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Bate a great number of female, which, when ripe, will j 
fpread to a confiderable diftance, when the plants are 
fhaken by the wind. 
When the feeds are ripe (which may be known by 
their changing their colour, and beginning to fhatter) 
the plants fhould be drawn up, and fpread abroad for 
a few days to dry, obferving to turn them every other 
day, that the feeds on both fides may dry equally •, 
you muft alio guard the feeds from birds, otherwife 
they will devour them. When it is dry, the feeds 
fhould be threfhed out, cleaned from the dirt, and 
laid up for ufe where mice cannot come to them, for 
they are extremely fond of this feed. 
SPIRJEA. Tourn. Inft. R. H. 6 1 8. tab. 389. Lin. 
Gen. Plant. 554. [fo called of ImTp/x, a rope, be- 
caufe this fhrub is flexible like a rope.] Spiraea Fru- 
tex, vulgo. 
The Characters are, • 
The flower has a permanent empalement of one leaf, \ plain 
at the bafe , and cut into five acute fegments at the top \ 
it has five r'oundifh oblong petal t inferted in the empale- 
ment, and twenty or more fiender fiamina which are floor t- 
er than the petals , and are inferted in the empalement , 
terminated by roundifh fummits , and five or more germen 
fuppo'rting as many fiender ftyles , which are longer than 
the fiamina, crowned by headed fiigmas. The germen af- 
terward turns to an oblong , acute-pointed , compreffed cap- 
fuls , opening with two valves , containing a few fmall 
acute-pointed feeds. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the fourth fedtion 
of Linnteus’s twelfth clafs, which contains thofe 
plants whofe flowers have about twenty ftamina in- 
ferted in the empalement, and five ftyles. 
The Species are, 
1. Spiraea ( Salicifolia ) foliis lanceolatis obtufis ferratis 
nudis, floribus duplicato-racemofis. Hort. Cliff. 19 1. 
Spiraea with fpear-fhaped , obtufe , naked , fawed leaves , 
and flowers in double branching fpikes. Spiraea falicis 
folio. Tourn. Inft. 618. Spiraea Frutex , vulgo. 
2. Spiraea ( Opulifolia ) foliis lobatis ferratis, corymbis 
terminalibus. Lin. Sp. Plant. 489. Spiraa with lobated 
fawed leaves , and flowers growing in a corymbus termi- 
nating the fialks. Spiraea opuli folio. Tourn. Inft. 618. 
Spiraa with a Marfio Elder leaf commonly called Virgi- 
nia Gelder Rofe , with a Currant leaf. 
3. Spir/ea ( Hypericifolia ) foliis obovatis integerrimis, 
umbellis feflilibus. Hort. Upfal. 13 1. Spiraea with oval 
entire leaves , and umbels of flowers fitting clofe to the 
branches. Spiraea hyperici folio non crenato. Tourn. 
Inft. 618. Hypericum Frutex, vulgo. 
4. Spiraea ( Crenata ) foliis oblongiufculis apice ferratis, 
corymbis lateralibus. Lin. Sp. Plant. 489. Spiraea with 
oblong leaves whofe points are fawed, and flowers 
growing in a corymbus on the fides of the branches. 
Spiraea Hifpanica, hyperici folio crenato. Tourn. Inft. 
618. Spanijh Spiraa with a notched leaf. 
5. Spiraea ( Tomentofa ) foliis lanceolatis insqualiter 
ferratis fubtus tomentofis, floribus duplicato-racemo- 
fis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 480. Spiraea with fpear-fhaped leaves 
which are unequally fawed, woolly on their under fide, 
and flowers growing in double branching bunches. U 1 ma- 
ria pentacarpos, integris ferratis foliis parvis fubtus 
incanis Virginiana. Pluk. Aim. 393. Meadow-fweet 
of Virginia, with fmall , entire, fawed leaves, which are 
hoary on their under fide , and a fruit having five cells. 
6 . Spiraea (Sor bifolia) foliis pinnatis, foliolis uniformi- 
bus ferratis, caule fruticofo, floribus paniculatis. Lin. 
Sp. Plant. 490. Spiraa with winged leaves whofe lobes 
are uniformly fawed, a fhrubby ftalk, and flowers grow- 
ing in panicles. Spiraea forbi folio, tenuiter crenato, 
floribus in thyrfo albidis. Amman. Ruth. 186. Spiraa 
with a Service-tree leaf which is fiightly crenated , and 
white flowers growing in a thyrfe. 
7. Spir/ea ( Trifoliata ) foliis ternatis ferratis fubaequali- 
bus, floribus fubpaniculatis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 490. 
