S E S 



S E S 



half the length of tlie corolla. Seeds numerous, oblong, 

 angular, black. 



Liniixus has erroneoufly referred the above fynonym of 

 Plukenet to his Torenia afiatica, a very different plant. 

 Hence Willdenow was led to omit the prefent fpecies of 

 Sefamum, as very uncertain. S. jaiiamcum, Burm. Ind. 133. 

 Retz. Obf. fafc. 4. 28, is Columiiea longifolia, Linn. Mant. 

 90. Ach'imenes fejamoides, Vahl. Symb. v. 2. 71. Willd. 



Sp. PI. V. 3. 357. . , r 



Sesamum is alfo a name given by fome authors to the 

 myagrum, or gold of pleafure. 



SESBAN, a barbarous and inadmiffible generic name, 

 even when altered by Mr. Purfh into Sejbania, in his Flora 

 of North America, v. 2. 460, 485. Tins name is given by 

 Poiret in Lamarck's Diftionary, v. 7. 126, to a genus fe- 

 lefted by him out of jEschyxomexe, fee that article ; and 

 confiding of the Linnaean JE.grandlflora, cocdnea, and Scfbaii, 

 with feveral others more recently difcovered. Thefe plants 

 are moftlv referred by Willdenow to CoronlUa, with which 

 they do not ill accord. They certainly cannot remain with 

 the original fpecies of Mfchynomaw, which fcarcely differ 

 from Smitiiia, fee that article. 



SESEL, Poiret in Lam. Dift. v. 7. 130, the Amboyna 

 name of a tree, which, according to Rumphius, afl'um ;i a 

 very different appearance on the coaft to what is ufual in the 

 adjacent plains ; the leaves, always Itrongly three-ribbed and 

 entire, lanceolate in the latter fituation, being roundilh-cvate, 

 and much (hortened, in the former. He fpeaks of this plant 

 as allied to Metrofdcros, the wood being fo hard as to fpoil 

 the tools ufcd in cutting it down. Nothing is known of the 

 fruAification, except that the Jlo'!uers form fmall whitilh 

 heads, fublequently brown, and the fruit feems a globofe 

 yellow berry, or drupa. See Rumph. Amboin. v. 3. 64. 



t-36. 37- 



SESELI, an old Latin name for fome plants of the um- 

 belliferous family, which may pofTibly be included in the 

 prefent genus. It is o-stAi alfo in Greek ; but no perfon 

 has been able to give a plaufible Greek etymology of the 

 word, which Ray judges to be barbarous, like fome other 

 names ending in 1. De Theis accordingly, on the authority 

 of James Golius, deduces it from an Arabic word which he 

 writes Seycelyous. — Linn. Gen. 143. Schreb. 193. Willd. 

 Sp. PI. V. I. 1458. Mart. Mill. Dia. v. 4. Ait. Hort. 

 Kew. V. 2. 154. Sm. Prodr. Fl. Gra:c. Sibth. v. i. 199. 

 Purfh v.. I. 197. Jull'. 220. Lamarck Illuftr. t. 202. — 

 Clafs and order, Pentandria Digynia. Nat. Ord. Umbelli- 

 fera. 



Gen. Ch. General Umbel rigid; partial very fliort, of 

 many rays, globofe. General /nvolucrum of very few leaves, 

 or none ; partial of feveral pointed leaves, about the length 

 of the partial umbel. Perianth fcarcely difcernible. Cor. 

 Univer/al uniform ; florets all fertile ; partial nearly flat, of 

 five petals, whofe inflexed points render them heart-fliaped. 

 Stam. Filaments five, awl-ihaped ; anthers fimple. Pifl. 

 Gcrmen inferior ; llyles two, diftant ; ftigmas obtufe. 

 Peric. Fruit ovate, fmall, ilriated, feparable into two parts. 

 Seeds two, ovate, convex and ilriated at the outer fide, flat 

 on the inner. 



Eff. Ch. Umbels globofe, rather rigid. Flowers regular, 

 all fertile. General involucrum of one or two leaves ; par- 

 tial of feveral. Fruit ovate, ilriated. 



Obf. S. Hippomarathrum offers a remarkable exception to 

 the above generic charafter, having a partial involucrum of 

 one leaf, orbicular and toothed, like the wheel of a clock. 

 That of .S. gummiferum is nearly fimilar. 



