V E L 



V E L 



nearly orbicular,' fcarcely longer than the forich. Cava- 

 nilles fays he found ;J1 the anthers perfect, though Lin- 

 naeus is correft in his defcription of the combined f laments. 

 Veljla, or Ferra, in Geography, a river of the Ligurian 

 republic, whicli runs into the Magra, three miles above 

 Sarzana. 



VELLACHERY, a town of Hindooftan, in the Car- 

 natic ; lo miles S.E. of Madura. 



VELLADY, a town of Hindooftan, in Myfore ; 14 

 miles S. of Damicotta. 



VELLAS, a town of the ifland of Cevlon ; 44 miles 

 W.N.W. of Candi. N. lat. 7^ 45'. E. long. 81° 16'. 



VELLATOOR, a town of Hindooftan, in Myfore ; 

 5 miles E. of Coimbetore. 



VELLECHYPALEAM, a town of Hindooftan, in 

 Myfore; 13 miles N. of Coimbetore. 



VELLEIA, in Botany, received its name from the au- 

 thor of tlie prefent article, in honour of his highly valued 

 friend Col. Thomas Velley, E.L.S., author of a defcrip- 

 tive work on the Submarine Plants of Britain, with coloured 

 plates, in foHo, conllfting of only one fafciculus. This 

 amiable and accompHfhed botanift was unfortunately killed 

 by accident, a few years fince, in the town of Reading, as 

 he was traveUing between Bath and London. — Sm. Tr. of 

 Linn. Soc. v. 4. 217. Brown Prodr. Nov. Holl. v. i. 

 580. Labillard. Nov. Holl. v. 1. 54. (Euthales; Brown 

 Prodr. Nov. Holl. v. i. 579. Ait. Hort. Kew. v. i. 363.) 

 — Clafs and order, Pentandria Moiwgynia. Nat. Ord. Cam- 

 fanaceii, Linn. Campamdaceit, JutT. GoodenovU, Brown. 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Perianth inferior, unequal, either of 

 three or five roundifti leaves, or of one leaf in live fegments, 

 the upper divifion largeft, permanent. Cor. of one petal, 

 irregular ; tube rather longer than the calyx, fpht longitu- 

 dinally at the back, almoft to the bafe, more or lefs tumid, 

 or fpurred, underneath ; limb in five rather unequal, fpread- 

 ing, bordered, broad-keeled fegments, almoft two-lipped. 

 Stam. Filaments five, thread-fhaped, ihorter than the tube, 

 inferted into its membranous bafe, alternate with the feg- 

 ments of the hmb ; anthers eretl, oblong, unconnefted, of 

 two cells, burfting lengthwife. Pifl. Germen fuperior, 

 turbinate ; ftyle angular, rather longer than the ftamens ; 

 ftigma thick, obtufe, encompaffed vAih a membranous, 

 cup-(haped, abrupt integument. Per'ic. Capfule of one 

 cell and four rigid valves. Seeds feveral, orbicular, com- 

 prefled, roughilh, imbricated on both fides of a central re- 

 ceptacle, (hortcr than the valves. 



Eft. Ch. Calyx inferior, three or five-cleft, unequal. 

 Corolla tubular, five-cleft, two-lipped ; tube cloven at the 

 back. Capfule of four valves and one cell. Seeds imbri- 

 cated, orbicular, comprefted. 



Obf. Mr. Brown's Euthales is fo ftriftly united in habit 

 and charafter, except the calyx, with our Vellela, that we 

 cannot but confider it as of the fame natural genus. Our 

 learned friend, from whom we always fcruple to differ, has 

 difcovered fome acknowledged Velleite with five leaves to the 

 calyx, inftead of three, originally attributed to it. Here 

 then is an approach toward the five-cleft, though fingle- 

 leaved, calyx of Euthales. Linnaeus has declared, Phil. 

 xJot. feft. 170, " Raro obfervatur genus in quo pars aliqua 

 frudificationis non aberrat." The calyx appears to be the 

 part in Velleia which runs -wild, if we may fo tranflate it, 

 and ftrikingly confirms the above maxim. We may ex- 

 tend this obfervation to the whole order of Mr. Brown's 

 Goodenoviii, in which even the fituation of the calyx, 

 whether fuperior or inferior, is not uniform ; which cir- 

 cumftance muft lead us to miftruft other differences in 

 the fame part, when not fupported by other charadlers. 

