p-r~r 
PHY 
tab. i . African Baflard Alaternus , with Heath haves and 
white moffy flowers. 
2 . Phylica ( Plumcfa ) foliis lineari-fubulatis, fum'rnis 
hirfutis. Prod. Leyd. 199. Phylica with narrow azvl- 
fhaped leaves , which are hairy at the top. Chamaelgea 
foliis anguftis fubtus incanis, floribus capitatis mufc.o- 
fis. Burm. Plant. Afr. 117. tab. 43. Spurge Olive 
with narrow leaves , which are hoary on their under fide , 
and moffy flowers collected in heads, 
g . Phylica *( Buxifolia ) foliis ovatis fparfis. Lifi. Sp. 
Plant. 195. Phylica with oval leaves growing flatter- 
ingly. Chamslaea folio fubrotundo fubtus incano flo- 
ribus in eapitulum collectis. Burm. Plant. Afr. 119. 
tab. 44. Spurge Olive with roundifio leaves , which are 
hoary on their under fide , and flowers collected in heads. 
The firft fort grows naturally at the Cape of Good 
Piope, from whence it -was firft brought to the gar- 
dens in Holland ; but it alio grows naturally about 
Lilbon, where there are large extents of ground co- 
vered with it, in the fame manner as are many lands 
in England covered with Heath. This is a low bufhy 
plant, leldom rifing more than three feet high ; the 
Italics are fhrubby and irregular, dividing into many 
fpreading branches, which are again divided into 
fmaller. The young branches are clofely garnilhed 
with fhort, narrow, acute-pointed leaves placed in 
whorls round the (talks, to v/hich they fit dole ; they 
are of a dark green, and continue ail the year. At 
the end of every Ihoot, the flowers are produced in 
fmall clutters fitting clofe to the leaves ; they are of 
' F a pure white, and begin to appear in the autumn, 
j continuing in beauty all the winter, and decay in the 
[ fpring, which renders the plant more valuable. Thefe 
flowers are notfucceeded by feeds in England. 
The fecond fort grows naturally at the Cape of Good 
Piope, from whence it was brought to the gardens in 
Holland. This hath an erebt fhrubby italic, which rifes 
near three feet high, covered with a purplifh bark, 
and here and there fome white down upon it the 
leaves are narrow, fhort, and acute-pointed, fitting 
clofe to the branches in alternate order on every fide ; 
they are thick, nervous, and of a dark green on their 
upper fide, but hoary on their under. The flowers 
are collected in fmall heads at the end of the branches; 
they are white, woolly, and fringed on their borders, 
cut into fix acute fegments at the top. Thefe appear 
the beginning of winter, and continue long in beauty, 
but are not fucceeded by feeds in England. 
The third foit is a native of the fame country as the 
former ; this rifes with a fhrubby ereft ftalk five or 
fix feet high ; the ftalks when old, are covered with 
a rough purplilh bark, but the younger branches have 
a woolly down thefe are garnilhed with thick oval 
leaves about the fize of thole of the Box-tree ; they 
are veined, fmooth, and of a lucid green op their up- 
per fide, but are hoary on their under •, they have 
fhort foot-fialks, and ffand without order on the 
branches. The flowers are colleded in fmall heads at 
the end of the branches ; they are of an herbaceous 
colour, fo make no great figure. Thefe appear at 
the fame time with the former. 
As thefe plants do not produce feeds in England, fo 
they are propagated by cuttings, which, if properly 
managed, will take root freely. There are two fea- 
fons for planting thefe cuttings ; the firft is the lat- 
ter end of March, before the plants begin to fhoot if 
thefe are planted in pots and plunged into a very mo- 
derate hot-bed, covering them clofe with bell or hand- 
glaffes, oberving to fhade them from the fun in the 
middle of the day, and to refrefh them gently with 
water, they will put out roots in two months ; then 
they fhould be inured to the open air, and after they 
have obtained ftrength, they Ihould be carefully taken 
out of thefe pots, and each planted in a feparate fmall 
pot, filled with foft loamy earth, and placed in afhady 
fituation until they have taken new root, when they 
may be removed to a fheltered fituation, where they 
may remain till autumn. 
