N E ft 
long foot-talks. The talks are terminated! by long 
ipik.es of whorled flowers, which are feparated, and 
fit clofe to them ; thefe are wrapped in a hoary down. 
The flowers are white, and appear in July. 
The ninth fort grows naturally in North Amfened \ 
this hath a perennial root, from which arife feveral 
four-cornered talks two feet high, which are par- 
nilhed with hairy leaves, fomewhat like thofe of Mar- 
joram, but are larger. The flowers grow in whorls 
round the italics, and alfo at the extremity of the talk, 
in a large roundilh whorl or head ; they are of a pale 
fiefh colour, and their ftamina is longer than the petal. 
It flowers in July. 
The tenth fort grows naturally in the Levant, from 
whence the feeds were fent to Paris, by Dr. Tourne- 
fort. The talks of this are ftrong, and rife near 
three feet high. The leaves are heart-ffaaped, and 
have blunt indentures on their edges, handing upon 
Abort foot-talks. The towers grow in whorled 
(pikes at the top of the talks ; the whorls are ve- 
ry thick, and fet elofe together, terminating in an 
obtufe point. The flowers are of a pale fiefh co- 
lour % the whole plant is hoary, and has a trong 
feent. 
The eleventh fort grows naturally among the rocks in 
Candia, where it is ufed as Water Germander by the 
inhabitants ; this hath four-cornered talks a foot long, 
which trail upon the ground, fending out fome ten- 
der branches from the fide. The leaves are very like 
thofe of the round-leaved Mentatrum, fitting elofe 
to the talk. The towers grow in thick roundifh 
whorls, which fit elofe to the talk, and are furround- 
ed by oval hairy leaves, or bradtea. The flowers are 
white, and jut peep out of their empalements. The 
roots of this fort feldom continue longer than two 
years, but as the feeds ripen w r ell, fo if they are per- 
mitted to fcatter, the plants will come up the follow- 
ing fpring. 
All the forts are very hardy, fo are not injured by 
frot : they are eafily propagated by feeds, for if they 
are permitted to fall, the plants will rife without trou- 
ble ; or if the feeds are fown, either in the fpring or 
autumn, the plants will come up, and require no 
other culture but to thin them where they are too 
elofe, and keep them dean from weeds. If thefe 
plants are fown upon a poor dry foil, they will not 
grow too rank, but will continue much longer, 
and appear handfomer than in rich ground, where 
they grow too luxuriant, and have not fo ftrong a 
feent. 
NERIUM. Lin. Gen. Plant. 262. Nerion. Tourn. 
Inft. R. H. 604. tab. 374. The Oleander, or Rofe 
Bay, in French, Laurier Rofe. 
The Characters are, 
The empalement of the flower is permanent , and cut into 
five acute fegments. The flower has one funnel-fhaped 
petal ’The tube is cylindrical ; the border is large , and 
cut into five broad obtufe fegments , which are oblique. It 
hath a nectar him terminating the tube , which are torn 
into hairy fegments. It hath five fhort awl-Jhaped fla- 
mina within the tube , with arrow-pointed fummits joining 
together , terminated by a long thread. It hath an oblong 
germen , which is bifid , with fcarce any ftyle , crowned by 
jtngle ftigmas. The germen afterward turns to two long , 
taper, acute-pointed pods , filled with oblong feeds , lying 
over each other like the feales of fifh , and crowned with 
down. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the firft fedlion of 
Linnaeus’s fifth clafs, which contains thofe plants 
whole flowers have five ftamina and one ftyle. 
The 'S pecies are, 
1. Neri um ( Oleander ) foliis lineari-lanceolatis ternis. 
Hort. Cliff. 7 6 . Oleander , or Rofe Bay , with linear 
bear-floaped leaves , which are placed by threes round the 
'jialk. .Nerion' floribus rubefeentibus. C. B. P.464. 
Oleander with red flowers. 
