ACT 



liitle tliicknefs, or pi'lp. We liave examined only one fpeci- 

 men of this fruit, but the above appears to be the true 

 meaning of the author whom we follow, that the ftiell of the 

 vut is covered with fmall external cells, like a minute ii-re- 

 gular honey-comb, to which the pulp of the drtipa, filling 

 the interilices of the lobes of the nut only, is attached. 

 This character Mr. Brown ieems to confider as very 

 pecuhar. 



1. A. divarlcata. Spreading-leaved Acrotriche. Br. 

 71. I. — Leaves lanceolate, pointed, divaricated, flat, green 



on both fides. Spikes axillary Found by Mr. Brown, at 



Port Jackfon, New South Wales. We are not certain of 

 having met with this fpecies, among the various fpecimens 

 fent by Dr. White, though one of them anfwers nearly to 

 the charafters, as far as we are able to inveftigate them. 

 This fpecimen greatly refembles Monotoca fcoparla (fee 

 that article) ; but the leaves are more divaricated, or deflexed, 

 and not glaucous at the back. 



2. A. aggregata. Aggregate Acrotriche. Br. n. 2 



" Leaves oblong-lanceolate, rather concave ; glaucous be- 

 neath ; fmooth at the edges." — Obfervedby Mr. Brown, in 

 the tropical region of New Holland. 



3. A. ramtflora. Flowery-branched Acrotriche. Br. 



11. 3 "Leaves linear-lanceolate, pointed, divai-icated ; 



ribbed, and difcoloured, beneath ; recurved at the edges. 

 Spikes fmaU, fituated on the branches." — Gathered by the 

 lame diftinguifhed botanift, on the fouthern coaft of New 

 Holland. 



4. A. ferrulata. Finely-ferrated Acrotriche. Br. n. 4. 

 ■—Leaves hnear-lanceolate, fpinous-pointed, fpreading, hairy 

 or nearly fmooth ; their edges fringed. Spikes axillary. — 

 Gathered by Mr. Brown in Van Diemen's ifland, as well as 

 on the fouth coaft of New Holland. We have fpecimens 

 collefted by general Grofe, communicated by A. B. Lam- 

 bert, efq, A fmaU Avizri Jhrub, with denfely tufted, hairy 

 branches. Leaves crowded, one-third or half an inch long, 

 each tipped with a yellowifh prickle ; three-ribbed, and 

 rather glaucous, beneath ; more or lefs hairy on both fides ; 

 their edges fringed with minute ftiff hairs, as if ferrated. 

 Floiuers in fhort, lateral, ereft clufters. Drupa the fize of 

 hemp-feed, deprefled, glaucous, or rather filky. Nut of 

 five radiating lobes, or cells, the furface curioufly and 

 minutely cellular. 



5. A. patula. Spreading-branched Acrotriche. Br. 

 n. 5. — " Leaves ovato-lanceolate, fpinous-pointed, flattifh, 

 divaricated as well as the branches. Spikes fmall, axillary." 

 — Native of the fouthern coaft of New Holland. Brown. 



6. A. ovalifolia. Oval-leaved Acrotriche. Br. n. 6. — 

 •' Leaves ovate or elliptical, obtufe, pointlefs, flat, fmooth- 

 edged. Spikes axillary. Drupa flightly cellular." — 

 Gathered by Mr. Brown in the fame country as the laft. 



7. A. cordata. Heart-leaved Acrotriche. Br. n. 7. 

 ( Styphelia cordata ; Labill. Nov. HoU. 46. t. 63. ) — Leaves 

 heart-lhaped, flat ; Itriated beneath. Flowers axillary, foli- 

 tary or in pairs. — Found by Labillardiere, in Van Leuwin's 

 land. A fpan high, ereft, with fmall, rigid, thick leaves. 

 Drupa fcarcely bigger than muftard-feed. Mr. Brown, not 

 having feen this plant, is not abfolutely certain of its genus ; 

 though Labillardiere's defcription of the corolla anfwers to 

 yicrotriche. 



8. A. depreja. Proftrate Acrotriche. Br. n. 8 — 

 " Leaves ovate, fomewhat heart -fhaped, pointed, divari- 

 cated ; convex above ; veiny beneath. Stem deprefTed. 

 .Spikes fmall, on the branches." — Gathered by Mr. Brown, 

 on the fouth coaft of New Holland without flowers, and 

 with unrijje fruit. 



ACT of Faith, 1. 2, day which was held ; and let the 

 Vol. XXXIX. 



