PLAl] 



Cljc &rea£urg at 2Satan|?. 



900 



than other Hoveas, often bordered by prick- 

 ly teeth, and a broader and more oblique 

 pod. They are natives of South-west Aus- 

 tralia, and are to be met with in many of 

 our collections of Australian papilionaceous 

 plants. The flowers are of a deep purplish- 

 blue as in other Hoveas, and are rather 

 ornamental. 



PLAITED. Folded lengthwise, like the 

 plaits of a closed fan ; as in the leaves of 

 the fan-palm. 



PLANE. Flat or perfectly level ; as in 

 many leaves. 



PLANE. (Fr.) Acer platanoides. 



PLANERA. Trees, natives of Asia and 

 North America, belonging to the Ulmacece, 

 and closely allied to the elms, from which 

 they may be distinguished by their fruit, 

 which is roundish, gibbous, pointed, two- 

 celled, and two-seeded. P. Richardi, the 

 Zelkona tree, attains in its native country 

 a great size, growing to the height of 

 seventy or eighty feet, with a trunk of 

 the diameter of four feet. The bark re- 

 sembles that of the hornbeam more than 

 the elm, and instead of becoming rugged 

 is shed in scales like that of the plane. 

 The foliage strongly resembles that of the 

 elm ; the flowers are small, of a greenish- 

 brown colour, and smell like those of elder. 

 The fruit is about the size of a pea, and 

 contains two seeds. The trunk is straight 

 and upright, and is of equal circumference 

 from the surface of the ground to a height 

 of twenty-five or thirty feet, where it 

 throws out its first branches. The timber 

 is much prized. The sapwood, which is of 

 a light colour and very elastic, is used for 

 the purposes in which ash-timber is em- 

 ployed. The heartwood, which occupies 

 two-thirds of the whole trunk, is reddish, 

 heavy, and when dry exceedingly hard; 

 hence it takes a good polish, and is valued 

 for making domestic furniture. P. Gmelini, 

 a native of the Southern States of America, 

 is a small tree, to which no particular value 

 is attached. Either of the above may be 

 grafted on the elm. French : Orme de Si- 

 terie. [C. A. J.] 



PLANE-TREE. Platanus. — , MOCK, 

 or SCOTCH. Acer Pseudo-Platanus. 



PLANITJSCULUS. Nearly flat. 



PLANK PLANT. Bossicea Scolopendrium. 



PLANTAGINACE.E. (Ribworts.) A na- 

 tural order of corollifloral dicotyledons be- 

 longing to Lindley's cortusal alliance of 

 perigynous Exogens. They are herbs, 

 often stemless, with radical ribbed leaves, 

 and spiked hermaphrodite flowers, or soli- 

 tary unisexual ones. Calyx four-parted, 

 persistent ; corolla monopetalous.scarious, 

 with a four-parted limb ; stamens four, 

 alternate with the segments of the corolla ; 

 disk inconspicuous ; ovary free, two to 

 four-celled, with a simple style and hispid 

 stigma. Fruit an operculate capsule. The 

 species are chiefly found in temperate and 

 cool regions. The three genera, of which 



Plantago and Littorella are examples, com- 

 prise over 100 species. [J. H. BJ 



PLANTAGO. A genus of stemless her- 

 baceous plants giving name to the order 

 Plantagmacece, represented in Great Bri- 

 tain by several common species. P. major, 

 the Greater Plantain, abundant by way- 

 sides and in the corners of fields, is known 

 by its broad strongly ribbed leaves taper- 

 ing towards each extremity, from the 

 centre of which rise, to the height of two 

 to six inches, several cylindrical leafless 

 stalks bearing each a long spike of greenish 

 flowers, succeeded by many-seeded cap- 

 sules, which when ripe are much sought 

 after by bird-fanciers as food for canary- 

 birds. P. media, the Hoary Plantain, has 

 the leaves similar but smaller, and they 

 are remarkable for being pressed so closely 

 to the ground as to injure seriously any 

 crop among which it may be growing by 

 stifling the young plants ; hence it is a 

 great pest in pastures and on lawns. P. lari- 

 ceolata, the Rib-grass, has narrow strong- 

 ly ribbed leaves, and bears brown spiked 

 heads of flowers at the summit of a fur- 

 rowed stalk ; it is sometimes sown as an 

 ingredient in a crop of meadow-grass, but 

 with doubtful propriety. P. Coronopus 

 grows on sea-cliffs, and is distinguished by 

 its pinnate toothed leaves, which radiate 

 so as to resemble a star, whence it is some- 

 times called Star of the Earth. There 

 are numerous foreign species, but none of 

 particular interest. The name Plantain 

 is frequently applied to the Banana of the 

 tropics, Musa : which see. French : Plan- 

 tain ; German : Wegerich. [C. A. J.] 



PLANTAIN. Musa paradisiaca. — , 

 BASTARD. Heliconia Bihai. — , GREAT- 

 ER. Plantago major. — , INDIAN. An 

 American name for Cacalia. —. MUD. Be- 

 terantherareniformis. — , RATTLESNAKE. 

 Goodyera. — , ROBIN'S. Erigeron bellidi- 

 folium. — , WATER. Alisma. — , — , of 

 Jamaica. Pontederia azurea. 



PLANTAIN. (Fr.) Plantago. — AQUA- 

 TIQUE. Bamasonium Alisma, alias Acti- 

 nocarpus Bamasonium. — D'EAU. Alisma 

 Plantago. —EN ARBRE. Musa. 



PLANT D'AIX. (Fr.) A kind of olive. 



PLANTIA. A genus of irids, allied to 

 Sisyrinchum and Moroza, consisting of a 

 Cape species, P.flava, of which very little 

 is known. It has a single narrow stem- 

 clasping leaf, and a many-flowered stem 

 bearing pretty yellow flowers. [A. S.] 



PLAQUEMINIER. (Fr.) Biospyros. — 

 D'ORIENT. Biospyros Lotus. 



PLATANACE^E. (Plants.) A natural 

 order of monochlamydeous dicotyledons, 

 referred to Lindley's urtical alliance of di- 

 clinous Exogens, and consisting only of the 

 genus Platanus : which see. [J. H. B.J 



PLATAN AIRE. (Fr.) Sparganhim. 



PLATANTHERA. An extensive genus 

 of orchids, belonging to the tribe Ophrydea, 

 and closely allied to Habenaria, from which 



