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the little faline bodies was preceded by a!molt innumer¬ 
able evolutions, which were fo various, that the little bo¬ 
dies came to obvert to each other thofe parts by which 
they might be bed fattened-together. Boyle. —The feries 
of things unrolled or unfolded.—The whole evolution of 
ages, from everlafting to everlatting, is fo collectively 
and prefentifically reprefented to God at once, as it all 
things which ever were, are, or Hull be, were at this 
very inftant really prefent. More’s Divine Dialogues. —[In 
geometry.] The equable evolution of the periphery ot a 
circle, or any other curve, is fuch a gradual approach of 
the circumference to rectitude, as that all its parts do 
meet together, and equally evolve or unbend ; to that 
the fame line becomes lucceflively a lefs arch of a reci¬ 
procally greater circle, till at laft they turn into a ftraight 
line. [In taftics.] The motion made by a body of men 
in changing their potture, or form of drawing up. And 
thefe evolutions are doubling of ranks or files, counter¬ 
marches, wheelings, &c. Evolution of Pouters. [In 
algebra.] Ex<rafting of roots from any given power, 
being the reverfe of involution. 
EVOL'VULUS, f. [from cvolvo, Lat. to roll out.] 
In botany, a genus of the clafs pentandria, order tetra- 
gynia, natural order of campanaceae, (convolvuli, JnJf.) 
The generic charafters are—Calyx : perianthium five¬ 
leaved ; leaflets lanceolate, (harp, permanent. Corolla : 
one-petalled, rotate, five-cleft. Stamina : filaments five, 
capillarv, fpreading, almott the length of the corolla; 
antherae a little oblong. Piftillum: germ fomewhat 
globofe; ftyles four, capillary, diverging, length of the 
ftamens; ftigmas fimple. Peiicarpium: capfule fome¬ 
what globofe, four-celled, four-valved. Seeds: folitary, 
roundilh, cornered on one tide.— EJfentialCharaEler. Calyx 
five-leaved ; corolla five-cleft, rotate ; capfule three- 
celled ; feeds folitary. 
Species, i. Evolvulus nummularius, or nummularia 
evolvulus : leaves roundilh, ftem creeping, flowers fub- 
feflile. From a fmall, ttringy, fibrous, annual, root, 
fpring long trailing (talks, taking root here and there 
where they touch the ground, and putting forth alter¬ 
nately at fmall unequal difiances leaves almoft round, 
like thofe of lyfimachia tenella, three quarters of an inch 
long, and an inch broad, having a fmall notch at the end, 
and on petioles a quarter of an inch in length, and of a 
brown colour. Flowers axillary, on fliort peduncles, of 
a light bine colour; (Swartz fays white.) Legume brown, 
containing two or three brown feeds. Browne obferves, 
that the flowers are deeply crenated. Juflieu affirms, 
that the ftyles are two, and bifid ; and that the plant is 
not milky. According to Swartz, the ftyles are three or 
four ; and the capfule three or four-celled, and three or 
four-valved. Native of Jamaica and Barbadoes. Com¬ 
mon alfo in the dry plains of other ifiands in the Weft 
Indies. This genus is allied to convolvulus. 
2. Evolvulus Gangeticus, or evolvulus of the Ganges : 
leaves cordate, obtufe, mucronate, villofe, petioled ; 
ftem diffufe.; peduncles one-flowered. Native of the 
Eaft Indies. 
3. Evolvulus alfmoides, or chickweed-leaved evolvu¬ 
lus: ’eaves-obcordate, obtufe, hairy, petioled ; ftem dif¬ 
fufe; peduncles three-flowered. This is a little annual 
plant, with a creeping root. The Items, leaves, petioles, 
and peduncles, are covered with rufous hairs. Leaves 
alternate, roundilh, on a (hort petiole. Flowers axillary, 
folitary, on long peduncles. Corolla blue, large in pro¬ 
portion to the plant. In Ceylon it has the name of WiJ'nu- 
garahdi, from the Malabar deity Wifnu , and garandi, which 
fignifies tlie dyfentery. It is reputed to be a fovereign 
remedy in that diforder. Native of the Eaft Indies; 
flowers in June and July. 
4. Evolvulus emarginatus, or bordered evolvulus : 
leaves kidney-form, repand. Annual. Stems filiform, 
creeping. Leaves'petioled, fmooth, waved about the 
edge-;- petioles muricate underneath. Flowers axillary, 
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folitary, fmall. Peduncles the length of the petioles. 