Star a a with trifoliate fawed leaves which are almoft 
equal, and flowers growing in a kind of panicle. Ulma- 
ria major trifoiia, flore amplo pentapetalo, Virginia- 
ssa. Pluk. Aim. 393. Greater three-leaved Virginia 
Meadow-fweet, with a large flower having five petals. 
6 
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8. Spiraea ( Filipendula ) foliis pinnatis, foliolis un'Tor • 
mibus ferratis, caule herbaceo, floribus cymofis. Lin. 
Sp. Plant. 490. Spiraa with winged leaves having uni- 
form fawed lobes , an herbaceous ftalk, and flowers grow- 
ing on fiender foot-ftalks at the top. Filipendula vul- 
garis, an rnolon Plinii. C. B. P. 163. The common 
Dropwort. 
9. Spiraea ( Anguftifolia ) foliis pinnatis, foliolis diffo.r- 
mibus pinnato-ferratis, floribus cymofis. Spiraa with 
winged leaves whofe lobes are diff armed and fawed like 
wings , and flowers growing at the top of the ftalks on 
fiender foot-ftalks. Filipendula omni parte major, fo- 
lio anguftiori. Boerh. Ind. alt. 1. p. 43. Dropwort 
greater in every part,, and having a narrower leaf. 
10. Spiraea ( Ulmaria ) foliis pinnatis, impari majore 
lobato, floribus cymofis. Fior. Lapp. 201. Spiraea 
with winged leaves, whofe outer lobe is greater and di- 
vided into lobes , . and flowers growing in bunches on weak 
foot-ftalks. Ulmaria. Cluf. Hift. 198. Meadow-fweet , 
or Queen of the Meadows. 
11. Spiraea (Armens') foliis fupra decompofitis, fpieis 
paniculatis, floribus divifis. Lin. Sp. Plant. 490. Spi- 
raa with more than decompounded leaves, paniculated 
fpikes , and male and female flowers. Barba caprae flo- 
ribus oblongis. C. B. P. 163. Goats Beard with oblong 
flowers. 
The firft fort has been long cultivated in the Englifh 
gardens, but from what country it originally came, 
is not very certain ; it is generally fold by the nurfery- 
gardeners with other flowering fhrubs, for planting 
wildernefs work ; it rifes with feveral fhrubby ftalks, 
which are very taper and rough toward the top, and 
are covered with a reddifh bark. The leaves are 
fpear-fhaped, about three inches long, and one broad 
in the middle ; they are bluntly fawed on their edges, ' 
and of a bright green colour. In rich moift ground 
the ftalks will rile five or fix feet high, but in mode- 
rate land from three to four, for their whole height is 
one year’s growth from the root. Thefe are termi- 
nated by fpikes of pale red flowers ; the lower part 
of the fpikes are branched out into fmaller, but 
the upper parts are clofe and obtufe. Each flower is 
compofed of five petals which fpread open ; they are 
of a pale red or flefh colour, and have a great number 
of ftamina, fome of which ftand out much beyond the 
petals, but others are not fo long ; they are termi- 
nated by brown headed fummits, and in the center 
are fituated five ftyles, which are terminated by head- 
ed ftigmas. After the flowers are paft, the germen 
turn to pointed capfules, but they rarely come to per- 
fection here. This fhrub flowers in June and July, 
and in moift fealons there is frequently young fhoots 
from the root, which flower in autumn. 
This plant may be propagated from fuckers which 
are fent forth in plenty from the Items of the old 
plants, or by laying down the tender branches, which 
when rooted, fhould be tranfplanted out in rows 
at three feet diftance, and the plants a foot afunder 
in the rows. In this nurfery they may remain two 
years, obferving to keep the ground clear from weeds, 
and in the fpring to dig up the ground between the 
rows, fo that the roots may the more eafily extend 
themfelves •, but if they put out fuckers from their 
roots, thofe fhould be taken off to keep the fhrubs 
within bounds, and afterwards they may be tranf- 
planted where they are to remain, either in fmall 
wildernefs quarters, or in clumps of flowering fhrubs, 
obferving to place them amongft other forts of 
equal growth. The young fhoots of this fhrub being 
very tough and pliable, are often ufed for the tops of 
fifhing-rods. 
The fecond fort grows naturally in North America, 
but it is now as common in the Englifh gardens as the 
firft ; this rifes with many fhrubby branching ftalks, 
fometimes eight or ten feet high in good ground, but 
generally five or fix ; they are covered with a loafe 
brown bark which falls off, and are garnifhed with 
lobed leaves about the fize and fhape of thofe of the 
common Currant Bufh, ending in acute points, and 
are fawed on their edges. The flowers are produced 
