P I E 
ihould be transplanted to another hot-bed to bring 
them forward, obferving to Shade them from the fun 
till they have taken new root ; after which they Should 
be treated in the Same way as other tender exotic 
plants, and the beginning of July they may be tranf- 
planted out upon a warm border, or into pots filled 
with light rich earth, and Shaded from the fun till 
they have taken new root ; after which they will re- 
quire to be duly watered in dry weather, and kept 
clean from weeds. As thele plants perfedb their feeds 
every autumn, they may be eafily preferved. 
The fourth fort grows naturally in Mexico, from 
whence the feeds were fent to Paris fome years paft, 
and they have been fent to Spain many years fince ; 
for there are growing in fome of the gardens, feveral 
trees which are now upward of twenty feet high ; and 
I have been credibly informed, there are fome of the 
trees which produce male, and others female flowers 
only ; but as the plant in the Chelfea Garden has not 
as yet produced any flowers which have opened per- 
feftly, fo I cannot from my own obfervations deter- 
mine this. 
The plant hath a ftrong woody ftem as large as a 
man’s leg, which fends out many irregular branches, 
garnished with oval fpear-lhaped leaves fix inches 
long, and almoft three broad, having large midribs, 
which are of a purple colour when the leaves are fully 
grown; the flowers are produced at the bafe of the 
foot-ftalks of the leaves, in a racemus like thofe of 
the other fpecies ; but as thofe on the plant in the 
Chelfea Garden were produced late in the feafon, fo 
they dropped off before they opened. 
This fpecies may be propagated by cuttings during 
the fummer months, which Should be planted in pots 
filled with light earth and plunged into a moderate 
hot-bed, covering the pots with hand-glaffes to ex- 
clude the air from the cuttings, and duly Shading 
them from the fun ; in about five or fix weeks they 
will put out roots, when they may be each planted 
into a feparate fmall pot, and plunged into the bed 
again, Shading them daily till they have taken hew 
root ; then they Should be gradually inured to the open 
air, where they may remain till the end of Septem- 
ber, when they muff be removed into a moderate Stove 
for the winter feafon, for they will not live through 
the winter in a green-houfe, unlefs it is a very warm 
one. 
P I E R C E A. Solanoides. Tourn. Aft. Par. 1 706. 
The Characters are, 
The flower has no petals ; the empalement which inclofes 
the parts of generation is compofed of four oblong , oval , 
coloured leaves , which are by fome called petals. It hath 
four fiamina , which ftand erebi and clofe together , termi- 
nated by fmall fumnnts. In the center is fituated a large 
roundijh get men, fupporting a ffoort fiyle, crowned by an 
obtufe ftigma. T he germen afterward turns to a roundifh 
berry fitting upon the reflexed empalement , having one cell, 
inclofing a rough feed of the fame form. 
I have taken the freedom of infcribing this genus of 
plants to his Grace the Duke of Northumberland, 
who is not only a great encourager of botanical Stu- 
dies, but greatly Skilled in thefcience himfelf. 
Tournefort firft placed this with the Phytolacca, mak- 
ing it a fpecies of that genus ; but as the flowers of 
Phytolacca have five petals or leaves to the empale- 
ment, and ten Stamina, and the flowers of this have 
but four petals and eight Stamina, and the berries of 
Phytolacca have ten cells, and thefe have but one, fo 
they could not with propriety be joined together ; 
therefore upon mature confideration Tournefort con- 
stituted a new genus of it, by the title of Solanoides, 
and published the charadters in the Memoirs of the 
Academy of Sciences for the year 1706 ; but as all 
thofe titles of plants which end with oides, have been 
by later botanists changed, fo I Shall join this to the 
firft febtion of Linnteus’s eighth dais, who has fup- 
pofed this to be the fame with Plumier’s Rivinia, fo 
he has applied that tide to this plant, and believed 
Plumier was miftaken when he drew eight ftaminato 
the flower ; but Plunder’s Irivinia is totally different 
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from this plant, and the flowers of it have eight fta- 
mina as Plumier has reprefen ted it. 
