163 



Cfje €rca£ury of 23otang. 



EEIO 



cies, which form much branched bushes, 

 usually with linear, somewhat fleshy leaves, 

 covered with silky hairs, but sometimes 

 large and variously toothed, a good deal 

 like those of some wormwoods, and like 

 them with an aromatic odour. The white 

 flower-heads, sometimes solitary but usu- 

 ally arranged in corymbs or umbels, are a 

 good deal like those of the milfoils in size 

 and appearance. They are remarkable for 

 having the inner scales of the involucre 

 clothed with long woolly hairs : these are 

 not very perceptible when the plant is in 

 flower, but after the flowers wither, and 

 the anthers approach to ripeness, the heads 

 are completely enveloped in the hairs, and 

 look like little balls of cotton about the 

 size of a pea. The hairs when fresh are 

 white, but at length become rust-coloured, 

 and are used by various birds for building 

 their nests. [A. A. B.] 



ERIOCHLOA A genus of grasses be- 

 longing to the tribe Panicece, now referred 

 to Helopus. [D. M.] 



ERIOCHOSMA. Nothochlcena. 



ERIOCXEMA. A genus of Melastomacew, 

 nearly allied to Sonerila, but having the 

 parts of the flower arranged in fives instead 

 of in threes. The species are dwarf hairy 

 Brazilian herbs, scarcely a foot high, with 

 somewhat fleshy stems, bearing near their 

 base a few oval leaves, heart-shaped at the 

 base, and densely clothed with rusty hairs. 

 The small white flowers are few, and ar- 

 ranged in little umbels, on the end of a 

 naked stalk. E. marmoratum has the leaA'es 

 beautifully variegated. [A. A. B.] 



ERIOCOCCUS. The name given by some 

 authors to a species of Riedia, whose cap- 

 sules are clothed with soft short wool. 



ERIOCOMA. The Silk Grass, E. cuspida- 

 ta, is peculiar to^Sorth America, where it is 

 found usually in barren spots from Lake 

 "Winipeg, west and south to New Mexico. 

 It grows one to three feet high, has wiry 

 leaves with the margins rolled inwards, 

 and very lax panicles of flowers, each spike- 

 let supported on along slender stalk. Like 

 the feather-grasses, to which this is nearly 

 allied, the spikelets are one-flowered, the 

 outer glumes are membranaceous, remark- 

 ably inflated below, and contracted sud- 

 denly at the apex into a short pointed beak. 

 The inner glumes are very silky at the base, 

 and end in a short awn. [A. A. B.] 



ERIOCTCLA. A genus of Umbelli/erce, 

 characterised chiefly by the fruit being 

 clothed with wool-like hair. The only spe- 

 cies is an inconspicuous herb, a native of 

 the Himalayas, having the leaves thrice- 

 pinnate ; the secondary divisions of the 

 umbels somewhat capitate. [G. D.] 



ERIODENDROX. A genus of tropical 

 trees, referred by some botanists to the 

 Sterculiaceo?, and by others to the Mal- 

 vaceae. It is nearly allied to Bombax, from 

 which it differs in the staminal column 

 being five-cleft., each branch bearing two 

 or three anthers, that of Bombax being di- 

 vided at top into an indefinite number of 



filaments bearing single anthers. They 

 have digitate leaves, and one-flowered ax- 

 illary or subterminal peduncles, which are 

 either solitary or fasciculate, the flowers 

 being rather large, white or rose-coloured. 

 The habit of E. indicium is represented in 

 plate 13 b. [T. M.] 



ERIOGLOSSUM. A genus of Sapindacece, 

 nearly related to Sapindus, but differing 

 iu the nature of its fruits. These in Sa- 

 pindus are made up of two or three one- 

 seeded carpels, which are united their whole 

 length, or slightly separate at top, so that 

 they form one berry, while here the ellip- 

 tical berried carpels, which are two or three 

 in number, are quite free to the base. E. 

 edule is a* common tree in the Malayan 

 peninsula and the neighbouring islands, 

 extending to North Australia; it has alter- 

 nate unequally-pinnate ash-like velvety 

 leaves, about one foot long, and the small 

 greenish-white flowers are disposed in 

 branching panicles. The four petals are 

 each furnished with a strap-shaped and 

 bilobed woolly appendage on the inside 

 near the base, the name of the genus, which 

 signifies ' woolly tongue,' having reference 

 to these. The woodis valuable.being strong 

 and durable. In the only other species, E. 

 cauliflorum, the racemes of flowers proceed 

 from the old wood. [A. A. B.] 



ERIOGONUM. A genus of Polygonacece, 

 forming the type of a tribe distinguished 

 by the absence of stipules, and the involu- 

 crate flowers. They are natives of western 

 North America, rarely occurring in the 

 Southern States, or on the east coast. Herbs 

 or undershrubs, usually woolly.with radical 

 leaves in tufts, and alternate or tufted stem 

 leaves. The peduncles often form a com- 

 pound umbel or head. The perianth is her- 

 baceous, six-cleft, with the segments ar- 

 ranged in two rows. [J. T. S.] 



ERIOLJ2NA. This genus, known also 

 as Schillera and Microlcena, belongs to the 

 Sterculiacecn, in which it is notable from 

 having perfect flowers with petals which do 

 not wither and remain attached, but fall 

 early, together with a column of numerous 

 stamens in many series, all the stamens 

 perfect, and not as in many of the family 

 having sterile stamens (staminodia), alter- 

 nating with the perfect ones. There are 

 seven known species, all East Indian trees 

 or shrubs, with alternate stalked heart- 

 shaped leaves resembling those of a lime 

 tree in form and size, and axillary or ter- 

 minal panicles of rather large mallow-like 

 yellow flowers. [A. A. B.] 



ERION. In Greek compounds = woolly. 



ERIOPETALTJM. A small genus of As- 

 clepiadacecB, the species of which are natives 

 of India, and form erect branching herbs 

 with scale-like adpressed leaves, and small 

 flowers in lateral or terminal sessile umbels. 

 The corolla is subcampanulate and five- 

 cleft, with long linear segments, and the 

 staminal crown gamophyllous and flfteen- 

 lobed ; the five inner lobes rest on the an- 

 thers, the others are erect, and adhere to 



