E L E 
Thefe trees commonly grow to twelve or fourteen 
feet high, and when they are intermixed with other 
trees of the fame growth, make a pretty diverhty ; 
for their leaves being of a filver colour, are eafily 
diftnguifhed at a diftance. 
The third fort grows naturally at Ceylon, and in fome 
other parts of India. This is pretty rare at prefent 
in the Englifh gardens, but fome years paft there 
were feveral pretty large plants of it growing in the 
garden at Hampton Court. This rifes with a woody 
item to the height of eight or nine feet, dividing into 
many branches, garnifhed with oval (livery leaves, 
which have feveral irregular foots of a dark colour on 
their furface; they are placed alternately on the 
branches, and continue all the year. The flowers I 
have not feen, though fome of the trees at Hampton 
Court produced flowers, but I was not fo lucky as to 
fee them. 
This fort requires a warm drove to preferve it in this 
country, for it is too tender ,to live in the open air, 
excepting for a fhort time in the warmeft part of 
fummer. 
The two firlt forts are extremely hardy, fo are not 
injured by the froft, but the trees are not of very long 
duration, therefore young plants fhould be railed 
once in three or four years, to preferve the kinds. 
ELATERIUM. See Momordica. 
ELATINE. See Linaria. 
ELECAMPANE. See Inula. 
ELEPHANTOPUS. Lin. Gen. Plant. 827. Vaili. 
Adt. Par. 1719. Dill. Hort. Elth. 104. [of ’E/Upa?, an 
elephant, and risk, a foot,] Elephant’s foot ; fo called 
by Monfieur Vaillant, becaufe he fays the under leaves 
of the firft fort fomewhat refemble an Elephant’s 
foot. 
The Characters are, 
'There are many flowers colie hied together in one common 
large involucrum which is permanent , and each empale- 
ment contains flour or five florets ; the florets are tubulous 
and hermaphrodite ; they have one petal which is tongue- 
Jhaped ; the brim is narrow , and divided into five equal 
parts ; they have five very jhort hairy ftamina , terminated 
by cylindrical fummits. In the bottom is fituated an oval 
germen , fupporting a flender fiyle , crowned by two flender 
fiigmas \ the germen afterward becomes a fingle comprejfed 
feed crowned with briftles , fitting on a placenta inclofed in 
the empalement. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the firfl: fe&ion of 
Linnseus’s feventeenth clafs, which includes the plants 
with Aofculous flowers, whofe florets are all herma- 
phrodite and fruitful. 
The Species are, 
1. Elephantopus {Sender) foliis oblongis fcabris. Hort. 
Cliff. 390. Elephantopus with oblong rough leaves. Ele- 
phantopus conyz^ folio. Vaili. Mem. Acad. Scien. 
1719. Elephant's foot with a Flea-bane leaf \ 
cl. Elephantopus ( Foment oflus ) foliis ovatis tomentofis. 
Gron. Virg. 90. Elephantopus with oval woolly leaves. 
Elephantopus helenii folio, purpurafcente' flore. Houft. 
MSS. Elephantopus with an Elecampane leaf j and a 
purplijh flower. 
The firfl: fort grows naturally in both the Indies, I 
have received it from feveral parts of America •, this 
fends out many oblong rough leaves, which lp re ad 
near the ground •, between thefe in the fpring arifes 
a branching (talk, little more than a foot high. The 
fide branches are fhort, and are generally terminated 
by two heads of flowers, each Handing upon a fhort 
foot-ftalk. The heads contain feveral hermaphrodite 
florets, included in a common involucrum, compofed 
of four oval leaves, ending in acute points. The 
florets are of a pale purple colour. They appear in 
July, but are rarely fucceeded by feeds in England. 
