff. no Lamarck Illuftr. 



t. 521. Gsertn. t. 51.— Clafs and order, Didynamia Gytn- 

 nofpermia. Nat. Ord. Aggregate, Linn. Vitices, Juff. 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Perianth inferior, of one leaf, fmall, 

 permanent, cloven into four, occafionally five, fegments, the 

 lower one larger. Cor. of one petal : tube very fmall, 

 thread-ihaped, fcarcely perforated : limb fpreading, five- 

 cleft ; the two upper fegments fmaller, the bottom one 

 larger. Stam. Filaments four, capillary, the length of 

 the corolla, to which they are attached, the two upper 

 ones longer ; anthers fimple. Pifl. Germen fuperior, 

 ronndifh ; llyle fimple, as long as the Itamens ; iligma fimple, 

 acute. Peric. none, except the corolla involving the feed. 

 Seeds one or two, roundilh. 



Eil. Ch. Calyx four-cleft. Corolla a capillary tube, 

 with an almoft equal limb. Seeds one or two. 



Juffieu obferves that all the fpecies of Selago are herbaceous 

 or (lirubby ; and that the flowers in molt of them are allied 

 to thofe of Eranthemum and Verbena. — Willdenow enume- 

 rates twenty fpecies, and fo does profefTor Martyn. From 

 the joint ttock of thefe two authors, the following ones are fe- 

 lefted, as an epitome of the genus. They are all natives of 

 the Cape of Good Hope, flowering for the molt part be- 

 tween .June and September. 



S. corymbofa. Fine-leaved Selago. Linn. Sp. PI. 876. 

 (Camphorata africana umbellata frutefcens ; Commcl. 

 Hort. V. 2. 79. t. 40.) — Corymb much divided. Flowers 

 feparate. Leaves thread-fhaped, in bundles. — Stems flender, 

 woody, feven or eight feet high, branched, not ftrong 

 enough to fnpport themfelves. Leaves fhort, linear, hairy, 

 in axillary clutters. Floiuers fmall, perfedlly white. 



S. polyfiachya. Many-fpiked Selago. Linn. Mant. 250. 

 (Valerianella africana fruticans, foliis erici ; Commel. Hort. 

 V.2. 221. t. Ill ?) — Corymb compofed of numerous cluftered 

 fpikes. Leaves ihread-fliaped, in bundles.— i'/fw ereft, fix 

 ii'ches high, branched at the top. Leaves foniewhat rigid; 

 linear, fliort. Floiuers numerous, white. 



5. Rapunculoides. Rampion-leaved Selago. Linn. Sp. 

 PI. S77. Amer. Acad. v.4. 319. (Rapunculus, foliis an- 

 guftiifimis, dentatis, floribus umbellatis ; Burm. Afr. 1 13. 

 t.42. f. I.) — Spikes forming a corymb. Leaves toothed. — 

 Root long, woody, creeping, fibrous. Stems erect, fimple, 

 two feet high, thick, rough. Leaves feffile, very narrow 

 and rough, toothed and pointed. Flowers terminal, corym- 

 bole, nearly umbellate. 



S.fpuria. Linear-leaved Selago. Linn. Sp. PI. 877. 

 (Melampyrum africaiium, fpicatum, foliis anguflifCmis den- 

 tatis ; Burm. Afr. 115. t.42. f. 3.) — Spikes corymbofe. 

 Leaves linear, with fmall teeth. — Stem about two feet in 

 height, branched, round, purplifli. Leaves alternate, cluf- 

 tered, refembling thofe of Hehenflreitia dentata. Floiuers 

 in ovate, oblong fpikes, clofely imbricated, violet-co- 

 loured. 



6. fafciculata. Clufler-flowered Selago. Linn. Mant. 

 250. Jacq. Ic. Rar. v. 3. t. 496. Collect, v. 3. 246. — 

 Corymb much divided. Leaves obovate, fmooth, ferrated. 

 Stem quite fimple, ereft, about two feet high. Leaves al- 

 ternate, oblong, ferrated except towards the bafe, fligiitly 

 decurrent, dark green above, yellowifh underneath. Floiuers 

 purple or violet-coloured, forming an elegant, terminal, 

 capitate corymb. 



S. ovata. Oval-headed Selago. Willd. n. II. Curt. 

 Mag. t. 186. (Lippia ovata; Linn. Mant. 89.) — Spikes 

 conical, cylindrical, terminal. Leaves fcattered, linear. 

 Stem flirubby. — A proftrate/6rni, about a foot high. Stems 

 flender, hairy, branched. Leaves flightly Uiceulent ; feve- 

 ral fmaller ones at each axil, generally ternate. Floiuers 

 white, with a yellow fpot on the two uppcrmoll fegments, 



and 



