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1082 



spongy nature. No plant affords a better 

 material for packing than dry Sphagnum 

 on account of its great elasticity, and 

 when slightly moistened it is the best of 

 all substances for enveloping the roots of 

 plants which have a long distance to tra- 

 vel before planting. They afford also a 

 useful material in the cultivation of or- 

 chids and some other plants in the conser- 

 vatory. There is but one genus. Sphagnum, 

 which occurs in all parts of the world in 

 temperate climates. The species are diffi- 

 cult of definition, and are probably far less 

 numerous than is supposed. [M. J. B.] 



SPHAGNUM. See Sphagnei. 



SPHAIGNE. (Fr.) Sphagnum. 



SPHALEROCARPIUM. A bony one- 

 seeded seed-vessel, inclosed inafleshycup, 

 not belonging to the pericarp. 



SPHENOCLEA. A genus of bellworts, 

 having the following characters :— The 

 calyx has five deep-keeled lobes; the 

 corolla is shortly tubular, its five divisions 

 with inflexed margins concealing the 

 anthers ; the style is very short, ending in 

 two obscure points; and the capsule is 

 two-celled, opening by a lid at the top. 

 The only species is an Indian herb inhabit- 

 ing marshy places, having alternate nar- 

 row and entire leaves, and flowers in close 

 terminal heads. [G. D.] 



SPHENOGYNE. A genus of Cape Com- 

 posite, some of which form handsome 

 annuals in our flower-gardens. They have 

 an imbricated involucre, the inner scales 

 of which or all have a dilated scarious ter- 

 mination; the receptacle is paleaceous, 

 and the pappus simple in a single row of 

 ohovate or wedge-shaped blunt scales, 

 which become opaque-white when mature. 

 The stigmas have a dilated truncate apex. 

 They are herbs or subshrubs, with the 

 aspect of Anthemis ; and have large spread- 

 ing rayed flower-heads, of an orange colour 

 barred with black. [T. M.] 



SPHENOTOMA. A small genus of Epa- 

 cridacece distinguished by its calyx of five 

 sepals, with two bracts at the base ; its 

 salver-shaped corolla, with a slender tube 

 and beardless limb divided into five obtuse 

 spreading wedge-shaped segments ; its 

 included stamens, and its five-celled seed- 

 vessel. It comprises shrubs, natives of 

 the southern coast of Australia, having the 

 branches annulated when naked ; imbri- 

 cated sharp-pointed leaves, cucullate and 

 half-sheathing at the base; and white 

 flowers, in simple terminal spikes. [R. H.] 



SPHEROIDAL. Any solid with a figure 

 approaching to that of a sphere. 



SPHERT7LA. A globose peridium 

 through whose opening sporidia buried in 

 pulp are emitted. 



SPHINCTOLOBIUM. A name given by 

 Vogel to three Brazilian trees of the 

 Leguminosa 3 , with unequally pinnate 

 leaves, and panicles of rose-coloured flow- 

 ers. These plants are now placed in Lon- 



cliocarpus, of which they have all the cha- 

 racters. [A. A. B.] 



SPHONDYLIUM. Heracleum. 



SPHRIGOSIS. We have already under 

 the article Rankness noticed one form of 

 this disease, which may be either consti- 

 tutional or the effect of over-nutriment. 

 Fruit-trees are not however the only mem- 

 bers of the vegetable kingdom which 

 suffer from this evil, which is notorious in 

 many of our cultivated crops, and no less 

 deceptive than injurious. Here, however, 

 over-luxuriance may arise from constitu- 

 tional defects rather than from injudicious 

 manuring. Those persons who undertake 

 to supply good turnip-seed check the 

 luxuriance of the root by repeated trans- 

 planting, as it is found that seed raised 

 from the finest roots produce plants 

 which have a tendency to make a luxuriant 

 head rather than a large and sound root. 

 Where crops are to be consumed in the 

 green state, it is always a question whether 

 increased weight may not be attained at 

 the expense of nutritious quality ; and in 

 the case of potatoes, though a large crop 

 of tubers may be obtained, their keeping 

 properties will in proportion be diminished, 

 —a circumstance which may not be of much 

 consequence where an immediate sale is 

 the object, except indeed to the purchaser, 

 but which would prove disastrous where 

 the crop is to be stored. 



Fungi seem occasionally to exercise 

 some influence on the apparent luxuriance 

 of a crop by their action on chlorophyll. No 

 crops look better than those of the potato 

 which will ultimately fall a prey to the 

 murrain, and the peculiar green hue of 

 bunted wheat foretells the disease to the 

 practised eye months before the ear 

 bursts through the sheath. The bright 

 green of fairy rings is perhaps due merely 

 to the manure from the fungi of the pre- 

 vious year, but we could quote other in- 

 stances in which the presence of the 

 spawn of fungi in tissues increases the 

 green tint of the leaves. [M. J. Bj 



SPIC. (Fr.) Lavandula Spica. 

 SPICA. See Spike. 



SPICANARD FAUX. (Fr.) Allium 

 Victorialis. 



SPICANTA. Blechnum. 



SPICE-BUSH. Oreodaphne califomica; 

 also Benzoin odoriferum. 



SPICEWOOD. A North American 

 name for Benzoin odoriferum. 



SPICKNEL. Athamanta. 



SPICULA (adj. SPICULATE). A fine 

 fleshy erect point. 



SPICULE, or SPICULES. The points 

 of the basidia of fungals; also their aci- 

 culee. 



SPICUL^A. A terrestrial genus of 

 orchids, belonging to the tribe Neottem. 

 The only described species is from South- 

 western Australia, and is a small glabrous 



