CEANOTHUS, 
CE ANO'THUS, f. [KsaraiOo; of Theophraflus.] New 
Jersey Tea; in botany; a genus of the clafspentandria, 
order monogynia, natural order dumofae. The generic 
characters are—Calyx: periantlnim one-leafed,turbinate; 
border five-parted, acute, clofe-converging, permanent. 
Corolla: petals five, equal, roundifli, of an arched faccu- 
lar (hape, comnrelfed, very obtufe, fpreading, fmaller than 
the calyx, feated on claws the length of the petal, growing 
from the interlaces of the calyx. Stamina: filaments five, 
tubulate, erect, oppofite to the petals, the length of the 
corolla; anthers roundifli. Piftillum: germ fuperior, 
triangular; llyle cylindric, femitrifid, the length of the 
ftamens; fligma obtufe, Perianthium: berry dry, three¬ 
grained, three-celled, obtufe, retufe, fet with tubercles. 
Seeds: folitary, ovate.— FJfential Char after. Petals five, 
laccular, vaulted : berry dry, three-celled, three-feeded. 
Species, i. Ceanothus Americanos, or American cea- 
nothus, or New jerfey tea: leaves three-nerved. fn 
England this flirub feldom rifes more than three or four 
feet high, fending out branches on every fide from the 
ground upwards. The branches are very (lender; and, as 
it is pretty late in the fpt'ing before they begin to (hoot, 
they keep growing very late ; therefore, unlefs theautumn 
proves dry and mild, the"tender (hoots are often killed 
down very low by the early frofts; but, in favourable fea- 
f'ons, the extreme parts of the (hoots only are injured by 
the cold. Thefe branches are garniflied with oval pointed 
leaves, having three longitudinal veins running from the 
foot-flalk to the point, and diverging in the broad part of 
the leaves from each other: the leaves are placed oppo¬ 
fite, are deciduous, and of a light green colour. At the 
extremity of each (hoot the flowers are produced in clofe 
thick fpikes, which are compofed of five fmall petals, of a 
clear white. Thefe appear in July, and make a pretty ap- 
pearanceduringtheircontinuar.ee; for, as every (hoot is 
terminated by one of thefe fpikes, the whole (limb is co¬ 
vered over with flowers, the branches commonly growing 
very clofe to each other; and, when the autumn proves 
mild, thefe (hrubs often flower again in October. The 
fruit, according to Gaertner, is a corticated, three or four- 
grained, capfule. The rind, before it is ripe, is foft and 
flefliy, but afterwards dries into a thin (kin, forming fpongy 
tubercles and very narrow crcfls on the head and back of 
the grains. Thefe are cartilaginous, thin, extremely 
linooth within, opening elaftically by the internal future, 
and receding from each other fpontaneoufly when ripe. 
The feeds are ovate rounded, convex on one fide, very ob- 
(cm ely angular on the other, of a Alining bay colour. Na¬ 
tive of rhoft parts of North America, as Canada, New 
England, Pennfylvania, Virginia, and Carolina : it is there 
known by the name of New Jerfey Tea: the leaves being 
dried for the fame purpofe as tea. The Canadians ufe the 
root in venereal cafes; and the cattle, browzing upon the 
(hrub, keep it very low. It dies wool a fine flrong Nan¬ 
kin cinnamon colour. This flirub was cultivated before 
1713 by bifliop Compton, in the epifcopal garden at Ful¬ 
ham, and in Mr. Derby’s gar-den at Hoxton. For feveral 
years after it was loft in England, but has (ince been reco¬ 
vered from America, fo as to be now pretty common in 
mod of our curious gardens and nurferies. 
2. Ceanothus Afiaticus, or Afiatic ceanothus : leaves 
ovate, nervelefs. Native of Ceylon and Japan. Intro- 
troduced in 1781. 
3. Ceanothus Africanus, or African evergreen Ceano¬ 
thus: leaves lanceolate, nervelefs; ftipules roundifli. The 
third fort grows naturally at the Cape of Good Hope, from 
whence it was originally brought to Holland, and lias been 
many years prel'erved there; and lince has been communi¬ 
cated to mod of the curious gardens in Europe, where it 
has been long known by the title of alaternoides, &&;. It 
rifes to the height of ten or twelve feet, with a woody 
dem, covered with a rough dark-coloured bark, and fends 
out many weak branches, which hang downwards : thefe, 
while young, are green, but afterwards change to a purplilh 
colour. They are garniflied with oblong pointed leaves, 
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of a lucid green,-fmootli, and flightly ferrate on their edges. 
