€f)C €rea£urg of 3$0tatt». 



[PHYS 



of late been used in considerable quantities 

 for inlaying costly pieces of furniture, 

 for making various articles of small-ware, 

 for turnery, &c— is the produce of P.flori- 

 bundum, the only plant belonging to this 

 genus of Lythraceae. It is a tree, with op- 

 posite oval rough leaves: and large ter- 

 minal opposite-branched panicles of pur- 

 plish flowers, which are produced while 

 the tree is leafless. Each flower has two 

 ! large roundish concave bracts, which en- 

 i tirely enclose the bud before it expands ; 

 the bell-shaped eight-toothed coloured 

 calyx is inflated and persists round the 

 ripe fruit; the eight wavy petals are in- 

 serted between the teeth of the calyx : the 

 twenty-four stamens are long and project- 

 ing, two of them being placed opposite 

 each of the teeth of the calyx and one op- 

 posite each petal ; and the four-celled he- 

 mispherical or four-sided ovary bears a sim- 

 ple long style and round-headed stigma, 

 and by the obliteration of the partitions 

 ripens into a one-celled fruit, with a free 

 central column to which numerous flat- 

 tened winged seeds are attached. [A. S.] 



PHYSOCALYX. A genus of Scmphula- 

 . consisting of two species only, both 

 of them Brazilian shrubs, with opposite or 

 alternate entire ovate or obovate leaves, 

 and orange-coloured flowers in terminal 

 racemes. Their calyx is large and inflated ; 

 the corolla is tubular with five spreading 

 nearly equal lobes ; the stamens are didy- 

 namous, included in the tube, with bearded 

 and awned anthers ; and the capsule opens 

 in two entire valves. Both species are 

 said to be showy, but are unknown in cul- 

 tivation. 



PHYSOCHLAIXA. The species of this 

 genus are so like those of Hyoscyamus, that 

 they might with great propriety be classed 

 with them, as they were originally. They 

 are herbaceous perennials, natives of Si- 

 I beria, &c. : and have the calyx slightly 

 inflated and five-toothed ; the corolla fun- 

 nel-shaped below, widening above into the 

 shape of a bell, its limb slightly five-lobed ; 

 the stamens five, protruding from the co- 

 rolla, hairy at the base ; and the fruit that 

 of the henbane. P. orientalis, better known 

 as Hyoscyamus orientalis, a native of Si- 

 beria, may be occasionally met with in gar- 

 dens. It produces its violet-coloured flow- 

 ers early in the season. P. physaloides is 

 also in cultivation. [M. T. M.] 



PEYSOLOBITTM. A genus of Legumi- 

 noses of the suborder Papilionacew, closely 

 allied to Kennedya, from which it is scarce- 

 ly sufficiently distinguished by its broad 

 orbicular vexillum without appendages at 

 the base, giving a somewhat different shape 

 to the flower ; and by the more turgid pod. 

 It consists of two or three species from | 

 South-west Australia, with the trailing or 

 twining habit of Kennedya, and scarlet 

 flowers, usually two or three only on each 

 peduncle. Two species have been intro- 

 ; duced to our gardens, but they do not ap- 

 | pear to maintain themselves, not being so 



showy as the allied species of Zichya. 



PHYSOMYCETES. A small section of 

 Fungi, distinguished from Ascomycetes by 

 the total absence of anything like an hy- 

 menium, and the vesicular fruit which 

 encloses an indefinite mass of sporidia. 

 The habit is the same as that of many Hy- 

 phomycetes. It contains two natural orders 

 only : Antennariei analogous to Dematiei, 

 and Mucorini analogous to Mucedines. The 

 threads are either free or closely felted, 

 and in one subterraneous genus, Endogone, 

 they form a little ball. In Acrostalagmus 

 the sporidia grow from a definite point 

 within the vesicular fruit. Antennariei 

 flourish most in hot countries, and the 

 species are so intimately connected with 

 Capnodium, that it is not certain whether 

 all of them are true species. [M. J. B.] 



PHYSORHYNCHUS. A genus of Cruci- 

 ferce of the tribe Tsatidce, from Scinde, com- 

 prising a glaucous biennial, with the ra- i 

 cemes arranged in a panicle. The fruit has j 

 a very large ovate acuminate persistent 

 beak, and two small valves at the base; 

 and the seeds, two in number, are con- 

 tained in the beak. [J. T. S.] 



PHYSOSPERMTJM. A genus of the um- 

 bellifer order, distinguished by having 

 each half of the fi-uit nearly kidney-shaped, 

 with Ave slender equal ribs, and one broad 

 oil-cell in each furrow. The species are 

 perennial herbs, chiefly natives of South- 

 ern Europe and Eastern Asia. Their lower 

 leaves' are usually much divided, and the 

 upper ones are in some mere scales ; their 

 flowers are white, the umbels surrounded I 

 by bracts. The name, signifying 'bladder- I 

 seed,' indicates the loose outer coat of the 

 fruit in its early stage. [G. D.] 



PHYSOSTEGIA. The generic name of 

 plants belonging to the labiate order; 

 having the calyx bell-shaped and much 

 inflated ; and the corolla with the upper 

 lip entire or notched, and the lower in 

 three round lobes, the middle one of which 

 is notched. The species are herbs, natives 

 of North and South America, of handsome 

 appearance, and acquisitions to gardens. 

 The name indicates the bladder-like cha- 

 racter of the calyx. [G. D.] 



PHYSOSTELMA. A genus of Ascle- 

 piadacece, confined to India and Java, and 

 comprising two species of twining plants, 

 with opposite fleshy ovate or oblong 

 leaves, lateral long-stalked umbels, a five- 

 cleft calyx, a rotate five-lobed corolla of 

 comparatively large size, and a corona coin- 

 posed of five leaflets. The fruit is un- 

 known. [B. S.] 



PHYSOSTEMCXN". One of the genera of 

 CapparidacecB, the name of which is ex- 

 pressive of a peculiarity in the stamens, 

 consisting in a bladder-like thickening of 

 the top of the filament. The species* are 

 natives of Brazil, with annual steins, spar- 

 ingly provided with leaves, and yellow 

 flowers arranged in clusters ; sepals and 

 petals four; stamens six or eight, of un- 

 equal length, some of them bent down- 

 wards, the two or four uppermost distended 