The Species are, 
1. Pierce a {Glabra)- foil is ovato-knceoiatis glabris. 
Piercea with oval , fpear-fhaped , fmooth leaves. Sola- 
noides Americana, clrcaeae foliis glabris. Tourn. Abb 
Par. 1 706. American Solanoides with fmooth Enchanters 
Might/hade- leaves. 
2. Piercea ( Tomentofa ) foliis cordatis pubefcentibus^ 
Piercea with heart-fhdf ed downy leaves. Solanoides Ame- 
ricana circses foliis canefcentibus. Tourn. Ad. Pan 
1 706. American Solanoides with homy leaves like En- 
chanters Nightjhade. 
Thefe plants grow naturally in moft of the iflands in 
the Welt-Indies, but the firft is the moft common, 
there. This rifes with a Slender herbaceous Stalk three 
or four feet high, and by age becomes a little ligneous 
at the bottom. It divides into many branches which 
are herbaceous, and have angles ; thefe are garnifhed 
with oval fpear-lhaped leaves near four inches long, 
and two broad in the middle ; they are of a bright 
green, and have fiender foot-ftalks an inch and a 
half broad. The foot-ftalks of the flowers come out 
from the fide of the branches, at the bafe of the 
foot-ftalks of the leaves ; they are from four to five 
inches long, fuftaining a great number of fmall white 
flowers, ranged along the upper part on both fides. 
Thefe are fucceeded by fmall red berries full of a red 
juice, inclofing one hard feed of the fame form. 
There is a fucceflion of flowers upon this plant moft 
part of the year, which are fucceeded by berries ri- 
pening after each other, fo that the plants are feldom 
deftitute of them ; and although the flowers make but 
a fmall appearance, yet the long bunches of bright red 
berries, hanging on all the branches great part of the 
year, have a fine effebt. 
The fecond fort grows taller than the firft, and the 
branches grow more erebt ; the leaves are irnailer, 
heart-fhaped, and covered with fhort hairy down 5, 
the fpikes of flowers are not fo long, and the flowers 
are not fo clofely placed together, and have longer 
foot-ftalks. This continues flowering and producing 
ripe fruit in the fame manner as the other, moft part of 
the year. 
Thefe plants are propagated by feeds, which fliould be 
fown foon after they are ripe, for if they are kept long 
out of the ground they feldom grow the fame year. 
They fliould be fown in pots filled with light earth, 
and plunged into a moderate hot-bed ; and when the 
plants come up, they fhould be kept clean from weeds, 
and gently watered as the earth becomes dry. When 
the plants are two inches high, they fliould be each 
planted in a fmall halfpenny pot filled with light earth, 
and plunged into a moderate hot-bed, obferving to 
fliade them till they have taken new root ; after which 
they muft be treated in the fame way as other exotic 
plants, by admitting frefh air to them daily, according 
to the warmth of the feafon, and giving them water 
as often as they require it. When the plants have 
obtained ftrength, they fliould be removed into the 
jftove, and may be placed on flielves, and there they 
muft' conftantly remain, for thgy are too tender to 
thrive in the open air in England in the warmeft part 
of the year. 
The juice of the berries of thefe plants will ftain pa- 
per and linen of a bright red colour, and I have made 
many experiments with it to colour flowers, which have 
fucceeded extremely well ; thefe were made in the 
following manner. I preffed put the juice of the ber- 
ries, and mixed it with common water, putting it into a 
phial, ftiaking it v/ell together for fome time, till the 
water was thoroughly tinged ; then I cut off the flowers 
which were juft fully blown, and placed their ftalks 
into the phial, and in one night the flowers have been 
finely variegated with red. The flowers which I made 
the experiments on were the T uberofe and the double , 
white Narciffus. 
PILOSELLA. See Hieracium. 
i 
4^ 
30 K 
PIM- 
