UVULAKIA. 



The fear of hemorrhage, and the recommendation of the 

 ligature, in thefe cafes, are almoft abfurd, notwithftanding 

 the contrary ftatements of a few modern writers. 



UVULARIA, in Botany, a genus eftablilhed and named 

 by Linna;us, is recorded, Phllof. Bot. 1 68, to owe this ap- 

 pellation to the refemblance of its infiorefcence to the uvula, 

 "Jigura inflorefcnitia uvula." Now this not being the cafe 

 with the genus in queftion, though Linnseus fays, in Hort. 

 Cliff. 12\, "fruaificatio uvule injlar dependet," we might have 

 wandered far in fearch of a meaning, or, like our predecefTors, 

 been content with little or no enquiry, had we not Humbled, 

 at the outfet, upon Uvularia as an old fynonym for Rufcas 

 Hypogloffum, to which the firft explanation is obvioufly ap- 

 plicable, on account of the diminutive leaf, not unhke the 

 uvula of the liuman throat, lying over the infiorefcence. 

 Perhaps, therefore, Linnaeus, finding this name unoccu- 

 pied, was the more induced to adopt it for his new genus, 

 on account of the affinity, and refemblance in general habit, 

 of the latter to Rufcus. We cannot juftify the meafure, but 

 it is, at any rate, preferable to deriving the name, as a di- 

 minutive, from UvARiA, (fee that article, ) according to the 

 explanation of De Theis. This indeed would be even lefs 

 intelligible, the Uvar'ia and Uvularia having no charafters 

 in conunon ; it would alfo be totally inadmiffible, no gene- 

 ric names being more contrary to rule, or good fenfe, than 

 diminutives of others already eftabhfhed. (See Vale- 

 RlANELLA and FediA.) — Linn. Gen. 164. Schreb. 219. 

 Willd. Sp. PI. -v. 2. 93. Mart. Mill. Did. v. 4. Ait. 

 Hort. Kew. v. 2. 246. PurlTi 231. Juff. 48. Lamarck 



lUuftr. t. 247. f. 2 Clafs and order, Hexandria Monogynia. 



Nat. Ord. Sarmaitacea; Linn. Lilia, Jufi". 



Gen. Ch. Cal. none. Cor. Petals fix, inferior, oblong- 

 lanceolate, acute, ereft, ilraight, very long. Nedtary an 

 oblong groove in the bafe of each petal internally. Statu. 

 Filaments fix, (liort, rather broad ; anthers vertical, longer 

 than the filaments, ereA, oblong, about half the length of the 

 corolla. Pi/l. Germen fuperior, roundifh ; ftyleone, divided 

 half way down into three parts, thread-fhaped, longer than 

 the llamens ; Iligmas fimple, leflexed, longitudinally downy. 

 Peric. Capfule ovate-oblong, triangular, of three cells and 

 three valves, each with a central partition. Seeds feveral, 

 nearly globular, with a tunicated fear. 



Eff. Ch. Corolla of fix upright petals, inferior. Neftary 

 a chink in the bafe of each. Stamens Ihorter than the co- 

 rolla. Stigmas reflexed. Capfule triangular, of three 

 valves, with central partitions. Seeds feveral, globofe, with 

 a tunicated fear. 



Obf. From this genus is now feparated the U. amplexifo- 

 /m of Linnaeus. ( See Streptopus. ) The genuine fpecies 

 are perennial herbaceous plants, with alternate, fimple, un- 

 divided, entire, fimple-ribbed leaves. Floiucrs axillary 

 or terminal, folitary or umbellate, drooping, yellow, whitifli, 

 or brown. They are all ftrangers to Europe, inhabiting 

 rather mountainous umbrageous fituations, in temperate cli- 

 mates, ajid flowering early in the year. They are obvioufly 

 allied to Frilillaria, but have not fiat feeds, nor are ihejla- 

 etetis equal in length to the corolla. 



I. \5. perfoliala. Pale Perfohate Uvularia. Linn. Sp. 

 PL 437. Willd. n. 4. Ait. n. 3. Purlh n. i. Sm. 

