V I T 



the Marne. Tliis town was, in tlu' 12th century, one 

 of the principal places of the conntry, wlien Thibaut, 

 count of Chartros, who took arms againil Louis the Young, 

 took it by alFault, and fet it on fire, by which many perfons 

 were burned, and great part of the town dellroyed. It was 

 on tiiis account called Brule. The Englilk and Bnrgun- 

 dians in the war with Charles VII. fet fire to Vitry, with 

 fixty villages, in the year 1422. It was a third time burned 

 and ruined by the troops of the emperor Charles V. ; 3 

 miles N.E. of Vitry le Fran<;ois. 



VlTKV /; Frnngols, a town of France, and principal place 

 of a dillrjft, in the department of the Marne, on the Marne ; 

 built by Francis I. after the deftruftion of Vitry le Brule 

 by the emperor Charles V. ; 16 miles S.E. of Chalons-fur- 

 Marne. N. lat. 48° 43'. E. long. 4° 38'. 



Vitry aux Loges, a town of France, in the department 

 of the Loiret ; i 8 miles N.E. of Orleans. 



VITTA, among the Romans, a fillet with which the 

 women in Rome bound their hair. Tlie matrons wore a 

 double one, to diftinguifh them from the virgins, whofe vittce 

 were tingle. 



Vittx were alfo worn by priefts and poets, in which cafe 

 they were made of branches of olive or laurel : the ftatues 

 of the gods were likewile adorned with the vitts, as were 

 altars, the doors of temples, ■vidtims, and fupplicants. 



VlTTA, among Anatomifis, JiUct, or head-band, is ufed for 

 that part of the amnios which fticks to the infant's head 

 when it is juft born. 



ViTTA Cttrulea, in Conchology, a fpecies of dolium. 

 V ITT A, in /tA/Ziyo/'j^fji, a name given by Gaza and fome others, 

 to the fi(h called by others titn'ta, and by the Italians cepole. 

 VITTA RI A, in Botany, fo called by the writer of this 

 rlicle, from villa, a fillet, or ribband, in allufion to the Ihape 



of the frond Sm. Mem. de I'Acad. de Turin, v. j. 413. 



t.9. f. 5. Trads, 243. t. 1. f. 5. Willd. Sp. PI. V. 5. 404. 

 Swartz Syn. Fil. 109. Nov. A6t. Soc. Nat. Scrut. Berol. 

 V. 2. 129. Sprcngel Crypt. Engl. ed. 77, 114. Brown 

 Prodr. Nov. Holl. v. i. 153. Ait. Hort. Kew. v. 5. 522. 

 — Chk znd order, Cry ptogam'ta Filicei ; kOi. annulattc. Nat. 

 Ord. Filices dorjifcra. 



Elf. Ch. Fruftification in longitudinal continued lines, 

 parallel to the midrib at each fide. Involucrum double, 

 uninterrupted ; one feparating towards the margin, the other 

 towards the rib. 



This genus was at firft fuppofed by its author to confift 

 of a folitary fpecies, Pleris iineata of Linnxns ; but Swartz 

 and Willdenow have added feveral others, from their own 

 difcoveries or thofe of Bory de St. Vincent, fo that eight in 

 all are now known. Of thefe, Willdenow has given the 

 mod complete view. They are all of tropical origin. The 

 frond is uniformly fimple and entire, of a long nearly linear 

 form, and either ereft or pendulous ; its texture generally 

 coriaceous. 



I. V. Iineata. Linear Tape-fern. Swartz Syn. n. i. 

 Willd. n. 1. Schkuhr Crypt. 93. t. loi, b. (V. angufti- 

 frons ; Michaux Boreal -Amer. v. 2. 261. Pteris Iineata ; 

 Linn. Sp. PI. 1530. Lingua cervina longifiimis et anguf- 

 tifliniis foliis ; Plum. Amsr. 28. t. 41. Fil. 123. t. 143; 

 copied in Pstiv. Fil. t. 14. f. 3.) — F'ronds linear, very long. 

 Lines folitary, a little within llie margin. — Native of many 

 parts of the Weft Indies. The perennial rout confitls of 

 numerous reddiih fibres, intermixed with fcalee. Fronds 

 feveral, about two or three feet long, and a quarter of an 

 inch wide, acute, coriaceous, fmooth, of a bright green. 

 We find no authority for Swartz'a charaAer of " pendu- 

 lous" in the fpecific definition, except ho alludes to tlie 

 reflexed pollure of the upper half of each frond in Plumier's 



V 1 T 



figure, wliich feems contrived merely to admit the whole 

 plant into the plate. 



