24:5 



5Tt)C EvtKiuryi of ISotant?. 



[CENI 



pinnatifid foliage, and spikes of bright 

 yellow mullein-like flowers. The biennial, 

 C. cretica, found both in Candia and 

 Northern Africa, is at the same time the 

 best known and by far the showiest of the 

 species. As cultivated in gardens, it attains 

 a height of four or five feet, having the 

 root-leaves of a lyrate form and the upper 

 ones oblong, with a long terminal spike of 

 large yellow blossoms, each of which arises 

 from the axil of a small leaf or bract. The 

 corollas have two brownish spots on the 

 upper side near the centre, the two short- 

 est stamens have their filaments bearded, 

 and the segments of the calyx are sharply 

 serrated. This plant affords a good ex- 

 ample of what is termed by botanists a 

 decimate style, this organ, as well as the 

 two longer stamens, being very much 

 bent upwards. C. Arcturus, a dwarf half- 

 shrubby species, is sometimes met with in 

 cottage-windows, and has, like the prece- 

 ding, spikes of yellow flowers, but the 

 calvx seerments are all entire, and the 

 filaments all bearded. [W. TJ 



CELTI8. Nettle-tree. Handsome much- 

 branched deciduous trees belonging to the 

 Ulmacecv, distinguished at once from the 

 true elms by their bearing instead of a 

 membranous fruit a hard fleshy drupe, 

 ■which is edible, and, though small, is 

 remarkably sweet and said to be very 

 wholesome. Several species have been 

 introduced into Great Britain. The Euro- 

 pean Nettle-tree, C.australis, is a tree from 

 thirty to forty feet in height, with a 

 straight trunk and a branched head. The 

 branches are long, slender and flexible, 

 with a grey bark spotted with white, and 

 covered with a slight down at the extremi- 

 ties. The bark of the trunk is rich brown. 

 The leaves are dark green, marked strongly 

 with the nerves on the lower side, and, 

 when young, covered with a yellowish 

 down. They are oval-lanceolate, termi- 

 nating in a point at the summit, and at 

 the base having one side prolonged down 

 the petiole. The flowers are small greenish 

 and inconspicuous, aud are produced at 

 the same time as the leaves. The fruit, 

 which, when ripe, is blackish and resembles 

 a very small withered wild cherry, is said 

 not to become edible until the first frosts, 

 and it hangs on until the following spring. 

 It is remarkably sweet, and is supposed to 

 have been the Lotus of the ancients, the 

 food of the Lotophagi, which Herodotus, 

 Dioscorides, and Theophrastus describe as 

 sweet, pleasant, and wholesome, and which 

 Homer says was so delicious as to make 

 thosewho ate it forget their native country. 

 The berries are still eaten in Spain, and 

 Dr. Walsh says that the modern Greeks are 

 very fond of them. According to Dr. 

 Sibthorpe, they are called in modern Greece 

 | Honey-berries. The tree grows rapidly, 

 j more especially when once established and 

 afterwards cut down, sometimes producing 

 shoots, in the climate of London, six feet 

 or eigbt feet in length. C. australis is 

 found on both the shores of the Mediter- 

 ranean, throughout the whole of the south 



of France, Italy, and Spain. It is pecu- 

 ! liarly abundant in Provence ; and there is a 

 j celebrated tree at Aix, under which it is said 

 I that the ancient sovereigns of Prussia deli- 

 [ vered their edicts to the people. It ismuch 

 : used in the south of Italy and the south of 

 i France for planting squares and public 

 ! walks, when it is frequently found from 

 , forty to fifty feet high, with a trunk from 

 '■. one and a-half to three feet in circum- 

 ference. The wood is extremely compact, 

 ranking between that of the live-oak and 

 box for hardness and density. The wood 

 ! of the branches is elastic and supple. Its 

 i compactness renders it susceptible of a 

 high polish, and when it is cut obliquely 

 across the fibres it very much resembles 

 satin wood. It is used for furniture and 

 carving, and the branches are extensively 

 j employed in making hay-forks,coach-whips. 

 ramrods, and waiking-sticks (Loudon). 

 The North American Nettle-tree, C. occiden- 

 talis, differs from the European species in 

 having longer leaves, which are of a lighter 

 green, and in having the wood of a lighter 

 colour in winter. The American, C. crassi- 

 folia, Huckberry is a very distinct species, 

 and one of the finest trees which compose 

 the dusky forests of the Ohio. The leaves 

 are larger, more acuminated, of a thick 

 texture with a rough surface. The fruit is 

 round, and about the size of a pea. The 

 j Huckberry is found in the greatest abun- 

 I dance in the western states of America. 

 1 The timber is of little value. C. orientalis 

 and C. aculeata are low-spreading trees of 

 inferior interest. French, Micocoulier : 

 German, Lotusbaum. [C. A. J.] 



CENARRHENES. A genus of Protectees, 

 found in Tasmania. Its flowers, which are 

 apetalous, have four sepals with the points 

 attenuated; four stamens with free fila- 

 ments, inserted at the base of the sepals ; 

 and a filiform style with a simple stigma. 

 These flowers are borne on spikes, rather 

 shorter than the leaves. The fruit is a 

 single-seeded berry. C. nitida, the only 

 species, is a small tree about twenty-five 

 feet in height, with shining coriaceous spa- 

 thulate leaves, attenuated at the base, and 

 remotely dentate, with a grooved petiole; 

 they are from four to six inches in length 

 and about one inch in width. [R. H.] 



CENCHRT7S. A genus of grasses belong- 

 ing to the tribe Panicece, and scarcely 

 differing from Pennisetum, except in the 

 involucral scales being more hardened, 

 broader, and more or less connate at the 

 base. Steudel describes thirty species, 

 which are chiefly inhabitants of rather 

 warm and dry countries, consequently 

 they require the protection of a conserva- 

 tory when cultivated in Britain. [D. M.] 



CENIA A genus of the composite order, 

 having the flowers at the circumference of 

 the heads either strap-shaped or with two 

 lips ; those in the centre tubular and four- 

 toothed ; the receptacle or part supporting 

 the flowers inflated or hollow ; and the fruit 

 two-ribbed, without any crown-like appen- 

 dage. The name of the genus is from the 



