%\yt Ereatfurg of Stotang. 



62 



very different affection, and entirely inde- ' 

 pendent of the attacks of insects. [M. J; B.] 



ANCHIETEA. P. Anchietea, a Brazilian 

 writer on plants, is commemorated in the 

 name of this genus of violetworts, Vio- 

 lacece. The species are shrubs, with un- 

 divided leaves, and small white flowers in | 

 axillary tufts. The calyx consists of five 

 unequal divisions, not prolonged at the i 

 base; petals, four, unequal, the hinder- 

 most one large, and prolonged into a spur ; 

 filaments very short ; anthers fixed toge- 

 ther, membranous at the top, two of them 

 prolonged by means of their connectives 

 into the spur of the petals. Fruit large, 

 capsular, membranous, and bladder-like. 

 Of A. salutaris, a creeping bush, with a 

 nauseous taste, and a smell of cabbage, 

 the root is used as a purgative by the Bra- 

 zilians, and as a remedy in skin diseases. 

 A. pyrifolia is an ornamental stove-creeper, 

 with white flowers. [M. T. MJ 



ANCHUSA. A genus of Boraginacece, 

 consisting of rough or hispid plants, most 

 of which are natives of Southern Europe 

 and the Eag;,resembling Lithospermum and 

 Alkanna, but with the nuts which form 

 the fruit hollowed out at the base, and the 

 corolla, which is from funnel-shaped to 

 salver-shaped, closed by five scales at the 

 throat ; flowers purple, blue or yellowish, 

 in scorpioid racemes, which are generally 

 bracteated, and in pairs. Three species J 

 occur in Britain, but two of them appear to 

 be doubtful natives. The evergreen Al- 

 kanet, .4. semperrircns, has broad ovate | 

 leaves, those of the root large, and on : 

 long stalks ; with sky-blue flowers in short 

 twin racemes on short stalks, from the 

 axils of the leaves. The common Alkanet, 

 A. officinalis, has narrow oblong leaves, 

 and deep purple flowers, in several ra- 

 cemes, at the top of the stems. The small 

 Bugloss, A. arve?isis, is often separated 

 from the other species, under the name of 

 Lycopsis arvensis, on account of the tube 

 of the corolla being curved : it is a very 

 bristly annual, with small pale blue lit >wers, 

 and narrow oblong leaves, and is a com- 

 mon weed on cultivated ground. The first 

 two species are often cultivated in gar- 

 dens, but the biennial European A. pani- 

 culata, or italica, is the most common in 

 flower borders, as its flowers are as large 

 as a fourpenny piece, and bright azure 

 blue. A. capensis is from the Cape of Good 

 Hope. A. tinctoria, the Alkanet, is now 

 called Alkanna tinctoria. [J. T. S.] 



ANCIPITOUS. Two-edged, as the stem 

 of an Iris. 



AXCISTROCLADExE. Under this name 

 Planchon proposes to form a new natural 

 order, out of the solitary genus Ancistro- 

 cladus— which see 



AXCISTROCLADTTS. A genus of climb- 

 ing plants, inhabiting the East Indies. Its 

 prominent characters are the branches, 

 some of which are curved and hook-like ; 

 the alternate, stalked, leathery leaves un- 

 provided with stipules; inflorescence a 



panicle; ten stamens in one row, five 

 shorter than the others, all slightly ad- 

 herent one to the other at their base ; the 

 anthers have a slightly prolonged crest at 

 the top ; the one-celled ovary has a single 

 ovule at its base, and ripens into a sort of 

 nut, crowned by the persistent calyx. The 

 genus is by Planchon referred to a new 

 order, Ancistrocladew, more nearly allied 

 to DipterocarpacecB than to any other 

 group. ' It combines,' he says, ' with the 

 vegetation of Nepenthes, the leaves of 

 Lopltira, the stamens and stigmata of 

 certain malpighiaceous plants, the adhe- 

 rent calyx of Dipterocarpus, the adherent 

 ovary of Symplocos, the hook-like branches 

 of Hugonia, and a peculiar fleshy fungus- 

 like embryo, with a cylindrical rather long 

 radicle, and a disc-shaped cotyledonary 

 mass.' [M. T. MJ 



ANCOLIE. (Pr.) Aquilegia. 



ANDER. In names formed from the 

 Greek=the male sex or stamen. Monan- 

 c?er=having one stamen. 



ANDERSONIA. A genus of squarrose- 

 leaved shrubs, belonging to the natural 

 order Epacridacece, containing several 

 species, remarkable for the great beauty of 

 their flowers and the singular structure of 

 their leaves. They are natives of New 

 Holland. The flowers are terminal, and 

 solitary or in spikes. The calyx is co- 

 loured, five-partite, with two or more 

 bracts. The corolla is subcampanulate, 

 hypocrateriform, and five-lobed, the lobes 

 bearded at their base. The five hypo- 

 gynous stamens just appear beyond the 

 throat of the corolla. The existence of a 

 nectary, consisting of five scales, separates 

 this genus from Sprengelia, with which it 

 is otherwise identical. The ovary is five- 

 celled, with many ovules in each cell. The 

 fruit, a berry, is esculent. [W. C] 



ANDIRA. A genus of the peaflower 

 tribe, of the natural family Leguminosce. 

 About twelve species are known, all of 

 them trees of moderate height, with alter- 

 nate unequally pinnate leaves, about one 

 foot long, of five to ten pairs of leaflets. 

 The stipules are sometimes large and per- 

 sistent, or they are small and fall early. 

 The flowers are often showy, and are dis- 

 posed in axillary or terminal panicles — 

 the reddish lilac of their petals contrasting 

 well with the often dark purple branches 

 of the flower-stalks. The pod is one- 

 seeded, drupaceous, and somewhat like a 

 plum in appearance. All the species are 

 natives of tropical America, but a variety 

 of A. inermis is found in SenegamMa. 

 This species is called in the West Indies 

 the Cabbage-tree. Its bark is anthelmintic, 

 but requires great care in its administra- 

 tion, being powerfully narcotic. It has a 

 sweetish taste, but a disagreeable smell, 

 and is given in the form of a powder, de- 

 coction, or extract. The decoction is gene- 

 rally preferred, and is made by boiling an 

 ounce of the dried bark in a quart of 

 water, until it assumes the colour of Ma- 

 deira wine. The effects of an over-dose 



