S P H 



S P H 



Sph.erocarpus is alfo applied by fome authors to de- 

 fignate a genus of Fungi, the Trichia of others. See that 

 article. 



SpHjErocarpus of Gmelin, in his faulty edition of Linn. 

 Syft. Nat., is a fcitamineous genus, the Hura of Koenig, 

 now confidered as a Globba. 



SPH^ROLOBIUM, was fo named by the writer of 

 this article, from o-?aif«, a globe, and XoSm, tie diminutive of 

 ?io0o;, apod, to exprefs the roundifh form of its very fmall 

 legume. — Sm. in Sims and Konig's Ann. of Bot. v. i. 509. 

 Brown in Ait. Hort. Kew. v. 3. 13. — Clafs and order, 

 Decandria Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Papilionacee, Linn. 

 Leguminofd, Julf. 



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

 bell-fhaped, two-lipped ; tube angular ; upper lip in two 

 abrupt oblique fegments, united about half way up ; lower 

 in three deep, lanceolate, equal ones ; without any lateral 

 appendajjcs. Cor. Papilionaceous, of five petals, with 

 claws which are fhorter than the calyx ; Itandard kidney- 

 ihaped, emargiiiate, afcendrng ; wings two, half obovate, 

 rather (borter than the ilandard, converging at the upper 

 margin ; keel equal to the wings, of two oblong cohering 

 petals. Stam. Filaments ten, Imear-awl-ihaped, feparate, 

 declining, (liorter than the keel, the two uppermoft with 

 a fpace between them ; anthers roundith, two-lobed. Pijt. 

 Germcn (talked, roundifh; ftyle linear, keeled, rigid, ob- 

 liquely rolled inward, about equal to the keel ; ftigma 

 fmooth, with a membranous dilatation at each fide. Peric. 

 on a (talk half its own length, obhquely orbicular, turgid, 

 pointed, of one cell and two coriaceous valves. Seeds one 

 or two, kidney-fhaped. 



Efl. Ch. Calyx five-cleft, two-lipped. Corolla papi- 

 lionaceous. Stigma keeled, with a membranous border. 

 Legume (talked, fpherical, turgid, oblique. Two upper 

 (tamens di(tant. 



1. S. "uimineum. Yellow-flowered Sphasrolobium. Sm. 

 Tr. of Linn. Soc. v. 9. 261. Sims is Curt. Mag. t. 969. 

 Ait. n. I. — " Tube of the calyx rather (horter than the 

 lips. Style curved from the very bafe, included in the 

 keel." Brown. — Native of New Holland and Van Diemen's 

 ifland. Our fpecimens were originally fent, in 1793, from 

 Port Jackfon by Dr. White. Sir Jiifeph Banks is (aid to 

 have introduced the plant at Kew in 1802. It flowers 

 during fummer, requiring the flielter of a greenhoufe in 

 winter. The Jlfm is ereft, flirubby, branched, round, 

 fmooth, modly naked, the youngell branches only bearing 

 a few fcattered, fmall, lanceolate leaves. Flowers numerous, 

 in long (Iraight cluiter;, rather fmall. Calyx fmooth, a 

 little glaucous. Corolla yellow, the diflc o( ihe JlanJard 

 marked with a tranfverfe row of red dots. Legume the 

 (ize of a vetch-feed. 



2. S. medium. Small Red-flowered Splixi'olobium. Ait. 

 n. 2. — " Tube of the calyx half the length of the lips. 

 Corolla red." Drown. — Oblcrved by Mr. Brown, on the 

 foutii-wetl coalt of New Holland, from whence it was fent 

 to Kew, by Mr. Peter Good, in 1803. We know nothmg 

 of this plant, except the above particular.i, borrowed from 

 the Horlus Kewenjis. The name lecms to imply the exiltence 

 of a third fpccifs, of which we have no account. 



SPHjEROMACHIA, (T^xifofx:i.xi'x, ill Anliquily, a par- 

 ticular kind of boxing, in which the combatants iiad balls 

 of (tone or lead in their hands, which were called o-^aijat. 



SPHVEROPHORON, in Botany, from T<^Mfu., a globe, 

 and i?f{a, to bear, becaufe of the globular (ruiftilicatioii. — 

 Ach. Metli. 134. Lichenogr. 116. t. 12. f. 5,6. Syn. 

 286. (Sphirophorus; Perl, in Ult. Annal. fafc. 7. 23.) 



— Clafs and order, Cryptogamia Alge. Nat. Ord. Alge, 

 Lichenes. 



