THASJ 



E!)€ Ercasury af 33fltanp. 



1140 



posed to have been the produce of one of 

 them. The species are herbaceous peren- 

 nials, with the lower leaves once twice or 

 thrice pinnated, or sometimes even more 

 highly divided, and the upper ones reduced 

 to the sheathing stalk only. Their flowers 

 are disposed in large compound many- 

 rayed umbels, with few or no involucral 

 leaves , and they have the rim of their calyx 

 five-toothed, and the points of their ellip- 

 tic yellow-coloured petals turned in. Their 

 fruits are flattened from the back, each 

 half having five primary and four secondary 

 ribs, the two side ones of the latter being 

 expanded into thin entire wings. About a 

 dozen species have been described, but half 

 of them are now referred to other genera. 

 The true species of Tliapsia are all natives 

 of the countries bordering on the Mediter- 

 ranean. T. garganica is a native of South- 

 ern Europe from Spain to Greece, and also 

 of Algeria, where it is called Drias, and is 

 considered by the natives to be a specific 



'S:WV-' '-V., 



Thapsia garganica. 



against pains of all kinds, every part of 

 the plant being held to be of equal efficacy. 

 To camels, however, it is a deadly poison. 

 Its root is purgative. T.Silphion, often re- 

 garded as a variety of the foregoing, is 

 found on the mountains in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the site of the ancient Cyrene, 

 and is supposed to have formerly produced 

 the gum-resin known to the ancients as 

 Laser Cyreniacum, sometimes called Asa- 

 dulcis to distinguish it from Asa-fcetida, 

 both of these being included by the Greeks 

 under the name Silphiori, as also were other 

 umbellifers. Representations of it occur 

 on the coins of Cyrene. [A. S.] 



THASPIUM. A genus of North Ameri- 

 can orthospermous Umbelliferce, consisting 

 of perennial herbs, w.ith ternately or bi- 

 ternately divided leaves, the radical ones 

 sometimes undivided, and the umbels ter- 

 minal or opposite the leaves, without an 

 involucre, and with three-leaved and one- 

 sided involucels. The calyx-limb is mi- 

 nutely toothed : the elliptical petals are 

 prolonged into a long inliexed point ; the 

 styles are slender, as long as the ovary, and 



somewhat divergent , the elliptical fruit 

 is not contracted at the sides, and the 

 convex carpels have five equidistant 

 winged ribs, while the intervals contain 

 single vitta?, and the commissure has two. 

 The genus differs from Zizia only in the 

 structure of the fruit. Its popular Ame- 

 rican name is Meadow Parsnip. [W CJ 



THATCH. Calyptronoma Swartzii, and 

 Copernicia tectorum. —, PALMETTO. 27m'- 

 nax parvijlora. — , SILVER. Thrinax 

 argeniea. 



THATCH-TREE. A name applied to 

 palms generally in the West Indies. 



THAULAY SeeTHALAY. 



THE. (Fr.') The name given to various 

 plants of which tea-like infusions are 

 made. — A FOULON. Psoralea glandu- 

 losa. — BOU. Thea Bohea. — D'AME- 

 RIQUE. Caprari.il biflora. — D'EUROPE. 

 Veronica officinalis. — DE LA MARTI- 

 NIQUE. Capraria biflora. —DE LAMER 

 DU SUD. Leptospermum scoparium. — 

 DE LA NOUVELLE HOLLANDE. Smilax 

 glycyphylla. — DE LA NOUVELLE 

 JERSEY. Ceanothus americanus. — 

 D'OSWEGO Monarda didyma. — DE 

 SANTE. Capraria biflora. — DE STMON 

 PAULI. Myrica Gale. — DES ANTIL- 

 LES. Capraria biflora. — DES A PA- 

 LACHES. Prmos glaber . also Viburnum 

 cassinoides. — DES JESUITES. Psoralea 

 americana; also Ambrina ambroxioides. — 

 DU LABRADOR. Ledum latifolium.' — 

 DU MEXIQUE. Ambrina ambrosioides. 

 — DU PARAGUAY. Ilex Paraguay ensis. 



THEACE.E. Mirbel's name for the 

 TemstrbmiacecB. 



THEA. A genus of Ternstriimiacece. A 

 few modern botanists combine the two 

 well-known genera, Thea and Camellia, 

 adopting for the genus the name Camellia, 

 which is the oldest of the two ; but as they 

 have from the time of Linnaeus down- 

 wards been regarded by the majority as 

 distinct, we shall here consider them so, 

 more especially too as improved and bet- 

 ter-marked characters for their distinction 

 have lately been pointed out. Thea, as 

 now defined, is characterised by the calyx 

 consisting of five persistent sepals with 

 bracts at the base, by the inner or free 

 series of stamens agreeing in number 

 with the petals (viz., five seven or eight), 

 and by having only three styles; while 

 CameUialms numerous deciduous sepals, 

 double as many free stamens as petals, 

 and normally five styles, though these are 

 sometimes reduced to four or even three. 

 Another distinction consists in the flowers 

 of Thea being turned downwards, whilst 

 those of Camellia are erect. The fruit of 

 Tliea is three-celled, usually with only one 

 seed in each cell, and splits at maturity 

 through the cells into three valves, each 

 of which has a partition down its middle. 

 The genus is confined to Upper India, 

 China, and Japan ; and, in addition to the 

 well-known Tea-plant cultivated in all 

 these countries, it contains five other 



