3S 



SYRINGODEA HIRTA. 



{Hairy Syrmgodea.) 



LINNEAN SYSTEM. NATURAL ORDER. 



OCTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. ERICACEAE. — (Cham. €t ScM.) 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Syringodea (Don). Calyx 4-fidus, glumaceus. Corolla longe tubulosa, limbus brevis. 

 Stamina sarpe inclusa. Anther ce bipartitae. Celled antherarum breves, obtusee basi muticae. 

 Stigma simplex vel capitatum, interdum disco elevato annulatum. Folia laxa. Flores apice 

 ramorum conferti. 



Calyx four-leaved, glumaceous. Corolla longly tubulose, limb short. Stamens oftentimes 

 concealed. Anthers divided. Cells of the anthers short, obtuse, awned at the base. Stigma 

 simple or capitate, sometimes ringed with an elevated disc. Leaves loose. Flowers crowded at 

 the apex of the branches. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 



S. hirta ; hirsuta, ramosa ; foliis ternis ; floribus ternis, brevissime pedicellatis ; calycibus 

 .adpressis ; staminibus et stigmate exsertis. 



Hairy, branched ; leaves in threes ; flowers in threes, very shortly pedicellate ; calyxes 

 pressed to the flowers ; stamens and stigma projecting. 



Syringodea hirta. — Don. Mill. Gard. Diet. p. 823. 



Erica hirta.— Andr. Heath, vol. 4, t. 173. Lodd. Bot. Cab. 1. 1110. 



Descr.— Stem about two feet high, branched, hairy all over. Leaves in threes, hairy. 

 Flowers in threes, very shortly pedicellate, tubular, reddish purple, green at the apex, viscous. 

 Calyx pressed to the flower, and equal to one-third of its length. Stamens projecting beyond 

 the mouth of the flower, anthers dehiscing longitudinally. Style projecting beyond the stamens. 

 Stigma capitate. 



This is a pretty free flowering plant, and by no means rare in collections. Our 

 drawing was taken from a fine specimen in the Birmingham Botanical and 

 Horticultural Society. The genus Erica, as it formerly stood, was very incon- 

 gruous, containing plants which ought long ago to have been separated into 

 different genera, if undertaken by a person who would devote the necessary time 

 to their investigation. This has at length been done by D. Don, Esq., Professor 

 of Botany at King's College, London, and published by his brother, Mr. G. Don, 

 in the third volume of Miller's Gardener's Dictionary, under the head Ericacecs. 



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