03 



€I)e Cnratfurg of 33Dtan». 



[lype 



1 and some again attain such dimensions that 

 ; thev misht at first sight be really taken 

 i for'conifers. The leaves vary from mere 

 threads to broad imbricated scales. The 

 ! heads of fruit are mostly distinct and cy- 

 lindrical, and sometimes branched. The 

 same species may assume such various 

 [ forms under different circumstances as to 

 be recognised with difficulty. Dr. Hooker 

 : has given a remarkable instance of this in 

 ' L. densum, a common New Zealand species, j 

 ! Species of Lycopodium occur in cold, tern- i 

 perate, and tropical countries, and six occur i 

 , in our own islands. L. cernuum, one of 

 1 the most widely diffused species, ascends as 

 ! far north as the Azores, where it is found 

 i in the neighbourhood of warm springs ; 

 and it is found again as far south as St. 

 Paul's. 



Some of the species are cathartic when 



fresh, but they seem to lose their virtue 



when dry. One is commonly used as a 



medicine in Madeira, and L. catharticum 



, has, as the name implies, a medical repu- 



j tation in South America. A blue dye is 



prepared from some species, and the spores 



of our common Clubmoss are used on the 



! stage to produce artificial lightning, from 



\ their highly inflammable nature. They are 



| also employed by apothecaries to keep pills 



from sticking together. They have such a 



i strong repulsive power, that if the hand is 



powdered with them, it can be dipped in 



water without be coming wet. L.alpinum 



is the badge of the McRaes, L. da vat urn 



that of the Sinclairs. [M. J. BJ 



LYCOPSIS. A genus of Poraginacece 



now united to Anchusa, from which it 



differs only in the tube of the corolla 



being slightly curved. L. arvensis, a hispid 



I annual with Small blue flowers, is a com- 



i monweedin cultivated ground. [J. T. S.] 



I LYCOPTTS. A genus of labiates, having 

 ' the corolla scarcely longer than the calyx, 

 | bell-shaped and four-cleft ; the two lower 

 ; stamens alone perfect, the upper wanting 

 j or imperfect ; and the ripe fruit with thick 

 ! margins. The species are herbs usually 

 inhabiting marshes, in Europe, Asia, North 

 America, and Australia. [G. D.] 



LYCOPiIS. The plants separated under 

 this name by Herbert are now regarded as 

 forming a section of Amaryllis, technically 

 distinguished by the undulated divisions 

 of the spreading perianth being curved 

 upwards, and by the style having likewise 

 a curve upwards and bearing a simple 

 fringed stigma. They are natives of East- 

 ern Asia and Africa; and the two most 

 conspicuous species are to be met with in 

 our gardens. [A. S.] 



LYCOTROPAL. An orthotropal ovule 

 curved downwards like a horse-shoe. 



LYGET7M. A genus of grasses belonging 

 to the tribe Phalaridece. The inflorescence 

 is contained in large sheath-like bracts, 

 which have two or three florets, without 

 glumes, with the base of the pales har- 

 dening into a two-celled seed-vessel. L. 

 Spartum i3 the only species, and a rather 



handsome grass, which has extensive 

 underground stems or soboles, and is only 

 cultivated in botanical collections. [D. M.] 



LYGODICTYON. Hydroglossum. 



LYGODIUM. A genus of scandent ferns 

 of the group Schizceinece. The species are 

 rather numerous, and widely dispersed 

 over the warmer parts of the world, ex- 

 tending to New Holland, Japan, and North 

 America. The fronds are branched, with 

 a scandent rachis, and they usually bear 

 conjugate branches, which are variously 

 divided in a digitate or palmate manner, 

 or else they are pinnatifid, or sometimes 

 pinnate. The fructifications form com- 

 pressed distichous spikelets, somewhat re- 

 sembling in aspect those of Selaginella, but 

 exserted on marginal teeth of the fronds. 

 These spikes consist of bract-like indusia, 

 each covering a single spore-case which 

 is resupinate, and furnished with a many- 

 rayed apical ring. The veins are free, which 

 distinguishes this genus from Hydroglos- 

 sum. They are plentiful in our hothouse 

 collections of ferns. [T. M.] 



LYGODYSODEA. This harshly sound- 

 ing name seems to be derived from the 

 Greek words lugos, a slender branch or 

 twig, and dusodos, pathless, in allusion 

 probably to the obstruction caused by the 

 climbing habit of the plants to which it is 

 applied by botanists. The genus consists 

 of Mexican and Peruvian shrubs of the Cin- 

 chonacece, characterised by an ovate calyx 

 tube, having a five-toothed limb ; a funnel- 

 shaped corolla, with five revolute limb seg- 

 ments ; five sessile anthers ; and an inferior 

 two-celled ovary, surmoiinted by a disk. 

 The fruit consists of two carpels, crowned 

 by the teeth of the calyx, and separating 

 when ripe. [M. T. M.] 



LYMPH. Sap ; the crude un elaborated 

 fluid of vegetation. Lymphceducts are sap- 

 vessels. 



LYONIA. A genus of heathworts, hav- 

 ing the corolla ovate or tubular, the mouth J 

 narrow and five-toothed, and the filaments 

 of the stamens short broad and downy, the i 

 cells of the anthers opening lengthwise, j 

 The species are North American shrubs i 

 with alternate leaves, in some deciduous, j 

 in others evergreen ; the flowers are some- I 

 times hairy. The genus commemorates the 

 services of Mr. Lyon, a well-known collec- 

 tor of North American plants. [G. D.] 



LYONSIA. A genus of the dogbane or- 

 der, distinguished by having the stigma 

 of a conical form, and the fruit a cylindri- 

 cal capsule with two cells. L. straminea, a 

 native of Australia, the only species, is a 

 twining shrub with opposite leaves, named 

 in honour of Mr. Lyons, who published a 

 Flora of Cambridge. [G. DJ 



LYPERIA. A genus of Scrophulariacece 

 of the tribe Gro.tiolew, and nearly allied to 

 Manulea, but distinguished chiefly by the 

 slender tube of the corolla, which is more 

 or less curved or gibbous at the back near 

 the top. There are about thirty species, 



