825 



Cfje Crca^urg of 33fltany, 



[OHVA 



ORONTIACE.E. (Gallacece, Acoracece,Aco- 

 roidece, Orontiads.) A natural order of mo- 

 nocotyledonous plants, belonging to Lind- 

 ley's juncal alliance of Endogens. They 

 are herbs -with broad occasionally ensiform 

 leaves, and spadiceous flowers enclosed by 

 a spathe. They are usually associated with 

 Aracew, from which they differ in their her- 

 maphrodite flowers, or in having frequent- 

 ly a perianth consisting of four to eight 

 scales. Natives both of tropical and cold 

 regions. Acridity is met with in the order. 

 Acorus Calamus, the common sweet sedge 

 or flag, has an agreeable odour, and has 

 been used as a stimulant and antispasmo- 

 dic. There are nearly a score of genera, 

 and about eighty species : Calla, Acorus, 

 and Pothos are examples. [J. H. B.] 



ORONTITJil. A name adapted from the 

 Greek appellation of some unascertained 

 plant, and applied to a genus of Orontia- 

 ceos consisting of North American water- 

 plants with elliptic leaves on long stalks, 

 and a spathe reduced to a tubular sheath 

 surrounding the middle of the very long 

 stalk which supports the spadix, the latter 

 being conical and covered with perfect 

 flowers, the lowest of which have six, the 

 uppermost four sepals ; the anthers open 

 transversely, and the ovary is one-celled 

 with one inverted ovule. O. aquaticum, a 

 native of Xorth American marshes, is cul- 

 tivated in this country. The seeds and 

 rootstock are stated to be edible after the 

 acridity has been removed by boiling or 

 drying. [M. T. M.] 



OROTHA3IXFS. A genus of Proteacece 

 proposed by Dr. Pappe, but now regarded 

 as a section of Mimetes, characterised by 

 the spheroidal sessile flower-heads being 

 terminal, fewtogether, and having amany- 

 leaved coloured and persistent involucre. 

 There is only one species, O. Zeyheri, a 

 Cape shrub, with imbricate concave quite 

 entire leaves rather more than an inch in 

 length, and margined with purple, and 

 large drooping flower-heads with beautiful 

 rose-red villous involucral leaves. [A. S.] 



ORPIN. (Fr.) Sedum, especially S.Tele- 

 phium. 



ORPINE. Telephium Tmperati; also Se- 

 dum Telephium. —, BASTARD. Andracii- 

 ne telephioides. 



ORRIS-ROOT. The fragrant violet- 

 scented rhizome of Iris florentina and 

 I. germanica. It is also called Orrice-root. 



ORSEILLE DES CANARIES. (Fr.) Eoc- 

 alia tinctoria and E. fuciformis. — DE 

 TERRE. Lecanora 



ORTEGIA. A small genus of Ulecebracece 

 inhabiting the Mediterranean region, and 

 consisting of erect branched annuals or 

 perennials, with four-sided branches, oppo- 

 site linear leaves, setaceous stipules en- 

 larged into black glands at the base, and 

 very small flowers in compact cymes, com- 

 bined into panicles. [J. T. S.J 



ORTHOCERAS. Two species of this ge- 

 nus of orchids are known, one a native of 



Australia, and the other of New Zealand. 

 j It belongs to the suborder Neottece, and is 



distinguished by its side sepals being very 

 j long and narrow, almost filiform, and quite 



erect, while the upper one is hooded, fleshy, 

 , and obtuse ; and by its minute sessile 



petals, which are two-toothed at the tips. 



They are erect glabrous terrestrial herbs, 

 I with narrow filiform leaves, and rather 



large flowers in racemes. [A. S.] 



ORTHOS. In Greek compounds = 



straight. 



ORTHOSTEMON. A genus of Gentiana- 

 cece, consisting of tropical Asiatic and Aus- 

 tralian species of slender herbaceous babit^ 

 having broad leaves, and terminal flowers, 

 with a tubular four-toothed calyx, a some- 

 what funnel-shaped corolla, which remains 

 on the plant in a withered condition, four 

 stamens projecting from the tube and hav- 

 ing straight anthers : from which cir- 

 cumstance the name of the genus, signify- 

 ing straight-stamen, is derived. [31. T. 31.] 



ORTHOTRICHUM. A large and impor- 

 tant genus of acrocarpous mosses, the type 

 of the order Orthotrichei. The capsule is 

 erect and mostly striate ; the peristome 

 double, the outer composed of thirty-two 

 teeth, combined into sixteen or eight, rare- 

 ly naked ; and the veil campanulate plaited 

 and generally hairy. The species form tufts 

 on the trunks of trees and stones, and are 

 at once known by their peculiar habit and 

 veil. The genus obtains its maximum in 

 the northern hemisphere, numbering twen- 

 ty-three species in our own islands. It is 

 not, however, confined to cold latitudes, 

 though in warm or equable climates it is 

 replaced in great measure by Macromitrium, 

 which has a narrow awl-shaped veil, a ros- 

 trate lid, and no apophysis. Leucophanes, 

 a tropical genus, which has the pale leaves 

 of Leucobryum and Sphagnum, belongs to 

 the same natural order. DM. J. B.] 



ORTHOTROPAL. A straight nucleus, 

 having the same direction as the seed to 

 which it belongs, the foramen being at the 

 end most remote from the hilum. 



ORTHOTROPIS. A genus of Legumi- 

 nosece proposed by Bentham for the Choro- 

 zemapungens&ud some other species,which 

 differ from others of that genus in their 

 narrow pungent leaves and straight keel. 

 Meisner has, however, shown that these I 

 characters are not sufficiently marked to 

 maintain the group otherwise than as a 

 section of Chorozema. The species are all 

 from South-western Australia. 



ORTIE. (Pr.) Urtica. —BLANCHE. 

 Lamium album j —, GRANDE. Urtica di- 

 oica. — GRIECHE. Urtica urens. — 

 JAUNE. Lamium Galeobdolon. — MORTE 

 DES 3IARAIS. Stachys palustris. — PU- 

 ANTE. Stachys sylvatica. — , PETITE. 

 Urtica urens. — ROMAINE. Urtica pilu- 

 lifera. — ROUGE. Galeopsis Ladanum, 

 or Lamium purpureum. — ROTALE. Ga- 

 leopsis Tetrahit. 



ORVALE. (Fr.) Salvia Sclarea. 