The fecond fort grows naturally in South Carolina*, 
the plants of this have frequently come up in the 
earth, which has been fent over from thence with 
other plants as weeds •, this hath feveral oval woolly 
leaves, four inches long, and three inches broad, 
growing from the root, having many tranfverfe 
nerves, running from the midrib to the fldes ; they 
ELL 
fpread flat on the ground, and between tfiefe arife i 
ftiff ftalk, about a foot high, which divides into fe ■ 
veral branches, each being terminated by two flowers* 
which are compofed of feveral florets, inclofed in a 
four-leaved involucrum *, two of thefe leaves are al- 
ternately larger than the other. The involucrum is 
longer than the florets, fo they do but juft appear 
within the two larger leaves •, the flowers make no ap- 
pearance. They appear in July* but the feeds never 
ripen in this country. 
The firft fort hath a perennial root, but an annual 
ftalk. If this is planted in pots, and fheltered in the 
winter from froft, it may be preferved feveral years, 
and the plants will annually flower ; but the fecond 
fort feldom continues longer than two years. 
Thefe plants are propagated by feeds, which fhould 
be fown on a hot-bed in the fpring j and when the 
plants are come up, they muft be tranfplanted into 
pots filled with frelh light earth, and plunged into a 
hot-bed of tanners bark, obferving to water and fhade 
them until they have taken root ; then you fhould let 
them have a large fhare of frefh air in warm weather* 
and they will require to be frequently refrefhed with 
water. 
E L E P El A S. See Rhinanthus* 
ELICHRYSUM. See Gnaphaliums 
ELM. See Ulmus, 
ELLISIA. 
The Characters are. 
The flower has apermanent empalement , compofed of five finally 
ere ft, fpreading leaves ; it is of one petal , funnel-Jhaped the 
length of the cup , cut into five obtufle fegments at top ; it 
hath five flamina the length of the tube , terminated bj 
roundifh fummits , and a round germen fupporting a floor t 
flender fiyle , crowned by an oblong bifid ftigma •, the germed, 
afterward becomes a roundijh flefhy berry with two cells, 
inclofmg two rough feeds. 
This genus of plants is ranged in the firft fedtion of 
Linnteus’s fifth clafs, intitled Pentandria Monogynia* 
the flower having five ftamina and one ftyle. 
We know but one Species of this genus, viz* 
Ellisia ( Nyftelea .) Lin. Sp. 1662. Tea-leaved Ellijta 
This plant grows naturally in Jamaica, where it forms 
a bufhy fhrub about fix or feven feet high. I have 
raifed many of the plants from feeds, fome of which 
are now four or five feet high, but have not as yet 
produced flowers. It fends out many branches from 
the Item, fo as to form a thick bufh ; the branches are 
generally covered with a dark purple bark j the leaves 
alfo when the plants are expofed in fummer turn of 
the fame colour, but after they have been fome timd 
removed into the ftove, they recover their verdure 
again. The leaves are placed oppofite on the branches* 
which are an inch and a half long, fpear-fhaped and 
indented on their edges, and have commonly two or 
three fmall leaves fitting clofe to the branches ; at the 
foot-ftalks of the larger leaves, and at the fame place, 
arifes pretty long black fpines, generally placed op- 
pofite toward the lower part of the branches, but 
upward they are alternate, and the ends of the 
branches are without thorns. As the plants have not 
as yet produced flowers in England, fo I can give no 
farther account of them. 
This plant may be propagated by cuttings, which if 
planted in fmall pots filled with light earth, and 
plunged into a moderate hot-bed, covering them 
clofe with a hand-glafs any time in July, will put out 
roots in about two months, fo may then be feparated 
and put into fmall pots, plunging them again into 
the hot-bed to promote their taking new root, after 
which they fhould be gradually inured to the open 
air * but the beginning of Odlober they fhould be re-; 
moved into the dry ftove, where, during the winter, 
they fhould have a moderate warm air, in which they 
will thrive better than in a great heat. 
When feeds of this plant can be procured from 
abroad, if they are fown on a hot-bed the plants will 
rife eafily, and may be afterward treated in the fame 
way as is direded for tfoofe raifed by cuttings* 
EMERfJT 
