I) rap] 



€fyz Crca^uru af 3Botan». 



428 



and is stated by Mr. Drummond to re- 

 semble an insect suspended in the air 

 moving with every toreeze.' This is the 

 only species known. [A. A. B.] 



DRAPETES. A genus of Thymelacece 

 with hermaphrodite flowers, and a coloured 

 funnel-shaped perianth with a four-cleft 

 limb, and no scales in its throat ; stamens 

 four, inserted on the perianth ; no hypo- 

 gynous scales ; ovary one-celled. The 

 fruit is a single-seeded nut, included in 

 the base of the persistent perianth. D. 

 muscoides, the only species, is found at the 

 Straits of Magalhaens. It is- a shrubby 

 plant with opposite decussate sessile 

 leaves. [J. H. B.] 



DRAVE. (Fr.) Braba. 



DRAYTONIA. A genus nearly related 

 to Saurauja (which is placed by some 

 botanists with the dilleniads, and by 

 others in the tea family), but differing in 

 the styles being united to the apex. D. 

 ruMcunda, so called from the reddish hue 

 of the leaves, is found in the Feejee Is- 

 lands, and is the only species. It is an or- 

 namental shrub, or sometimes tree, of 

 forty to fifty feet high, with long alternate 

 stalked papery oblong serrated leaves, and 

 axillary stalked cymes of small red flow- 

 ers, which have a calyx of five roundish 

 sepals, five obovate petals, about forty 

 stamens slightly united below, and an 

 ovary crowned by a columnar style tip- 

 ped with a three-lobed stigma. The fruit 

 is a small capsule about the size of a 

 pea, enclosing numerous seeds. The genus 

 bears the name of Mr. J. Drayton, an Ame- 

 rican naturalist and artist. [A. A. B.] 



DREGEA. A genus of Asclepiadacece, 

 containing two species, natives of Africa 

 and Arabia. They are shrubs with oppo- 

 site membranaceous leaves, and small 

 glabrous flowers in umbels on interpetio- 

 lar peduncles. The calyx consists of five 

 sepals, and the rotate corolla is five-cleft, 

 with faintly emarginate lobes, while the 

 staminal crown consists of five small 

 kidney-shaped leaflets attached to the 

 gynostegium. The two follicles are four- 

 winged and divaricate, and contain few 

 cornose seeds. In habit and structure 

 this genus is very near to Marsdenia ; it 

 differs from it chiefly in the structure of 

 the staminal crown and in the tetrapter- 

 ous fruit. [W. C] 



DRIMIA. A genus of Liliacece from the 

 Cape of Good Hope, containing bulbous 

 herbs, with oblong orchis-like or linear 

 root leaves, and scapes bearing a raceme 

 of flowers, with a six-parted reflexed peri- 

 anth, varying in colour in different spe- 

 cies, being purple, yellow, white, or red, 

 often tinged with green. The juice of the 

 bulbs is said to be very acrid, causing blis- 

 ters when applied to the skin. [J. T. S.] 



DRIMIOPSIS. A genus of LUiocecefrom 

 the Cape of Good Hope, containing bulb- 

 ous herbs with radical leaves, and a scape 

 with a raceme of greenish yellow flowers, 



which are bell-shaped, and have six equal 

 stamens inserted on the perianth seg- 

 ments. B. maculata is a greenhouse bulb 

 with spotted leaves. [J. T. SJ 



DRIMYS. A genus of Magnoliacece, con- 

 sisting of trees natives of South America, 

 New Zealand, &c. They have their .carpels 

 crowded, berry -like, and many-seeded, and 

 the cells of the anther are separated by a 

 thickened connective. B. Winteri, a na- 

 tive of Chili and the Straits of Magalhaens, 

 furnishes the bark known as Winter's 

 Bark, which both in appearance and pro- 

 perties is much like canella bark, but is 

 of a darker colour internally. It is a stimu- 

 lant aromatic tonic, but is seldom used. 

 The bark was first brought to Europe by 

 Capt. Winter in 1579, he having accom- 

 panied Sir Francis Drake to Magalhaens' 

 Straits. In Brazil the bark of B. granatensis 

 is used against colic. B. piperita is a na- 

 tive of Borneo. [M. T. MJ 



DRIMYSPERMT7M. A Malayan shrub 

 with alternate leaves and umbellate flow- 

 ers surrounded by an involucre. The 

 perianth is coloured, tubular, with a four- 

 parted limb; stamens eight, inserted into 

 the throat of the perianth. The base of 

 the ovary is surrounded by a membranous 

 tube, the ovary itself being free, with one 

 ovule in each of its two compartments, 

 and crowned by a short style with a but- 

 ton-like stigma. Fruit berry-like, two- 

 celled, two-seeded. It is included among 

 the Aquilariacece. [M. T. M.] 



DROGUE AME V RE. A bitter tincture, 

 of which Andrograpliis paniculata is the 

 basis ; it possesses stomachic- and tonic 

 properties. 



DROP-SEED. Muhlenbergia diffusa. 



DROPWORT. Spircea Filipendula ; also 

 Potentilla Filipendula. — , WATER. The 

 common name for CEnanthe. 



DROSERACE.3E. (Sundeivs.) A natural 

 order of thalamifloral dicotyledonous or ex- 

 ogenous plants belonging to Lindley's ber- 

 beral alliance. Herbs often covered with 

 glandular hairs. They have alternate leaves 

 with fringes at their base, and a circinate 

 vernation ; sepals five, persistent ; petals 

 five; stamens as many as the petals, or 

 twice or three times as many ; styles three 

 to five. Fruit a one-celled three to five- 

 valved capsule with loculicidal dehiscence. 

 The plants are found inhabiting marshes in 

 Europe, India, China, Cape of Good Hope, 

 Madagascar, North and South America, and 

 New Holland. They have acid and slightly 

 acrid properties. Hooker thinks that the 

 order should be placed near the Saxifra- 

 gacece. Some of the Antarctic species are 

 perigynous. The species of Brosera are 

 remarkable for their glandular hairs, which 

 are covered with drops of fluid in sun- 

 shine : hence the name of Rossolis, and of 

 the Italian liquor R,ossoli, in the prepara- 

 tion of which a species of Drosera is used. 

 Some include Pamassia in this order. 

 There are seven known genera, including 



