ADONIS. 



feveral authors, perhaps not improperly, for varieties of one 

 fpecies. The following fynonyms therefore are equally 

 apphcable to all of them. 



Monis. Matth. Valgr. v. 2. 257. 



Flos Adonis, aliis Eranthemum. Bauh. Hilt. v. 3. p. I. 



Adonis radice anna. Linn. Hort. Chff. 231, not 321. 



Sauv. Monfp. 253. ■„ T r e 



J. annua. Lamarck Did. v. I. 45. Brot. Lufit. v.2. 376. 

 A.n. 1 158. HaU. Ilift. V. 2. 66. 



The foUow-ing plants may, in M. De Candolle's opinion, 

 be'efteemed, witTi equal propriety, either fpecies or varieties. 

 He therefore propofes them with hefitation, recommending 

 them to the obfervatiou of praftical botanifts. Whatever 

 difficulties may attend ibme of thefe, we are perfuaded that 

 thev cannot all be united, even thougli the autumKalis and 

 ajlivalis (hould prove the only two that are permanently 

 diftinft, and the foundations of all the reft. . 



I. A. autumnolis. Corn Adonis, or Pheafant's-eye. Linn. 

 Sp. PI. 771. De Cand. n. i. Willd. n. 2. Sm. Prodr. 

 Fh Grsec. Sibth. n. 1263. Fl. Brit. n. i. Engl. Bot. 

 t. 308. Curt. Lond. fafc. 2. t. 37. (Flos Adonis; Cluf. 

 Hift. V. I. 336. Rail Syn. 251. Park. Parad. 293. f. 5. 

 Ger. Em. 387. Lob. Ic. 283. Adonis ; Camer. Epit. 647. 

 A. hortenfis, flore minore atrorubente ; Morif. feft. 6. t. 8. 

 f. I. Eranthemum flore rubro ; Befl. Eyft. xftiv. ord. 5. 

 t. II. f. 2.) — Calyx fmooth. Petals concave, converging, 

 fcarcely larger than the calyx. Seeds fomewhat reticulated, 

 colledled into an ovate head. Stem branched. — Native of 

 corn-fields in various parts of Europe, from Germany to 

 Greece, flowering through the fummer to the end of au- 

 tumn ; not frequent in England, except in gardens, where 

 it is often cultivated amongft other hardy annuals, and as 

 De Candolle obfei-ves, preferves itfelf unaltered from feed. 

 The root is fomewhat fpindle-lhaped. Stem branched, bufhy, 

 round, ftriated, occafionaUy downy. Leaves alternate, dark 

 green, thrice compound, with innumerable, crowded, rather 

 fhort fegments. Calyx pale green ; fometimes purplifh. Co- 

 rolla of that peculiar intenfe crimfon, or blood-colour, which 

 gave occafion to the name of Pheafant's-eye, and probably 

 to the original application of the fable to this very plant, 

 whofe beauty well merits the compliment. Each petal has 

 a violet -coloured bafe. Petals inverfely heart-fhaped, ufually 

 about eight. Fruit ovate-oblong, meafuring hardly an inch. 

 Calyx-leaves gibbous below their infertion. M. De Candolle 

 remarks, that there is occafionaUy, though rarely, a paler 

 variety. This fcems, by Dr. Withering's fpecimens, to be 

 what he found on Salifbury plain, and took for trjlivalis. Its 

 petals are rounded, and do not extend beyond the calyx. 



2. A.fava. Yellow Field Adonis. Villars Cat. Straflj. 

 247. De Cand. n. 2. (A. flore pallido ; Camer. Epit. 648. 

 <' A. fylveftris, flore citrino ; Tabern. Ic. t. 790." A. 

 fylveftris, flore luteo, foliis longioribus ; MiD. Ic. t. 14, 

 f . 2 ? De Cand.) — Calyx fmooth, with (hort fpurs. Petals 

 flat, oblong, twice the length of the calyx. Seeds nearly 

 fmooth, collefted into an oblong head. Stem fcarcely 

 branched. — Common in corn-fields and vineyards in every 

 part of France, and apparently in Germany alfo, flowering 

 in June pnd July. The Jlem is almoft always quite Ample. 

 Flowers yellow, or lemon -coloured, rarely pale orange. 

 Calyx-leaves elongated and unattached at the bafe, almoft 

 as in Sedum and Myofurus. Petals flat, nearly hnear. The 

 flotuers generally almoft rival the fize of A. vernalis, but 

 rhere is a,variety only half as large ; they run into each ofher. 

 De Candolle. 



3. A. micrantha. Small-flowered Adonis, De Cand, 



n. 3. — Calyx fmooth ; not fpurred at the bafe. Petals flat, 

 oblong, rather longer tiian the calyx. Seeds fomewhat 

 reticulated, coUefted into an ovate head. Stem fomewhat 

 branched. — Found in the fouth of France, in fields about 

 Touloufe, A-v-ignon, &c., flowering in May and June. A 

 doubtful fpecies. Flower fmall, yellow, or flame -coloured. 