E{f Ch. Receptacle nearly globular, without a border, 

 cartilaginous, with a torn orifice. Seeds compofing a black 

 powdery ball. 



This molt elegant genus of the natural family of Lichens, 

 is at once known by its branched, bufhy, fmooth habit, 

 like that of a coral or coralline. Three fpecies are known. 



1. S. coralloidts. Coral-branched Globe-Lichen. Ach. 

 Syn. n. I. (Lichen globiferus ; Linn. Mant. 133. Engl. 

 Bot. t. 1 1 J. L. fruticofus coralloides, non tubulofus, cine- 

 reus ramofilfimus, receptaculis florum fphsericis concolo- 

 nbus ; Mich. Gen. 103. t. 39. f. 6. Coralloides cupref- 

 fiforme, capituhs globoCs ; Dill. Mufc. 117. t. 17. f. 35. 

 C. globiferum ; Hoffm. PI. Lich. v. 2. 25. t. 31. f. 2.) — 

 Stem pale brown, cylindrical ; its lateral branches elongated, 

 divai-icated, forked, with flender white tips. Receptacle! 

 globofe, fmooth. — Native of mountainous rocky heaths, 

 and fir woods, in the cooler parts of Europe. Abundant 

 in Scotland, Wales, Derbyfliire, &c. The fmooth poliflied 

 brownifh Jlems coinpofe lax tufts, an inch or two high, 

 foil and pliant when wet, very brittle when dr)', refem- 

 bling little groves of coral. The flowering^fmj are llouter, 

 more fimple, and rather taller than the rell, their (trongefl 

 branches each terminating in a fmooth ball of their own 

 fubrtance and colour, fmaller than a pea, opening by a torn 

 mouth at the fummit, and containing a denfe ball of very 

 black powderyyWj. 



2. S. fragile. Brittle Globe-Lichen. Ach. Syn. n. 2. Meth. 

 135. t. 3. f. 5. Engl. Bot. t. 2474. (Lichen fragilis ; Linn. 

 Fl. Suec. ed. 2. 425. Fl. Lap. ed, 2. 351. t. 1 1. f. 4. Ehrh. 

 Crypt. 128. Coralloides fragile; Ho(fm. PI. Lich. v. 2. 

 34. t. 33. f. 3.) — Stem greyilh ; its branches crowded, 

 forked, round. Receptacles obovate, rugofe. Natire of 

 molFy rocks and mountains in the north of Europe. We 

 have found it on the Pentland hills, near Edinburgh, but 

 without fruftification. In this Itate it forms broad patches 

 of denfe, pale grey, branching T^emj-, whole branches are 

 round, lomewhat annular, obtule, level-topped. In fome 

 German and Swedifli fpecimens, larger and llouter branches 

 bear obovate or pear-lhaped receptacles, or feed-veffels, of a 

 dark brown, whofe furfacc is cracked or corrugated, their 

 fize about equal to the preceding. 



3. S. comprejfum. Comprcded Globe-Lichen. Ach n. 3. 

 (Lichen fragilis; Linn. Sp. PI. 1621. Jacq. Mifc. ». 2. 

 92. t. 9. f. 6, c. Engl. Bot. t. 1 14. L. mclanocarpuE ; 

 Swartz Prodr. 147. Coralloides alpinum, corallinx mi- 

 noris facie ; Dill. Mufc. 1 16. t. 17. f- 34.) — Stem white ; 

 its branches comprelled. Receptacles fonicwiiat lateral, de- 

 prefied, fmooth. — Found in moill places, ui.der the fhadi» 

 of rocks, on the mountains of Germany, Switzerland, and 

 England, as well as in the Weft Indies, and at the Cape of 

 Good Hope. This beautiful fpecies, in the polilhed white 

 of its furface, and its fl.it palmate ramifications, exceeds the 

 elegance of the foregoing, and dill more refembles a coral- 

 line. The height of the branching fan-like flem is two or 

 three inches, and the frudtification, when prefent, is copious, 

 ufuallv turned to one fide, fl.iiteiied, often bordered with 

 granulations or (hoots ; the powder inteniely black, mixed 

 with fibres of the fame colour. — In the account given in 

 Englifh Botany, the idea of the lafl. fpecies, in a barren 

 (late, was comprehended under this. 



SPHAGITIDES, a name given by fome authors to 

 the jugular veins. 



SPHAGNUM, ill Botany, a name ufed by I'linv (or 



fome fort of mof« that grows upon trees, adopted by Dil- 



382 leniu: 