The flowers are fmall, of an herbaceous colour, comnm out 
from the fide of the branches: thefe fometimes appear in 
July, but are not fucceeded by feeds in this country, nor do 
the plants often produce flowers; fo that they are pre- 
ferved only for the beauty of their (hitting evergreen 
leaves, which make a-variety in the green-houfe during 
the winter feafon. It was cultivated here in 1712. 
4.. Ceanothus reclinatus : leaves ovate, entire, many- 
nerved ; branches hanging down. Native of Jamaica. 
5. Ceanothus circumfcillus : leaves obcordate, oppofite, 
in two rows; prickles folitary, recurved, oppofite to the 
leaves. Native of the Eaft-Indies, Ceylon, and Mauri¬ 
tius. This fpecies is a connecting link between ceanothus 
and rhamnus; but, having a dry fruit, opening by prefi, 
Aire into three regular valves, it feems to approach nearer 
to the former, and therefore we have followed Grertner 
in placing it here. 
6. Ceanothus capfulai is : leaves ovate-cordate, acumi¬ 
nate, ferrate; capfules tiiree-valved, gaping. Native of 
Ofaheite. 
Propagation and Culture. T. This (limb is belt propa¬ 
gated by feeds, which fliould be fown in autumn, in fmall 
pots, and plunged into an old hot-bed, where they may 
remain during the winter, expoling them in mild weather 
to the open air, but in froft they mud be protefted from- 
cold. In March, the pots Ibould be plunged into a mo¬ 
derate hot-bed to bring up the plants, which (hould be 
inured to bear the open air by degrees ; and, as foon as 
they have obtained a little (Irength, they fliould be ex- 
pofed in a (heltered fftuation till autumn, when they mu ft 
be placed under a hot-bed frame, to fcreen them from 
fevere froft in winter; in mild weather they fliould be fully 
expofed to the open air; but, while the plants are younv-, 
they will not endure the cold of the winter. In the fol¬ 
lowing fpring, before the plants begin to flioot, they 
fliould be tranfplanted; fome of them may be put into 
feparate pots, and the others into a nurfery-bed, in a 
warm (ituation, where they may remain a year or two, 
to get (Irength ; after which time they may be removed 
to the places where they are defigned to remain : they 
fliould have a moderately dry foil and a flieltered fitu- 
ation, where they will thrive and flower extremely wel 1; 
but in (lift, cold, land, they are always very late in the 
fpring before they come out, fo that their young (hoofs 
are full of Cap in the autumn, and the find froft generally 
kills their tops, which frequently caufes them to die great 
part of their length. It may alfo be propagated by lay¬ 
ing down the young branches, which, in a light foil, will 
put out ropts in a year’s time ; but thefe layers (hould not 
be much watered; for, as the (hoots'are tender, moifture 
will olten occafion their rotting,-when it is given in quan¬ 
tities, or too often repeated ; therefore, the bell method is 
to cover the furface of the ground in diy weather, all 
round the layers, either with mulch or rotten tan, which 
will prefervea fufticient moifture in the ground, provided 
the feafon is not extremely dry ; in which cafe they fliould 
have a little water once in eight or ten days, which will be 
fufficient. The bed time for laying down thefe branches 
is in autumn ; and if, after this is performed, the furface 
of the ground is covered over with Come old tan, taken 
from a decayed hot-bed, it will prevent the froft from pe¬ 
netrating the ground, which will fecure them from injury; 
and the fame covering will prevent the winds from dryino- 
the ground in the fpring, and thereby promote their plot¬ 
ting out roots. Thefe layers, when rooted, may be taken 
up the following fpring, and treated in the fame manner as 
tliofe raifed from feeds. 
The fecond may be increafed by layers or cuttings, and 
muft have the protection.of the bark-ftove. 
The third may be propagated in the fame ways, but that 
by cuttings, being mod fure and expeditious, is generally 
preferred. They fliould be planted in fpring in potsfillei 
with good kitchen-garden earth, and plunged into a very 
moderate hot-bed, obferving to (hade them in the heat of 
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