2. V. ifoetifolta. Quillwort Tape-fern. " Bory de St. 

 Vincent Voy. v. 2. 325." Swartz Syn. n. 2. Willd. 

 n. 2. — Fronds hnear-threadfhaped, acute, pendulous, very 

 ftraight ; channelled at the top. Lines folitary, marginal. 

 — Native of the ifle of Bourbon, hanging from the trunks 

 of aged trees. Stalks very fcaly. Fronds rigid, from ten 

 to eighteen inches long, hmolvcrum narrow. Capfules pale. 

 WilUteno'w. 



3. V. fdiformis. Thread-rtiaped Tape-fern. Cavan. 

 Leccion. 270. Swartz Syn. n. 3. Willd. n. 3. — Fronds 

 thread-(haped, very long, glaucous. — Native of Peru. 

 Fronds numerous, two or three feet in length, and half a fine 

 only in breadth. Cavanilles. 



4. V. elongata. Long-leaved Tape-fern. Swartz Syn. 

 n. 4. 302. Willd. n. 4. Brown n. i — Fronds linear, very 

 long, coriaceous, riblefs, pendulous. Lines marginal Na- 

 tive of the Eaft Indies, and the tropical part of New Hol- 

 land. Roots creeping, rigid, with downy rufty fibres. 

 Stalks covered with black, (hining, reticulated, hair-pointed 

 fcales. Frond three or four feet long, two lines broad, flat, 

 rather rigid, fmooth, minutely veined. Swartz. 



5. V. ■z.oJlcriJoUa. Grafs-wrack Tape-fern. Willd. n. c. 

 (" V. anguftifrons ; Bory de St. Vincent Voy. v. 1.238, 

 and V. 2. 324.") — Fronds linear, very long, membranous, 

 pendulous. Lines fohtary, marginal. — Found on old trees, 

 in the ifle of Bourbon. Root creeping, fcaly. Fronds five 

 feet long, three or four lines broad, thin ; tapering much 

 at the bafe. Lines very narrow, clofe to the edges. The 

 plant much refembles a Zojlera. IVilldenow. 



6. V. enfiformis. Sword-fiiaped Tape-fern. Swartz 

 Syn. n. 5. Nov. Ac. Berol. n. 3. t. 7. f. i. « Schukhr 

 Crypt. 94. t. loi, b." (V. incurvata; Cavan. Lec- 

 cion. 270. ) — Fronds hnear-fwordfliaped, fomewhat falcate, 

 ereft. Lines folitary, marginal — Native of the Philippine 

 ifles, the Mauritius, and the Eall Indies. The root refemble» 

 that of V. Iineata. Fronds numerous, fix or eight inches 

 high, and two lines broad, curved. Cavanilles. 



7. V. plantaginea. Plantain-leaved Tape-fern. " Bory 



de St. Vincent Voy. v. 2. 325." Willd. n. 7 Fronds 



linear-lanceolate, ereft. Lines folitary, marginal, in the 

 middle part of the frond — Native of the ifle of Bourbon. 

 Root tufted, clothed with blackifh, tapering, mofl elegantly 

 reticulated fcales. Fronds from ten to eighteen inches high, 

 from three to five lines broad, tapering much at each ex- 

 tremity. Lines of frutlification thickifh, pale brown, but 

 four or five inches long. IVil/denoiu. 



8. V. lanceolala. Lanceolate Aggregate Tape-fern. 

 Swartz Syn. n. 6. Nov. Aft. Berol. n. 2. t. 7. f. 2. Ind. 

 Occ. 1603. " Schkuhr Crypt. 94. t. 101, b." (Hemio- 

 nitis Iineata; Swartz Prodr. 129.) — Fronds lanceolate- 

 linear, creft. Lines numerous. — Found on old trce.s, on 

 the mountains of Jamaica. Root fibrous, tufted, rufty, 

 covered with fliining reticulated fcales. Fronds crowded, 

 a foot high, .icute, fmooth, on fliort bordered^j/i..-. Lines 

 two, three, or four on each fide of the rib, between it and 

 the margin, reaching from top to bottom, each furnifhcd with 

 its double involucrum, though verv narrow. Sii'arlz. 



VITTEAUX, in Geography, a town of France, in the 

 department of the C6te d'Or ; 9 miles S.E. of Seinur en 

 Auxois. 



VITTEFLEUR, a town of France, in the department 

 of the Lower Seme ; 20 miles N. of Caudebec. 



V ITT EL, a town of Fiance, in the departmsnt of the 

 Vofgcs ; 9 miles S.W. of Miretourt. 



VITTORIA, LoDOVico, in Biography, author of the 



moft 



