Zl)t Crcatfurj) of Matziw. 



[acek 



a spike which is generally lax ; the calyx 

 white, its limb surrounding the rose- 

 coloured corolla like a frill. A. glumaceum 

 is a very pretty garden rock plant. [J. T. S.] 

 ACANTHOPHIPPII7M. A genus of ter- 

 restrial orchids allied to Bletia, with large, 

 fleshy tubular flowers, growing almost at 

 the base of the leaves. These flowers are 

 white or pink, and occasionally streaked 

 with a deeper colour. The few species that 

 are known come from the tropical regions 

 of Asia. 



ACANTHUS. The genus from which the 

 order Acanthacem derives its name. The 

 species of the genus are remarkable for 

 the beauty of their foliage. The calyx con- 

 sists of four unequal pieces, the two side 

 ones being much smaller than the other 

 two ; the corolla is also irregular, and has 

 but one lip ; the stamens are four in number, 

 one pair longer than the other ; the anthers 

 are one-celled, and covered with hairs ; 

 the capsule is two-celled, each cell contain- 

 ing two rounded seeds. A. mollis and 

 A. spinosus both grow in Italy, Spain, and 



Acanthu3 spinosu3. 



south of France, &c. The leaves of the 

 latter plant are supposed to have furnished 

 to Caliimachus the model for the decora- 

 tion of the capital of the columns in the 

 Corinthian style of architecture. Both 

 species are cultivated in this country, but 

 are ill adapted to resist frost. [M. T.*M.] 



ACARPH-SA. A genus of the composite 

 family (Covipositm) containing but one 

 species, A. artemisicefolia, a native of Cali- 

 fornia. It is an herb with ragwort-like 

 leaves three to four inches long, glandular 

 above, and hoary beneath ; the flower-heads 

 few and stalked, the florets yellow. The 

 name has reference to the absence of the 

 chaffy pappus of Chomactis, and the chaffy 

 receptacle of Madia, to both of which it is 

 allied. The name has been by mistake 

 | printed Acicarphaia, instead of Acarpkcea, 

 in some books. [A. A. BJ 



ACAULIS. Having a very short stem : 



literally stemless, but a plant without a 

 stem cannot exist, unless it is a mere vesi- 

 cle. 



ACATJLOSIA. A diseased condition of 

 plants, in which the stem is imperfectly 

 developed or wholly wanting. Its forma- 

 tion may moreover be retarded by the 

 main powers of vegetation being directed 

 to some other quarter, as in turnips to the 

 formation of an enormous root. There 

 may moreover be stemless varieties of some 

 particular species ; the primrose represent- 

 ing, for instance, a form of the cowslip in 

 which the axis is reduced to little more 

 than a point. The common hyacinth some- 

 times flowers imperfectly without any 

 elongation of the stem, a state which 

 arises from injury or decay of the roots ; 

 and from similar affections a like condition 

 may 'be produced by heat. The stem of 

 Cnicus acaulis is not developed in poor dry 

 pastures, though it occasionally acquires a 

 foot or more in length. The stunted growth 

 of trees also may arise from a like cause, 

 but is more frequently produced by actual 

 injury, intentional or otherwise. [M. J. B.] 



ACCRESCENT. Growing larger after 

 flowering. The calyx of Melanorrhcca, 

 which is small and green when in flower, 

 becomes large and leafy when the fruit is 

 ripe, and is therefore accrescent. 



ACCTJMBENT. Lying against anything : 

 used in opposition to incumbent, or lying 

 upon something ; a term employed in de- 

 scribing the embryo of crucifers. 



ACER. Under this name are included 

 the Sycamore (not of Scripture) and the 

 Maples, trees indigenous to the temperate 

 regions of both the Old and New World, 

 where they are either large-sized shrubs or 

 moderate trees. They are mostly of rapid 

 growth, and easily propagated. For these 

 qualities, and for the beauty and variety of 

 their foliage, the species are much planted 

 in England for ornamental purposes, while 

 in America one species has great economic 

 value, being employed in the manufacture 

 of sugar, a substance which is found more 

 or less in the sap of all. The flowers, though 

 they display no striking colours, attract the 

 attention from their number, graceful ar- 

 rangement, or the multitude of winged 

 insects which, at a season when flowers are 

 scarce, resort to them for food. The leaves 

 are mostly lobed and toothed, in some spe- 

 cies very large ; and the seed-vessels (called 

 samarce by botanists), which are winged 

 capsules, each containing a single seed and 

 united by their bases into pairs, are strongly 

 characteristic of the family. 



The common sycamore, A. Pseudo-plata- 

 nus, abundant as it is in England, and 

 readily though it propagates itself by seed, 

 is, on good grounds, supposed not to be 

 indigenous, but to have been introduced 

 from the European continent in the four- 

 teenth century. Of a tree so well known 

 it is unnecessary to give any description. 

 Its uses are numerous. The wood is used 

 for various articles of domestic furniture, 

 musical instruments, and toys ; as fuel it is 



