247 



Cijc €nra£urs rrf SSntanj?. 



[cent 



toothed. The corolla tube is curved and 

 dilated upwards ; its limb lias Ave broad 

 lobes, the two upper being innermost in 

 the bud. There are two pairs of included 

 stamens, having transverse two-celled an- 

 thers, with mucronate cells. The capsule 

 is obtuse. [W. C] 



CENTRANTHUS. A small genus of va- 

 lerian-worts, consisting of smooth annual 

 or perennial European plants, with mostly 

 entire opposite leaves, and small red or 

 white flowers in terminal corymbose pan- 

 icles, the flowers arranged unilaterally 

 along the branches of the panicle. A 

 slender tubular spurred corolla with a five- 

 lobed limb, one of the lobes standing 

 apart from the rest ; a single stamen ; a 

 superior calyx of feathery pappus-like 

 appendages rolled inwards before the co- 

 rolla falls, and only expanded as the fruit 

 matures ; and a one-celled, one-seeded fruit 

 are the principal features of this genus. 

 It differs from Valeriana, in having a 

 spurred corolla and but one stamen. The 

 pappose calyx is a pretty object under a 

 lens. The Red Valerian, C. ruber, formerly 

 known as Valeriana rubra, offers a good 

 example of the genus. It is said to be 

 eaten as a salad in Southern Italy, and its 

 sweet-scented roots probably partake in 

 some degree of the antispasmodic and 

 tonic properties occurring in the true va- 

 lerians. C. macrosiphon is a very pretty 

 annual species from Spain, with smooth 

 hollow stem, broadly ovate sessile leaves, 

 entire, or pinnatifid, and very large co- 

 rymbs of rose-coloured flowers. [W. T.] 



CENTRIFUGAL. A term applied to 

 those kinds of inflorescence which, like 

 the cyme, flower first at the point or centre, 

 and last at the base or circumference. 



CENTRIPETAL. A term applied to 

 those kinds of inflorescence which, like 

 the spike or capitulum, flower first at the 

 base or circumference, and.last at the point 

 or centre. 



CENTROCARPHA. A group of the 

 composite family, differing in no way 

 from Eudbeckia. The species referred to 

 it are N. American perennial herbs very 

 frequently met with in gardens. Their 

 leaves are alternate, entire or lobed, and 

 generally scabrous. The flower-heads are 

 large and yellow, terminating the stem or 

 j branches. In C. grandifiora ("otherwise 

 Eudbeckia grandifkrra), the flower-heads 

 are sometimes more than six inches in 

 I diameter, and much like those of the sun- 

 ' flower, but smaller. [A A. BJ 



CENTROCLINIUM. A genus of the 

 composite family, belonging to that sec- 

 tion of the order which has two-lipped 

 corollas. The four known species are herbs 

 or small shrubs found in the Peruvian 

 Andes at an elevation of 6,000 to 8,000 feet. 

 Their leaves are alternate, stalked, toothed 

 or entire, and covered beneath, as well as 

 the stems, with a -white tomentum. The 

 purple flower-heads are axillary and single, 

 on long stalks, and about an inch in diame- 



ter; the ray florets few and female, those 

 of the disc numerous, and containing both 

 stamens and pistil. The achenes are five- 

 angled, crowned with a pappus of nu- 

 merous unequal rough hairs, and seated 

 on a flat receptacle furnished with short 

 bristles. C. adpressum and C. reflexum 

 have been in cultivation, but their rose- 

 coloured flowers, which smell of Hawthorn, 

 are very sparingly produced. [A. A. B.] 



CENTROLEPI&. A genus of Desvaux- 

 iacew, containing a few small tufted sedge- 

 like herbs from Australia and Tasmania- 

 Leaves setaceous, all radical ; scapes short, 

 terminated by a simple spike contained in 

 a spathe formed by two slightly unequal 

 bracts (glumes of some authors); glumes 

 (.pales of those who consider the spathe- 

 bracts as glumes) two, membranous, sta- 

 men one ; ovaries two to twelve, becoming 

 utricles in fruit. [J. T. S.] 



CENTROLOBIUM. A genus of legu- 

 minous trees found in Brazil, Guiana, and 

 Venezuela. Their leaves are a foot or 

 more in length, and unequally pinnate, the 

 leaflets three to four inches in length, and, 

 as well as all the young parts, clad with a 

 rusty pubescence. The flowers are dis- 

 posed in terminal panicles. The pod is the 

 most remarkable part of the plant ; it is 

 like the fruit of the common Maple (Acer) 

 in form, and about nine inches in length, 

 the lower or seed-bearing portion globu- 

 lar, and clad with long straight prickles, 

 the upper or winged portion thin, pa- 

 pery in texture, about two and a half 

 inches in breadth, and bearing on its back 

 near the base a long straight spurred 

 spine, which is the hardened style. C. pa- 

 raense furnishes one of the most esteemed 

 timbers of the Orinoco ; its colour is bright 

 orange when fresh, but it fades to a brown 

 after exposure ; it is very strong, dense 

 and durable. The name of the genus is 

 derived from the spur-like hardened style 

 which remains on the pod. [A. A. BJ 



CENTRON, or CENTRUM.. In Greek 

 compounds — calcar, a spur. 



CENTROPAPPUS. A genus of the com- 

 posite family, found in Tasmania, nearly 

 allied to Senecio, and differing chiefly in 

 habit. The only known species, C. Bruno- 

 nis, is found about the upper limits of the 

 forest on Mount Wellington, at an eleva- 

 tion of 3,000 to 4,000 feet. It is a smooth 

 shrub, seven to ten feet high. The leaves 

 are sessile, gathered together towards the 

 ends of the branches, three to four inches 

 long, and one-quarter of an inch broad. 

 The flower-heads are in terminal corymbs, 

 and in form and appearance bear great re- 

 semblance to those of the common yellow 

 ragwort. [A. A. BJ 



CENTROPETALUM distichum and C. 

 Warcsevnczi are two small epiphytal orchids 

 from the mountains of tropical America, 

 with fleshy distichous leaves, and brownish 

 solitary flowers, with a broad lip adherent 

 to a hooded column. The pollen masses 

 are four, free, attached in pairs to two 