I. S. Jilifolium. Thread-leaved Meadow-faxifrage. 

 Thunb. Prodr. 51. Willd. n. 1. — Leaves linear-thread- 



fhaped. Stem zigzag, creft. Perianth awl-fhapcd. — 

 Gathered at the Cape of Good Hope, from which we have 

 an authentic fpecimen. The Jlem is a foot high, flightly 

 branched, round, furrowed, fmooth. Leaves two or three, 

 one of which only remains perfe£l, an inch long, undivided, 

 very narrow, acute, ribbed, fmooth, fomewhat channelled. 

 Umbel terminal, of four rigid Ilriated rays, with a general 

 involucrum of as many unequal, lanceolate, ribbed, fmooth 

 leaves, the longell but half the length of the rays. Partial 

 umbels level-topped rather than globole, of ten or more fhort 

 flout angular rays, and feveral lanceolzle partial involucral 

 leaves, of the fame length. The half-ripe_//-u:/ is oblong, 

 about as long as the flalks which fupport it, furrowed, 

 crowned with a very evident calyx, of five awl-fhaped, fharp, 

 permanent, fomewhat fpinous, teeth, finally recurved at the 

 points. AVe have been the more particular in our defcrip- 

 tion, as there is no figure of this plant extant, and few 

 botanills would recognize it for a Sefeli. 



2. S. pimpinelluides. Nudding Meadow-faxifrage. Linn. 

 Sp. PI. 372. Willd. n. 2. — Stem declining, and umbels 

 drooping, before flowering. Leaves pinnate ; leaflets doubly 

 pi:;natifid, with alternate, flat, linear, decurrent fegments. — 

 Native of the fouth of Europe. Cultivated by Linnx-us at 

 Upfal. Perennial. Stem a foot high, flightly leafy, round, 

 finely flriated, fmooth, decumbent at firlt, but firmly ereCi as 

 the Jloiuers come to perfetlion, and bearing about three 

 rather large vmbels, which in a young Hate droop, like thofe 

 of Pimpinella Saxifraga. Radical leaves llalked, a fpan 

 long, fmooth, of a light glaucous green ; their fegments 

 fpreading, acute, entire, veiny, very uniform. Floiuers 

 white. Partial involucrum of one or two, almoll capillary, 

 leaves. Seeds a quarter of an inch long, nearly oval, with 

 five elevated ribs, three of which are central, two marginal, 

 and dark intermediate furrows. 



3. S. montanum. Mountain Meadow-faxifrage. Linn. 

 Sp. PI. 372. Willd. n. 3. Ait. n. I. (S. multicaule ; 

 Jacq. Hort. Vind. v. 2. 59. t. 129. Carvifolia ; Vaill. 

 Paris, t. 5. f. 2.) — Footflalks under the branches oblong, 

 entire, with a membranous edge. Stem-leaves with linear 



very narrow fegments. Seeds downy Native of hillocks 



in Italy and France. Cultivated at Oxford in the middle of 

 the 17th century. A hardy plant, flowering in fummer. 

 Root perennial, tapering, crowned with the fibres of decayed 

 footflalks. Stems ereCl, from one to three feet high, round, 

 ftriated, fmooth, branched, leafy. Leaves doubly pinnate, 

 three-cleft ; the fegments of the upper ones longell, nar- 

 roweil, and moil glaucous ; X.\te\r footJlaHs fheathing, clofe, 

 ftriated, with more or lefs of a membranous border, entire 

 at the fummit. Umbels fmaller than in the preceding, ere£l, 

 white, of many rays, fometimes accompanied by a general 

 involucral leaf. Seeds obovate, one-fourth the length of the 

 former, ribbed, minutely downy. 



4. S.Jlriatum. Furrowed Meadow-faxifrage. Thunb. 

 Prodr. 51. Willd. n. 4. — " Footflalks under the branches 

 with a membranous edge, emarginate. Stem ftriated. 

 Leaflets awl-fhaped, channelled." — Native of the Cape of 

 Good Hope. Thunberg. 



5. S. glaucum. Glaucous Meadow-faxifrage. Unn. Sp. 

 PI. 372. Willd. n. 5. Ait. n. 2. Jacq. Auftr. t. 144. 

 — Footflalks under the branches oblong, entire, with a mem- 

 branous edge. Branches fpreading. Leaflets linear, chan- 

 nelled, fmooth, glaucous, longer than their footflalks. Seeds 

 ovate, downy. Umbels lax. — Native of France. To de- 

 fine the difference between this plant and S. montanum is very 

 difficult. The glaucum has longer leaflets, and the primary 

 divifions of its radical leaves feem to be always flalked, not 

 fitting clofe to the mid-rib. The branches are more divari- 



cated. 