ACT 



whole article refer to part time. To the article fubjoln. 

 fuch were the horrors of tlie inquifition in the reign of 

 Pliilip n. yluto da Fes have not been frequent in late 

 times ; and it is perhaps more than half a century fince the 

 laft, in which criminals were burnt. 



Act of Honour, in Commerce, an inftrument drawn by a 

 notary, when a bill is accepted for the honour of another 

 perfon. 



Acts, in Poetry, col. 2. 1. ult., dance, are indeed divided ; 

 but to compenfate for this retrenchment, the two concluding 

 dances are fpun, &c. 



ACT^A, in Botany, fee our former article, (thu8 named, 

 it is generally thought, from axl», thejhore, as being a plant 

 that inhabits the fea<oaft, or the margins of waters. But this 

 is not appropriate ; and we fliould rather fuppofe Linnaeus, 

 the author of the name, had in his mind the refemblance of 

 the plant, in fome refpefts, to Elder, aK^aia of the Greeks. ) 

 — DeCand. Syft. v. I. 381. Linn. Gen. 261. Schreb. 349. 

 Willd. Sp. PI. v. 2. 1 139. Mart. Mill. Dift. v. i. Sm. 

 Fl. Brit. 562. Prodr. Fl. Grac. Sibth. v. i. 356. Ait. 

 Hort. Kew. V. 3. 286. Purfh 366. Jufl". 235. Lamarck 

 lUuftr. t. 448. Gsrtn. t. 114. (Chriftophoriana ; Toum. 

 t. 154. Cimicifuga ; Linn. Syft. Veg. ed. 14. 505. Am. 

 Acad. V. 8. 1 93. Schreb. 369. Willd. Sp. PI. v. 2. 1 244. 

 Mart. Mill. Dift. v. i. Ait. Hort. Kew. v. 3. 324. Purfh 

 372. Juff. 234. Lamarck lUuftr. t. 487. Gaertn. t. 140.) 

 — Clafs and order, Polyandria Mnnogynia, (or rather per- 

 haps Pentagyn'ia.) Nat. Ord. Multifdiquit, Linn. Ranun- 

 culace/e, JufT. Spuria, De Cand. 



Efl^. Ch. Calyx of four leaves. Petals four. Germens 

 one or more, fuperior, ovate. Stigma nearly feflU«. Peri- 

 carp of one cell, with many feeds. 



Perennial herbs. Leaves ftalked, fimple, lobed, or 

 varioufly cut, imitating' compound leaves, according to De 

 Candolle ; (moft of them are certainly compound.) Flowers 

 racemofe, white ; calyx and corolla very fugacious ; flamens 

 generally longer than the petals. Number in the parts of 

 the flower very variable. Stamens fometimes imperfect in 

 one flower, pijlils in another. 



The roots are draftic purges, in fome degree poifonous, 

 and the herbage is not to be trufted. 



Eight fpecies are wild in bufliy rocky ground, or cold 

 woods, of the northern hemifphere ; one in Europe ; in 

 Siberia or Japan two ; in North America five. 



This genus is very natural, notwithftanding a diverfity of 

 charafters in the feveral fpecies. In the Cimicfugit, (which 

 approach Xanthorrhiza and Paonia,) the germens are nume- 

 rous, which, as in true Ranunculacen, become aggregate 

 fruits, burfting at their inner angle. The fecond fcftion, 

 Macrotys, has a fimilar but fohtai-y /ru/V, nor ought it to be 

 feparated from the Cimicifugit, any more than Confolida from 

 Delphinium. Adtea of Linnaeus, the third feftion, has like- 

 wife a folitaryyrui/, exaftly fimilar as to internal ftruclurc, but 

 flefliy ; yet not more to be feparated on that account, than 

 the fomewhat berried fpecies of Clematis from the reft. From 

 thefe confiderations, and the hints of Michaux and Richard, 

 I return to the original opinion of Linnaeus, and diftribute 

 A9<ea as follows. De Candolle. 



We would obferve, in fupport of this decifion of our 

 learned friend, that the anomalies in the fruit of Fumaria, 

 whence many genera have been formed, appear to us ana- 

 logous to thefe of Aa^a. We are always happy to con- 

 cur in the definition and confirmation of natural genera, in 

 preference to the endlefs fplitting and fubdividing of fuch 

 into artificial ones ; which laft, being the eaficft of all things, 

 is moft tempting to a beginner, efpecially as he thinks that, 

 in purfuing it, he is exercifing great fagacity, and refining 