Native of the Eaft Indies. 
5. Evolvulus linifolius, or flax-leaved evolvulus: leaves 
lanceolate, villofe, feflile ; ftem upright; peduncles three- 
flowered, long. This fpecies afforded the generic cha- 
rafter. The whole plant has the appearance of a very 
fine fort of flax. It feldom riles above ten or fourteen 
inches. The ftalk is generally fimple, or but very little 
divided, (lender, and upright. The leaves are narrow, 
and few ; they each throw out a long and delicate pe¬ 
duncle from their axils, furnifhed with a very fmall ex¬ 
terior two-leaved cup about the middle. The ftyles are 
two, and bifid. Th capfules are divided into two or four 
cells, and contain many feeds. In the low lands of Ja¬ 
maica it is an annual, flowering in Auguft and September. 
6. Evolvulus tridentatus, or three-toothed evolvulus: 
leaves linear-wedge-form, three-cufped, dilated at the 
bale, and toothed; peduncles one-flowered. The ftem 
of this is twining, Native of the Eaft Indies. 
7. Evolvulus fericeus, or filky evolvulus : leaves lance¬ 
olate, feflile, iilky underneath ; peduncles fliort, one-flow¬ 
ered. According to Browne, this is fo extremely like the 
linifol ius, that they are hardly to be' diftinguirtied with¬ 
out great attention. The flower-ftalks are very fliort 
this, the cups Angle, and every flower furniflied with four 
ftyles. Native of Jamaica, in the low lands. 
Propagation and Culture. Thefe are all ftove-plants, to 
be cultivated and treated as the tender lorts of convol¬ 
vulus from the fame countries. 
EVOMI'TION,/! [evomo, Lat.] The aft of vomitingout. 
EUO'NYMO AFPf'NIS, J'. in botany. See Croton 
and Kiggelaria. 
EUO'NYMO S'lMILIS,/. in botany. See Coffea. 
EUON YMOI'DES, J. in botany. See Celastrus. 
EUON'YMUS, /i [from sc?, good, and oro/aa, Gr. a 
name; but ironically, this fhrub having a bad reputation, 
asapuifon.] The Spindle.ts.ee ; a genus of the clafs 
pentandria, order monogy.nia, natural order of dumofae, 
(rhamni, JvJf.) The generic characters are—Calyx: peri- 
anthium one-leafed, five-parted, flat ; divifions roundilh, 
concave. Corolla : petals five, ovate, flat, fpreading 
longer than the calyx. Stamina: filaments five, fubulate, 
upright, fliorter than the corolla, placed on the germ as 
it were on a receptacle; antherae twin, Piftillum,: germ 
acuminate ; ftyle (hort, fim; le ; ftigma acute. Peiicarpium: 
capfule fucculent, coloured, five lided, five-cornered, five- 
celled, five-valved. Seeds: folitary, ovate, involved in 
a berried aril.— Ffential Characler. Corolla five-petalled 
capfule five-lided, five-celled, five-valved, coloured ; 
feeds calyptred, or veiled. 
Species. 1. Euonymus Europteus, or common fpindle-, 
tree: flowers moftly four-ftamened; peduncles com. 
prefled, many-flowered; ftigmas awl-(haped; leaves 
fmooth, bluntly ferrate; angles of the capfules blunt.. 
The difficulty of giving fignificant and permanent fpeeific 
or trivial names, is apparent from this genus, .When 
two fpecies only were known, they might well be diftin- 
guiftied by the titles Europaus and Americanus ; but now 
that we know three European and two American fpecies, 
this diftinftion is infufficient, and very ubfurd. The fame 
may be faid of Thunberg’s title japdnicus ; and he ought 
to have done better, becaufe lie knew that there were two, 
Japanefe fpecies. Acknowledging the difficulty of giving 
fignificant trivial names to be great, we leave them as we 
find them, being unwilling to increafe that confufion 
which neceftarily arifes from the prodigious number of 
plants which the ir.duftry of liter botanifts has-dilco- 
vered. The common fpindle-tree, when growing in 
hedges, is feldom feen of any confiderable fize, but is a 
fhrub ; if planted Angle, however, and properly trained, 
it will have a ftrong woody ftem, and rife more than 
twenty feet high, dividing into many branches. Leaves 
lanceolate, about three inches long, and an Inch and a 
quarter broad in the middle, oppoiue, entire, of a deep 
greea 
