12 



An Account of Plants, fyc. 



S. excelsa climbs to the tops of the highest trees, and de- 

 scending in streaming branches, forms a lofty green wall by 

 the road side, which looks curious ; and, when covered with 

 a profusion of rich red berries in autumn, is very beautiful. 

 It is well adapted for forming arbours. 



Euomjmus Europceus, Var. 

 This variety of a common tree is distinguished by the aril 

 of the seed, which is of a rich scarlet. When the pod opens, 

 this becomes so conspicuous and remarkable, as to give it 

 a character quite different from the common Euonymus of 

 the country. The gardener brought it to me as a great cu- 

 riosity. 



Cassia < 



This is a very pretty shrub ; and the leaves are used for those 

 of Senna, to which they have a strong resemblance. Its na- 

 tural size is three or four feet ; but when trained against a 

 wall, it rises to a considerable height, and is very ornamental. 

 Several other species of Cassia are found in the East, though 

 they do not appear to have been known or described by the 

 ancients. The K«<n* of Theophrastus,* and the AeXpvtov 

 of Dioscorides,+ were very different plants. 



Hedera Chrysocarpa. 

 Theophrastus % describes two species of Ivy, distin- 

 guished by their colour, the white and the black. Diosco- 

 rides,§ and Pliny,|| describe a yellow kind,f called Dionysia 

 and Poetica, because it was that with which bacchants 



* Lib. ix. cap. 5. (• Lib. in. cap. 84. + Lib. iii. cap. 17« 



§ Lib. ii. cap. 210. || Hist. Nat. Lib. xvi. cap. 34. 



f The yellow-berried kind is also mentioned by Theocritus in his 1st Idyll, 

 v. 27-31. 