 4 



Without attention to fuch principles as thefe, we may 

 almoft, as Linnaeus fays, make as many genera as fpecies 

 of plants. 



Seft. I. Calyx of one itaf, in Jive fegments. EuTHALES. 

 Brown. 



I. V. trtnervis. Three-ribbed Velkia. Labill. Nov. 

 Holl. V. I. 54. t. 77. (Euthales trinervis ; Brown Prodr. 

 Nov. Holl. V. I. 580. Goodenia tenella ; Andr. Repof. 

 t. 466. Curt. Mag. t. 1 137.) — Calyx tubular, of one leaf, 

 in five acute fegments. Leaves downy. — Native of the 

 fouth coaft of New Holland. Sent to Kew garden in 

 1803, by Mr. Peter Good. A perennial greenhoufe herb, 

 flowering moft part of the year. The root is fibrous. Stem 

 none. Leaves all radical, numerous, downy, more or lefs 

 acute, tapering at the bafe ; fometimes entire ; fometimes 

 toothed, or partly runcinate. Flower-JlaHs numerous, a 

 fpan high, nearly ereft, forked, with a pair of oppofite lan- 

 ceolate braBeas at each divifion. Floivers (talked, ereft, 

 yellow ; keel of each fegment green underneath ; two - 

 upper ones marked in front with a dark brown fpot ; all 

 emarginate ; tube white, enclofing the Jlamens and Jlyle. 

 The flowers feem variable in fize. We ftiould hardly, with- 

 out Mr. Brown's authority, have fuppofed all tlie above 

 fynonyms to belong to the fame fpecies. 



Seft. 2. Calyx of five leaves. Corolla ivith afpur at the 

 bafe, which is permanent. Mexoceicas (afe&ion of Velleia). 

 Brown. 



2. V. paradoxa. Blunt-toothed Spurred Velleia. Br. 

 n. I. — " Downy. Leaves bluntly toothed. "-«-Native of 

 New South Wales, Van Diemen's ifland, and the fouth 

 coaft of New Holland. Brown. 



3. V. arguta. Sharp-toothed Spurred Velleia. Br, 

 n. 2. — " Smooth. Leaves ftiarply toothed." — Gathered by 

 Mr. Brown, on the fouth coaft of New Holland. 



Seft. 3. Calyx of three leaves. Corolla a little gibbous, 

 on one fide, at the bafe. True VelLEI*. Brown. 



4. V. lyrata. Lyrate Velleia. Br. n. 3. — Smooth. 

 Bracteas diftinft. Leaves lyrate, or ftiarply toothed at the 

 bafe. Calyx-leaves roundifti-ovate. — Native of Port Jack- 

 fon. New South Wales. This is our original fpecies of 

 the genus. The leaves, all radical, much refemble thofe of 

 Crcpis teclorum. Stalks a fpan high, rigid, once or twice 

 forked ; one branch at each fork being iometimes wanting. 

 Bra&eas ovato-lanceolate, acute, entire, feparate at the 

 bafe, witli a fmall internal tuft of hairs. Flowers yellow, 

 on lliort partial ftalks. Calyx-leaves quite diftincl, acute, 

 nearly entire, a quarter of an inch long, downy within ; the 

 upper one rather broadeft, and almoft orbicular. 



5. V.fpatulata. Spatulate Velleia. Br. n. 4 — " Smooth. 

 Brafteas dillinft. Leaves fpatulate, almoft without teeth ; 

 quite entire at the bafe ; with axillary tufts of hairs." — 

 Obferved by Mr. Brown near Port Jackfon, as well as in 

 the tropical part of New Holland. 



6. V. pubefcens. Downy Velleia. Br. n. 5. — " Downy. 

 Brafteas diftmct. Leaves toothed. Calyx-leaves oblong- 

 ovate, acute." — Native of the tropical part of New Hol- 

 land. Brown. 



7. V.perfoUata. Perfoliate Velleia. Br. n. 6 — " Smooth. 

 Bracteas very large, combined, roundifti, toothed." — 

 Found by Mr. Alexander Gordon, in the neighbourhood 

 of Port Jackfon, but (een by Mr. Brown in a dried ftate 

 only. 



The whole genus is ftemlefs, and we believe the flowers 



are all yellow None but the firft fpecies has hitherto made 



its appearance in the European gardens, though fome of 

 them might poffibly prove hardy annuals, if not perennial 

 with us. 



VEL- 



