CYTO] 



Ef)e &ttK3\ivt) flf 3Satau». 



378 



d'Adam), the purple Laburnum, is a hybrid 

 between the two preceding. It was origi- 

 nated in Paris in 1828, by M. Adam, and 

 has since been much cultivated in England. 

 A peculiarity of this tree has often been 

 noticed, which is interesting to the phy- 

 siological botanist as showing the influence 

 exercised by the stock on the scion. ' This 

 purple Laburnum is a hybrid between the 

 common yellow Laburnum and C. purpu- 

 reus. The branches below the graft pro- 

 duce the ordinary yellow Laburnum flow- 

 ers of large size ; those above often ex- 

 hibit a small purple Laburnum flower, as 

 well as l-eddish flowers, intermediate be- 

 tween the two in size and colour. Occa- 

 sionally the same cluster has some flowers 

 yellow and some purple' (Balfour). C. 

 alpinus differs principally in having its 

 leaves rounded at the base, and in hav- 

 ing the pods smooth and few-seeded : 

 whereas C. Laburnum has the leaves white 

 with down beneath, and the seed-pods 

 many-seeded and downy. The Cytisus ra- 

 cemosus and rlwdopnceus, so generally to 

 be observed among the plants offered for 

 sale in spring in the streets of London, are 

 referrible to Genista. [C. A. J.] 



CYTOBLAST. That elementary spherule, 

 derived from organic mucus, which pro- 

 duces a cell from its side, according to 

 Schleiden. It is the nucleus of R. Brown 

 and others. 



OYTTARIA. A curious genus of as- 

 comycetous Fungi, consisting of a sub- 

 globose cartilaginous receptacle in which 

 are sunk a number of ovate pits lined with 

 the hymenium. The mouth of these at 

 last becomes open, and the whole plant 

 has then the appearance of a little waxlike 

 wasps' nest, from whence the genus takes 

 its name. There are three or four species, 

 all of which grow parasitically upon the 

 living branches of evergreen beeches, and 

 one in Tierra del Fuego for several months 

 affords the staple food of the inhabitants. 

 It is, however, almost tasteless, and has 

 been compared to cow-heel. The species 

 are confined to a portion of the south- 

 ern hemisphere. The individual plants are 

 sometimes solitary, but frequently they 

 form dense clusters, and it is probable that 

 the same branch yields more than one crop 

 from the same spawn. [M. J. B.] 



CZACKIA. The name of a group now 

 generally regarded as a subdivision of the 

 genus Anthcricum, from which it is, how- 

 ever, still sometimes separated. It is dis- 

 tinguished by having the segments of the 

 flower brought together, or coimiveut into 

 a kind of bell-shaped form, and by having 

 the stamens glabrous. [T. M.] 



DABCECIA. A section oi Henziesia, or 

 as it is sometimes considered a separate 

 genus of Ericacecc, distinguished chiefly by 

 its tetramerous instead of peutamerous 

 structure, the calyx being four-cleft, the 

 corolla limb four-toothed, the stamens 

 eight, and the capsule four-celled, with 

 four valves. The plant called D. polifolia 

 is the St. Dabeoc's Heath. [T. M .] 



DACHA. A Hottentot name for Canna- 

 bis sativa. 



DACRYDIPM. A genus of Taxacece, 

 consisting of a few evergreen trees inhabit- 

 ing the East Indies and New Zealand. The 

 distinguishing characteristics reside in the 

 female flower, which consists of? a boat- 

 shaped bract, bearing an ovule which at 

 first lies on the scale, but ultimately be- 

 comes erect, and when fully developed 

 lias a short outer fleshy integument, from 

 which the inner bony investment of the 

 seed protrudes. D. cupressinum, which has 

 pendulous feathery branches and slender 

 j needle-like leaves, is a very graceful lofty 

 I tree. D. Franklinii is the Huon Pine. D. 

 taxifolium is said to acquire a height of 200 

 I feet in New Zealand ; its shoots may be 

 j made into a beverage having the same 

 antiscorbutic properties as spruce beer. 

 I D. laxifolium, also a native of New Zea- 

 i land, is a low growing shrub not unlike 

 Empetrum nigrum. [M. T. M.J 



| DACRYMYCES. A genus of tremelloid 



I Fungi, of which B. stillatus is almost uni- 



I versal in the form of small bright-orange 



I gelatinous tear-like masses on decayed 



! pine or larch rails, accompanied sometimes 



| by a larger species, D. deliquescens. The 



former plant has often been supposed to 



i consist of a mass of branched threads, 



terminated by chains of oblong spores. 



These, however, are merely conidia, the 



perfect fruit being developed in the same 



way as in Tremella, and consisting of 



slightly-curved septate spores, from the 



j edge of which minute secondary spores 



are given off. The scarlet gelatinous fun- 



j gus so common on dead nettle stems is 



( now believed to be a condition of Peziza 



fusarioides. [M. J. B.] 



DACTYL^NA. The name of a herb of 

 the capparidaceous family, whose native 

 country is not known. It has a calyx of 

 four sepals, the anterior one longer than 

 I the rest ; four petals, two longer than the 

 others ; six stamens, inserted into a hemi- 

 spherical receptacle, which is provided 

 with a gland at the back; four of these 

 stamens are antherless, while the two re- 

 maining ones are completely joined to- 

 gether, so that the anther appears four- 

 lobed. [M. T. M.] 



DACTYLANTHUS. A genus of Balano- 

 plwracece, founded on a root-parasite from 

 I New Zealand. It is attached to the roots 

 I of beeches and Pittospori by a thick tuber- 

 ous rhizome, the stems rising in clusters 

 two or three inches from the ground, cov- 

 \ ered with imbricated scales. The flowers 

 j are dioecious, small and numerous, in dense 

 ; spadices, of which several are clustered 

 ! together at the summit of the stems sur- 

 rounded by the upper scales. 



DACTYLICAPNOS. A genus of Fuma- 

 riacece, distinguished by having the two 

 outer petals bulging out at the base, the 

 fruit berry-like, and the seeds crested. It 

 is considered by Drs. Hooker and Thomson 

 as merely a section of Licentra, from which 



