479 



djc £~rca£ttro ai 3Sotanp. 



[eusc 



ELRYALE. Before the discovery of the 

 Victoria re-gia, the Indian aquatic herb 

 bearing the above name took rank, per- 

 haps, as the noblest aquatic plant in cul- 

 tivation, at least as to its leaves, which 

 are much like those of the Victoria, but 

 smaller, of a circular form, with very pro- 

 minent and spiny veins on the rich purple 

 under-surface : the upper surface being 

 covered with rounded eminences, and of 

 a dark green colour ; and the size varying 

 from one to four feet in diameter. The 

 flowers are stalked, and have a calyx which 

 is adherent below to the ovary, but above it 

 is divided into four segments ; the whole 

 outer surface of this calyx is covered with 

 strong spines ; the petals are from twenty 

 to thirty, smaller than the calyx, and of a 

 purple colour; the stamens numerous, de- 

 tached, all fertile. Fruit a round many- j 

 seeded berry, crowned by the persistent i 

 calyx. By these characters Ruryale is I 

 distinguished from Victoria: both belong j 

 to the Xymphceacea. E. ferox is a native 

 of the eastern part of Bengal and other j 

 quarters of India, where also it is frequent- 

 ly cultivated. Its seeds are floury, and 

 after being baked in sand are eaten by 



\ thenatives. The Hindoo physicians, more- | 

 over, say that they possess medicinal vir- ; 

 tues. The plant is also grown in China 



• for the sake of its seeds. [M. T. M.] ' 



| EURYBIA. A genus of trees or shrubs 

 ! of the compositefamily,conflnedtoAustra- 

 | lia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, and num- 

 bering upwards of sixty species. In many j 

 1 respects it is allied to Aster of the northern 

 hemisphere, but the flower-heads do not 

 i contain nearly so many florets. The genus 

 ! Olearia is their closest relationship, but 

 ; there the pappus is double, while here it is 

 single. They are very variable in appear- 

 , ance, some being large trees, others 

 heath-like shrubs ; and the daisy-like flower- 

 ; heads are either solitary or numerous and 

 i panicled at the ends of the branches. 

 I The silver-leaved Musk tree, E, argo- I 

 pJiylla, is a Tasmanian plant, attaining a 

 height of twenty to twenty-five feet, with 

 | a girth of three feet. It is often seen in 

 I greenhouses as a shrub, where it is cul- j 

 i tivated for the musky odour of its leaves. 

 | The wood of the tree is hard and takes a j 

 I good polish. The larger-leaved species, <! 

 j which are chiefly confined to New Zealand 

 | and Tasmania, are much like this in ap- 

 ! pearance. The smaller-leaved ones are 

 I more common on the continent. Amongst 

 | these latter is E. Dampieri, found in great 

 j abundance by Dampier on one of the is- 

 lands on the north-west coast, which now 

 I bears his name, and called by him Rose- 

 I mary, from its resemblance to that plant. ' 

 The name Daisy-tree is given to E. lirata 

 in Tasmania. The name of the genus is 

 that of the mother of the stars in Greek 

 mythology. [A. A. B.] 



ET7RYCLES. A genus of amaryllids, of 

 the pancratiform group, found in the 

 Eastern Archipelago and in New Holland. 

 The bulbs are ovate ; the leaves are broad 

 and petiolated; and the scape, which 



scarcely precedes the leaves, supports a 

 many-flowered umbel of flowers, of which 

 the tube is cylindrical, the limb regular, 

 with equal segments, and the cup fre- 

 quently imperfect. E. ambohtensis is a 

 stove bulb. E. australasica, or Cuuning- 

 liami, a smaller species from Australia, is 

 called the Brisbane Lily. [T. M.] 



EURYCOMA. A genus of shrubs from 

 Sumatra, referred by Planchon to the Si- 

 marubacew. The leaves are compound, and 

 clustered at the extremity of the branches ; 

 the flowers are panicled, of a purple colour, 

 and on some plants unisexual, on others 

 perfect. E. longifolia is stated to be a 

 valuable febrifuge. [M. T. M.J 



EURYLOBIUM. A genus of Stilbacea?, 

 a family of corollifloral dicotyledons, con- 

 sisting of shrubs furnished with rough li- 

 near leaves ; and flowers of which the calyx 

 is five-toothed, the corolla tubular, five- 

 cleft, its two upper lobes larger and con- 

 nate, the tube hairy within, and the sta- 

 mens four. E. serrulatum, the only species 

 which is known, is a native of South Africa. 

 [J. H. B.] 



EURYNEMA. A small annual Arabian 

 plant belonging to the Zygophyllacem. The 

 flowers are on long stalks, which are bent 

 in the middle ; stamens five, their fila- 

 ments dilated at the base, shorter than 

 the anthers ; ovary on a short stalk, with 

 several ovules in each of its five com- 

 partments. Fruit capsular. [M. T. M.] 



ETJRYOPS. A genus of Composite;, near- 

 ly allied to Senecio, but differing in the 

 nature of the involucre, which is com- 

 posed of one series of scales having their 

 margins more or less united, so that the 

 involucre has the appearance of a toothed 

 cup ; while in Senecio the scales are free. 

 The hairs of the short woolly pappus are 

 curiously bent in a zig-zag manner, and 

 their outer row is often deflexed. Of about 

 thirty known species, one is found in 

 Arabia, another in Abyssinia, and the re- 

 mainder in S. Africa. They are handsome 

 often resinous under-shrubs, very variable 

 in appearance, some having the leaves 

 smooth undivided pine-like, while in others 

 they are wedge-shaped and toothed, and in 

 a goodly number are pinnately-lobed and 

 cut. The yellow-rayed flower-heads are 

 small disposed in corymbs, or large and 

 solitary. E. speciosissimus is called Resin- 

 bush by the colonists, because of a gummy 

 exudation often seen on the stem and 

 leaves. The handsome flower-heads are 

 nearly four inches across. [A. A. B.] 



EUSCAPHIS staphyleoidcs represents 

 a genus of Staphyleacece, found in Japan, 

 the Corea, and the Loo Choo islands. It 

 resembles the common Staphylea pinnata, 

 but it is easily recognised by its fruits, 

 which are composed of three distinct 

 bladdery carpels; while in Staphylea the 

 carpels are united so as to form one blad- 

 dery capsule. The plant grows to a bush 

 of about twelve feet high, and is furnished 

 with opposite pinnate smooth leaves, which 



