989 



<£?)£ Crras'urj) of 23otang. 



[bosa 



and editor of some of the works of Lin- 

 nseus. The genus is intermediate between 

 Papaver, Glaucium, and Chelidonium. The 

 distinctive characters reside in the ovary 

 and the fruit. The ovary is elongated 

 cylindrical one-celled, and contains nu- 

 merous ovules ; the stigma is sessile, with 

 two to four divisions : and the fruit is 

 capsular, bursting from above downwards 

 into two or four valves, the thread-like 

 placentas also becoming after a time de- 

 tached and separate. The species are small 

 herbs.with yellow juice, and dividedleaves, 

 whose narrow segments are frequently 

 terminated by a hair-like joint, and large 

 solitary violet flowers. They are natives 

 of the Mediterranean regions, and some 

 are cultivated as annuals in this country, 

 a purpose for which their large purple 

 flowers well fits them. E. hybrida is occa- 

 sionally found wild in cornfields in this 

 country, having been introduced with 

 foreisrn seeds. It is said to be well esta- 

 blished in Cambridgeshire. [M. T. M.J 



ROMXEYA. A genus of Papaveracece, 

 forming a link between Nymphceacece and 

 Sarraceniaceie. The ovary is divided into 

 numerous compartments, and the ovules 

 are distributed over the whole surface of 

 the dissepiments. The only species is aCa- 

 lifornian herb, with stalked divided leaves, 

 and handsome white flowers. [M. T. 31.] 



ROMULEE. (Fr/> Trichonema. 



ROXCE. (Fr.) Rubus. 



ROXDELETIA. An extensive West 

 Indian and tropical American genus of 

 the many-seeded division of Cinchonacece. 

 Most of the species are shrubs, but a few 

 grow to the size of trees. They have oppo- 

 site entire leaves, with triangular or nar- 

 row lance-shaped stipules between them ; 

 and usually dense flat-topped more or less 

 branched heads of flowers, produced either 

 from the angles of the leaves, or at the ends 

 of the branches. The calyx has a nearly 

 globose tube, and is four or five-parted, the 

 segments being either minute and tooth- 

 like, or as long as the tube itself ; and the 

 corolla a cylindrical tube slightly swollen 

 towards the top, and a flat expanded part 

 consisting of four or five roundish lobes, 

 which overlap in the bud. The stamens 

 have very short filaments or none at all, 

 and are entirely enclosed within the tube : 

 and the slender style bears a two-lobed 

 stigma. Their fruit is a two-celled roundish 

 capsule, containing minute seeds and split- 

 ting, when ripe, through the cells into 

 two pieces. 



B. versicolor is so called in consequence 

 of its deep rose-coloured flowers becoming 

 paler after they expand. It is a native of 

 Veraguas in Central America, where it 

 forms a shrub from twelve to fifteen feet 

 high, with an extremely bitter bark. Its 

 leaves are five or six inches long and two 

 or three broad. The sweet-scented E. 

 odorata, a native of Cuba and Mexico, is a 

 straggling shrub with brilliant vermilion- 

 coloured flowers having a yellow or orange 

 centre. The perfume sold as Rondeletia 



takes its name .from this plant, but is not 

 ; prepared from any part of it. [A. S.] 



i ROXDELLE, or RONDETTE. (Fr.) 

 j Asarum europceum ; also Nepeta Glechoma. 

 RONDOTTE. (Fr.) Barbarea vulgaris. 



ROODPEER. An American name for 

 Phoberos Ecklonii. 



ROOGEE. Megacarpcea polyandra. 



ROOM. A deep-blue dye obtained in 

 Assam from a species of Ruellia. 



ROOMAX. An Indian name for the 

 Pomegranate. 

 ! ROOT. The same ^is Radix. 



j ROOT-OF-SCARCITY. The Mangel 

 "Wurzel, a variety of Beta vulgaris. 



ROOTSTOCK. The same as Rhizome. 



! ROPERA. This genus of ZygophyUacece 

 isso called in honourof aGerman botanist. 



j The species are New Holland shrubs, with 

 binate stipulate leaves, and yellow stalked 

 solitary flowers in the axils of the stipules. 

 The calyx has four persistent sepals, as 

 many petals, and eight stamens shorter 

 than the petals, with awl-like filaments 

 destitute of scales at their base. The 

 ovary is sessile four-celled, with four little 

 scales at the base : and the fruit capsular 



j indehiscent four-celled, three of the cells 



j generally empty, one containing a single 

 seed. Externally the four angles of the 



I capsule are elongated into four membran- 

 ous-veined wings. fM. T. M.] 



ROQUETTE. (Fr.) Eruca. — BA- 

 TARDE. Eeseda Luteola. — DE MER. 

 Cakile maritima. — FAFSSE. Brassica 

 Erucastrum. — SAUVAGE. Blplotaxis 

 tenuifoha. 



RORIDFLA. A genus of Broseracea?, 

 comprising two South African shrubs or 

 undershrubs, with long linear crowded 

 leaves covered with glandular viscid hairs. 

 The flowers are white in short terminal j 

 racemes, and are chiefly distinguished j 

 from those of Brosera by their entire style ' 

 and three-celled ovary. One species, E. 

 dentata, which is remarkably viscid, is 

 often hung up in country houses of the 

 Cape Colony to catch flies. 



! RORIDUS. Dewy; covered with little 

 transparent elevations of the parenchyma, 

 which have the appearance of fine drops of 



j dew. 



ROSACEA. (Boseivorts). A natural order 



of dicotyledons which, taken in its most ex- 



1 tended sense, includes all Polypetalce with 



j regular flowers, indefinite perigynous sta- 



| mens, distinct or solitary carpels, and seeds 



withoutalbumen. Many botanists/however, 



separate as distinct orders -.—Chrpsobala- 



nacece, which are tropical trees or shrubs 



with solitary carpels, having the style at 



their base and the fruit usually dehiscent ; 



Brupacece, or Plums and their allies, which 



have solitary carpels with a terminal style, i 



and a drupaceous fruit; and Pomacem, or I 



Pears and their allies, which have several 



