s p i 
leaf ; they are about two inches long, and fuftain one 
globular head of flowers at the top, of a purplifh red 
colour ; thefe are fucceeded by oblong feeds fituated 
on the margin, which are naked. 
Tiie fecond fort grows naturally at Madras, and alfo 
at La Vera Cruz in New Spain, where it was difco- 
vered by the late Dr. Houftoun; this rifes with an 
herbaceous winged ftalk about ten inches high, gar- 
niffied with oval, fpear-fhaped, fawed leaves placed 
alternately. The upper part of the ftalk branches out 
into fmall divifions, which are terminated by foot- 
ftalks fuftaining three or four globular flowers of apale 
yellow colour. 
Thefe are both annual plants, which require a hot-bed 
to bring them forward in the fpring, and if the fum- 
mer proves cold, they muft be kept in a glafs-cafe, 
otherwife they will not ripen feeds here. 
SPHONDYLIUM. See Heracleum. 
S PIG E LI A. Lin. Gen. Plant. 192. Arapabaca. 
Plum. Nov. Gen. 10. tab. 31. Worm Grafs. 
The Characters are, 
The empalement of the flower is permanent , of one leaf 
which is cut into five acute points ; it has one funnel-fhaped 
petal , whofe tube is longer than the empalement , cut in- 
to five points at the brim which fpread open. It has five 
fiamina terminated by Jingle fummits , and a germen com- 
pofed of two globular lobes , fupporting one awl-foaped 
fiyle the length of the tube , crowned by a Jingle ftigma. 
The germen afterward becomes two globular feed-veffels 
which are joined , fitting in the empalement , filled with 
fmall feeds. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the firft feflion of 
Linnaeus’s fifth clafs, which contains thofe plants 
whofe flowers have five ftamina and one ftyle. 
The Species are, 
1. Spigelia ( Anthehnia ) caule erefto, foliis quaternis 
feffilibus, fpicis terminalibus. Worm-feed with an erect 
ftalk , and leaves growing by fours fitting clofe to the 
ftalks , which are terminated by fpikes of flowers. Ara- 
pabaca quadrifolia, fruclu tefticulato. Plum. Nov. 
Gen. 11. Four-leaved Arapabaca with a tefticulated fruit. 
2. Spigelia (. Lonicera ) foliis oppofltis ovato-oblongis 
acurainatis feffilibus, fpicis terminalibus. Worm Grafs 
with oblong acute-pointed leaves growing oppofite , and fit- 
ting clofe to the ftalks , which are terminated by fpikes of 
flowers. L.onicera fpinis terminalibus, foliis ovato- 
oblongis acuminatis diftin&is feffilibus. Flor. Virg. 
142. Lonicera with fpikes of flowers terminating the 
ftalks , and oval , oblong., acute-pointed leaves fitting clofe 
to the ftalks. 
The firft fort grows naturally in moift places in moft 
of the ifiands in the Weft-Indies ; this is an annual 
plant with a fibrous root, from which arife a ftrong, 
erect, herbaceous ftalk a foot and a half high, which 
is channelled, fending out two fide branches oppo- 
fite near the bottom, and a little above the middle is 
garnifhed with four oblong, oval, acute-pointed leaves, 
placed in form of a crofs round the ftalk ; thefe, and 
alfo the principal ftalk, have four fmaller leaves near 
the top, fitting round in the fame manner as the other, 
and from thefe arife fhort fpikes of herbaceous flow- 
ers, ranged one one fide the foot-ftalk, which are fuc- 
ceeded °by roundilh twin capfules containing fmall 
feeds. 
This plant is efteemed the moft efficacious medicine 
for the worms yet known, and has been long ufed by 
the inhabitants of theBrafils as fuch •, and alfo by the 
negroes, who taught the inhabitants of the Britiffi 
ifiands in America the ufe of it, where it has had great 
fuccefs, and from thence had the appellation of Worm 
Grafs given to it. 
