1249 



EIjc Cvtss'uri? of aSotaitw. 



[ZING 



exterior broader and concave, the interior 

 narrower and keeled ; pales two, nearly 

 equal; stamens three, in the male flowers; 

 styles two, in the female. There are two 

 species described. [D. MJ 



ZEUXIXE. A genus of small-flowered 

 terrestrial orchids, from Tropical Asia, be- 

 longing to the Xeottece. They are stemless 

 herbs, with liuearleaves; and the flowering 

 spike is terminal, and sessile amongst the 

 leaves. The flowers are, as in Goodyera, 

 red white or yellow. It differs from 2Io- 

 nochilus, a nearly-allied genus, in its un- 

 divided lip, and from Chloidia in its simple 

 inflorescence. [W B. H.] 



ZETHERIA montana is the only repre- 

 sentative of a biguoniaceous genus, pecu- 

 liar to Brazil. It is a larae tree, with digi- 

 tate leaves, an irregularly-splitting calyx, 

 a tubular corolla, four fertile and one 

 sterile stamen, glabrous anthers, and a 

 nearly round very prickly capsule, the 

 valves of which are placed in a contrary 

 direction to the partition dividing the 

 fruit into two cells. The plant is common, 

 and imparts, by its stately growth and rich 

 golden panicles, a distinctive feature to 

 Brazilian scenery. [B. S.] 



ZEYSOUM. An Egyptian name for the 

 flower-heads of Sanioliua fragrcmtissima, 

 a substitute for chamomiles, 



ZEZEGANY. Sesamum orientale. 



ZTCHTA. A genus of climbing shrubs, 

 natives of Swan R,iver,andbelongingtothe 

 family of papilionaceous Leguminosce. The 

 leaves are ternale, and the flower-stalks 

 axillary, bearing numerous flowers arrang- 

 ed umbel-wise. The calyx is bell-shaped, 

 its limb five-toothed and two-lipped ; the 

 vexillum or standard is roundish notched 

 stalked reflexed, longer than the wings, 

 which adhere to the curved shortened keel; 

 stamens diadelphous ; ovary many-celled; 

 style short ; pod oblong linear compressed 

 leathery, incompletely divided by cellular 

 partitions into numerous compartments. 

 One or two species are grown as ornamental 

 greenhouse plants in this country. The 

 generic name is derived from that of the 

 Austrian Countess Zichy, who was an ar- 

 dent lover of botany. [M. T. M.] 



ZIERIA. With the exception of Z. lan- 

 ceolata, which is found also in Tasmania, 

 the whole of the dozen or more species be- 

 longing to this genus of Eutacece are con- 

 fined to the continent of Australia, and 

 chiefly to the eastern coast, extending to 

 as far as the tropics. They are small trees 

 or shrubs, with opposite simple or trifoliate 

 leaves, full of pellucid dots; and usually 

 axillary few or many-flowered panicles of 

 white flowers, having a four-parted calyx, 

 four petals, as many stamens with smooth 

 filaments inserted into adeeply-lobeddisk, 

 and four single-celled ovaries, with a short 

 simple style rising from between them, and 

 ending in a four-lobed stigma ; the ripe 

 fruit consisting of four (or sometimes 

 fewer) single-seeded pieces, each ultimate- 

 ly splitting into two valves. 



The Tasmanian species,^. lanceolata,\s a, 

 shrub, and is called Stinkwood by tlie co- 

 lonists, on account of its fetid smell. One 

 common at Illawarra, and there called 

 Turmeric-tree, has a very yellow Inner bark, 

 suitable for dyeing, and also a yellow 

 close-grained hard wood, which is valuable 

 for ornamental purposes, and might pro- 

 bably be used for engraving. [A. SJ 



ZTETENIA. A section of the genus 

 Stachys, containing several undershrubs, 

 natives of the Mediterranean region. They 

 are glabrous, or more generally covered 

 with a soft "white wool. [W. C] 



ZIGZAG. The same as Flexuose. 



ZILLA. A genus of Cruciferce from 

 Northern Africa, consisting of smooth 

 glaucous undershrubs, with numerous 

 stiff divaricate spinescent branches, the 

 younger ones leafy, the racemes spinescent 

 at the apex, with few distant violet flowers. 

 The pouch is two-celled indehiscent ovate- 

 globose corky, with a thick conical persis- 

 tent style forming a beak , seed solitary 

 in each cell, with folded leafy cotyledons 

 enclosing the embryo. [J. T. SJ 



ZIMMT. The German name for Cinna- 

 mon. 



ZINGIBERACE.E. (Scitammece taken in 

 a restricted sense, Camice, Amomece, Alpi- 

 niacece, Gingerworts.) An order of mo- 

 nocotyledons, considered by some as a 

 suborder of Scitaminece, distinguished 

 from both 2Iusacece and Marantacece by the 

 stamens (of which one only is perfect) 

 bearing a two-celled anther. This stamen 

 belongs to the inner whorl, the two others 

 of the same series being always abortive 

 or rudimentary ; whilst the three belonging 

 to the outer whorl are converted into pe- 

 tals, one of them (called the labellum) usu- 

 ally very large, the two others smaller or 

 sometimes wanting. The species are all 

 tropical, more or less aromatic, having the 

 rootstock usually creeping ; and the leaves 

 large, simple, with pinnate or diverging 

 veins. The flowers, often handsome, arise 

 from among membranous bracts and form 

 a dense spike or raceme, or sometimes a 

 branched panicle; the inflorescence being 

 either sessile amongst the radical leaves, 

 or terminating a scape or leafy stein. 

 There are above thirty genera, including 

 Zingiber, Curcuma, Amomum, Alpinia, 

 Costus, &c. 



ZINGIBER. The Greeks applied this 

 name to the article we now call Ginger. 

 Botanically, it is adopted to designate a 

 genus of Zingiberacece, consisting of herba- 

 ceous Indian plants, with creeping jointed 

 woody rootstocks, from which are sent up, 

 every year, stems surrounded by sheathing 

 leaves arranged in two ranks. The flowers 

 are borne on cone-shaped spikes, thrown up 

 from the rootstock, and protected by 

 bracts. The distinguishing features of 

 the flowers are that the lateral inner lobes 

 of the corolla are absent, and that the fila- 

 ment is prolonged beyond the anther in 

 the form of a long beak. 