 Exot. Bot. v. I. 95.1.49. (U. perfoliata minor; Mi- 

 chaux Boreal.-Amer. v. i. 199.) — Leaves perfoliate, ellip- 

 tical, obtufe with a fmall point. Corolla bell-ihaped, rough 

 on the infide. Anthers pointed. — Native of North Ame- 

 rica ; in fhady woods, among rocks, in rich vegetable 

 mould, from Canada to Carohna, flowering in May and 

 June. Purjb. Root of feveral fpreading, tapering, 

 flefliy, pale fibj^s. Stem folitary, annual, ereft, twelve or 



fifteen inches high, round, fmootli, leafy ; often a little 

 branched, or fubdivided, in an alternate manner. Leaves 

 perfoliate at near^half an inch from their bafe, where they are 

 quite flat, not undulated ; they are two inches long, fmoolli 

 on both fides ; paler, and rather glaucous, beneath. Flowers 

 terminal, folitary, pendulous, on (hort ftalks. Petals three- 

 quarters of an inch, or an inch, long, of a pale greenifh 

 buff-colour; their inner furface rough with yellowiih protu- 

 berances. Neftariferous furrow linear, and very fmall. 

 Stamens full half as long as the petals. Anther about the 

 length of its filament, burfting longitudinally at the inner 

 fide of each cell, and tipped with an awl-fhaped point. 

 _ The fynonyms coUefted under this fpecies belong to va- 

 rious others, which Linnaeus, in his early acquaintance with 

 the genus, confidered as all the fame, nor have they hither- 

 to been reduced entirely to order, though much has been 

 done to that effect in the Exotic Botany, as v^ell as by Mr. 

 Pur(h. Polygonatum latifolmm perfoliatum Braftlianum, Bauh. 

 Prodr. 136, defcribed as " two cubits high, with perfoliate 

 leaves, two inches broad, and four long, and a large white 

 Jloiuer, whofe narrow petals, five in number, are two inches 

 long," cannot be clearly referred to any known fpecies. 

 The fpecimen is reported to have been obtained by Burfer 

 from Toupinambault, in Brafil, and Linnseus, by a mark 

 in his copy of Bauhin's Prodromus, appears to have feen it. 

 He hints, by a note in the Sp. Plant., that Burfer's fuppofed 

 Brafilian plants all feemed to have really come from Canada. 

 However this may be, Linusus's own herbarium (hews that 

 he confounded fpecimens of different fpecies, as well as their 

 fynonyms, under U. perfoliata, and therefore we dare not 

 confide in him for the above reference, which pofTibly 

 appertains to fome plant unknown to modern botanills. See 

 n. 3. 



2. U. fiava. Small Yellow Uvularia. Sm. Exot. 

 Bot. v. 1. 97. t. 50. Purfh n. 2. Ait. Epit. 376. (U. 

 perfoliata a ; Ker, late Gawler, in Curt. Mag. t. 955. U. 

 caule perfoUato ; Gron. Virg. 51, according to Clayton's 

 defcription. Anonymos pudica ; Walt. Carol. 123.) — 

 Leaves perfoliate, elliptic -oblong, bluntilh ; waved at the 

 bottom. Corolla tapering at the bafe ; rough on the infide. 

 Anthers pointed. — In Ihady woods, on a fandy foil, from 

 New Jerfey to Lower Carolina, flowering in May and 

 June. Purjh. We have no doubt of this being a very dif- 

 tinft fpecies from the former. The leaves are more oblong, 

 and more revolute ; angular or wavy at the bafe. Flower 

 larger, more taper and elongated, with narrower, fharper 

 petals, one inch and a quarter long, yellow, with orange- 

 coloured granulations on the inner furface. Point of the 

 anthers longer and more confpicuous. 



3. \J . grandiflora. Large Yellow Uvularia. Sm. Exot. 

 Bot. V. 1. 99. t. 5 1. Ait. n. 4. Purfh n. 3. Curt. Mag. 

 t. 1112. ( U. perfohata ; Redout. Liliac. t. 1S4, with 

 many erroneous fynonyms. U. perfoliata major ; Michaux 

 Boreal.-Amer. V. 1. 1 99. U. lanceolata ; Ait. n. 2. Willd. 

 n. 3. Polygonatum ramofum, flore luteo majus ; Cornut. 

 Canad. 38. t. 39. Barrel. Ic. t. 723. Sigitlum indicum 

 flore luteo ; Stap. in Theophr. 1067. f. 3.) — Leaves per- 

 foliate, oblong, acute ; wavy at the bafe. Petals fmooth 

 on both fides. Anthers almoft pointlefs. Nectary roundifh. 

 — On fhady hills, in a fertile foil, and amongft rocks, from 

 Canada to Carohna, flowering in June. Purjl:. Nearly 

 twice the fizeof the laft ; the leaves more oblong and taper- 

 pointed, as well as more wavy, and in fome degree plaited, 

 at the bafe. Flowers of a brighter yellow ; their petals 

 full an inch and a half long, more confpicuoufly ribbed, def- 

 titute of internal granulations, and furnifhed with a green 

 roundifh neftariferous deprelEon, more like that of a Fritil- 



laria, 



