CORINTHS. The berries of the Corin- 

 thian grape, the Currants of the shops. 



CORIS. A genus of Primulacece, con- 

 taining a single species, a native of the 

 western coasts of the Mediterranean. It 

 is a lowly branching herbaceous plant, 

 with alternate linear coriaceous leaves, 

 and flowers in dense terminal spicate ra- 

 cemes. The calyx is campanulate with a 

 double limb, the outer ray subbilabiate, 

 with the upper lip six-toothed and the 

 lower five-toothed, the inner portion being 

 cleft into five triangular lobes, of which 

 the upper two are the largest ; the corolla 

 is tubular, with the limb bilabiate and cleft 

 into five emarginate lobes, the two upper 

 of which are the smallest ; the stamens are 

 scarcely exserted; the slender filaments 

 have glands at their base on the corolla 

 tube ; the ovary is obovate, and has a sub- 

 globose placenta ; the globose capsule has 

 five valves and five seeds. [W. C] 



CORISPERMUM. A genus of Clienopo- 

 diacece, containing wiry-stemmed hairy an- 

 nual herbs from Eastern Europe and tem- 

 perate Asia. Leaves narrow, sessile; flowers 

 very small, solitary in the axils of the 

 leaves, forming spikes ; perianth of a vari- 

 able number of small scales, rarely of one, or 

 absent ; stamens one to five, but generally 

 tln-ee, the lateral ones often sterile ; ovary 

 compressed with short style and two stig- 

 mas ; fruit compressed often margined. 

 Abundant in the marshy steppes of South- 

 ern Russia. [J. T. S.] 



CORK, KORKER. The name in the 

 Scotch Highlands of Lccanora tartarea, 

 where, Dr. Lindsay informs us, it is made 

 into a domestic dye by macerating the 

 powdered lichen for some weeks in putrid 

 urine, with the addition of kelp or salt, 

 and when the requisite crimson or purple 

 tint is obtained, forming the paste into 

 balls or lumps with lime or burnt shells, 

 and hanging it in bags to dry. When used 

 it is powdered, and then boiled in water 

 with a little alum. In the island of Shet- 

 land both the dye and the lichen are called 

 Korkalett. [M. J. B.] 



CORK-TREE. Quercus Suber, the bark 

 of which is cork. 



CORK- WOOD. Anona palustris. —NEW 

 SOUTH WALES. Duboisia myoporoides. 

 — WEST INDIAN. Ochroma Lagopus. 



CORM. A fleshy underground stem, hav- 

 ing the appearance of a bulb, from which 

 it is distinguished by not being scaly. 



CORMAU or CORNIAU. (Fr.) A kind 

 of olive. 



CORMIER. (Fr.) Sorbus domestica. 



CORMOPHYLLUM. A name given by 

 Newman to a genus of Ferns having an 

 erect caudex 'eventuating in fronds,' and 

 in which he proposed to imite the species 

 usually referred to Cyathea, HemiWia, and 

 Alsophila. [T. M.] 



CORN. A general term applied to the 



cereal or grain-producing grasses. — 

 BROOM. Sorghum Dora, the panicles of 

 which are made into brooms, and the 

 grain used for poultry food. — KAFFIR 

 A species of Sorghum, probably S. saccha- 

 ratum. —GOOSE. Juncus squarrosus: — 

 GUINEA. Sorghum vulgare ; also applied 

 in the West Indies to several grain-bear- 

 ing species of Panic urn, as P.pyramidalc, 

 scabrum, &c. — INDIAN. The maize, Zea 

 Mays. 



CORNACEiE. An inconsiderable natu- 

 ral order of polypetalous calycifloral dico- 

 tyledons, belonging to Lindley's umbellal 

 alliance. Trees or shrubs usually with op- 

 posite leaves having no stipules; flowers 

 in cyrnose clusters or in heads surrounded 

 by an involucre ; calyx adherent, its limb 

 four-toothed ; petals four, valvate in bud ; 

 stamens four, alternate with the petals ; 

 styles united into one ; ovary two-celled ; 

 ovules solitary, pendulous. Fruit a two- 

 celled drupe (like a cherry). Natives of the 

 temperate parts of Europe, Asia, and Ame- 

 rica. The plants of this order are used as 

 tonics and in ague. Cornus mascula is the 

 akenia of the Greeks, and the kizziljiek 

 or red-wood of the Turks. From the wood 

 of this plant the Turks obtain the dye for 

 their red fez. The fruit stewed and mixed 

 with water forms a good drink in hot 

 weather, and from its astringeucy it is 

 useful in bowel-complaints. Various species 

 of Cornus or dogwood are used in America 

 as substitutes for Peruvian bark. There 

 are nine known genera and forty species. 

 Illustrative genera : — Cornus, Benthamia, 

 Aucuba. [J. H. B.] 



CORNARET. (Fr.) Martynia. 

 CORN CAMPION, CORN COCKLE. Agro- 

 stemma Githago. 



CORNE-DE-CERF. (Fr.) Coronopus vul- 

 garis. 



CORNEILLE. (Fr.) Lysimachia vul- 

 garis. 



CORNEL. (CORNOUILLER, Fr.) The 

 Cornelian cherry, Cornus mascula. — WILD 

 or FEMALE. The dogwood, Cornus san- 

 guinea. 



CORNEOUS. Horny; hard and very close 

 in texture, but; capable of being cut with- 

 out difficulty, the parts cut off not being 

 brittle : as the albumen of many plants. 



CORN-FLAG. The common name for 



Gladiolus. 



CORN-FLOWER. Centaurea Cyanus. 



CORNICULATE. Terminating in a pro- 

 cess resembling a horn ; as the fruit of 

 Trapa Mcornis. If there are two horns the 

 word Mcornis is used, if three tricornis, 

 and so on. 



CORNIDIA. A genus of trees and shrubs 

 from Peru and Chili belonging to Hydran- 

 geacea.'. They have opposite ovate or obo- 

 vate stalked leaves, which are leathery and 

 generally serrated, and bear their flowers 

 in a terminal corymbose cyme of many 



