RENTA NOR I A. 
N° of 
Species in 
N" 
Genera*- 
Growth, species. Native of Britain. 
Follicles 
183 
Apocynumf 
s & h 9 
N. America, Siberia 
184 
Asclepias 
h 
27 
France, Spain, &c. 
185 
Oynanchum 
h 
15 
Spain, Cape, &p. 
186 
Pergulariq, 
s 
2 
India, Japan 
187 
PeriplocaJ 
s 
5 
India, Africa 
188 
Stapelia§ 
h 
5 
Cape 
< • , 
Capsules . 
189 
Cressa 
h 
1 
Crete 
190 
Dichondra 
h 
1 
191 
Gentiana|J 
h 
39 
Pirertean, &c. Brit. 5 
192 
Hydrolea 
h 
1 
America 
193 
Swertia 
h 
6 
Siberia Brit. 1 
% Set follicle under pericarpium, 
•}* Apoajnum androscemifolium is called the calchfly apocynum 9 or dogs-bane, 
from its power in catching small flies by the converging of the anthers, and is thus 
in part described by Linnaeus 5 it hath a nectarium with five corpuscules, glandu¬ 
lar? oval? surrounding the germen ; filaments five? very short; anthers five? oblong? 
erect, acute, two-cleft at the base, converging.—rAnd as there are interstices at the 
bottom, between the short filaments, to give air to the nectarium, when a fly in¬ 
serts its proboscis through those interstices to plunder the honey, in drawing it out 
it often gets between the forcible converging of the anthers, and in struggling up-p 
wards gets the faster entangled, as the anthers seem to converge gradually .closer 
towards the top, and having sharp edges on the sides, prevent a return, and gene¬ 
rally hold the fly till it dies; but if it is so fortunate as to make its escape, which 
is sometimes the case, it is probably by descending its proboscis to the place where 
it entered : sometimes the fly is caught by a leg. 
X Periploca is from the Greek^ and means round embracing . 
§ Stapelia hirsuta (African swallow-wort) hath a foeted odour so very like car¬ 
rion, that the common flesh fly deposits its pggs on it, which are frequently hatched, 
but the maggots wanting proper food, die soon after. (See note to arum.) Mr. 
Masson, who hath been twice sent out to the Cape of Good Hope to collect various 
plants for the botanic garden at Kew, hath collected about forty species of the 
stapelia , ten of which he hath published (in 1796 ) with accurate plates and de¬ 
scriptions ; and he purposes that the rest should follow in decades. 
|| The species in gentiana greatly vary in the clefts of the corcl ; and according 
to Dioscorides obtained its name from Gentius a king of Illyria, who discovered its 
virtues: though sometimes the ranunculus thora hath been substituted for, or hath 
happened to be mixed with the gentian , as having a similar root, but hath had bad 
effects from it being a poisonous plant; it is known by being a darker colour on 
the outside, and not so yellow within. 
