feet, and are called the Roses of the Alps. 

 Andromeda fastigiata is called Himalayan 

 heather. Gaultheria Shallon and other spe- 

 cies yield edible baccate fruits. Azalea pro- 

 cumbens grows on the Scotch mountains, 

 and is also a native of the Arctic regions, of 

 the Alps, of Northern and Southern Europe, 

 Siberia, and North America, There are 

 about fifty known genera and nine hun- 

 dred species. Examples : Erica, Clethra, 

 Arbutus, Azalea, Kalmia, Rhododendron, 

 Bejaria, Ledum. [J. H. B.] 



ERICA. The generic name of shrubby 

 plants belonging to the heath-wort order, 

 from which, indeed, the scientific designa- 

 tion of it, Ericaceae, is derived. They are 

 distinguished from their congeners by the 

 four-leaved calyx,andfour-lobed corolla, the 

 lower part of which is either globular or 

 tubular and dilated ; the stamens have the 

 lobes of the anthers distinct, sometimes 

 with an awn-like appendage, and opening 

 by an oblong pore ; the fruit is dry, four or 

 eight-celled, many-seeded, bursting loculi- 

 cidally. 



The genus Erica comprehends a great 

 number of species of much interest and 

 beauty, and therefore general favour- 

 1 ites with horticulturists, especially since 

 I the best method of growing them has been 

 ; found out, and in this much credit is due 

 I to the late Mr. M'Nab of Edinburgh. There 

 | is a marked tendency to repetition of the 

 j number four in the different parts of the 

 flower, viz. calyx, corolla, stamens, and 

 j fruit ; and this is true even of the grouping 

 1 of the leaves and of the flowers. The usual 

 ! absence of any odour is compensated for 

 i by elegance in the general aspect of the 

 j plants, as well in their foliage as flowers, 

 ■ which combine to render most of the 

 I species worthy of a place in collections. 

 ! In the corolla especially,the beauty of form, 

 delicacy of aspect, and variety of tint can 

 scarcely be surpassed. The shapes of the 

 flower, a study for the modeller, present 

 considerable variety of modification, being 

 long and tubular, straight or arched, in 

 some very small and dilated, in others 

 smooth and brilliant, or covered with 

 clammy hairs. As to colour, we find the 

 purest white, passing into very pale rose, 

 purples of various hues, red, less frequently 

 yellow, and sometimes green. In some in- 

 stances the calyx rivals even the corolla 

 in appearance. Plants of this genus are 

 confined to the old world ; in Africa espe- 

 cially they abound, and the Cape of Good- 

 Hope is the main source whence we have 

 derived those now so well known as orna- 

 ments of our horticultural collections, 

 where, under skilful treatment, they even 

 far surpass in luxuriance those which 

 occur in the wild state. In Britain six 

 species are usually counted as indigenous, 

 only two of which are, however, widely 

 diffused and cover immense tracts, viz. E. 

 Tetralix and E. cvnerrea ; the remaining four 

 are more local and confined to the southern 

 and western parts of the United Kingdom. 

 The true Heaths are of little importance 

 in a medical point of view, none possess- 



ing any active property. In our own 

 country the two more common species 

 above mentioned are used for brooms and 

 for bedding cattle ; their buds and tender 

 shoots constitute part of the food of some 

 of our native birds ; and they often contri- 

 bute largely to the formation of peat. The 

 Scotch Heath, E. cinerea, is the badge of 

 the M'Alisters, and E. Tetralix that of the 

 M'Donalds. [G. D.] 



ERICAMERIA. A small genus of the 

 composite family, found in Oregon and 

 California, related to Linosyris, but differ- 

 ing in having rayed as well as tubular 

 florets, and also in having smooth achenes. 

 They are dwarf resinous shrubby plants, 

 much branched and leafy, with the aspect 

 of heaths, the leaves awl-shaped and nu- 

 merous, and the small yellow flower heads 

 in corymbs at the ends of the branches. 

 The smooth achenes are crowned with a 

 pappus consisting of numerous capillary 

 unequal bristles. [A. A. B.] 



ERICINELLA. A genus of heathworts, 

 having the calyx in four divisions, one of 

 them larger than the others; corolla bell- 

 shaped, the border deeply divided into four; 

 stamens four, rarely five, usually with awn- 

 like appendages ; style or appendage at 

 top of the seed vessel, ending in a shield- 

 like surface. The name Ericinella is the 

 diminutive of Erica, the species having 

 the general aspect of heaths ; leaves three 

 in a whorl, flowers small and terminal, 

 without bracts or leaflets at their base. 

 They are small shrubs, natives of Madagas- 

 car, Tropical Africa, or Caff raria. [G. DJ 



ERIGERON. A genus of unpretending 

 herbaceous plants of humble stature be- 

 longing to the ComposUce. The flowers 

 are radiate, the florets of the ray in several 

 rows, very narrow and of a different colour 

 from those of the disk, which are fertile, 

 with a hairy pappus ; the involucre is im- 

 bricated with several rows of narrow scales. 

 Two or three weedy species are natives of 

 this country, and many foreign species 

 are described by authors, all marked rather 

 by the absence of bright colours than by 

 any desirable qualities. The name Erigeron 

 denotes ' soon becoming old,' and is most 

 appropriate, for in many of the species 

 the plant, even when in flower, has a worn- 

 out appearance, giving the idea of a weed 

 which has passed its prime. French, Ver- 

 gerette ; German, Scharfe. [C. A. J.] 



ERINEUM. A name given to numerous 

 productions which appear upon the leaves 

 of trees and shrubs, and very rarely on 

 those of herbaceous plants, which were 

 formerly referred by authors to Fungi, but 

 are now almost universally acknowledged 

 to be merely diseased states of the cuticu- 

 lar cells. The spongy spots on the leaves 

 of vines and lime trees afford a good ex- 

 ample. The forms which these diseased 

 cells assume are extremely various ; and 

 they are interesting to the physiologist, 

 as showing the alteration to which the 

 component cells of plants are subject when 

 free from the pressure of neighbouring 



