429 



W.\yz Creatfttrn of 33ntanp. 



[deya 



Brosera, Bionoea, Brosophyllum, and Aldro- 

 vauda, and about 100 species. [J. H. B.] 



DROSERA. A genus of plants giving 

 name to the order Broseracecc, and distin- 

 | guished by having five sepals, petals, and 

 stamens, three to five-cleft styles, and a 

 one-celled many-seeded capsule. Their 

 most striking character, however, is con- 

 nected with their leaves. These in the 

 British species all spring from the root- 

 in a radiating manner, and in their early 

 stage are rolled up in a circinate form like 

 the fronds of a fern. When expanded they 

 are somewhat concave, and are thickly set 

 with red glandular hairs, those nearest the 

 edge being the longest. Each hair is 

 tipped, especially in bright weather, with 

 a minute drop of viscid fluid, hence the 

 name Drosera (from the Greek drosos, dew), 

 and the English name Sundew. The hairs 

 are not so decidedly irritable as in the 

 allied genus Bioncea, but when any small 

 fly or other insect alights on a leaf, it is 

 held entangled, at first by the viscid fluid, 

 and, subsequently, the hairs bend down 

 over it until decomposition has taken 

 place. And this is no unusual occurrence ; 

 on the contrary, one can scarcely ever ex- 

 amine a plant without finding the wings 

 and legs of insects on one or more of the 

 leaves." The viscid fluid with which the 

 hairs are furnished, is said to be acrid and 

 caustic, to curdle milk, and to remove 

 warts, corns, freckles, and sunburns. It is 

 also said to cause the rot in sheep. The sani- 

 tary virtues ascribed to it may be real or 

 imaginary: but with respect to its mis- 

 chievous effects on sheep, there can be no 

 doubt that where Sundew grows, there 

 flocks are not likely to fatten, for the 

 herbage with which it is associated is 

 mostly moss, rushes, cotton-grass, and 

 other juiceless weeds. There are three 

 species of Sundew indigenqus to Britain, 

 which differ in the shape and size of their 

 leaves, and agree in having small incon- 

 spicuous flowers on a leafless wiry scape. 

 Some of the foreign species have leafy 

 stems. The hairs of B. lunata are said 

 to close upon insects which alight upon 

 them. French, Rossolis ; German, Sonven- 

 thau. [C. A. J.] 



DROSOPHYLLUM. A singular half- 

 shrubby plant belonging to the Broseracea?, 

 distinguished by its ten stamens, and one- 

 celled capsule opening with five valves, 

 which bend inwards so as almost to make 

 the capsule five-celled. B. hisitanicum, 

 the only species, a native of the sandy 

 hills of Portugal, grows about six inches 

 high, bearing narrow leaves thickly set 

 with stalked glands, and having large 

 sulphur-coloured flowers. [C. A. J.] 



DROriLLIER (Fr.) Pyrus Aria. 



DRUMMOHlDI A. A name formerly given 

 to a group of X. American herbs of the saxi- 

 fragaceous order, now more commonly 

 regarded as a section of Mitellopsis, and 

 known by their stamens being opposite 

 the pinnatifid petals, and by the bilobed 

 condition of their stigmas. [T. M.] 



DRUMMOXDITA. A genus of heath- 

 like rutaceous undershrubs, with yellow 

 flowers, natives of South-western Aus- 

 tralia. They may be known by their sta- 

 mens, which are combined into a long 

 hairy tube of a purple colour. Of the ten 

 stamens which form this tube, five are 

 fertile, and five sterile, the latter being 

 feathery. Ovaries five, placed on a five- 

 lobed fleshy disk; style thread-like, pro- 

 truding ; stigma button-like. CM. T. M.j 



DRUMSTICK TREE. Cathartocarpus 

 conspicua, 



DRUPACE.E. (Brupiferce, Amygdalece, 

 A Imondworts.) According to Lindley this is 

 a distinct natural order, while other bot- 

 anists regard it as a suborder of Rosacea. 

 The order belongs to the class of dicotyle- 

 dons, and the sub class Calyciflorce Poly- 

 petalce, and to Lindley's rosal alliance. 

 Trees and shrubs with simple alternate 

 stipulate leaves. Flowers white or pink, 

 in umbels or single ; calyx five-toothed, 

 lined with a disk, the fifth lobe superior 

 or next the axis. Petals five, perigynous. 

 Stamens about twenty, arising from the 

 throat of the calyx. Ovary superior, one- 

 celled; ovules two, suspended. Fruit a 

 drupe, with a hard endocarp ; seed usually 

 solitary; no albumen. The plants are 

 found in cold and temperate climates of the 

 northern hemisphere. The leaves, flowers 

 and seeds yield hydrocyanic or prussic 

 acid. The bark is astringent, and yields 

 gum. The fruit is in many cases edible. 

 Amygdalus communis, the almond-tree, a 

 native of Asia and Barbary, is cultivated in 

 the South of Europe. There are two varie- 

 ties, one producing sweet, the other bitter 

 almonds. The kernels of the former con- 

 tain a fixed oil and emulsin, while those 

 of the latter contain also amygdalin, which 

 by combination with emulsin produces 

 prussic acid. Cerasus communis yields the 

 common cherry. C. Lauro-cerasus, the 

 cherry-laurel or bay-laurel, yields a hydro- 

 cyanated oil. The kernels of species of 

 Cerasus impart flavour to noyeau, ratafia, 

 cherry-brandy, and maraschino. Primus 

 communis furnishes the common plum, 

 and P. Armeniaca, the apricot. Amygdalus 

 persica supplies the peach, and a variety 

 gives the nectarine. There are five known 

 genera, and 110 species. [J. H. BJ 



DRUPARIA. A Brazilian herbaceous 



plant of the gourd family, with a furrowed 



stem, and branching tendrils; female flow- 



| ers in clusters. The fruit is four-celled, 



four-seeded. pi. T. MJ 



DRUPE (adj. DRUPACEOUS). A fleshy 

 or succulent fruit, with a bonyputamen or 

 lining, as a plum.—, SPURIOUS. Any 

 fleshy body inclosing a stone. 



DRUPEOLE. A little drupe. 



DRYADANTHE. A genus of the rose 

 family, nearly allied to Sibbaldia, but dif- 

 fering in the parts of the flower being 

 arranged in fours. B. Bungeana, the 

 only known species, is a little Alpine plant 

 I from two to four inches high, found in 



