C E S 
CES'SOR,/ [from eeffio, Lat.] He who ceafeth, orneg¬ 
lects fo long to perform a duty, that he thereby incurs the 
danger of the law. 
CESTAYRO'LS,a town of France, in the department of 
the Tam : three leagues north of Alby. 
CES'TRUM,/". [icscrlpa, Gr. a hammer.] In botany, a 
genus of the clafs pentandria, order monogynia, natural 
order of luridse. The generic characters are—calyx: 
perianthium one-leafed, tubular, columnar, obtufe, very 
ihort; mouth five-cleft, ereCt, obfcure. Corollas mono- 
petalous, funnel-form. Tube eylindric, very long, 
{lender; throat roundifli ; border flat, plaited, five-cleft ; 
clivifions ovate, equal. Stamina: filaments five, filiform, 
attached longitudinally to the tube, emitting a tootlilet 
inwards at the middle. Anthers roundifli, quadrangu¬ 
lar, within the throat. Piftillium: germ cylindric-ovote, 
length of the calyx. Style filiform, length of the fta- 
mens. Stigma thickifh, obtufe, fcarcely emarginate. 
Pericarpium c berry ovate, unilocular, oblong. Seeds 
veiy many, roundifli.— EJfenlialCharafter. Corolla: fun¬ 
nel-form. Stamens emitting a tootlilet from their mid¬ 
dle. Berry unilocular. 
Species, i. Ceftrum noCturnum, or night fmelling cef- 
ctrum: filaments toothed; peduncles fubracemed equal 
tb the leaf. It rifes with an upright ftalk about fix or 
feven feet high, covered with a greyifh bark, and divides 
upwards into many- flenderbranch.es, which generally in¬ 
cline to one fide; and are garniftied with leaves placed 
alternate, near four inches long, and one and a half 
broad, fmooth on their upper fide, of a pale green, and 
on their under fide’they have feveral tranfverfe veins, and 
are of a fea-green colour, having fliort foot-ftalks. The 
flowers are produced at the -wings of the leaves, in fmall 
clufters, Handing upon fliort peduncles, each fuftaining 
four or five flowers, of an herbaceous colour. They ap¬ 
pear in Auguft, but are not fucceeded by berries in this 
country: thofe which come from America are fmall, and 
of a dark brown colour. It is a native of the ifland of 
Cuba, whence Mr. Miller received the feeds by the title 
of Dama de Noche, or lady of the night. It is probably fo 
called, from the flowers fending out a ftrong odour after 
fun-fet. It was raifed many years paft in the curious 
garden of the duchefs of Beaufort, at Badminton, and 
was thence communicated to feveral gardens in England 
and Holland, where it pafled by the name of Badminton 
iafmin. Mr. Miller has another fort, which lie fays w’as 
fent him from Carthagena ; it is probably not different 
from this ; and if fo it is found not only in the iflands of 
the Weft Indies, but on the continent of South Ame¬ 
rica, 
2. Ceftrum vefpertinum, or clufter-flowered ceftrum : 
filaments toothlefs, tube filiform, peduncles very fliort. 
A tree twelve feet in height: item not very ftrong. 
Leaves alternate, on fliort petioles, length double the 
breadth, fharp, quite entire, green on both tides, with 
crofs veins underneath, almoft parallel, convex. The 
berries are blue. The bark and fruit are fetid. It is a 
native of the Weft Indies, and was cultivated in 1759 by 
Mr. Miller. 
3. Ceftrum diurnum, or day-fmellingceftrum: filaments 
toothlefs, fegments of the corolla roundifli reflected; leaves 
lanceolate. This rifes with an upright ftalk to the 
height often or twelve feet, covered with a fmooth light 
green bark, dividing at top into many finaller branches, 
with fmooth leaves near three inches long, and one and a 
half broad, of a lively green colour, ranged alternately on 
the branches. Towards the upper part of the flioots 
come out the flowers from the wings of the leaves, Hand¬ 
ing in clufters clofe to the branches ; they are very white, 
fhaped like thofe of the firft fort, and fmell fweet in the 
day-time, whence it had the appellation of Lady of the 
.Day. The berries of this are fmaller than thofe of the 
firft fort. . It flowers in September, OCtober, and Novem¬ 
ber. It is a native of the Havaiina, whence the feeds 
were fent to Mr. Miller by the name of Dama di Dio ; but 
Vol. IV. No. 177, 
c E S 57 
it had been cultivated before in 1732, by Dr. Sharard at 
Eltham. 