It is too tender to thrive in the open air in England, 
fo the feeds fbould be fown in pots filled with foft 
loamy earth in the autumn, and plunged into the 
bark-bed in the ftove, where they fhould remain till 
the fpring, when they fhould be plunged into a freffi 
hot-bed, ^which will bring up the plants; thefe muft 
be afterward planted into feparate pots, and plunged 
into another hot-bed, and ffiaded till they have taken 
S P I 
new root, after which they muft be treated in the 
fame way as other tender annual plants from the fame 
countries, keeping them conftantly in the hot-bed un- 
der cover, otherwife they will not perfed their feeds 
in England. This plant flowers in July, and the feeds 
ripen in September, which fhould be fown icon after, 
for if they are kept out of the ground till fpring, they 
frequently fail. 
This plant produces plenty of flowers, and the feeds 
feem to be well formed, but thofe which are faved in 
England feldom grow : this may perhaps Be occafion- 
ed by the plants being kept under cover, fo that the 
farina does not properly impregnate the germen ; 
whether it is from this caufe, or what other I know 
not, but I have not been able to raife any plants from 
Engliffi feeds. 
The fecond fort grows naturally in North America, 
where the inhabitants call it Indian Pink. This hath 
a perennial fibrous root, from which arife two or three 
ered herbaceous ftalks about feven or eight inches 
high, garnifhed with three or four pair of oval, ob- 
long, acute-pointed leaves, placed oppofite, fitting 
pretty clofe to the ftalk ; they are fmooth, entire, 
and have feveral veins which diverge from the mid- 
rib. The ftalk is terminated by a fhort fpike of flow- 
ers, which are ranged on one fide the foot-ftalk ; 
they have fhort empalements which are cut into five 
acute fegments. The tube of the flower is long, nar- 
row at the bottom, fwelling upward much larger, and 
is cut at the brim into five acute fegments, which 
fpread open fiat ; the outfide of the flower is of a 
bright red, and the infide of a deep Orange colour. 
Thefe appear in July, but the feeds never ripen here. 
This plant is ufed in North America, for the fame 
purpoles as the other is in the Weft-Indies, and is 
efteemed as the beft medicine there yet known for 
the worms. A particular account of the virtues of 
this plant is mentioned in the firft volume of the Phi- 
lofophical Effays, printed at Edinburgh, communi- 
cated by Dr. Garden of Carolina. 
This is not eafily propagated in England, for the feeds 
do not ripen here, and the roots make but flow in- 
creaie, fo that the plant is very uncommon in the 
Englifh gardens at prefent ; for although it is fo hardy 
as to endure the cold of our ordinary winters in the 
open air, yet, as it does not ripen feeds, the only 
way of propagating it is by parting of the roots ; and 
as thefe do not make much increafe by offsets, fo the 
plants are fcarce. It delights in a moift foil, and mull 
not be often tranfplanted. 
SPINA ALBA. See Mespilus and Crataegus. 
SPINACIA. Lin. Gen. Plant. 986. Spinach, orSpi- 
nage •, in French, Epinars. 
The Characters are. 
The flowers are male and female in different plants the 
male flowers have an empalement cut into five oblong, ob- 
tufe, concave fegments ; they have no petals, but have 
five hair-like ftamina longer than the empalement , termi- 
nated by oblong twin fummits ; thefe plants are barren . 
The female flowers have permanent empalements of one 
leaf, cut into four fegments, two of which are very fmall ; 
they have no petals,' but a comprejfed roundijh germen 
fupporting four hair-like ftyles, crowned by Jingle ftigmas. 
The germen afterward turns to a roundiflj feed, which 
is Jhut up in the empalement, a?id in fame fpecies are al- 
moft fmooth, but in others they have two or three fharp 
thorns. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the fifth fefuion of 
Linnaeus’s twenty-fecond clafs, which contains thofe 
plants which have male flowers on different plants 
from the fruit, and the male flowers have five fta- 
mina. 
The Species are, 
1. Spinacia (' Oleracea ) foliis fagittatis feminibus aculea- 
tis. Spinach with arrow-pointed leaves and prickly feeds. 
Spinacia vulgaris capfula feminis aculeata. Tourn. 
Inft. 533. Common Spinach with prickly capfules. 
2. Spinacia ( Glabra ) foliis oblongo-ovatis, feminibus 
glabris. Spinach with oblong oval leaves , and fmooth 
feeds. 
6 
