1077 



Ct)c Crcas'urp of atSatany. 



[SPER 



SPATHACE^E. A LimiEean order equi- 

 valent to Amaryllidacece. 



SPATH ACEOUS. Having the appearance 

 of a spathe, or being furnislied with one. 



SPATHE. A large bract rolling over 

 an inflorescence and guarding it while 

 young. 



SPATHELIA. A genus of Simarubacecc, 

 comprising trees, natives of mountainous 

 regions in the West Iudies. They are 

 lofty and handsome, with large pinnate 

 leaves, and terminal panicles of small red- 

 dish flowers. The calyx is five-parted ; the 

 petals five, overlapping; stamens of the 

 ! | male flower five, flattened, generallybut not 

 always having a cleft scale at their base ; 

 ovary rudimentary, on a short stalk. In 

 the perfect flowers are five stamens and a 

 three-celled ovary, surmounted by a short 

 three-cleft style ; fruit dry three-cornered 

 winsred, three-celled. S. simplex is a very 

 handsome stove-plant, with large spread- 

 ing panicles of red flowers. [M. T. MJ 



SPATHELL-E. The pales and glumes of 

 grasses. 



SPATHICARPA. This name has been 

 given to an herbaceous plant forming a 

 genus of Aracece. The species is a native 

 of La Plata, and throws up a single hastate 

 leaf, a slender erect stalk longer than the 

 leaf, and terminated by the inflorescence, 

 which consists of a spathe adherent to the 

 spadix. The flowers are arranged in three 

 rows; the central one consists of male 

 flowers, the lateral ones of female flowers ; 

 the anthers open by pores ; the ovaries are 

 free one-celled, with a single ovule ; and 

 the fruit fleshy. [M. T. MJ 



SPATHILLA. A secondary spathe in a 

 spathaceous inflorescence, as in Palms. 



SPATHIOI. One of the subdivisions 

 of the genus Epidendrum, including those 

 species (between forty and fifty in num- 

 ber) with slender leafy erect stems, and 

 flowers on a long peduncle proceeding 

 from a spathe consisting of one or more 

 equitant bracts. The flowers, have the lip 

 wholly attached to the column. [A. S.J 



SPATHODEA. A genus of Bignoniacece, 

 composed of tall trees inhabiting Tropical 

 Asia and Africa, having impari pinnate 

 leaves, paniculate flowers, a spathaceous 

 calyx, a more or less bell or funnel-shaped 

 corolla of a bright-yellow orange or pur- 

 plish colour, and a capsular fruit divided 

 into two cells by a partition placed con- 

 trary to the direction of the valves. S. 

 Iczvis is an inmate of our hothouses, and 

 is like all the other species highly orna- 

 mental on account of its foliage and 

 blossoms. All the climbing species (na- 

 tives of America) formerly classed with 

 this genus have been referred to JJoli- 

 chandra and Macfadyena; whilst all the 

 white flowering kinds (including the New 

 Holland ones) constitute the genus Doli- 

 cliandrone. [B. S.J 



SPATHOGLOTTIS. One of the genera of 



the Bletidece tribe of epidendreous orchids, 

 distinguished from Bletia itself by the 

 middle segment of its deeply three-parted 

 lip having a claw or stalk, with two tuber- 

 cles or plates at its base, and by its two- 

 celled anther. All its species are AsU';ic, 

 and terrestrial plants, with subterranean 

 conns, plicate sword-shaped leaves, and 

 generally yellow flowers. [A. S.J 



SPATHTJLATE. Oblong, with the lower 

 end very much attenuated, so that the 

 whole resembles a druggist's spatula. 



SPATHPLEA, or SPATHULARIA. A 

 genus of Fungi allied to Helvella, and dis- 

 tingished by the compressed receptacle 

 running down the stem on either side, and 

 confluent with it. The only species, S. 

 flavida, which has the hymenium of a 

 beautiful buff, contrasting well with the 

 whitish stem, is not uncommon in firwood, 

 and is very beautiful. [M. J. B.J 



SPATULE. (Fr.) Iris fcetidissima. 



SPATULUM. A North-west American 

 name for Leiuisia rediviva. 



SPAWN. The same as Mycelium. 



SPEARMINT. Mentha viridis. 



SPEAR WOOD. Acacia doratoxylon. 



SPEARWORT. Ranunculus Lingua and 

 R. Flammula. 



SPE AUTRE. (Fr.) Triticum Spelta. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. The short 

 descriptions by which botanists endeavour 

 to distinguish one species from another. 



SPECULARIA. A genus of Campanu- 

 laceoz having the tube of the calyx long, 

 the corolla wheel-shaped and five-lobed, 

 five stamens with flat hairy filaments, a 

 short style with ten lines of hairs, and a 

 long seed-vessel opening by valves above 

 the middle or near the apex. The species 

 are small herbs, natives of Middle Asia 

 tone found in America), having the leaves 

 alternate, the lower differing in form from 

 the others, and the flowers varying in 

 colour— blue purple or white. The name 

 is from the Latin specidum 'a mirror,' to 

 indicate the brightness of the flowers in 

 sunshine. [G. D.J 



SPEEDWELL. Veronica. 



SPELT. An inferior kind of wheat 

 grown in France and Flanders, Triticum 

 Spelta. 



SPERAGE. Asparagus officinalis. 



SPERGULA. Herbaceous plants of hum- 

 ble growth, with slender stems and very 

 narrow' leaves belonging to the order Ille- 

 cebraccce. The characters are :— Calyx five- 

 parted ; petals five, entire ; stamens five or 

 ten, inserted on aperigynous ring; styles j 

 five, distinct ; seeds numerous, keeled or i 

 winged round the edge. S. arrensis, the I 

 Corn Spurrey, a common weed in cornfields I 

 and cultivated ground generally, especially 

 where the soil is light orsandy, is a strag- j 

 gling plant about a foot high, with some- 



