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414 



family, very near Aster, and only differing 

 in the nature of the pappus, which is 

 double, the outer row of short stiff bristles, 

 the inner of capillary bristles as long as 

 the disk florets ; whilst in Aster the pappus 

 is single. About twenty species are known, 

 some found in South Africa, others in 

 China and the Himalayas, and the re- 

 mainder chiefly in North America. The 

 most of the Cape species are smooth 

 bushes with small linear or oblong leaves, 

 and solitary stalked flower-heads terminat- 

 ing the twigs. B. asper, of the same 

 country, is an herb about a foot high, with 

 sessile lance-shaped leaves, entire or 

 toothed at the margin, and handsome 

 flower-heads, which are solitary and sup- 

 ported on long naked stalks, and nearly 

 two inches across, the ray florets being 

 strap-shaped and purple, those of the disk 

 tubular and yellow. A goodly number of 

 those found in the Himalayas are hand- 

 some Alpine plants.with short unbranched 

 stems, furnished with oblong toothed or 

 entire leaves, and terminated by single 

 flower-heads one to two inches in diameter, 

 the outer florets strap-shaped and violet, 

 the inner yellow and tubular. The North 

 American species are mostly shrubby, with 

 linear or lanceolate leaves, and terminal 

 corymbs of flower-heads of which the ray 

 florets are either blue, purple, or white. 

 Almost the only species found in South 

 America is B. larunduUfolia, a large hand- 

 some bush found on the Peruvian Andes 

 at an elevation of 11,000 to 12,000 feet; its 

 closely packed leaves are covered under- 

 neath with white down, and the numerous 

 little twigs are each terminated by a purple- 

 rayed flower-head. This plant and a few 

 of the North American species are also 

 known under the generic name of Biploste- 

 pliium, and some of the former are known 

 also by the name Eucephalus. [A. A. B.] 



DIPLOPELTIS. A genus of Sapindacece 

 composed of a few West Australian herbs 

 from one to three feet high.with alternate 

 wedge-shaped and toothed, or sometimes, 

 pinnatifld leaves, and terminal panicles of 

 numerous pretty pink flowers, each about 

 half an inch across. All the parts of the 

 plant are usually covered with a short 

 white glandular pubescence. The flowers 

 are male and female on the same plant, the 

 former with a calyx of five leaves, five ob- 

 long petals, and usually eight stamens; 

 the latter with a similar calyx and corolla, 

 and a three-lobed ovary crowned with a 

 simple twisted style. The herbaceous na- 

 ture of the plants is almost enough to dis- 

 tinguish them in the family, which is for 

 the most part composed of bushes or trees 

 with pinnate or trifoliolate evergreen 

 leaves. [A. A. B.] 



DIPLOPHTLLTJM. A name at one time 

 given to Veronica crista galli, a species 

 much like V. Buxbaumii, which is indigen- 

 ous to Britain. [A. A. B.] 



DIPLOPOGON. A genus of grasses he- 

 longing to the tribe Pappophorece, distin- 

 guished by the inflorescence being in close 



head-like spikes; spikelets one-flowered; 

 glumes two, lax, membranaceous, and 

 awned ; stamens three ; ovary sessile ," 

 styles two, joined at the base; stigmas 

 feathery. B. setaceus, the only species, 

 is a native of New Holland. [D. M.] 



DIPLOPTERYS. A genus of Malpighia- 

 cece, consisting of climbing shrubs natives 

 of Guiana, with yellow flowers disposed in 

 an umbellate manner, and surrounded by 

 a series of bracts. The calyx has five seg- 

 ments, four of which are provided with two 

 glands ; stamens ten, slightly coherent at 

 the base ; ovary three-lobed, three-celled ; 

 styles three; fruit with five somewhat 

 woody wings. [M. T. MJ 



DIPLOSIPHON. A genus of Rydrocha- 

 ridacece, an annual herb growing in rice 

 fields in India,with radicle leaves arranged 

 in a rosette ; and axillary perfect flowers 

 from a spathe split at the apex. The peri- 

 anth tube is twice as long as the spathe, 

 the three outer segments of the limb herb- 

 aceous, the three inner larger, petaloid, 

 white ; stamens three ; style long, adhering 

 to the perianth tube; fruit membranous, 

 many-seeded. [J. T. S.] 



DIPLOSPORA. A Chinese shrub of the 

 cinchona family, but imperfectly known. 

 The calyx tube is obovate, its limb some- 

 what bell-shaped, four-toothed : the corolla 

 with a wide tube, hairy at the throat, and 

 with a limb divided into four fleshy 

 spreading segments ; the anthers four, 

 sessile, projecting. B. dubia or Canthium 

 da,l>ium is a shrub with axillary tufts of 

 white flowers. [M. T. M.] 



DIPLOSTEMONOTTS. Having twice as 

 many stamens as petals. 

 DIPLOSTEPHIUM. Biplopappus. 



DIPLOTAXIS. A family of unimportant 

 herbaceous plants, belonging to the Cruci- 

 ferce and allied to Sinapis, distinguished 

 by having the seeds arranged in two 

 rows in a long compressed pod. B. tenui- 

 folia is a slender glabrous perennial plant 

 with a branched stem shrubby at the base, 

 bluntly divided leaves, and rather large 

 light-yellow flowers. It grows in quarries, 

 on rubbish and walls, near large towns. 

 B. muralis is a smaller and much rarer spe- 

 cies, an annual whose stems and leaves are 

 rough with scattered hairs. [C. A. JJ 



DIPLOTEGIA. An inferior capsule. 



DIPLUSODON. A genus of Lythracece, 

 consisting of Brazilian herbs and shrubs 

 ■with opposite often four-angled branches, 

 opposite or verticillate entire leaves, and 

 solitary axillary nearly sessile flowers, ar- 

 ranged in a racemose or even capitate 

 manner. They have a bell-shaped twelve- 

 toothed calyx, with the teeth arranged in 

 two rows : six petals, and from twelve to 

 forty stamens. [J. T. S.] 



DIPODITTM. A genus of terrestrial leaf- 

 less orchids of Australia and New Cale- 

 donia, belonging to the tribe Vandece. 

 They have thick branching roots, and 



