





210 THE LADIES’ FLOWER-GARDEN 
There are many other species, but they bear so much general resemblance to each other that those which have 
been already mentioned will serve as a type of the rest. 

CHAPTER, LIII. 
——@—— 
THYMELACEA Lindl. ; . 
EssentiaL Cuaracter.—Stems shrubby, very seldom herbaceous, | in number to the segments of the calyx or fewer opposite to them ; 
‘with tenacious bark. Leaves without stipules, alternate or opposite, | anthers two-celled, dehiscing lengthwise in the middle. Ovary com- 
entire. Flowers capitate or spiked, terminal or axillary, occasionally | posed of a single carpel, with one solitary pendulous anatropal ovule; 
solitary, sometimes diccious by abortion, often inclosed in aninvolucre, | style one; stigma undivided. Fruit hard, dry, and nut-like, or drupa- 
Calyx inferior, tubular, coloured; the limb four-cleft, seldom five- | ceous. Albumen none, or thin and fleshy 5 embryo straight; coty- 
cleft, with an imbricated wstivation. Corolla 0, or sometimes scale-like | ledons plano-convex, sometimes lobed and crumpled; radicle short, 
petals in the orifice of the calyx. Stamens definite, inserted in the tube | superior. (Zéndley.) 
or its orifice, often eight, sometimes four, less frequently two; when equal : 
Description, &c.—The plants included in this order have generally ornamental flowers, resembling more or 
less those of the common Mezereon. The bark is caustic and remarkably tenacious. The inner bark is also 
remarkable for the tenacity of its fibres, and the capacity which it possesses of being drawn out to an almost 
indefinite extent. The Lagetta or Lace-bark of the West Indies is a remarkable example of this extraordinary 
tenacity. A soft kind of paper is made from the inner bark of some of the kinds of Daphne, and the bark of one 
species of Gnidia is manufactured into ropes in Madagascar. 


GENUS I. 
GNIDIA Juss. THE GNIDIA. 
aad 
Lin. Syst. OCTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 
Generic Cuaracter.—Calyx with a long filiform tube and a four-cleft limb. Scales four to eight, alternating with the segments of the 
calyx. Style filiform, lateral. ‘Stigma capitate, hispid. 

Description, &c.—This genus consists of a number of neat little plants, generally natives of the Cape of Good 
Hope. The meaning of the word Gnidia is not exactly understood. 

1.—GNIDIA OPPOSITIFOLIA Lin. THE OPPOSITE-LEAVED GNIDIA. 
‘ Synonymes.—G. laevigata Zhunb.; Thymelea africana Pluk. ; Sreciric Cuaracrer.—Leayes decussate, ovate or oval-lanceolate, 
Passerina levigata Willd. ; Nectandra levigata Berg. acute, glabrous. Scales stamen-like, appearing above the mouth of 
Eneravines,—Bot. Mag., t. 1902; Bot. Reg., t. 2; Lodd. Bot. | the calyx. Stamens eight, inclosed within the calyx. 
Cab., t. 16; and our jig. 6, in Pl. 42. ; 
Descriprion, &c.—This is a curious little plant, which differs very much in different specimens; those plants 
which are exposed to the air and a powerful sun becoming yellowish in their flowers, while those which are grown 
in more shady places are cream-coloured, and sometimes pure white. The plant is a low shrub, growing from a foot 
to two feet high, and the leaves have a glaucous hue, which proceeds from a whitish efflorescence, appearing like 
shagreen when inspected through a magnifying-glass. The species is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, whence 
it was sent to Kew Gardens in 1783. There are many other species of Gnidia, but they all bear a strong 
resemblance to each other. 
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