469 



Cljr Crsatfurg of 38otanj?. 



[eeyt 



Southern Europe aud temperate Asia, and ' 

 is an exceedingly ornamental garden 

 plant, as well as an early flowerer. The 

 most common American species, E. ame- 

 ricanum, has narrow perianth segments of 

 a pale yellow colour. [J. T. S.] 



ERTTHRO. In Greek compounds = any 

 pure red. 



ERYTHROPHYLL. The red colouring 

 matter of plants. 



ERYTHROPHYSA. A genus of Sapin- 

 dacea>, nearly related to Cardiospermum, but 

 differing in its five-lobed bell-shaped and 

 petal-like calyx. The only known species, 

 E. undulata, is a smooth stunted South 

 African bush, with rigid stems, furnished 

 near the apex with unequally pinnate 

 leaves, composed of four to six pairs of ! 

 small elliptical leaflets, and an odd one ; | 

 the flowers, which all seem to be yellow or j 

 scarlet, are disposed in little clusters at the I 

 ends of the twigs. The fruits are three- j 

 celled bladdery capsules, of a fine red co- j 

 iour, and suggest the generic name, which J 

 signifies 'red bag.' The plant is sometimes | 

 called Erythrophila undulata. [A. A. B.] 



ERYTHROPOGON. Two neat little erect 

 S. African bushes form this genus of Com- 

 posite, which differs from its nearest ally, 

 Metalasia, in having stalked flower-heads 

 and sessile achenes. In E. umbellata the 

 minute heath-like leaves are of a silvery 

 white colour, rounded, linear, curiously 

 spirally twisted, and disposed in numerous 

 crowded bundles. In E. imbricata they are 

 fewer and nearly lance-shaped. In both 

 the top-shaped flower-heads, with white or 

 purple florets, are few and disposed in 

 little umbels on the ends of the twigs. 

 The smooth beakless achenes are crowned 

 with a pappus of one series of rough hairs, 

 of an intense purple colour. [A. A. B.] 



ERYTHRORCHIS. A remarkable genus 

 of leafless terrestrial orchids found in the 

 Birman empire and adjacent islands. They 

 are perhaps the most gigantic plants in the 

 family. The stems of E. scandens are from 

 fifty to a hundred feet long, scrambling 

 over trees in dense wet jungles. They are 

 of a pale dull red, furnished with brown 

 scales which supply the place of the leaves ; 

 and the flowers are disposed in panicles or 

 racemes, the sepals and petals whitish- 

 yellow, and the lip tinged with pale blue. 

 It differs from Vanilla in the lip being free 

 instead of connate with the column ; and 

 from Cyrtosia in the capsular not berried 

 fruit, with winged seeds. [A. A. B.] 



ERYTHROSPERMOL A genus of bix- 

 ads, composed of a few Mauritian and one 

 Ceylon tree, and differing from the others 

 in the family in having a definite number 

 of stamens. They have smooth oval lance- 

 shaped or oblong leaves, either alternate, 

 opposite or whorled ; and the white myrtle- 

 like flowers are arranged in racemes or 

 panicles. [A. A. B.] 



ERYTHROSTIGMA. A Japanese tree, 

 belonging to the Anacardiacea?, and re- 



markable for being covered with red dots ; 

 the leaves are unequally pinnate ; the five- 

 parted flowers are arranged on a much- 

 branched panicle ; the five hair-like fila- 

 ments are united together at their bases ; 

 the ovary is stalked, and contains a single 

 ovule ; and the fruit is a kidney-shaped 

 drupe. [M. T. MJ 



ERYTHROSTOMUM. Any aggregate 

 fruit like that of a strawberry or Ranun- 

 culus. 



ERYTHROXYLACE^E. (Erythroxyls.) A 

 natural order of thalamifloral dicotyledons 

 belonging to Lindley's sapindal alliance 

 of hypogynous Exogens. Shrubs or trees 

 with alternate smooth stipulate leaves, 

 and small whitish or greenish flowers on 

 axillary peduncles, covered at the base 

 with imbricated scaly bracts. Sepals five, 

 united at the base, persistent ; petals five, 

 equal, with plaited scales at their broad 

 bases; stamens ten, monadelphous; an- 

 thers innate, with longitudinal dehiscence. 

 Ovary three-celled, with three styles and 

 eight capitate stigmas; ovule anatropal. 

 Fruit drupaceous, one-seeded. They are 

 chiefly West Indian and South American 

 plants: Some have stimulating qualities ; 

 others have a tonic bark. The bark of E. 

 suberosum supplies a reddish-brown dye. 

 There is only one genus, Erythroxylon, and 

 above seventy species. [J. H. B.] 



ERYTHROXYLON. This genus contains 

 numerous species, the majority natives of 

 tropical South America and the West Indian 

 Islands, but some occurring in Madagascar 

 and the Mauritius. They are mostly bushy 

 shrubs, or occasionally they form small 

 trees. 



E. Coca is the most interesting of the 

 species, on account of its being extensively 

 cultivated, and its leaves largely employed 

 as a masticatory, under the name of Cocft, 

 by the inhabitants of countries on the 

 Pacific side of South America. It is a 

 shrub of six or eight feet high, somewhat 

 resembling a blackthorn bush. The Coca 

 leaves are of a thin texture, but opaque, 

 oval, tapering towards both extremities, 

 their upper surface dark green, the lower 

 paler and strongly marked with veins, of 

 which two, in addition to the'midrib, run 

 parallel with the margin. Small white 

 flowers are produced in little clusters upon 

 the branches, in places where the leaves 

 have fallen away, and stand upon little 

 stalks about as long as themselves. 



The use of Coca in Peru is a custom of 

 very great antiquity, and is said to have 

 originated with the Incas. At the present 

 day it is common throughout the greater 

 part of Peru, Quito, and New Grenada ; and 

 also on the banks of the Rio Negro, where 

 it is known as Spadic. Coca forms an 

 article of commerce among the Indians, 

 and wherever they go they carry with them 

 a bag of the carefully dried leaves, and also 

 a little bottle-gourd filled with finely 

 powdered lime, and having a wooden or 

 metal needle attached to its stopper. Pour 

 times a day, whatever the nature of his 



