•O NA gra' ce je — The name of a natural order of plants, 
of which the QEnothera, (Evening Primrose,) is a rep- 
resentative genus ; name derived from onager, a mili- 
tary engine for discharging large stones ; the flowers of 
some of the species of Evening Primrose ^burst open 
suddenljr at dusk, with a slight noise. 
O Ri EN ta' le — Oriental. 
O thon' NA — From othone, linen ; alluding to the downy- 
clothing of the original plant. 
O va' tus — Ovate. 
Ox a' LIS — From ^7.ryj, acid ; the leaves have an acid 
taste. 
Ox Y u' RA — Derivation and meaning of name uncertain. 
Pa la fox' I A — Named in honor of Palafox. 
Pal' LI Dus — Pale. 
Pa lus' tris — Marshy, swampy, from low, damp places 
Pa ni cu la' ta — Paniculate ; flowers forming a panicle 
Pa' Ni CUM — An ancient name for an Italian grass; 
from pnnis, bread. 
Pa pa' ver — From papa, pap, or thick milk ; the juice 
of the Poppy was formerly used in children's food to 
make them sleep. 
Pa pa ve ka' ce m — The name of a natural order of 
plants, prominently represented by the Poppy, and 
from which it receives its name. 
Pa ra dox' a — Marvelous, strange, contrary to expec- 
tation, paradoxical. 
Par the' ni um — From partheno7i, a virgin ; supposed 
medicinal qualities. 
Par the ni fo' li um — Parthenium-leaved ; leaves like 
the Parthenium. 
Par' vum — Small. 
Pas si flo' ra — From passio, passion, and jfl(ys, a flow- 
er; flowers of the Passion; the early Roman Catholic 
Missionaries of South America finding, in them, sym- 
bols of the Crucifixion, — the crown of thorns in the 
fringes of the flower, nails in the styles with their cap- 
itate stigmas, hammers to drive them in the stamens, 
cords in the tendrils. 
Pa' tu la — Patulous, spreading. 
Pa vo'ni a — In honor of Don Josef Pavon, M. D., of 
Madrid, a traveler in Peru. 
Pe da' ta — Pedate ; when leaves are cut in divisions, 
and the lower divisions again lobed they are said to be 
pedate. 
Pe nel' o pe — The wife of Ulysses and mother of Tele- 
machus. 
Pen na' ta — See Pinnatus. 
Pen ni se' tum — From pemia, a feather, and seta, a 
bristle. 
Pen ta phyl' lum — Five-leaved. 
Pent ste' mon — From pente, five, and stemon, a sta- 
men ; there are four perfect stamens and one imperfect. 
Per en' ne. Per en' nis — Perennial. 
Pe ril' la — Meaning unknown. 
Pe row ski a' num. 
Per' si ca — Persian. 
Pe tu' ni a — The Brazilian name for Tobacco is Petun ; 
applied to this genus on account of ^its affinity to Ni- 
cotiana, Tobacco. 
Pha ce' li a — From Phakelos, a bundle ; in reference 
to the disposition of the flowers. 
Pha la' cre a — Phalacrine, belonging to Phalacria, an 
ancient Italian town. 
Pha se' o lus — From phase lus, a. little boat; fancied 
resemblance in the pod. 
Pic' ta — Painted, embellished, adorned. 
Pic tu ra' ta — Painted, pictured, variegated. 
Pi le' a — From pileos, a cap ; one of the divisions of the 
perianth in Pilea muscosa resembles a cap. 
Pin na' tus — Pinnate ; when leaflets are arranged along 
the sides of a common petiole. 
52 
Pla TY cen' tra — From platys, flat, and kentron, a 
a spur, flat spurred. 
Pla ty cla' da — From platys, flat and klados, a 
branch ; flat-stemmed. 
Pla TY ste' mon — From platys, flat, and stejnon,^. 
stamen. 
Ple' na — Double, full. 
Ple nis' si ma — Most double. 
Po et' I cus — Of the poets, poetical, pertaining to 
poetry. 
Po LE mo NI a' CE ^, — A natural order of plants, re- 
ceiving its name from Polemonium, one of its genera. 
PoR TU la' ca — From porta, to carry, and lac, milk; 
on account of the milky juice of the plants. 
PoR TU LA ca' ce ^. — A natural order of plants, of 
which the Portulaca is a representative, and from 
which it is named. 
Po ten til' la — P>om potens, powerful ; supposed 
medicinal qualities of some of the species. 
Potts' i i. 
Press' li i — Referring to the Messrs. Prezl, of Prague, 
botanists and authors. 
Pri' MU LA (i short) — From primus, first; in allusion 
to the early flowering of the plants. 
Pri mu la' ce (i short) — A natural order of plants, 
receiving its name from Primula, one of its genera. 
Pro bos ci' de a (i short) — Proboscis-Hke, snout-like. 
Pro cum' bens — Trailing on the ground. 
Psy' CHE — A maiden beloved by Cupid, made immor- 
tal by Jupiter. 
Pu Di' CA — Shame-faced, bashful, modest. 
PuL cher' ri ma — Handsomest, most beautiful. 
Pul' CHRA — Beautiful, handsome. 
Pu' MI LA — Dwarf. 
Pu ni' ce A (i short) — Reddish, red, purple-colored. 
Pur pu' re a — Purple, in its various shades. 
Py re' thrum — From pyr, fire; the roots are hot to 
the taste. 
Qua' MO CLiT — From kyamos, a kidney-bean, and 
klitos, dwarf; the species of this genus resemble the 
kidney-bean in their climbing stems. 
Qui na' ta — Quinate, with five leaflets. 
Quin que fo' li a — Five-leaved. 
QuiN QUE vul' ne rus — From quinque, five, and vul- 
nus, a wound. 
Ra di a' ta — Radiate ; furnished with ray flowers. 
Ra' di cans — Rooting. 
Ra do witz' i i. 
Ra mo' sa — Branched, full of branches. 
Ra nun' cu lus — From rana, a frog; many of the spe- 
cies are found in moist places frequented by that reptile. 
Ra NUN cu la' ce ^ — A natural order of plants, in- 
cluding the Ranunculus. 
Ra nun cu lo i' des — Ranunculus-formed, resembling^ 
the Ranunculus. 
Ra ven' n^. 
Ree ve' si I — Referring to John Reeves, F. L. S., of 
Canton, from whom the botany of China has received 
material assistance, and to whom horticulture is in- 
debted for many of its fairest ornaments. 
Re ti cu la' ta — Reticulated ; interlaced with net- 
work. 
Re tu' sus — Retuse ; a leaf is said 'to be retuse when 
there is a depression at the end w'here the point 
should be. 
Rex — The king. 
Rhodan'the — From rhodon,2i rose, and antkos,2i 
flower ; in allusion to the color of the flower-heads. 
Ri char' di A (ch soft) — In honor of L. C. Richard, 
an eminent French botanist. 
Ri ci' Nus — From rzVmwj, a tick ; resemblance in the 
seeds. 