 Germens few, from feven to ten, compofing a very fliort 

 head. Stem fimple at the bafe, but often a httle branched 

 at tlie fummit. De Candolle. 



4. A. microcarpa. Small-fruited Adonis. De Cand. n. 4. 

 (A. annua, flore minimo, fpica tenui longiffima ; Morif. 

 feft. 6. t. 9. f. 4?) — Calyx fmooth. Petals flat, oblong, 

 twice the length of the calyx. Seeds reticulated, coUefted 

 into an oblong head. Stem nearly fimple. — Native of corn- 

 fields in Spain, near Tudela ; Dufour ; in the ifle of Ivica ; 

 Delaroche : in Teneriffe ; BrouJJ'onet. Perhaps not diftintl 

 iromjlava, n. 2. It appears to differ in the Jlem not being 

 half fo tall, with more crowded foliage. The calyx is 

 fcarcely, or not at all, fpurred at the bafe. Seeds about half 

 tlie fize o{ Jlava, more numerous, and much more reticu- 

 lated, in a head eight or nine lines long. The corolla is 

 either of a lemon-yellow, or fomewhat flame-coloured. De 

 Candolle. We take the liberty of introducing Morifon's 

 fynouym, which feems to anfwer beft to this fpecies, though 

 applied by De Candolle to the feventlu 



5. A. citrina. Lemon-coloured Adonis. Hoffm. Gemn. 

 V. I. 251, under n. i. De Cand. n. 5. (Ranunculus arven- 

 lis, foliis chamaemeh, flore minore luteo ; Tourn. Inft. 291 I 

 De Cand.) — Calyx hairy at the bafe. Petals flat, oblong, 

 longer than the calyx. Seeds collefted into an ovate-oblong 

 head. Stem nearly fimple. Flower almoft feflile among 

 the leaves. — Native of corn-fields in France, Germany, 

 Teneriffe, &c. A fmall plant, with an ereft, moftly fimple, 



Jlem, and httle yellow folitary _/7o'U'f ;v. Bafe of the calyx 

 rough with hairs. Perhaps the fynonyms may rather belong 

 to microcarpa, or to micrantha. De Candolle, 



6. A. Jlammea. Flame-coloured Adonis. Jacq. Auftr. 

 t. 355. De Cand. n. 6. Willd. n. 3. Ait. n. 3. Hoft. 

 Syn. 308. Hoffm. Germ. v. i. 251. (Eranthemum flore 

 flammeo ; Befl. Eyft. asftiv. ord. 5. t. 11. f. 3 ?) — Calyx 

 hairy at the bafe. Petals flat, oblong, fomewhat acute, 

 longer than the calyx. Seeds collefted into a cyhndrical 

 head. Stem branched. Flowers ftalked. — Native of corn- 

 fields in Auftria, flowering in fummer ; Jacquin. In Brunf- 

 wick ; Hoffmann. The Jlem is two feet or more in height, 

 branched from the bottom all the way up, furrowed, fmooth 

 or hairy. Fooljlalis hairy. Leaves light-green, with 

 lanceolate fegments. Flotuers large, on long ftalks. Calyx 

 acute, jagged, reddifli. Petals eight or nine hnes in length, 

 fomewhat obovate, but more or lefs acute, and frequently 

 toothed ; their colour orange-fcarlet. 



"]. h.. lejlivalis. Tall Scarlet Adonis. Linn, Sp. PI. 771. 

 De Cand. n. 7, Sm. FI. Brit. 587, note. Tour on the 

 Continent ed. 2. v. 3. 16. Prodr. Fl. Grxc. Sibth. n. 1262. 

 (A. miniata ; Jacq. Auftr. t. 354. Hoffm. Germ. v. i. 

 251. A- annua, flore majore phoeniceo ; Morif. feft. 6. t. 9. 

 f. 3. A. fylveftris, flore phoeniceo ; Bauh. Pin. 178. Ane- 

 mone tenuifoha ; Cord. Annot. 151, good.) — Calyx hairy 

 at the bafe. Petals flat, oblong, obtufe, twice the length 

 of the calyx. Seeds reticulated, collefted into a long cyhn- 

 drical fpike. Stem flightly branched. Abundant in corn^ 

 fields of the fouth of Europe, Fr.ince, Italy, &c. ; frequent 

 in Greece, according to Dr. Sibthorp, who from that cir. 

 cumftance, and its coincidence with a figure in the famous 

 old manufcript copy of Diofcorides, at Vienna, was led to 

 conhder this fpecies as the afyE^i-m of that ancient botanift. 



This 



