391 



Elje Erca£urg of 23otanin 



[dend 



bearing fine pink or purple blossoms. The 

 I outer calyx is five, the inner three-cleft ; 

 the corolla tubular, slightly curved ; the 

 stamens four in number ; the capsule 

 smooth, with the winged seeds arranged 

 in several rows. One of the handsomest 

 species is J), integrifolium (Codazzia speci- 

 osa), frequent in the Andes of Quindiu. D. 

 latifolium is identical with CallicMamys 

 riparia, and JD. Stenolobium with Steiwlo- 

 bium starts. Amphilophium is the only other 

 bianoniaceous eenus which has a double j 

 calyx. [B. SJ 



DELPHINIUM. A genus of Ranuncu- ! 

 lacece, commonly known by the name of 

 Larkspur. The species are numerous, and 

 widely distributed orer the temperate re- 

 gions of the Northern hemisphere. They 

 are herbaceous plants, with erect branch- 

 ing stems, and finely cut or palmately- j 

 divided leaves. The flowers are in loose 

 racemes towards the end of the branches ; \ 

 they have a calyx of five-coloured sepals, 

 the upper one prolonged at its base into a 

 long tapering spur, and four (or two) petals 

 concealed partially within the spur of the 



1 calyx. The fruit consists of from one to 

 five many-seeded follicles. The flowers re- i 

 semble those of some species of Aconite, \ 

 but they have a spurred, not a hooded 

 calyx, and they have not the peculiar ham- I 

 mer-like petals of the aconite. Larkspurs ! 

 partake largely of the acrid properties for j 

 which the order is in general so remark- 



' able. 



D. Staphisagria, or Stavesacre, was used 

 medicinally by the Greeks, and still finds a 

 place in the pharmacopoeia, though now 

 rarely used. The seeds contain the active 

 principle in greatest abundance, andhence 

 are ordered to be used in the form of oint- 

 ment to destroy vermin. Delphinia is an ! 

 extremely acrid bitter white powder pre- I 

 pared from the seeds, and used externally : 

 in cases of rheumatism and neuralgia. ! 

 Numerous species and varieties of this 

 genus are cultivated in gardens. D. Con- 

 solida, a common European plant, is occa- 

 sionally found in a half-wild state on. the 

 borders of fields. Its name was given in 

 reference to its power, real or imagin- 

 ary, of healing or consolidating wounds. 

 D. Ajacis, a common garden plant, de- 

 rives its name from certain markings on 

 the petals, presenting more or less resem- 

 blance to the letters A I A I ; hence also it 

 has been conjectured to be the ' hyacinth ' 

 of the ancients, described as possessing 

 similar markings. Dr. Daubeny, the latest 

 commentator on the plants mentioned in 

 ancient Greek and Latin writers, con- 

 eludes, ' that the term huakinthos was in 

 general applied to some plant of the lily 

 tribe : but that the poets confounded with 

 this the larkspur, which has upon it the 

 markings alluded to ; and that the name 

 hyacinth was given, in the first instance, 

 to the plant which most distinctly ex- 

 hibited them.' 



Some of the cultivated species, such as 

 I). grorifJ/'florvm, I), chinense, D. sibiricum, 

 &c, are called Bee Larkspurs, from the re- 



semblance of the petals, which are studded 

 with yellow hairs, to a humble bee whose 

 head is buried in the recesses of the flower. 

 One of the most beautiful species in cul- 

 tivation is D. formosum, with large rich 

 blue flowers ; and D. cardinale is remark- 

 able for its scarlet flowers. [M. T. M.] 



DELTOID. A solid, the transverse sec- 

 tion of which has a triangular outline, like 

 the Greek a. Also applied to the outline 

 of thin bodies. 



DEMATIEI. A natural order of fila- 

 mentous moulds, separated from the white 

 or brightly-coloured species by the dark 

 threads, which look as if they were smoke- 

 dried or carbonised ; and in the more ty- 

 pical species have an investing membrane. 

 Some of our common moulds, as Cladospo- 

 rium lierbarum, belong here. [M. J. B.] 



DEMERSED. Buried beneath water. 



DEMIDOVIA. A genus of Trilliacece, 

 founded on the Paris inconvpleta of Bieber- 

 stein. It differs from Paris by not having 

 any inner series of perianth segments. 

 The leaves are six to twelve, oblong or ob- 

 long-oblanceolate, acuminate; the perianth 

 segments green, ovate acuminate, twice 

 as long as the eight to twelve stamens; 

 styles four, longer than the stamens. The 

 only species, D. polypliylla, is a native of 

 southern Russia, [J. T. S.] 



DENDROBIUM. A well-known genus 

 of epiphytal orchids, comprising more than 

 200 species, of which upwards of eighty 

 have been cultivated in hothouses for the 

 sake of their beautiful flowers. The great 

 mass comes from India and its Archi- 

 pelago ; a few are found in East Australia 

 and the Pacific Islands ; and one in New 

 Zealand. ' The genus varies extremely in 

 the habit of its species, some being little 

 larger than the mosses among which they 

 grow ; while others are surpassed in sta- 

 ture by few in the order. Like the Onci- 

 dia of the New World, there are some 

 species of which the foliage is ancipitous, 

 others having it terete, while in the ma- 

 jority it is in the usual flat condition. A 

 few have no other stem than a wiry creep- 

 ing rhizome ; others have small conical 

 pseudo-bulbs ; many form clavate horny 

 stems, leafy only at the summit ; but the 

 greater part produce long leafy branches. 

 In the majority the colour of the flowers 

 is some shade of purple ; a few are desti- 

 tute of all colour except green; and a 

 rather considerable group is especially dis- 

 tinguishable by the rich yellow tint of 

 their blossoms.'— Lindley. In arrangement, 

 the flowers are either solitary, fascicled, or 

 in racemes. According to Dr. Lindley, all 

 agree in having a two-celled anther with 

 four pollen masses, which have no caudicle 

 or separate stigmatic gland, -and are of 

 uniform breadth at either end ; the latter 

 character separating them from Eria, 

 which bears pear-shaped pollen masses; 

 whilst, from the nearly-related genus Bol- 

 b opt rij limn, they may be recognised by the 

 sessile and not unguiculate (clawed) lip. 