2. Nerium ( Indicurn ) foliis linearibus rigidis. Oleander , 
or Rofe Bay , with linear rigid leaves. Nerium Indi- 
icum, anguftifoiium, floribus odoratis fimplicibus* 
N E R 
ii, L. _ Na/row leaved Indian Rofe Bdy% with jimh 
fwcet-fcented flowers. 
3- Nerium ( Latifolium ) foliis lancedlatis longioribus 
flaccidis, Rofe Bay with longer, fpear-Jhdped , flaccid 
leaves. _ Nerium Indicurn latifolium, floribus odora- 
tis plenis. H, L. Broad-leaved Indian Rofe Bay with 
double fweet flowers , commonly called the double Ole- 
ander. 
The firft fort grows naturally in Greece, and in feve- 
rish countries near the Mediterranean fea, generally by 
the Tides of rivers and brooks : there are two varieties 
of this, one with white, the other with red flowers, 
but feem to have no other difference, fo may properly 
be placed together as one fpeeies, though that with 
> white flowers is rarely found growing wild in any 
place but the ifland of Crete. 
Thefe rife with feveral ftalks to the height of eio-fit or 
ten reet. The branches come out by threes rourid 
the principal ftalks, and have a Irnooth bark, which 
in the red flowering is of a purpliih colour, but the 
white fort hath a light green bark. The leaves for the 
moft part ftand by threes round the ftalks, upon very 
fhort foot-ftalks, and point upward *, they are about 
three or four inches long, and three quarters of an 
inch broad in the middle, of a dark green, very fluff, 
and end in acute points. The flowers come out at 
the end of the branches, in large loofe bunches, which 
are in one of a bright purple, or crimfon colour, and 
in the other they are of a dirty white ; they have fhort 
tubes, and fpread open at the top, where they are 
deeply cut into five obtufe fegments, which are twill- 
ed at bottom, fo are oblique to the tube. At the 
mouth of the tube, the tom capillary nedtarium is fi- 
tuated, and within the tube are the five ftamina, with 
the germen at bottom, which afterward turns to a 
brown, taper, double pod, about four inches long, 
which opens longitudinally on one fide, and is filled 
with oblong feeds, crowned with long hairy down, 
lying over each other like the feales of fifh. This 
plant flowers in July and Auguft, and in warm fea- 
fons they are fucceeded by pods, but the feeds feldom 
ripen well here. 
When the fummers are warm and dry, thefe plants 
make a fine appearance, for then they open and flowed 
in great plenty; but, in cold moift feafons, the 
flowers often decay without expanding, and the fort 
with white flowers is more tender than the red ; fo 
that unlefs the weather is warm and dry at the 
time the flowers appear, they rot, and make no- 
figure, unlefs they are placed under glafles to fereen 
them. 
The fecond fort grows naturally in India ; this rifes 
with fhrubby ftalks fix or feven feet high, which are 
covered with a brown bark, and garniihed with ftiff' 
leaves from three to four inches long, and not more 
than a quarter of an inch broad ; they are of a light 
green, and their edges are reflexed ; thefe are placed 
fometimes oppofite, at others they are alternate, and 
fometimes by threes round the branches. The flowers 
are produced in loofe bunches at the end of the 
branches ; they are of a pale red, and have an agree- 
able mufky feent. It flowers at the fame time with 
the former, but thefe flowers feldom open here in the 
open air, fo that unlefs the plants are placed in an airy 
glafs-cafe, where they are defended from wet and 
cold, they feldom flower well. 
The third fort grows naturally in both Indies; this 
plant was firft introduced to the Britifh I hands in 
America, from the Spanilh Main, and is called by 
the inhabitants of thofe iilands South Sea Rofe ; the 
beauty and Iweetnefs of its flowers engaged the inha- 
bitants of the iflands to cultivate the"plants, fo that 
in many places they were planted to form hedges ; 
but the cattle browzing upon them, when there was 
fcarcity of food, were many of them killed, which 
has occasioned their being deftroyed in places expofed 
to cattle; fo that now they are only p refer ved in gar- 
dens, where they make a fine appearance great part 
of the year,, for in thofe warm countries they are fd~ 
. • dom 
