hype] 



Cfje KrtKguvi} of Bfltaitg. 



612 



the Menispermace.a\nnil differing but little 

 from Cocadus save by the anthers which 

 are two-lohed, and originally four-celled, 

 and by the styles which are cylindrical 

 and hooked. [M. T. MJ 



HYPERBOREAN. Inhabiting northern 

 regions. 



HYPE RICA CE^E. (Eucryphieee, Tutsans.) 

 A natural order of tnalamifloral dicotyle- 

 dons, belonging to Lindley's guttiferal 

 alliance of hypogynous Exogens. Herbs, 

 shrubs, or trees with a resinous juice, 

 opposite entire exstipulate leaves, usually 

 with transparent dots and blackish glands, 

 and regular flowers. Sepals four to five, 

 persistent, two outer often smaller ; petals 

 four to five, unequal-sided, twisted in bud, 

 often bordered with black dots ; stamens 

 generally numerous and polyadelphous ; 

 carpels three to five, partially united. 

 Fruit a capsule opening at the septa; 

 seeds numerous and exalbuminous. The 

 plants of the order are generally distri- 

 buted over the world, both in temperate 

 and warm climates. Many species of Hy- 

 pericum yield a yellow juice, and an essen- 

 tial oil. Some of the plants are purgative, 

 others tonic and astringent. Some species 

 of Vismia yield a gum resin similar to 

 gamboge. There are 19 genera, and nearly 

 300 species. Examples: Hypericum, Elo- 

 dea, Vismia, Cratoxylon. [J. H. B.] 



HYPERICUM. An extensive genus of 

 herbaceous or shrubby plants giving name 

 to the order Hypericacece. The sepals and 

 petals are each five in number ; stamens 

 collected into three to five bundles ; styles 

 three to five ; seeds without wings, in a 

 dry capsule. The best known example of 

 the genus is H. calycinum, a somewhat 

 shrubby plant one to two feet high, with 

 large almost evergreen leaves, which, like 

 those of most others in the genus, are cu- 

 riously sprinkled with pellucid dots. The 

 flowers are very large, terminal, solitary. 

 This is commonly planted in shrubberies 

 or extensive rockeries, where it is valued 

 not only on account of its handsome flow- 

 ers, but because it affords excellent shelter 

 for game. H. Androsamum (by some 

 authors made a distinct genus on account 

 of its berry-like capsules) is in the west 

 of England a common hedge or woodland 

 plant, growing to the height of one and 

 a half feet. The stem is two-edged, the 

 leaves large glaucous^ ovate, sessile, with 

 a strong resinous smell ; the flowers, 

 which grow in terminal corymbs, are yel- 

 low,but less conspicuous than the elliptical 

 capsules, which as they ripen turn red and 

 finally black. The leaves were formerly 

 applied to fresh wounds, which they were 

 supposed to heal; hence the plant was 

 called in French toute serine, corrupted into 

 Tutsan, its common English name. The 

 pellucid dots and black glands in all the 

 species contain an essential oil. H. pul- 

 chrum is the badge of the M'Kinnons. 

 French, Millepertuis ; German, Joluuuus- 

 kraut. [C. A. J.] 



HYPERTROPHIA. An excessive de- 



r velopment of one part of a plant to the 

 I deterioration of others. "Where parts of 

 i plants possess valuable properties, art 

 steps in to produce an hypertrophy of those 

 | parts, as in the turnip, radish, &c. Some- 

 times the vegetative powers of a plant are 

 j so strong as to prevent the formation of 

 | flower-buds and fruit. This is called rank- 

 ; ness, and is to be suppressed by the with- 

 , drawal of nutriment and by root-pruning. 

 I C4alls produce hypertrophy on every part 

 j of plants. The roots of melons are some- 

 times gouty from the attacks of a minute 

 | vibrio. The disease called clubbing, which 

 I is a form of hypertrophy, has been already 

 I noticed. Some curious transformations of 

 | plants, a few of which are encouraged by 

 gardeners, are also referable to the same 

 category. [M. J. B.] 



HYPHA. The mycelium, or spawn of 

 certain fungals ; also the filamentous fleshy 

 watery thallus of certain fungoid plants. 



HYPH^ENE. A small genus of African 

 palms confined to and widely distributed 

 throughout that continent, more particu- 

 larly upon the eastern side, extending 

 from Egypt as far south as Natal. The 

 genus is remarkable for having the stem 

 branched, a peculiarity not frequent among 

 palms, each branch terminating in a tuft 

 of large fan-shaped leaves, from amongst 

 which the branching catkin-like spikes of 

 flowers are produced, the different sexes 

 being borne on separate trees. The fruit 

 is about the size of an apple, and has a thick 

 mealy fibrous rind with a smooth polished 

 skin, enclosing a single hollow seed of a 

 horny consistence. 



Hyph 



thobaica. 



H. thebaica, the Doum or Doom Palm, or 



Gingerbread tree of Egypt, grows also in 



Nubia, Abyssinia and Arabia. It seldom 



| exceeds twenty-five or thirty feet in height, 



I and its stem is frequently three or four 



i times forked or branched in old trees, 



