L Y C 



L Y C 



have been built by Pififtratiis, or Pericles. Here he de- 

 livered his leftures to a promifcuous auditory in the evening, 

 when the Lyceum was open to all young men without dil- 

 tinftion ; but in the morning his difciplcs were more feleft, 

 and fuch as had been previoufly inllruftcd in the elements of 

 learning, and difcovered abilities and difpoiitions fuitcd to 

 the (ludy of philofophy. The latter he called his morning 

 walk, and the former his evening walk. Ariftotle continued 

 his fchool in the Lyceum twelve years. 



LYCHNANTHUS, in Botany, a name given by Gmelin 

 to the Cucubalus baccifer of Linnaeus, which is fuperfluous, 

 this plant being perhaps the only true Cucubalus ; fee that 

 article. 



LYCHNIDEA. See Phlox and Selago. 

 LYCHNIS, Xuxvi," of the Greeks, which word alfo 

 fignilies a lamp. Hence fome have fuppofed that its bv,- 

 tanical application arofe from the down of the plant having 

 been ufed to make wicks for lamps. This, however, by no 

 means'appears to have been the faft. The moft probable 

 and apparent explanation of the name is from the rcfem- 

 blance of the calyx to a lanthorn, its fides being femi-tranf- 

 parent between the ribs or veins, or the whole, in fome 

 inftances, quite membranous, round, and inflated, like the 

 Iiorn lanthorns ilill ufcd by the Chinefe. Poflibly the ap- 

 pearance of the ftigmas, ilamens, or crown of the corolla, 

 in feveral fpecies, might favour the idea of a lamp with its 

 flame. We mu!i recolletl that this name of Lychnis has 

 been always ufed, with great latitude, for all the Campion 

 tribe, by the old botaniils ; though now reftrifted, by Lin- 

 naeus and his followers, to one particular genus of that 

 family. The (hart mention in Diofcorides, of his \vx'^i, is 

 quite infufficient to determine either the wild or garden plant 

 of which he fpeaks. Linn. Gen. 231. Schreb. 312 

 Willd. Sp. PI. V. 2. 807. Mart. Mill. Did. v. 3. Sm. 

 Fl. Brit. 493. Ait. Hort. Kew. ed. 2. v. 3.'i32. Jufl". 

 302. Lamarck lUuftr t. 391. Gaertn. t. 130. — Clafs 

 and order, Dccandria Paitagynia. Nat. Ord. CaryophyUei, 

 Linn. JulT. 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Perianth inferior, of one leaf, oblong, 

 tubular, membranous, five-toothed, permanent. Cor. Pe- 

 tals five ; their claws the length of the calyx, flat, each 

 crowned with a double ereCl fcale ; border flat, wedge- 

 fliaped, often divided. Stam. Filaments ten, longer, than 

 the calyx, fixed to the claws of the petals, five alternate 

 ones later than the reft ; anther^ incumbent. P'lfl. Germen 

 fuperior, nearly ovate ; ftyles five, awl-fhaped, longer than 

 the ftamens ; ftigmas downy, reflexed contrary to the mo- 

 tion of the fun. Perk. Capfule more or lefs ovate^^ clothed 

 with the calyx, of from one to five cells, opening by five 

 rigid reflexed teeth at the top. Seeds numerous, roughifti, 

 fomewhat kidney-fliaped. 



Obf. L. dio'tca has the ftamens and piftile in feparate 

 flowers and on different plants. L. V'tfcaria has undivided 

 petals, and a capfule of five cells. Some other fpecies are 

 efteemed to vary in the number of their ftyles from five to 

 four, or even three. L. apelala has the corolla concealed 

 within the calyx. 



Eff. Ch. Calyx of one lejtf, oblong. Petals five, with 

 claws ; the border ufually divided. Capfule fuperior, with 

 five teeth at its orifice, of from one to five cells. 



Ten fpecies of Lychnis occur in the fourteenth edition of 

 Syjl. Veg., of which one, alpejlris of the Supplementum, is 

 made by Jacquin, Alton, and Willdenow, a Silcne, furely 

 with great propriety. But there can be no doubt that 

 quadridentata ought to be referred to the fame genus, as 

 having naturally only three ftyles, or at moft but four. 

