KYSS] 



CIjc Creas'tiri) nf 33ntang. 



798 



remarkable for producing on their leaves, 

 just at the junction 1)f the blade with the 

 stalk, little buds which in process of time 

 become detached and form new plants. N. 

 gigantea, a native of Moreton Bay, has very 

 large blue flowers, in which the stamens 

 are much shorter in proportion to the pe- 

 tals than in most of the other species. N. 

 blanda, a South American species, and some 

 others expand their flowers at night. N. 

 | Lotus has white flowers tinted with pink, 

 j and strongly toothed leaves, on the under 

 I side of which the veins are very prominent. 

 I This is the White Lotus of the Nile. Va- 

 I rieties of this species occur in Guinea, India, 

 ! and elsewhere. Some of them are grown 

 I in this country, under the names of N. den- 

 tala, N. edulis, &c. Some of the Indian 

 varieties have red or rose-coloured flowers, 

 such as N. rubra, &c. All these are with- 

 out doubt variations of one common form, 

 of which the N. Lotus of the Nile may be 

 taken as the type. The tubers and seeds 

 of some of these are used by the Hindoos 

 as articles of food. The species of this 

 genus are so variable, that much diversity 

 of opinion exists as to the actual number 

 of species, and there is much difficulty in 

 discriminating them. 



In addition to the characters laid down 

 in systematic treatises, the writer has "de- 

 rived much assistance in the determination 

 of these beautiful plants by paying atten- 

 tion, amongst other things, to the form of 

 i the flower-buds, the arrangement of the 

 | air-canals, and the appearance of the seeds. 

 i The Botanic Garden at Oxford has for some 

 years been noted for its numerous collec- 

 tion of these lovely flowers, which are cul- 

 tivated with great success by the Curator, 

 Mr. Baxter. [M. T. M.] 



NYSSA. A genus of doubtful affinity, 

 made by some botanists the type of a na- 

 tural order ( Nyssaceo?),by others associated 

 with AlangiacecE. It comprises about eight 

 species, all trees inhabiting the swamps 

 and banks of rivers of North America. 

 Their leaves are alternate, entire and with- 

 out stipules , their flowers greenish, small, 

 solitary, or in little pedunculate clusters, 

 and polygamo-dioecious. The calyx tube 

 (of the fertile flowers) is adherent to the 

 ovary, five-cleft, and valvate in aestivation ; 

 the stamens are from four to ten in num- 

 ber, the corolla is wanting, and the fruit is 

 a berry-like drupe with a single seed, and 

 black bluish or orange-coloured. Several 

 species ornament our arboretums. N.vil- 

 losa, the Sour Gum, Black Gum, Pepper 

 ridge, or Tupelo tree, common from New 

 England to the Carolinas, attains from forty 

 to seventy feet in height, and has remark- 

 ably curled woody fibres, so as to render the 

 timber very difficult to split, on which ac- 

 count it is much used for making naves or 

 hubs for heavy carriage-wheels, and also 

 hatters' blocks. N. candicans is the Ogee- 

 chee Lime. [B. S.J 



NYSSACE^E. A group of calyci floral di- 

 cotyledons, now included in Alangiacea. 



NYSSANTHES. A genus of Australian 



Amarantltacecc, consisting of herbs or un- 

 dershrubs with opposite leaves and ter- 

 minal and axillary heads of flowers, having 

 spiny bracts, a four-leaved perigone, the 

 exterior pair of leaves spiny, and two to 

 four stamens united at the base, the sta- 

 minodes strap-shaped. [J. T. S.] 



N'Y TOUCHEZ PAS. (Fr.) Impatiens 

 Ncli-tangere. 



OAK. Quercus ; also the Australian 

 name for Casuarina. — , AFRICAN. 

 Oldfieldia africana. — . AMERICAN 

 TURKEY. Quercus obtusiloba. —, 

 AMERICAN WHITE. Quercus alba. — , 

 BARREN. Quercus nigra. -, BEAR. 

 Quercus ilicifolia. — , BELOTE. Quercus 

 Gramuntia. — , BITTER. Quercus Cerris. 

 — , BLACK. Quercus tinctoria. —, 

 BLACK JACK. Quercus nigra. — , BO- 

 TANY BAY. Casuarina torulosa. — , 

 BURR.. Quercus macrocarpa. — , CAP- 

 PADOCIAN. Ambrina ambrosioides. — , 

 CHAMPION. Quercus rubra. —.CHEST- 

 NUT. Quercus sessiliflora; also the varie- 

 ties of Quercus Prinus. — , COMMON. 

 Quercus Robur (including pedunculata and 

 sessiliflora). — , CORK. Quercus Suber. —, 

 CYPRESS. Quercus -pedunculata fastigiata. 

 — , DOMINICA. Ilex sideroxyloides. — , 

 DURMAST. Quercus sessiliflora pubescens. 

 — , DYER'S. Quercus tinctoria. — , 

 EVERGREEN. Quercus Ilex. — , FE- 

 MALE. Quercuspeduncidata. — , FRENCH. 

 Catalpa longissima ; also Bucida Buceras. 

 — , GREEN. A condition of oak-wood 

 caused by its being impregnated with the 

 spawn of Peziza aeruginosa, which com- 

 municates a beautiful green tint, of which 

 the turners and cabinet-makers at Tun- 

 bridge Wells avail themselves for inlaying 

 and making beads and other articles of 

 ornament. A similar effect is produced in 

 the Sikkim Himalaya by a closely allied 

 species of Peziza. — , HE. Casuarina 

 stricta. — , HOLLY, or HOLM. Quercus 

 Ilex. — , INDIAN. . Tectona grandis, the 

 Teak tree. — , IRON. Quercus Cerris 

 and obtusiloba. — , ITALIAN. Quercus 

 sEscidus. — , JERUSALEM. Chenopo- 

 dium Botrys. — , KERMES. Quercus 

 coccifera. — , LAUREL. Quercus imbri- 

 caria. — , LIVE. Quercus virens, an 

 important shipbuilding wood. — , MALE. 

 Quercus sessiliflora. — , NEW ZEALAND. 

 Alectryon excelsum. — , NUTGALL. 



Quercus infectoria. —, PIN. Quercus 

 palustr-is. — , POISON. Rhus Toxicoden- 

 dron. — , POST. Quercus obtusiloba. —, 

 RED. Querent sessiliflora and rubra. — , 

 RIVER. Casuarina leptoclada. -, SCRUB. 

 Quercus Catesbwi and ilicifolia. — , 

 SCRUBBY. Lophira africana. -, SEA. 

 Fucus vesiculosus. — , SHE. Casuarina 

 ejimdrivalvis. —, SHINGLE. Quercus 

 imbriceiria. —, SILKY, or SILKBARK. 

 Grevillea robusta. — , SPANISH. Quercus 

 falcata. — , STONE. Lithocarpusjavensis. 

 — , SWAMP. Quercus Prinus ; also Vimir 

 naria denudata. — , SWAMP POST. 

 Quercus lyrata. — , VALONIA. Quercus 

 JEgilops. — , WHITE. Quercus peduncu- 

 lata and alba. — , — , of New South 



