S P E 



S P E 



made fmooth, with a fine glofs, free from rings and fears, 

 fuperior to the fined wax candles in colour and luftre ; and, 

 when genuine, leave no fpot or ftain on the fined filk, cloth, 

 or linen. 



In medicine, fpermaceti is demulcent and emollient ; but 

 for internal ufe it poflefTes no advantages fuperior to thofe 

 of the bland oils. It is ufed in dyfentery and irritations of 

 the alimentary canal, and alfo in catarrh and phthifis ; but 

 in the latter cafes it is lefs beneficial than the bland oils. 

 Some imaginary virtues have been afcribed to fpermaceti, 

 which have occafioned the life of it by women in child-bed. 

 In its combination with water by means of the yolk of egg, 

 it is a pleafant vehicle for opium, when the after-pains are 

 troublefomc. It forms a part of the compofition of feveral 

 ointments. The dofe is from jfs to 3jfs, rubbed with 

 fugar, or in the form of emulfion. It poflefl'es a property, 

 which is that of foftening the Ikin, which has occafioned its 

 being ufed by the ladies in pades, waflies, &c. Its officinal 

 preparations are the " ceratum fimplex" of the Edinb. Ph., 

 formed of fix parts of oUve oil, three parts of white wax, 

 and one part of fpermaceti ; the " ceratum cetacei" of the 

 Lond. Ph. (fee Ceratum); the " unguentum cetacei," 

 or fpermaceti ointment, of the Lond. Ph., formed by melt- 

 ing together, over a flow fire, fix drachms of fpermaceti 

 and two drachms of white wax, and dirring them condantly 

 till they be cold ; and the " unguentum fpermatis ceti," or 

 ointment of fpermaceti, of the Dubl. Ph., formed by mak- 

 ing half a pound of white wax, one pound of fpermaceti, 

 and three pounds of prepared lard, into an ointment. Thefe 

 ointments conditute the ordinary dreflings for blidered fur- 

 faces and excoriations. 



SPERMACOCE, in Botany, fo named by Dillenius, 

 in his Horlus EUhamenfis 369, from <nrt^i^cc, feed, and axwKn, 

 a Jharp paint, in allufion to the little ercft beaks of the cap- 

 fules.— -Linn. Gen. 50. Schreb. 66. Willd. Sp. PJ. 

 V. I. 568. Mart. Mill. Dift. v. 4. Ait. Hort. Kew. 

 V. I. 232. Purdi loj. Julf. 197. Lamarck Illudr. t. 62. 

 Gaertn. t. 25. — Clafs and order, Tetrandria Monogynia. 

 Nat. Ord. Stellatte, Linn. Rubiacex, Juff. 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Perianth fmall, fuperior, with four 

 teeth, permanent. Cor. of one petal, funnel-fhaped ; tube 

 cyhndrical, flender, longer than the calyx ; limb in four 

 deep, obtufe, widely fpreading, fomewhat reflexed feg- 

 ments. Stam. Filaments four, awl-fhaped, diorter than the 

 corolla ; anthers fimple. Pifl. Germen inferior, roundidi, 

 comprelfed ; dyle fimple, divided in the upper part ; dig- 

 mas obtufe. Perk. Capfules two, combined, oblong, 

 gibbous externally, flat on the inner fide, obtufe, each 

 with two beaks. Seeds folitary, roundidi, rolled in at the 

 edges. 



Ed. Ch. Corolla of one petal, funnel-diaped. Capfules 

 two, combined, each crowned with two teeth. 



A genus of extra-European weeds, not recommended by 

 any beauty of afpeft, or known utihty, chiefly the produce 

 of the Wed Indies, or the warmer parts of North America, 

 a few fpecies only being found in the Ead Indies. The 

 plaHts are generally herbaceous, in many indances annual, 

 often rough, with oppofite, fimple, entire /eaves ; ftieathing, 

 membranous, jagged or hr'Aly, Jiipulas, like many of the 

 fame natural order ; and numerous, fmall, white, reddifti, 

 or blueifti, whorled or capitate, foivers. 



Eight fpecies are enumerated in Linn. Syji. Veg. ed. 14, 

 of which the fevcnth, 5. procumbens, is the" fame as Hedyotis 

 frutlcofa of Linnaeus. Willdenow has twenty fpecies, to 

 which three new ones are added by Purfh. Five find a 

 place in the Hortut Keiuenjis. We (hall feleft a few ex- 

 amples, fafficient to give a general idea of the whole. 



S. tenu'ior. Slender Button-weed. Linn. Sp. PI. 147, 

 Willd. n. 1. Ait. n. i. (S. verticillis tenuioribus ; Dill. 