 Thefe two fpecies being removed hence, the above-men- 



tioned anomaly in the number of the ftyles in the prefent 

 genus is done away ; for alpitui, reputed to have four ftyk-s, 

 is now known to have naturally, if not invariably, five; fee 

 Engl. Bot. t. 2254. We therefore retain but eight of the 

 fpecies of Linnieus, or rather of Murray, for Linnxus was 

 originally correft refpefling the above. To theie eight 

 two are added by Willdenow, from Aiton and Lamarck. 



1. L. chaLedonica. Scarlet Lychnis. Linn. Sp. PI. 625'. 

 Curt. Mag. t. 257. Ger. em. 466. — Tufts terminal, level- 

 topped, many-flowered. Leaves ovate, rough, fomewhat 

 undulated. — This is faid by Gmelin to grow wild in all parts 

 of Ruftia and Siberia. It is one of the oldeft ornaments of 

 our flower-gardens, being a hardy perennial, very ftiowy, 

 and remarkable for the rich deep fcarlet of its blofl\)ms, 

 efpecially when double. Thefe appear in June and July, 

 forming a large, denfe, convex, terminal tuft, two or three 

 inches wide. The Jiem is three or four feet high, round, 

 hairy, leafy, but little branched. Leai>es feflile, oppofite, 

 poinfed, wavy, rough, dark green, clafping the Item with 

 iheir broad, ovate, often combined, bafes. We have never 

 feen the pale red, nor the white varieties, mentioned by 

 authors. 



2. L. Flos cuculi. Meadow Lychnis, or Ragged Robin. 

 Linn. Sp. PI. 625. Curt. Lond. fafc. i. t. 33. Engl- 

 Bot. t. 573. (Armoraria pratenfis ; Ger. em. 600.) — Pe- 

 tals in four deep, linear fcgments. Leaves lanceolate, fmooth. 

 Fruit rounc'ifli, of one cell. — Frequent in moill meadows 

 throughout Europe, flowering in June. The roo/ is peren- 

 nial. Siem twelve or eighteen inches high, with rough an- 

 gles, vifcid above. Leaves narrow. Panicle forked, PetaU 

 pink, very delicate, with a brown, angular, fmooth calyx. 

 There is a double variety, and fome mention a white one. 



3. L. Vifcaria. Red German Catchfly. Linn. Sp. PI. 625. 

 Fl. Dan. t. 1032. Engl. Bot. t. 788. (Mufcipula anguf- 

 tifolia ; Ger. em. 601.) — Petals undivided. Leaves hnear- 

 lanceolate, fmooth. Fruit of five cells.i — Native of dry or 

 rocky paftures in the north of Europe. We have gathered 

 it in the fiffiires of rocks, a mile fouth of Edinburgh, and 

 have it alfo from Perthfliire. It flowers in May and June. 

 A double variety is common in gardens, and a pure white 

 one is fometimes feen. The roots are woody, tufted, and pe- 

 rennial. Herb fmooth. Stem a foot high, angular, brown 

 and very clammy under each joint. Leaves narrow. Floiuers 

 in a denfe, forked, oblong bunch or fpike. Petals crimfon, 

 only nightly emarginale, not cut or cloven. Capfule ovate, 

 of five cells, though this fpecies is fo nearly allied in habit 

 to the foregoing, whofe capfule has but one cell. 



4. L alpha. Red Alpine Campion. Linn. Sp. PI. 626- 

 Tour in Lapland, v. 2. 19. Curt. Mag. t. 394. Fl. Dan 

 t. 6^. Engl. Bot. t. 2254. — Smooth. Petals cloven. 

 Flowers corymbofe. Leaves linear-lanceolate. ^ — Native ef 

 the Lapland, Siberian, Swifs and Pyrenean mountains ; dif- 

 covered on the Clova meuntains of Angusftiire, by Mr. G. 

 Don, in 1795. It is much fmaller than the laft, and not at 

 all vifcid. The petals are divided at leaft half way down, 

 and their crown is but fmall. See Sm. Tr. of Linn. Soc. 

 v. 10. 342, for the coufufion and contrariety of defcription 

 which has attended this fpecies. 



5. L. magellanica. Magellanic Campion. Lamarck 

 Diet. v. 3. 641. Willd. n. 7. — Somewhat hairy. Leaves 

 linear. Petals cloven, (carcely longer than the calyx. — Fruit 

 of one cell. — Gathered by Commerfon in the Straits of Ma- 

 gellan. We know this fpecies folely by Lamarck's account. 

 He compares its habit and foliage to that of Thrift, Statice 

 Armeria, but obferves that it is next akin to L. a^ina, differing 

 in having narrower, and fomewhat downy leaves, fewer and 



larger 



