585 



Cf)£ Crea^uvg of JSutamn 



[herb i 



cells. There are but very few species, all 

 natives of the northern or Alpine regions 

 of Europe and Asia. H. Monorchia, the 

 Musk Orchis, the most common and widely- 

 spread species, is occasionally found in 

 ! southern and eastern England. It has 

 | globular tubers like those of an Orchis, but 

 ! the new one is always produced at some 

 distance from the stem at the end of a 

 I thickish fibre, so that the plant moves each 

 year to a distance of one or more inches 

 from the spot it previously occupied. The 

 ', stem is slender, three to six inches high, 

 i with two or three narrow leaves near its 

 i base. The flowers, in a terminal spike, are 

 small, of a yellowish green, with narrow 

 i sepals and petals. 



I HERMIOXE. One of the divisions of 

 the genus Narcissus, kept separate by some 

 i botanists, and consisting mainly of the 

 ! plants which in gardens bear the name of 

 : Polyanthus Narcissus. According to Her- 

 : bert, the distinctions are : that the cup is 

 ! shorter than the slender cylindrical tube 

 I of the flower ; the stamens with conniving 

 filaments, adnate unequally near the mouth 

 of the tube, and free only at the curved 

 point; and incumbent acute-oval anthers 

 attached by the middle ; and the straight 

 slender style. Most of the Narcissi im- 

 ported along with hyacinths from Hol- 

 land, for spring flowering in gardens, are 

 of this group. [T. M.] 



HERMODACTE. (Fr.) Iris tuberosa. 



HERMODACTYLUS. The name of a few 

 Eastern plants often included in Iris, but 

 I sometimes regarded as distinct. They 

 have fleshy tubers, glaucescent quadran- 

 gular leaves much longer than the stem 

 which supports the curious black and 

 green velvety flower, very small inner 

 perianth-segments, and an oblong ovary 

 narrowed to each end. Iris tuberosa, the 

 typical species, is often called the Snake's- 

 head Iris. [T. M.] 



HERNAXDIA. A genus of apetalous 

 Exogens, the station of which in the natu- 

 ral system is regarded as doubtful : by 

 some it has been separated as the type of 

 a distinct family, the Hernandiacece. It 

 consists of three or four or perhaps more 

 species, tropical trees inhabiting both the 

 East and West Indies and Guiana. The 

 leaves are cordate, peltate, and smooth ; 

 and the flowers, which are monoecious, are 

 in panicled masses, having a yellowish 

 appearance from the sepals being petaloid. 

 The male flower has six sepals, and three 

 stamens opposite the three outer sepals ; 

 between the base3 of the stamens are three 

 pairs of glands. The anthers open by two 

 valves, reflected laterally. The female 

 flower, the structure of which has hitherto 

 been imperfectly understood, proves on ex- 

 amination to have the ovary inferior, and 

 at its base external to the calyx it is en- 

 closed by a cup-like involucre, which in the 

 male flower is wanting. The sepals are 

 eight, or sometimes in imperfectly herma- 

 phrodite flowers nine, and it hasfour barren 

 stamens which are like the gland3 of the 



male flower. The ovary is one-celled, con- 

 taining one pendulous ovule; the style is 

 short, furrowed on one side, and the stigma 

 is broad and lobulated. The seed, in which 

 the radicle is superior, contains no albu- 

 men, and the embryo has a crumpled ap- 

 pearance, in addition to which each cotyle- 

 don is three-lobed at its base. By its val- 

 vular anthers it is nearly related to Laura- 

 ceo?, but in its inferior ovary it is nearer 

 Combretacece, and its station consequently 

 is near Gyrocarpus and Illigera in the latter 

 family, the flowers of these genera bav- 

 ins no petals, and their anthers opening 

 by valves. The bark, seed, and young 

 leaves of H. sonora are slightly purgative. 

 It is said that the fibrous roots chewed and 

 applied to wounds caused by the Macassar 

 poison form an effectual cure. The juice 

 of the leaves is a powerful depilatory, de- 

 stroying hair wherever applied without 

 pain. The wood is light ; that of H. guia- 

 nensis takes fire so readily from a flint and 

 steel, that it is used as amadou. [B. C] 



HERXAXT SEEDS. The commercial 

 name for the seeds of Hernandia ovigera, 

 used for dyeing. 



HERNIARIA. A genus of Illecebracew, 

 found in barren places in the temperate 

 regions of Europe, Asia, and Africa. They 

 are small annuals or undershrubs with 

 oval, oblong, or linear leaves, and small 

 scarious stipules. The minute flowers, in 

 lateral clusters generally arranged in an 

 interrupted leafy spike, have a five-parted 

 calyx, five petals reduced to mere threads, 

 five stamens, two stigmas, and a membra- 

 nous utricular fruit. H. glabra is a native 

 of Britain, and not unfrequent in the south- 

 western counties. [J. T. S.] 



HERNIOLE. (Fr.) Serniaria glabra. 



HERON'S BILL. Erodium. 



HERPESTIS. A genus of Scrophularia- 

 cece, allied to Gratiola, and having, like 

 that genus, didynamous stamens, with 

 two-celled anthers, and a capsule opening 

 septicidally in two entire or bifid valves. 

 It is, however, readily known by the calyx 

 consisting of five distinct very unequal 

 sepals, the lowest outer one always much 

 larger than the others, and the two inner- 

 most often very narrow. The^e are above 

 forty species known, natives of various 

 parts of America, Africa, Australia, or 

 southern Asia. They are all herbs, mostly 

 procumbent or prostrate, more rarely 

 erect, with rather small flowers usually 

 yellow or pale blue. The most common 

 are, H. Monnieria, a small creeping gla- 

 brous plant, with rather thick entire 

 leaves, and a pale blue or nearly white 

 flower, very abundant in almost all hot 

 countries in moist situations ; and H. 

 chamo3dryoid.es, a much-branched spread- 

 ing species with ovate toothed leaves and 

 yellow flowers, common in the mountainous 

 districts of America from South Brazil to 

 Mexico. 



HERRERIA. A genus of Liliacem of 

 doubtful affinity, having the habit of the 



