ii9; 



€i)C &rea£urg of 23otang. 



[UTEI 



Latin uro ' to burn,' in allusion to the sting- 

 ing hairs. [M. T. M.J 



URUCURI, URUCURI-TBA. Brazilian 

 names, respectively, for Attalea excelsa and 

 Cocos coronata. 



TJRVILLBA. A genus of Sapindacece, 

 distinguished from its allies by the three 

 unopening pieces of which its fruits are 

 composed being winged along the back, 

 somewhat inflated in the middle, and 

 at length separating from each other and 

 from the central axis; each piece contains a 

 single roundish seed, partly enveloped in 

 | an aril, and having thick fleshy straight- 

 j ish cotyledons or seed-leaves. The few 

 species belonging^ to it are all climbing 

 : shrubs, natives of Tropical America and 

 i the West Indies, and have leaves consist- 

 ing of three leaflets, and racemes of whitish 

 flowers with two tendrils near the top of 

 the main stalk. [A. SJ 



USEREKEE. An Indian name for the 

 Emblic Myrobalan, Emblica officinalis. 



USHOK A. The Bengalee name of Jonesia 

 Asoca. 



USNEA. A genus of lichens belonging 

 to the order Parmeliacece, being the typical 

 genus of the division Usneacei, in which 

 the disk is open from the first, and the 

 thallus mostly vertical and shrubby, with- 

 out any hypothallus. The thallus of Usnea 

 itself is rounded branched and generally 

 pendulous, with a central thread; occasion- 

 ally in very old specimens the thread 

 vanishes, and is replaced by a cavity. The 

 apothecia are terminal orbicular and pel- 

 tate, formed of the substance of the thallus 

 and nearly of the same colour, the circum- 

 ference mostly without a border and gene- 

 rally ciliated. The species grow on rocks 

 or trunks of trees, from which latter cir- 

 cumstance they are often called Tree Moss 

 or Tree Hair, and seem to be what Milton 

 had in mind when he talks of 



th' humble shrub 

 And bush with frizzled hair implicit 



"We have three species in Great Britain, 

 which are also widely distributed over the 

 world. Some of the Southern species, as 

 U. melaxantha, are magnificent. In the 

 stem of this (which attains a considerable 

 size) concentric zones of growth have been 

 observed by Dr. Hooker. We have not, 

 however, been able to verify this, but, en 

 the contrary, we have observed radiating 

 wedges, which present another analogy in 

 their resemblance to the medullary rays of 

 exogens. [M. J. B.] 



TJSTERIA. A genus of Lnganiaeeo?, com- 

 prising a shrub with terminal panicles of 

 flowers on hairy pedicels; calyx short, four- 

 cleft, the anterior division largest, petal- 

 . like ; corolla salver-shaped, its tube dis- 

 ; tended below, the limb unequally four- 

 parted ; stamen one, on the corolla; ovary 

 two-celled ; ovules numerous, placed on 

 placentas ascending from the base of the 

 compartments; style short; fruit capsular; 

 seeds numerous winged, on placentas that 



are ultimately detached from the walls of 

 the capsule. [M. T. M.J 



USTILAGINEI. A section of Fungi of 

 the natural order Puccinicei, in which group 

 the protospores are not disposed in orbi- 

 cular or elliptic sori, but, except in one or 

 two instances, form irregular profusely 

 dusty masses. Where there is anything 

 like sori they are much elongated, as in U. 

 longissima, so common on Glyceria aqua- 

 tica. The protospores of Ustilaginei are 

 either produced from very delicate branch- 

 ed tissue or from closely-packed cells. In 

 Polycystis, e. g. those of the meadow-saffron 

 and violet, they are irregular, and com- 

 posed of a few cells; in Tilletia, the com- 

 mon bunt, globose with a minutely cellu- 

 lar cuticle ; in Tuburcinia very irregular in 

 form, and either subglobose or conchiform, 

 consisting of minute cells ; and in Ustilago, 

 which is the typical genus, simple with a 

 simple coat. To this genus Ustilago belong 

 the various kinds of smut, which are so 

 injurious to corn and grasses. A large 

 species occurs on the common reed, the 

 spores of which are very troublesome to 

 the labourers employed in the reed-beds, 

 causing severe headaches. The largest of 

 the genus is the maize smut, which is often 

 many inches in diameter. The protospores 

 are mostly black or brown, but occasion- 

 ally they are claret-coloured, violet, &c. In 

 Thecaphora, of which no species has yet 

 been gathered in Great Britain, they have 

 a foxy tint, and have a few straight septa. 

 The species of this genus occur amongst 

 the tissues of seeds. [M. J. B.J 



USTILAGO. Smut, a disease in which 

 the natural tissue is replaced by black 

 powder. Also the typical genus of Usti- 

 laginei : which see. 



USTORUK. An Indian name for Storax. 



USULSOOS. An Arabic name for Liquo- 

 rice-root. 



UTARASHA. An Indian name for Ad- 

 haloda vasica. 



UTERUS. The volva or receptacle of 

 certain fungals. 



UTR. An Eastern name for the essential 

 oil or attar of roses. 



UTRICLE, UTRICULUS. A seed-vessel 

 consisting of a very thin loose pericarp, 

 enclosing a single seed; any thin bottle- 

 like body; the two confluent glumes of 

 Carex. 



UTRICULAR, UTRICULOSE. Bear- 

 ing many utricles. 



UTRICULARIA. A genus of aquatic 

 plants belongingto the order Lentibularia- 

 cece, with a two-lipped spurred corolla, and 

 two-parted calyx of which the upper seg- 

 ment is entire. There are three British 

 species of Bladderwort, which agree in 

 having finely-divided capillary leaves, and 

 delicate yellow flowers, rising above the 

 surface of the water, the rest of the plant 

 remaining submersed. Their roots stems 

 and leaves are furnished with numerous 



