LE^ 
toosish scales ; down capillary ; receptacle 
naked, dotted. There are four species, of 
which L. taraxacum, dandelion, is common 
all over Europe, in meadows, on walls, dry 
banks, &c.; it flowers from April to Sep- 
tember j, tile flowers expand about flve or 
six in the morning, closing early in the af- 
ternoon ; as the flow.er advances, the calyx 
is gradually pressed out at top, and when 
the'’flowering is past, it contracts again into 
a conical form, and finally when the seeds 
are mature, the calyx is again pushed back, 
and the aggregate ot down assumes a sphe- 
rical form, till the whole is loosened and 
dissipated by the Wind, 
LEONORUS, in botany, lion’s tail, a 
genus of the Didynamia Gymnospermia 
class and order. Natural order of Verticil- 
latm. Labiate, Jussieu. Essential cha- 
racter : anthers having shining dots sprink- 
led over tliem. There are five species. 
LEPAS, in natural history, acorn-sfte«,a ge- 
nus of the Vermes Testacea class and order. 
Animal a triton ; shell aflixed at the base, and 
consisting of many unequal, erect valves. 
There are upwards of thirty species. L. ba- 
lanus, shell conic, grooved ; operculum or 
lid, sharp-pointed ; it inhabits the European 
and Mediterranean seas, Adhering in the 
greatest abundance to rocks, sliells, &c. ; 
generally whitish ; with about six outer 
valves, three of which are elevated and stri- 
ate, and three excavated and smoother ; the 
pieces composing the lid, are finely crenatc 
with transverse wrinkles, tw'o lesser and 
two larger, and pointed. L. aiiatifera, 
duck-barnacle, shell compressed, five-valv- 
ed, smooth, seated on a peduncle : of this 
there are several varieties, which inhabit 
most seas; they are generally found fixed 
in clusters to the bottoms of vessels and old 
pieces of floating timber ; whitish, with a 
blue cast, the margins of the valves yellow, 
sometimes marked with a ray or two dot- 
ted with black ; peduncle long, coriaceous, 
black, and very much wrinkled towards the 
shell, and growing paler and pellucid to- 
wards the base, extensile; sometimes, 
though not often, red. The tentacnla are 
feathered, which gave the old English natu- 
ralists the idea of a bird. They ascribed 
the origin of the barnacle-goose to these 
shells. 
LEPIDIUM, in botany, peitper-wort, a 
genus of the Tetradynamia Siliculosa class 
and order. Natural order of Siliquosae, or 
Crnciformes. Crucifer®, Jussieu. Essen- 
tial character : silicle emarginate, cordate, 
many-seeded; valves keeled, contrary. 
LEP 
There are twenty-three species, of whicili 
L. perfoliatum, various-leaved pepper-wort, 
is an annual plant, about a foot in height ; 
the stem is round, upright, and smooth, 
tinged with purple, dividing into many slen- 
der branches ; flow'ers in corymbs, or long, 
loose spikes, irom tlie ends of the branches ; 
silick-s orhiculate, scarcely emarginate, and 
the terniiniting style so siiort as to be 
hardly visible. It is a native of Austria 
and tlie Levant. 
LEPIDOPTERA, or scaly-mnged, the 
third order of insects, according to the Lin- 
nman system. The general character of 
this order is four wings, covered with fine 
imbricate scales; tongue involute, spiral; 
body hairy. It consists of the insects com- 
monly termed butterflies and moths. There 
are three genera, vig, 
Papilio Sphinx 
Phal®na 
The powder on the wings cf these insects 
has been generally described by microsco- 
pical writers as consisting of small feathers ; 
but they are more in the form of minute 
scales, of various shapes and sizes, on the dif- 
ferent species, and even on the different 
parts of the same animal. Their usual ap- 
pearance is more or less fan-shaped, and 
tliey are disposed in the manner of tiles on, 
a roof, lapping over each other. See Pa- 
FILIO, &c. 
LEPISAIA, in natural history, a genus of 
insects of the order Al'tera ; lip membra- 
naceous, rounded, emarginate ; four feelers, 
of which two are setaceous, and two capi- 
tate ; antenn® setaceous ; body imbricate, 
with scales ; tail ending in setaceous bris- 
tles ; six legs, formed for running. There 
are seven species enumerated, of these the 
principal is L. saccharina ; scaly, silvery, 
lead-colour, with a triple tail. It inhabits 
America, among sugar, but is naturalized 
in Europe, and found among old books and 
furniture; it runs exceedingly swift, and 
is difficult to catch. In their various stages 
of existence these insects prey upon sugar, 
decayed wood, and rotten substances ; the 
larva and pupa are six-footed, active, and 
swift. 
LEPROSO amovendo, an ancient writ to 
remove a leper, who came to church or to 
public meetings to annoy his neiglibours; 
but it could only lie when the party ap- 
peared outwardly unwholesome by his sores 
and smell, and if he kept at home it could 
not be enforced. It seems to have been a 
wise provision for the health of the public. 
