Oje Cnras'urn at 230tani?. 



[ACKI 



most remarkable species is not uncommon 

 in the Mediterranean, but none has yet 

 been observed on our own coasts. [M. J. B.] 

 ACETABULUM. The receptacle of cer- 

 tain fungals. 



ACHJEXE or ACHENE. Any small, brit- 

 tle, seed-like fruit, such as Linnteus called 

 a naked seed. 



ACHANIA. The name given to a genus 

 of plants of the mallow family (Malvacea?), 

 some of the species of which are cultivated 

 in our stoves for the beauty of their flowers. 

 They are shrubs inhabiting South America, 

 Mexico, the West Indies, &c. The calyx is 

 double, the outer of many pieces, the inner 

 tubular and five-toothed; there are five 

 petals with appendages at their base ; the 

 filaments are united into a spirally twisted 

 tube, bearing the anthers on the summit ; 

 and the flowers are succeeded by a five- 

 celled fruit. A. JLTalvaviscus is remark- 

 able for the beauty of its scarlet axillary 

 flowers, and its green, heart-shaped, sharp- 

 ly-pointed leaves. [M. T. M.] 



ACHARIA. A genus of erect, slender, 

 glaucous Cape herbs, belonging to the natu- 

 ral order Papayacece. They have alternate 

 deeply trifid leaves, and axillary unisexual 

 flowers, with a three-leaved involucel, and 

 a ca m panulate trifl d caly x. Th e male flower 

 has three stamens, alternating with three 

 scales. In the females the three scales sur- 

 round the one-celled stipitate ovary. [W. C] 



ACHE. (Fr.) Apium. — DE MONTAGJTE. 

 Levisticum officinale. — DE8 CEIE3TS. 

 JEthusa Cynapium. 



ACHE'E. (Fr.) Polygonum aviculare. 



ACIIIAR. An Eastern condiment, formed 

 of the young shoots of Bambusa arundi- 

 naria. 



ACHILLEA. A name anciently given to 

 a plant 'wherewith Achilles cured the 

 wounds of his soldiers.' It is now applied 

 to a family of plants belonging to the 

 natural order of compound flowers. Most 

 of the species have deeply-divided woolly 

 leaves, and bear their flower-heads, which 

 are white, yellow, or purple, in flat clusters 

 (corymbs) at the extremity of the stem. 

 Two species only are common in Great 

 Britain : — A. Pto/rmica, Sneezewort, an her- 

 baceous plant, a foot high or more, bearing 

 heads rather less in size than a daisy, 

 which have the disk, as well as the ray, 

 white. This is frequent in moist meadows, 

 especially in the hill countries. It derives 

 its name from its alleged property of ex- 

 citing sneezing when pulverised, a virtue 

 which it probably possesses, though not to 

 an extent beyond that of many other plants 

 undistinfruished by special names. A. Mil- 

 lefolium, Milfoil or common Tarrow, is 

 an herbaceous perennial, with tough up- 

 right stems, more or less woolly deeply-cut 

 jaa-sed leaves, and flat corymbs of flower- 

 heads, containing very few florets, which 

 are either white, pink, or, rarely, deep pur- 

 ple. Its properties are highly astringent, 

 and it was anciently much prized as a vuine- 



I rary. The older English botanists called it 

 ! Nose-bleed, 'because the leaves being put 

 into the nose caused it to bleed.' Several 

 foreign species are cultivated as border 

 plants, and are conspicuous either by their 

 flowers or hoary foliage,. [C. A. J.] 



ACHIMENES. An extensive genus of 

 very handsome tropical and sub-tropical 

 herbs, furnished with scaly underground 

 tubers, by which they are perpetuated. They 

 I are much cultivated in hothouses on ac- 

 | count of their ornamental character ; and 

 J many new forms, developing greater va- 

 riety and attractiveness than are to be found 

 in the original kinds, have been obtained 

 J in the cultivated state. They belong to the 

 order Gesneracece., and their most obvious 

 [ peculiarities consist in a five-parted sub- 

 equal calyx, the tube of which is joined 

 j with the ovary at its base ; a, funnel-shaped 

 corolla, of which the tube is somewhat 

 ] oblique, and gibbous behind at the base, 

 I and the limb spreading flve-lobed and nearly 

 : equal ; four didynamous included stamens 

 I inserted on the tube of the corolla, with 

 the rudiment of a fifth ; a simple style with 

 a subcapitate obsoletely two-lobed stigma ; 

 and an ovary coherent with the base of the 

 calyx, bordered by an annular or ring- 

 formed glandular disk, one-celled, contain- 

 ing many ovules, which are attached to a 

 of pair parietal placenta. They have fleshy 

 ! erect stems ; opposite, serrated, often hairy 

 leaves ; and axillary flowers, the pedicels of 

 which are not unfrequently accompanied 

 ; by little scaly, bulbiform tubers, like those 

 produced at the base of the stem beneath 

 the surface of the ground. The genus has 

 been divided into several by modern bota- 

 ' nists, but few of the proposed groups have 

 been generally received. The principal of 

 I these new genera, in addition to Achimencs 

 itself,— which is made to consist of erect 

 herbs with axillary flowers, having a mem- 

 branaceous entire glandular ring, and a 

 two-cleft stigma,— are the following : 

 | Kollikeria: dwarf herbs with a terminal 

 racemose inflorescence, a membranaceous 

 nearly entire glandular ring, and a stomato- 

 morphous stigma. 

 I Locheria : erect herbs, with axillary or 

 ' sub-panicled flowers, a thickened fleshy 

 nearly entire five-angled glandular ring, 

 | and a two-cleft stigma. 

 I G-uthnickia: erect herbs, with axillary 

 flowers, a thickened fleshy nearly entire 

 five-angled glandular ring, and a stomato 

 | morphous stigma. 



| Scheeria : erect herbs, with large axillary 

 1 flowers, a thick fleshy subentire glandular 

 j ring, and stomatomorphous stigma. 

 I Mandirola : erect herbs, with axillary or 

 sometimes panicled flowers, having the 

 glandular ring membranaceous, and com- 

 posed of five crenatures or lobes, and a two- 

 lobed stigma. 



Tydcea: erect herbs, with axillary or j 

 somewhat panicled flowers, having the i 

 glandular ring composed of five distinct 

 glands, and a two-cleft stigma. 



Of these new genera Tydcea is the most 

 distinct and the most generally accepted. ! 



