originallyreferred to Huntley a, and another 

 from New Grenada was afterwards added 

 to it ; but it is now abandoned as a genus 

 by its author, Dr. Reichenbach, and is re- 

 duced to a section of Zygopetalum, distin- 

 guished from the other sections of that 

 genus by its slender semiterete column 

 with a triangular ear on each side at its 

 base, and its lip with a replicate limb, and 

 a thick broad numerously plaited and folded 

 crest near its base. [A. S.J 



PESETTE. (Fr.) Oicer drietinum. 



PESOMERIA tetragona. An orchid from 

 the Isle of Bourbon, belonging to the Ble- 

 tidce division of Epidendrece, remarkable on 

 account of its deciduous bracts and sepals, 

 which fall off spontaneously soon after the 

 flower expands. Its sepals and petals are 

 almost alike in shape, size, and colour ; the 

 lip is undivided, cucullate, parallel with 

 and partly surrounding the column, with 

 the lower part of which it is adnate and 

 forms a slight protuberance at the bottom ; 

 the column is semiterete and thickened 

 upwards, with a foui'-toothed anther-bed ; 

 and the pollen-masses four, unequal and 

 bifid. The plant is terrestrial, and has 

 sharply four-cornered jointed stems a foot 

 or more high, broad membranous long- 

 pointed leaves, and lateral peduncles bear- 

 ing a loose spike of eight or ten largish 

 flowers, of a reddish-brown internally and 

 greenish externally, except the lip, which 

 is yellow streaked with orange-red. [A. SJ 



PESSALOO. An Indian name for Pha- 

 seolus Mungo. 



PESSE. (Fr.) Abies excelsa; also Hip- 

 puris. — D'EAU. Hippuris vulgaris. — 

 DU CANADA. Abies canadensis. 



PESTALOZZIA. A very curious genus 

 of coniomycetous .Fim.ai.consisting of large 

 septate spores springing from an obscure 

 mycelium, and crowned with two or three 

 delicate hyaline short threads proceeding 

 from the same point. They form little 

 dark specks on leaves, as of oranges, camel- 

 lias, &c. A few years since some leaves 

 of camellias were sent to us, with a view 

 to ascertain the nature of a little parasite 

 which was doing immense damage in one 

 of our first-rate nurseries. The fungus 

 was clearly P. Guepini, and as the genus 

 had not before occurred in England, we 

 were anxious to ascertain the origin of the 

 camellias. As we suspected, they had been 

 obtained from Italy, and no doubt the pest 

 had been imported with them. This little 

 history is important as showing how easily 

 new diseases may be introduced from 

 abroad, and consequently as it bears on the 

 vexed question of the origin of the potato 

 and vine diseases. The same name has 

 been given by Zollinger to a cucurbita- 

 ceous genus, near Telfairea. [M. J B.] 



PESTILENCE-WEED. Tussilago Peta- 

 sites. 



PETALOMANIA. An unnatural multi- 

 plication,repression, or alteration of petals. 

 Each flower has its proper number of pe- 



tals, which can be increased only by some 

 cause, the consequences of which must 

 be characterised as disease. All double 

 flowers, therefore, which arise from mul- 

 tiplication of petals, must be regarded as 

 diseased, however they may be prized by 

 the florist, and the more so as the tendency 

 is mostly to check fertility. Repression 

 or extreme diminution of petals, as in 

 many species of Silene and allied genera, 

 though not affecting fertility, must be re- 

 ferred to the same head. How far the 

 changes which occasionally take place in 

 such genera as Catasetum amongst the 

 orchids, by means of which three diffe- 

 rent types are exhibited in the same spike 

 or truss, are due to diseased action or not, 

 is at present uncertain. The same remark 

 applies to the occurrence of regular or (as 

 they are called) pelorioid flowers in Antir- 

 rh iuum and other plants. [M. J. B.] 



PETALOSTYLIS. An Australian genus 

 of Leguminosae, comprising a shrub with 

 pinnate leaves, and axillary clusters of 

 yellow flowers. Calyx of five equal pieces ; 

 petals five spreading, nearly equal ; fila- 

 ments five, three fertile, two without an- 

 thers ; ovary few-seeded, terminated by a 

 large petaloid three-lobed style. [M. T. M.] 



PETALS. The divisions of the corolla, 

 when they are not united to each other by 

 their edges. 



PETALINE, PETALOID, PETAL-LIKE. 

 Having the colour and texture of a com- 

 mon petal. 



P&TANIELLE. (Fr.) Triticum turgi- 

 dum. — ROUSSE. A kind of Triticum. 



PETARKURA. An Indian name for the 



seeds of Gynocardia odorata. 



PETASITES. A genus of Composites, es- 

 tablished for three or four species of Tussi- 

 lago, which have the flower-heads partially 

 dioecious in racemes, sometimes branching 

 into panicles. The essential characters 

 which separate them from the common 

 coltsfoot with one-headed scapes are very 

 slight ; and the foliage is the same. They 

 are all European, and one species, P. vulga- 

 ris or Tussilago Petasites, is frequent in 

 sandy meadows on the banks of streams in 

 England, and known under the popular 

 name of Butterbur. 



PET DANE. (Fr.) Onopordon. — DE 

 LEOPARD. Doronicimi. — DU DIABLE. 

 Hura crepitans. 



PETER'SWORT. A "West Indian name 

 for Ascyrum hypericoides. 



PETIOLANEOUS. Consisting of petiole 

 only. 



PETIOLAR, PETTOLACEOUS. Insert- 

 ed upon the petiole ; as cirrhus petiolaris, 

 a tendril inserted on a petiole. 



PETIOLE (adj. PETIOLATE). The stalk 

 of a leaf. — , COMMON. The first and 

 principal leafstalk in compound leaves ; 



