THESIUM. 



h. 15^4; Hall. Hill. V. 2. 265.) — Stems procumbent, un- 

 braiichcd. Clufters fimple. Brafteas ternatc ; the odd one 

 very long. Leaves linear. Flowers tln-ee or four-deft ; 

 their tube prifmatic, as long as the limb. — Native of the 

 mountains of Germany, Siberia, Switzerland, and Italy. 

 We received it from Switzerland, and have gathered the 

 fame on mount Cenis. Haller doubted whether his plant 

 were really liiftinft from Th. Ilnophyl/um, not adverting to 

 the oblong angular tube of tlic ca/yx, which indeed we have 

 not found noticed by any author, except Vahl, nor is it fuf- 

 ficiently indicated in Gerard'j plate. That charaAer how- 

 ever clearly difllnguidies the nlpiniim, which may alfo be re- 

 cognized by its numerous, fliort, fimple, moltly procum- 

 bent, J}ems ; narrower leaites ; very unequal braHeas, the 

 middle one being from three to five times the length of tlie 

 others, and greatly exceeding thc^ower with its llalk. The 

 yruit is cxa£lly oval, copioully marked with branching ribs, 

 but not furnilfied with angles. The^oiw/v, ufually four- 

 cleft, are faid by Haller to have fometimes but three 

 fegments. 



4. Th. ebraBeatum. Naked-flowered Thefium. " Hayne 

 in Schrad. Journ. v. i. 33. t. 7. Termin. Bot. n. 6. t. 26. 

 f. 4." Roth in Sims and Kon. Ann. of Bot. v. 2. 18.) — 

 Stem erett, unbranched. Chiller fimple. Flowers without 

 lateral bratteas ; their tube cup-fliaped, very Ihort. — Found 

 near Berlin, by Mr. Hayne, author of an elegant German 

 and Latin work on botanical terminology. We liavc an au- 

 thentic fpecimen from profetTor Schrader, though we acci- 

 dentally are deficient in tliat fafciculus of his .Journal, which 

 contains the deicription of the prefent fpecies. No difpute 

 can arife as to its difference from all the foregoing. The 

 wide (hallow form of the calyx is like the two firft, but the 

 narrow foliage, and the long narrow terminal bracleas, agree 

 with Tb. nlpinum. The total abfencc of the pair of fmaller 

 lateral bracleas, efFentially diftinguiihes it from all three. 



5. Th. Iiumih. Dwarf Thefium. Vahl Symb. v. 3. 43. 

 Willd. n. 3. (Alchimilla linarise folio, floribus et vafculis 

 in foliorum alis feffilibus ; Shaw Afric. n. 14.) — Stemereft, 

 branched. Flowers axillary, fcffile, five-cleft ; their tube 

 very fhort. Gathered in cultivated ground near Tunis, by 

 Vahl, who refers hither the fynonym of Shaw, apphed by 

 Linnajus, not without fcruple, to his alpinum ; from which 

 therefore it muft of courfe be crafed. The prefent is faid 

 to be annual, with an herbaceous Jlcm .hardly three inches 

 high, branched from the bafe ; branches fmooth, angular, 

 fomewhat divided, as tall as the main ftem. Leaiies linear, 

 thick, numerous, acute, an inch and half long. Tube of 

 the ca/yx fcarcely any ; not elongated as in Th. alpinum. 

 Fruit globofe, rugofe, the fize of Coriander-feed. Fahl. 



6. Th. aujlrale. Aullralian Thefium. Br. n. i.— " Cluf- 

 ter fimple, elongated, fomewhat fpiked. Partial-llalks 

 fiiorter than the flower. Calyx four or five -cleft ; its feg- 

 ments bordered longitudinally, rather longer than the tube." 

 — Gathered by Mr. Brown, at Port Jackfon, as well as in 

 Van Diemen's ifland, and on the fouth coafl of New Hol- 

 land. We have feen no fpecimen 3. 



7. Th. linealum. Line.atcd Thefium. Linn. Suppl. 162. 

 Thunb. Frodr. 45. Willd. n. 4. — " Leaves -linear. Stem 

 round, fomewhat angular ; leaflefs in the lower part : 

 branches ftraight, divaricated. Flowers axillary, ftalked." 

 Linn — Gathered at the Cape of Good Hope, by Thun- 

 berg, who, in his Prodromus, defines it, " leaves lanceolate, 

 remote; branches ftriated, ereft." We have not feen the 

 plant, nor does Mr. Brown mention its name. 