4. Ceftrum tomentcfum: flowers crowded, feffile, ter¬ 
minal j branches, leaves, and calyxes, tomentofe. The 
form of the leaves and flowers is the fame as in the third 
fpecies; but the calyxes, branches, and under furface of 
the leaves, are tomentofe ; the calyxes are larger; the co¬ 
rollas coloured, with a flior ter tube, and a more enlarged 
border. It was found in South America, byMutis. 
5. Ceftrum laurifolium, or laurel-leaved ceftrum : fila¬ 
ments toothletted or naked ; leaves elliptic coriaceous 
Alining very much, peduncles fliorter than the petiole. 
Stem flirubby, ereCt, round, with a rugged afli-coloured 
bark; eight or nine feet high ; leaves five inches long, and 
two broad; the flowers emit a difagreeable odour, and 
are fucceeded by oval berries of a violet colour, full of 
juice; they are reckoned very poifonous, and have the 
appellation of poifon-berries in Jamaica, whence it was 
fent by Dr. Houftoun. Its fetid fmell feems to imply that 
poifonous nature which Miller and Sloane attribute to 
it, and which other plants of this genus poffefs. It was 
cultivated in 1691, in the royal garden at Hampton-court, 
and flowers in Auguft. 
6. Ceftrum auriculatum, or ear-leaved ceftrum : fila¬ 
ments toothlefs, ftipules lunate. This is a very fetid 
flirub, two fathoms in height; Hems ufually feveral from 
the fame root, upright, round, fomewhat branched, ci¬ 
nereous : branches alternate, upright, warted: flioots 
pubefcent, green. Leaves five inches long, twenty 
lines broad ; petioles, rounded on one fide, flat on the 
other. Stipules axillary, lurrounding the branchlets, of 
the fame form with the leaves. Panicles terminating, 
confiding of axillary fpikesatthe bale, ereCt, leafy, braCt - 
ed, villofe, three inches long : peduncles alternate: flow¬ 
ers crowded at the top of the peduncles, eight lines 
long, and four or five broad. The natives of Lima in 
Peru ufe it externally to cleanfe foul ulcers, and inter¬ 
nally in the venereal dileafe; they look upon it as a pec¬ 
toral, but it feems to be a plant of fufpicious character. 
Dombey obferved it in wet places about Lima. It has 
been cultivated many years in the Paris garden. It flow¬ 
ers in winter, but feldom, and has never borne fruit. 
Introduced here about 1774. 
7. Ceftrum parqui: filaments toothletted or naked; 
floriferous Item panicled; ftipules linear. This is a fetid 
flirub, one fathom in height. Introduced at Paris from 
feeds lent by Dombey from Chili, where it grows na¬ 
turally. 
8. Ceftrum hirtum : flowers fubfpiked axillary, leaves 
fubcordate ovate acute, underneath with the branchlets 
rough with hairs. Native of the Weft Indies; Ja¬ 
maica, &c. 
9. Ceftrum nervofum: leaves lanceolate oppofite, with 
tranfverfe nerves ; peduncles branching. Stem flirubby, 
five or fix inches high, covered with a brown bark, and 
dividing at top into very fmall branches. Leaves about 
four inches long, and little more than one broad, fmooth, 
of a light green. Flowers axillary, towards the ends of 
the branches, four or five on each peduncle. Native of 
Carthagena in New Spain, whence it was fent to Mr. 
Miller. 
Propagation and Culture. The firft and fecond forts 
produce their flowers every year in England, the others 
feldom flower here; but, as they retain their leaves all 
the year, they make a pretty variety in the ftove, during 
the winter feafon ; and, when they flower, the branches 
are commonly well furnifned at their joints with bunches 
of flowers. All thefe plants, growing naturally in very 
hot countries, require to be placed in a warm ftove, el'- 
pecially in the winter. The firft and third are hardier 
than the others. They may all be propagated from feeds, 
or by cuttings. Thofe which come from feeds are al¬ 
ways the mod vigorous, and ftraighteft plants; but, as 
they do not produce feeds in England, the other method 
i s generally praCtifed, becaufe their feeds are rarely brought 
Q^_ hither. 
