[ 229 3 



warmer fituation than its native one, the cali:>i would 

 open, and iliew a radiated flower. The contro- 

 verfy, which was managed in behalf of Linn^us 

 by Dr. Gkditfcb of Berlin^ much extended the 

 knowledge, and favoured the eftabiifhment of the 

 Linn^an fyftem, at that time unwillingly received 

 by many of the older botanifts. 



ID. De AcROSTico. J, B. Heiligtag, ly^J. 



A botanical diflertation on a genus of plants 

 belonging to an extenfive natural order, placed in 

 the Cryptogamia clafs, which we call Ferns ; and 

 which were known to former botanifls by the name 

 of Epiphyllofpermous plants, fmce they chiefly pro- 

 duce their parts of frudification on the back of the 

 leaf, or frons. After fome general obfervations on 

 the plants confl:ituting this order, which have alfo 

 been called Capillary plants, and fliewing the place 

 they hold, and their charaElers in the feveral fyftems 

 of Ray^ Morifon^ TGurnefort^ and Linn/eus, the 

 writer proceeds to an ample defcription of the 

 fpecies of Acroftica^ of which he enumerates feven- 

 teen, with their fynonyms. This genus is difl:in- 

 guiflied by having the frudification fpread all over 

 the furface of the leaf ; and the number of fpecies, 

 in the lad edition of the Syfliem, is augmented to 

 thirty. They are m.oftly of American produce, 

 three only being European^ of which two are fpar- 

 ingly found in Britain. They are a Angular let 

 cf plants, and have much excited the attention of 

 botanifls. A plate accompanies this tra6b, on which 

 five of the uncommon fpecies are delineated. 



0^3' II. Museum 



