the ignorance of the gardeners. I alfo faw a fine plant 
of this fort in the Amfterdam Garden. 
This tree grows about fifteen or fixteen feet high j the 
leaves come out without any order, which are five or 
fix inches long, fmooch, and thick ; upon the edges 
v of the leaves the flowers are produced, but efpeci- 
all'y toward the upper part, where they are placed 
very clofely, fo as almoft to form a fort of border to 
the leaves ; which, together with the fhining green 
colour of the leaves, makes a very beautiful appear- 
ance : the leaves continue green all the year, which 
renders the plant more valuable. 
It requires to be placed in a moderate ftove in the 
winter, otherwife it will not live in England ; but in 
fu miner it may be placed in the open air, in a warm 
fhekered fituation. With this management the plant 
was in great vigour in the Phyic Garden at Am- 
fterdam. 
The fecond fort grows naturally in Barbadoes, where 
it is a common plant ; for I have many times had it 
come up in the tubs of earth brought from thence, 
with other plants : though this is an annual plant, 
yet the feeds being caft out of the capfules when ripe, 
with an elafticity, is thrown to a confiderable difiance, 
and this way the plant propagates itfelf in England 
for the feeds being caft into the pots which are placed 
near it in the ftove, the plants come up without far- 
ther trouble. 
This rifes with an herbaceous ftalk a foot and a half 
high, garniihed with many long winged leaves, com- 
poTed of a great number of oval lobes, of a gray co- 
lour on their under fide, but of a bright green on 
their upper •, thefe lobes * contract every evening, 
turning their under fide outward ; on the under fide 
of the" leaves the flowers are produced along the 
midrib, turning downward ; thefe are fome of them 
male, and others female, intermixed on the fame 
plant, having each a bell-fhaped empalement of one 
leaf, cut into fix fegments at the brim j and being 
coloured, the title of petals, or corolla, are by fome 
applied to them, but others call them apetalous flowers. 
The male flowers have each three ftamina, the female 
having a Angle ftyle, fupporting a trifid ftigma, and 
are fucceeded by roundifh capfules with three cells, 
each containing one feed. The plant ufually flowers 
from June to October, and the feed ripens after in 
fucceftion^ 
The third fort grows naturally at Malabar, where it 
rifes with a tree-like ftalk to the height of twelve or 
fourteen feet •, but in England they do not rife more 
than half that height, fending out from the fide many 
patulus branches, which are garniihed with very nar- 
row winged lobes j but as it hath not produced either 
flowers or fruit in England, fo I can give no farther 
account of it. 
- This plant is propagated by feeds, when they can be 
procured from the^ country where the plants grow 
naturally ; thefe muft be fown upon a hot-bed, and 
when the plants come up and are fit to tranfplant, 
they Ihould be each planted into a feparate fmall pot 
filled with light earth, and plunged into a hot-bed of 
tanners bark, being careful to Ihade and water them 
until they have taken good root ; after this, the 
plants muft conftantly remain in the bark-ftove, and 
be treated in the fame manner as hath been directed 
for many other plants from the fame country, with 
which the plant has been maintained feveral years, 
but has made little progrefs. 
The other forts, which in the former edition of this 
work were added to this genus, are now placed under 
Andrachne. 
PHYLLIS. Lin. Gen. Plant. 286. Bupleuroides. 
Boerh. Ind. alt. 71. Valerianella. Dill. Hort. Elth. 
405. Simpla Nobla. 
The Characters are, 
q J be empalement of the flower is very fl mall , compofed of 
two leaves fitting on the germcn. The flower has five 
‘'cbtufe [pear -fhaped petals, which turn bac'kzvard. It hath 
five [hort hair-like ftamina, which are flaccid , terminated 
by oblong flummits. The ger men, which is fituated under 
the flower , has no ftyle , but is crowned by two awl 
Jhaped , reflexed , hairy ftigmas . The germen afterward turns 
to an oblong angular fruit , containing two parallel feeds , 
convex on their ot^tfde, plain on the other , and broad- at 
the top. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the fecond fedionof 
Linnaeus’s fifth clafs, which includes thofe plants 
whofe flowers have five ftamina and two ftyles or 
ftigmas. 
We have but one Species in the Knglifh gardens 
at p relent, viz. 
Phyllis (Nob la) llipulis dentatis. Prod. Leyd. 92. 
Phyllis with indented flipula. Bupleuroides qute fim- 
pla nobla Canarienfmm. Pluk. Boerh. Ind. ait. 1. p, 
72. Baftard Hard s-ear, or Simpla Nobla of the Canaries . ■ 
This plant grows naturally in the Canary Blands, 
from whence the feeds were formerly brought to Eng- 
land. It rifes with a foft fhrubby ftalk about two or 
three feet high, which is feldom thicker than a man’s 
finger, of an herbaceous colour, and full of joints. 
Thefe fend out feveral fmall fide branches toward the 
top, garniihed with fpear-fnaped leaves near four 
inches long, and almoll two broad in the middle, 
drawing to a point at each end ; they are of a lucid 
green on their upper fide, but pale on their under, 
having a ftrong whitilh midrib, with feveral deep 
veins running from it to the fides •, the leaves are for 
the moft part placed by threes round the branches, 
to which they fit dole. The flowers are produced 
at the end of the .branches, in loofe panicles ; they 
are fmall, of an herbaceous colour at their firft ap- 
pearance, but before they fade, change to a brown 
or worn-out purple, and are cut into five parts to their 
bafe, where they are connected, and fall off without 
Separating, fo Ihould be termed a flower of one pe- 
tal. Thefe fegments are reflexed backward fo as to 
cover the germen, which is fituated under the flower, 
and afterward becomes a Abort, turbinated, obtufe, 
angular fruit, which fplits in two parts when ripe, 
each containing one feed, flat on the infide, convex 
on the outfide and angular. This plant flowers in 
June, and the feeds ripen in autumn. 
It is propagated by feeds, which muft be fown on a 
bed of frelh lisrht earth toward the end of March, 
and the plants will come up by the beginning of May-, 
when they are fit to tranfplant, they Ihould be put 
into feparate pots, and placed in a fhady fituation 
until they have taken root ; after which time they 
fhould be placed in a fhekered fituation, where they 
may have the morning fun, and in the fummer will 
require to be frequently watered. In winter they 
muft be fhekered from the froft, but require to 
have as much free air as pofllble immild weather ; 
the fecond year the plants will flower, fo if in the 
fpring fome of the plants are fliaken out out of the 
pots and put into the full ground, they will petted 
their feeds much better than thofe which remain in 
the pots. 
As thefe plants feldom continue in health above four 
' or five years, it will be proper to raife a fupply of 
young plants to lucceed them. 
The plants retain their leaves all the year, which 
being large and of a fhining green, make a hand- 
fome appearance in winter, in which the beauty of it 
confifts, for the flowers have none. 
PH Y S A L I S. Lin. Gen. Plant. 22 3. Alkekengi. 
Tourn. Inft. R. H. 150. tab. 64. Winter Cherry. 
The Characters are, 
The flower hath a fmall [welling permanent empalement 
of one leaf, which is five-cornered , and cut at the top 
into five acute points. The flower hath one wheel fa aped 
petal , with a Jhort tube and a large brim , which is five- 
cornered and plaited. It has five fmall awl-jhaped fta- 
mina which join together , terminated by erctt flummits , 
and a roundifh germen fupporting a jlender ftyle , crowned 
by an obtufe ftigma. The germen afterward turns to an 
almoft globular berry with two cells , inclofed in the large 
inflated empalement , and is filled with compreffed kidney- 
Jhaped feeds 
This 