8. Th. fquarrofum. Recurve-lcaved Thefium. Linn. 

 SuppL 162. Thunb. Prodr. 46. Willd. n. 5.-— Leaves 



linear-awlrtiapcd, recurved. Stem round. Flowers axillary? 

 feflile. — From the fame country. Thunbcrg fays iUc Jloivirj 

 are llalked. The younger Linnxus remarks that the re- 

 curved, or reflexcd, 'foliage gives this plant a very Iquarrofe 

 afpeit. It docs not appear that he poffefled any fpecimen. 



9. Th. Frifea. Little Trailing Thefinm. Linn. Mant. 



213. Willd. n. 6. Thnnb. Prodr. 46. — Stem decumbent. 

 Leaves awl-fliaped. Flowers Ipiked ; deniely woolly within. 

 Fruit globofe, wrinkled. — Found at the Cape of Good 

 Hope by Koenig, who fent fpecimens to his preceptor Lin- 

 naeus, under the new generic name of Frifea, by which, we 

 prefnme, he meant to commemorate his own countryman 

 Chrillian Friis Rottbijll ; but Linnieus reduced the plant to 

 Thefium. It is one of tliofe fpecies whofe calyx is dcnfely 

 lined with reflexcd pubefcence, and of which Mr. Brown 

 has, jullifiably perhaps, made a dillindl genus, on that ac- 

 count. Yet it has all the habit of an European Thefium. 

 The little woody knobbed reot fends forth numerous decum- 

 bent, fimple, leafy, roundilb, fmooth flems, two or three 

 inches in length. Leaves not an inch long, linear, acutely 

 pointed ; channelled above. Flowers fefiile, each accom- 

 panied by two fmall acute braBeas. Calyx in five deep, 

 lanceolate, acute fegments, with fcarcely any tube ; their 

 denfe internal white wooUinefs did not efcape IJnnxus. 

 Fruit nearly globofe, much wrinkled, not fo large as Cori- 

 ander-feed. 



10. Th.funale. Stringy Thefium. Linn. Sp. PI. 302. 

 Willd. n. 7. Thunb. Prodr. 45. — Stem with numerous 

 long, nearly naked, branches. Leaves, and lateral brafteis, 

 awl-fliaped, very Ihort. Flowers fpiked ; their fegmer.ts 



lanceolate, denfely woolly within Native of the Cape. 



The Ihrubby round fmooth_y?i;m, with its numerous crowded 

 upright branches, has a very rufliy afpeft. The little leaves 

 are diftantly fcattered. The fpiies are terminal, folitary, 

 fcarcely an inch long, compofed of feveral fmall, crowded, 

 not quite feffile, floiuers, in ftrufture like the lall ; each ac- 

 companied by one ovate, pointed, keeled hraP.ea, and a pair 

 of minute, lateral, awl-lliaped ones. 



11. Th.fpicatmn. Large-fpiked Thefium. Linn. Mant. 



214. Willd. n. 8. — Stem ereft, repeatedly branched. 

 Leaves awl-fliaped, minute, fcattered. Flowers fpiked ; 

 their fegments linear, denfely woolly within. Lateral brac- 

 teas lanceolate. — From the fame country, growing on hills. 

 Allied to the lall, but thrice as large in almoft every part, 

 with a ftout, round, ftraight, determinately branched j?<?m. 

 The leaves however are even more minute than in that fpecies. 

 The /pihs are thick, of numerous, very deniely crowded, 



flrjiaers, which Linnxus defines l(tves, fmooth, apparently 

 in contradiftinftion to thofe of Th.funale ; but however 

 fmooth, or even, like that, externally, their fegments, which 

 are linear, narrow, and parallel, are full as hairy or woolly 

 within. The outer braHcas are much dilated and rounded 

 in their lower half ; the lateral ones alfo ai'e broadly lanceo- 

 late, very different from thofe oi funale. 



12. Th. capltatum. Capitate Thefium. Linn. Sp. PI. 

 302. Willd. n. 9. Thunb. Prodr. 46. — Flowers capitate, 

 ieffile, terminal. Leaves three-edged, pointed, fmooth. 

 Brafteas ovate. Segments of the calyx ftrongly pointed ; 

 denfely woolly within. — Native of the i'ame country. The 



flem is hard and ihrubby, with alternate diftant branches ; the 

 upper ones gradually longer. Leaves alternate, fmall, awl- 

 fliaped, pointed. Heads oifowers terminal, a f'efli branch 

 {hooting out from beneath each. Segments of ihe calyx 

 vei-y much pointed, and internally villous throughout their 

 whole length. Linnaus. In his herbarium are fpecimens 

 which anfwcr to this defcription, though left by him with- 

 out 



