fafe] 



Qll)e €vzx<>ury at 2Sataug, 



486 



posed by Endlicher, for the Garry a Fady- 

 enii of Hooker. [T. MJ 



FAFEER. One of the Arabian names of 

 Papyrus. 



FAGARASTRUM. A genus of Amyri- 

 dacece, consisting of certain shrubs, natives 

 of the Cape of Good Hope and of tropical 

 Africa, having hermaphrodite flowers with 

 a short three to four-parted calyx, three to 

 four petals, and twice as many stamens, the 

 alternate ones shorter than the rest, the 

 filaments thickened above the base, and 

 the anthers large. Both petals and stamen s 

 are inserted into a kind of stalk, support- 

 ing the three to four-celled ovary, in each 

 compartment of which are two ovules sus- 

 pended from the top. The fruit is as yet 

 unknown. [M, T. MJ 



FAGE. (Fr.) Fagus sylvatica. 



FAGELIA. A genus of Leguminosce, 

 composed of a few twining herbs found in 

 South Africa and Abyssinia. They are 

 more or less clothed with yellowish clammy 

 hairs, and have ternate leaves somewhat 

 like those of Phaseolus multiflorus, but 

 smaller, with nearly triangular leaflets. 

 Their pretty yellow pea blossoms are 

 borne on long axillary racemes. The chief 

 distinguishing characters of the genus 

 are, the deeply divided calyx, the obtuse 

 keeled petal longer than the wings, and 

 the two-seeded turgid pods, about half an 

 inch long. [A. A. B.J 



FAGHUREH of Avicenna. Xantlwxy- 

 lon hastile. 



FAGOPYRTJM. The common Buck- 

 wheat and a few other species, of Asiatic 

 origin, are included in this genus of Polij- 

 gonacece. They are herbaceous plants, with 

 erect branching stems, and heart-shaped'or 

 halbert-shaped leaves. The perianth is cut 

 into five equal divisions, and does not 

 increase in size along with the fruit, like 

 that of some allied plants ; and the eight 

 stamens alternate with eight round glands. 

 The fruit is three-sided, and not enveloped 

 in the perianth, like that of Polygonum ; 

 the seed is mealy. 



The common Buckwheat, or Brank as it 

 is sometimes called, F. esculentum, is an 

 annual plant with a branched stem, grow- 

 ing two or three feet high. It is a native 

 of central Asia, but has been so long ex- 

 tensively cultivated, that it has become 

 naturalised in various parts of Europe. 

 In this country it is only grown to a small 

 extent, and principally for the purpose of 

 affording food for pheasants. On the con- 

 tinent, however, and also in some parts of 

 the United States, Buckwheat is largely 

 employed for human food ; and the thin 

 cakes made of it are said to be very deli- 

 cious. As a food, its nutritious properties 

 are greatly inferior to wheat, but it ranks 

 much higher than rice. In France it is 

 called Sarrasin and Ble noir. The plant is 

 still sometimes called Polygonum Fagopy- 

 rum. [A. S.J 



FAGR.23A. A genus of Asiatic or Polyne- 



I sian Loganiaceai consisting of thick-leaved J 

 trees or shrubs, sometimes found growing ! 



I on loose mould that may have gathered ! 

 on the stems or forks of other trees. Their 

 chief distinguishing features consist In ! 

 the border of the tubular corolla being i 

 five, rarely six to seven-lobed, the Jobes 

 twisted in the bud ; and in the fruit being 

 a two-celled berry. From most genera in 

 the family they are readily recognised by 

 the remarkably thick and leathery texture 

 of their smooth and entire, usually ellipti- 

 cal or lance-shaped leaves. The flowers 

 are white or cream-coloured, and often 

 fragrant; in some very large, and thick 

 in texture, with a trumpet-like tube, two 

 to five inches long (in F. auriculata, one of 

 the largest-flowered species, with a border 

 six inches across) ; in others, where the 

 flowers are very numerous and disposed 

 in terminal corymbs, the corollas are much 

 smaller. The flowers are succeeded by 

 berries, which in the larger-flowered spe- 

 cies are of the size of a duck's egg, and 

 contain numerous seeds. Altogether they 

 have much the appearance of Gardenia, 

 and are chiefly distinguished by their 

 ovaries being superior. Upwards of thirty 

 species are known. The name Cyrtophyl- 

 lum is sometimes given to some of the 

 smaller-flowered species. [A. A. B.J 



FAGUS. A genus of Corylacece, dis- 

 tinguished by having triangular nuts en- 

 closed within a spiny capsule or husk. The 

 most important of the few species is F. 

 sylvatica, the Common Beech, a well-known 

 European tree, and a native also of Arme- 

 nia, Palestine, and Asia Minor. It forms a 

 large and very handsome tree, especially 

 when growing on chalky hills ; and though 

 its timber is not of the best quality, it is 

 found extremely useful for aA'ariety of pur- 

 poses, and is also one of the best kinds of 

 wood for fuel. The nuts or mast are, like 

 acorns, much sought after by swine ; and in 

 some parts, where the tree abounds, the 

 animals are driven into the beech-woods 

 in autumn. A useful oil is also expressed 

 from the nuts. For a full account of the 

 uses of the Beech, the reader is referred to 

 Loudon's Arboretum Britannicum. 



There are some very ornamental varieties 

 of the common Beech to be met with in 

 cultivation : as, for example, the Purple 

 Beech, with purple leaves ; Copper Beech, 

 with copper-coloured leaves ; and Fern- 

 leaved Beech, with the leaves variously cut 

 into narrow segments resembling the 

 fronds of a fern. [T. M.J 



FAIR MAID OF FRANCE. Ranuncu- 

 lus aconitifolius fl. plena. 



FAIRY RINGS. Green circles or parts 

 of circles in pastures produced by various 

 species of agarics and other Fungi. They 

 appear to be generated in the following 

 manner:-— A patch of spawn, according to 

 the fashion of many Fungi, spreads centri- 

 fugally in every direction, and produces 

 a crop at its extreme edge. The soil in 

 the inner part of the disc is exhausted, 

 and the spawn there dies or becomes 