 Elth. 370. t. 277. f. 359.) — Stem fmooth, ereft. Leaves 

 lanceolate ; rough on the upper fide. Flowers whorled. 

 Stamens fhorter than the corolla. Fruit hairy. — Native of 

 the Wed Indies. Found alfo, according to Purfli, in dry 

 gravelly fituations, from Virginia to Carolina, flowering 

 from June to Augud. Root annual. Stem fquare. Leaves 

 an inch and a half long, lanceolate, acute. Flowers very 

 fmall, white. 



S. glabra. Smooth Button-weed. Michaux Boreal- 

 Amer. v. i. 82. Purfli n. 2. — Stem fmooth, procumbent. 

 Leaves ovato-lanceolate, fmooth on both fides. Flowers 

 whorled. Fruit fmooth.— On the banks of rivers in mod 

 of the wedern territories of North America, flowering in 

 July and Augud. The plant is annual. Flowers white, 

 longer than in the former. 



S. verticil/ata. Denfe-whorled Button-weed. Linn. Sp. 

 PI. 148. Willd. n. 9. Ait. n. 4. (S. verticUhs glo- 

 bofis ; Dill. Elth. 369. t. 277. f. 358.) — Hairy. Leaves 

 lanceolate. Whorls globofe, many-flowered. — Native of 

 Africa. Cultivated by Sherard. The Jlem is flirubby, 

 ereft, branched, with numerous, narrow, fomewhat cluf- 

 tered leaves, and denfe whorls of fmall, white, very copious 

 powers. Such is the Senegal plant, defcribed by Dillenius. 

 The Jamaica fpecimen from Brown, which is fmooth, and 

 which led Linnxus to admit that circumdance into his fpe- 

 cific definition, may poflibly be a diiferent fpecies, but we 

 have not fufficient materials to decide this point. Svvartz 

 fpeaks of this lad as having, when in flower, the fmell of 

 Meblot. 



S. hirta. Rough Hairy Button-weed. Linn. Sp. PI. 

 148. Willd. n. 12. Swartz Obf. 4J. (S. n. 3 ; Browne 

 Jam. 141.) — Stem branched, hairy. Leaves ovato-lanceo- 

 late, rough with callous points. Flowers axillary, crowded, , 

 feffile. Stamens prominent. — Native of dry grafly places 

 in the Wed Indies. Root annual. Angles of the Jlem 

 rough with recurved bridly hairs. Leaves ftslked, an inch 

 and a half or two inches long, rough like a file, efpecially 

 on the upper fide. Stipulas fringed with long taper bridles. 

 Flowers fmaU, whitidi, with blue anthers. Fruit hairy. 



S. villo/a. Shaggy Button-weed. Swartz Prodr. 29. 

 Ind. Occ. 1943. Willd. n. 13. (Pulegium fruticofum 

 ereftum, verticillis denfiflimis ; Sloane Jam. v. i. 170.) — 

 " Stem ftiaggy, flightly branched. Leaves ovato-lanceo- 

 late, downy ; the uppermod four together. Flowers 

 whorled. Stamens diorter than the corolla." — Native of 

 fields and meadows, in the fouthern part of Jamaica, flower- 

 ing all the year round. The Jlem is herbaceous, a foot 

 high, but little branched, fquare, clothed with foft hairs. 

 Leaves obtufe, with bridly ribs. Flowers white, with 

 whitidi, nearly feffile, anthers. Swartz. 



S. procumbens. Procumbent Corymbofe Button-weed. 

 Linn. Syd. Nat. ed. 12. v. 2. 115. Willd. n. 19. (S. 

 corymbofa ; Linn. Sp. PI. 149.) — Stem procumbent. 

 Leaves linear-lanceolate, entire, fmooth-edged. Corymbs 

 lateral, dalked, many-flowered. — Native of the Ead or 

 Weit Indies. Of this we have feen only an imperfeft fpeci- 

 men, in the Linnasan herbarium, which we diould rather 

 guefs to belong to Hedyotis, but the fruit is not in a date 

 to decide that quedion. The leaves are an inch long. 

 Flowers in roundirti corymbofe heads, compofed of crowded 

 leafy whorls, on axillary compreded dalks. Calyx re- 

 curved, downy. Corolla hairy within. Stamens pro- 

 minent. 



S. hyjffopifoUa. Hyflbp-leaved Button-weed. Sm. Inf. 

 of Georgia, v. i. 75. t. 38. — Stem decumbent. Leaves 



linear- 