The other feafon for planting thefe cuttings is about 
the beginning of Auguft ; at this time they may be 
planted in pots, which may be either plunged into 
an old hot-bed or in the gfound, covering them clofS 
with bell or hand-glaffes as before, and treating. them 
in the fame way thefe will put out roots in about 
two months, but it will then be too late in the fea- 
fon to tranfplant them, fo they muft remain in the 
fame pots till fpring. If thefe are placed under a hot- 
bed frame in autumn, where they may be prote&ed 
from the froft, and expofed to the open air in mild 
weather, they will fucceed better than when they 
are more tenderly treated. 
The plants are coo tender to thrive in the open air in 
England, fo they muft be kept in pots and houfed in 
winter ; for although the firft fort will live through 
the winter in a warm fheltered fituation when the fea- 
fon s prove favourable, yet when fevere frofts happen 
they are always deftroved •, but they require no artifi- 
cial heat to preserve them, if they are fheltered under 
a hot-bed frame in winter when they are young, and 
after they are grown large kept in a green-houfe, 
where they may enjoy the free air in mild weather, 
and treated in the fame way as other hardy exotic 
plants from the fame country ; in the fummer they 
muft be placed abroad in a Sheltered fituation, with 
which management the plants will thrive and conti- 
nue feveral years ; and as they flower in the winter, 
they make a good appearance in the green- houfe 
during that feafon. 
PHYLLANTHUS. Lin. Gen. Plant. 932. Sea- 
fide Laurel. 
The Characters are. 
It hath male and female flowers in the fame plant ; the 
empalements of the flovoer in both flexes are permanent , 
bell-Jhaped , and of one leap , cut into fix parts which 
fpread open , and are coloured. Phe flowers have no pe- 
tals according to fome , or no empalements according to 
others. 'The male flowers have three fhort flamina which 
join at their bafl, but fpread aflunder at their top , and 
are terminated by twin fummits. Phe female flowers 
have an angular nedlarium furrounding the germen , which 
is roundifh and three-cornered , fupporiing three fpreading 
ftyles , crowned by obtufl ftigmas. Phe germen afterward 
becomes a roundifh capfule with three furrows , having 
three cells , each containing a Jingle roundifh fled. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the third feeftion 
of Linnaeus’s twenty-firft clafs, which includes thofe 
plants which have male and female flowers on the 
lame plant, and the male flowers have three ftamina. 
The Species are, 
1. Phyllanthus ( Epiphilanthus ) foliis lanceolatis fer- 
ratis, crenis fioriferis. Hort.. Cliff, 439. Phyllanthus 
with fpsar-fkaped flawed leaves , having flowers growing 
on their edges. Phyllanthus Americana planta, florcs 
e fingulis foliorum crenis proferens. Hort. Amft. 1 
p. 199. American Phyllanthus, with flowers growing out 
of every indenture of the leaves. 
2. Phyllanthus ( Niruri ) foliis pinnatis fioriferis, flo- 
ribus pedunculatis, caule herbaceo eredo. Flor. Zeyi. 
331. Phyllanthus with winged leaves bearing flowers on 
foot -ftalks, and an upright herbaceous ftalk. Niruri Bar- 
badenfe, folio ovali fubtus glauco petiolis florum bre- 
vifiimis. Martyn. Cent. 9. tab. 9. Barbadoes Phyllan- 
thus with an herbaceous upright ftalk , and the flower- 
ftalks very fhort. 
3. Phyllanthus ( Emblica ) foliis pinnatis fioriferis, 
caule arboreo, fru&u baccato. Flor. Zeyl. 333. Phyl- 
lanthus with winged leaves bearing flowers, a tree-like 
ftalk, and berry-bearing fruit. Nelli-Camarum. Hort. 
. Mai. 1. p. 69. 
The firft fort grows naturally upon the rocks near 
the fea, in all the 1 Hands of the Weft-Indies, where 
the inhabitants title it Sea-fide Laurel. This is feldom 
found growing on the land, v/hich occafions its fear- 
city jn Europe ; for the roots ftrike fo deep into the 
crevices of the rocks, as to render it alrnoft impradi- 
cable to tranfplant the plants, and it is very difficult to 
propagate by feeds 5 for unlefs they are fown foon 
after they are ripe, they will not grow, and the greateft 
part of the feed proves abortive, fo that this fort is 
very rare in Europe. There was formerly a plant of 
this fort in the gardens at Hampton- court $ but this,’ 
with many other fine plants, have been deftroyed by 
the 
