CE N O 
of his dead body, that (he bathed it with-her tears, and 
ftabbed herfelf to the heart. She was mother of Cory- 
thus by Paris; and this fon perilhed by the hand of his 
father, when he attempted, at the inftigation of CEnone, 
to perfuade him to withdraw his affedtion from Helen. 
Ovid dc Rem. Amor. v. 457. 
CENO'PLIA, f. in botany. See Rhamnus. 
CENOP'OLIST, f [from the Gr. oivov, wine, and TroTify, 
to fell.] A vintner, one that fells wine. Baileij. 
CENOP'TzE, J'. [from the Greek oivov, wine, and 
vtxro<;, how much.] The officers who prefided over and 
regulated public entertainments at Athens. They regu¬ 
lated the number of cups each was to drink, and took 
care that none drank too much or too little. 
CENOTHE'RA, J'. [from the Gr. oivo?, wine, and 9 -o^oc, 
fearching or catching; a name, as we learn from Theo- 
phraftus, bellowed upon the plant, on account of its root 
having caught the perfume of wine from being dried ; but 
whether our CEnothera be the fame as that of Theo- 
phraftus is very uncertain.] Tree-Primrose; in botany, 
a genus of the clafs odtandria, order monogynia, natural 
order of calycanthemae, (onagrae, Jnjf.) Generic cha- 
raifers—Calyx : perianthium one-leafed, fuperior, deci¬ 
duous : tube cylindrical, ereft, long, deciduous; border 
four-cleft; the fegments oblong, acute, bent down. 
Corolla : petals four, obcordate, flat, inferted into the 
interltices of the calyx, and the fame length with the di- 
vifions of the calyx. Stamina: filaments eight, awl- 
iliaped, curved inwards, inferted into the throat of the 
calyx, fliorter than the corolla. Antheras oblong, in¬ 
cumbent. Piltillum: germ cylindrical, inferior; llyle 
filiform the length of the ftamens; ftigma four-cleft, thick, 
blunt, reflex. Pericarpium : capfule cylindrical, four- 
cornered, four-celled, four-valved, with contrary parti¬ 
tions. Seeds very many, angular, naked ; receptacle co¬ 
lumnar, free, four-cornered : with the angles contigu¬ 
ous to the margin of the partitions .—EJJential Charafler. 
Calyx four-cleft; petals four; capfule cylindrical, infe¬ 
rior ; feeds naked. There are eleven lpecies. 
1. Oenothera biennis, or broad-leaved treerprimrofe : 
leaves ovate-lanceolate flat, Item muricated fubvillofe. 
Root fufiform, fibrous, yellowifh on the outfide, white 
within, biennial. From this, the flrft year, arife many 
obtufe leaves, which fpread flat on the ground. From 
among thefe, tire fecond year, the Hems come out, three 
or four feet high, upright, of a pale-green colour, the 
thicknefs of a finger, not hollow, but pithy, angular, 
flightly pubefcent and rugged, tinged with purple, efpe- 
cially towards the bottom, branched alternately altnoft 
from the ground. Root-leaves run down into a three- 
flded petiole an inch in length. Stem-leaves feffile, bright 
lightiih green, pubelcent on both tides, waved a little 
about the edge, and having a few' fmall teeth near the 
bale ; they are from five toleven incheainlength and two 
inches in breadth, having a confiderable midrib running 
the whole length, very wide and tinged with purple to¬ 
wards the bale, at the back very prominent with white 
nerves fpringing from it, and curved towards the point. 
The flowers are produced all along the (talks on axillary 
branches, and in a terminating (pike : they are folitary, 
each being feparated by a leaflet or bradte, wider in pro¬ 
portion at the bafe than the proper leaves, and drawn 
more to a point, diminifliing gradually towards the top 
of the lpike till they become linear, fcarcely half an inch 
in length, and a line in breadth. Scopoli remarks, that 
there are four oblong yellow tubercles growing to the 
bafe of the calyx; corolia bright-yellow, from an inch 
and half to near two inches in diameter. The flowers 
xtfually open between fix and feven o’clock in the evening, 
whence this plant is called evening or night primrofe. 
The mode of their expanding is curious : the petals are 
held together at top by the hooks at the end of the calyx, 
the fegments of which firft feparate at bottom and dif- 
cover the corolla, a long time before it acquires fufficient 
expanfive force to unhook the calyx at top ; when it has 
GE N O 411 
accompliflied this, it expands very fad, almoft inftanfa- 
neoufly to a certain point, and then makes a (lop, taking 
a little time to fpread out quite flat: it may be half an 
hour from the firft burfting of the calyx at bottom to the 
final expanfion of the corolla; which commonly becomes 
flaccid in the courfe of the next day, fooner or later ac¬ 
cording to the heat or coolnefs of the weather. The up- 
permoft flowers come out firft in June; the ftalk keeps 
continually advancing in height; and there is a conftant 
fucceffion of flowers till late in autumn. It is a native 
of North America ; and was firft fent from Virginia to 
Padua in 1619. It was cultivated here in 1629, as appears 
from Parkinfon. He gave it the name of tree-primrole. 
It is now become a denizen of feveral parts of Europe; 
and is very common in gardens with us. The roots are 
eaten in fome countries in the fpring. 
а. Oenothera grandiflora, or great-flowered tree-prim¬ 
rofe : leaves ovate-lanceolate, ftamens declined, ftem 
flirubby. This is a biennial plant, as well as the prece¬ 
ding and feveral of the other fpecies; but the Item is 
more flirubby. It is alfo a native of North America, 
but was not known here till it was introduced by Dr. 
Fothergill in 1778. It flowers in July and Auguft. 
3. Oenothera parviflora, or fmall-flowered tree-prim¬ 
rofe: leaves ovate-lanceolate flat, ftem even fubvillofe. 
The apex of the fruit is crowned with an eight-cleft mar¬ 
gin, not four-cleft, as in the firft fpecies, which it very 
much refembies. Stalks red, fet with rough protube¬ 
rances. It does not rife fo high as the firft; the leaves 
are narrower, and the flowers are fmaller. Native of North 
America, and biennial, as that is; flowering from June to 
Auguft. Native alfo of Japan, according to Thunberg. 
According to the Kew Catalogue, it was introduced in 
1775 by John earl of Bute. 
( 3 . O. glabra. This differs from the firft in having 
fliorter ftalks, narrower leaves, and fmaller flowers ; from 
the fecond, in having linooth ftalks, of a pale green 
colour'. 
4. Oenothera muricata, or muricated tree-primrofe : 
leaves lanceolate flat, ftem purple muricated. This re¬ 
fembies O. parviflora, but the mouth of the fruit is not 
eight-cleft. The ftem has red dots fcattered over it. The 
corolla is only half the fize, and paler, with the petals 
emarginate but not bifid. Stamens equal to the corolla 
or longer, never fliorter. Native of Canada. 
5. Oenothera longifiora, or long-flowered tree-primrofe: 
leaves toothletted, Items Ample hairy, petals diftant two- 
lobed. Stems ufually five, fpringing out below the root- 
leaves, quite Ample, afcending, rough-haired, green with 
long fpreading white hairs. Flowers axillary from the 
upper leaves, with the germ and calyx hairy; petals yel¬ 
low, obcordate two-lobed, the fame fize with the common 
fort or larger, diftant at the lides, turning reddiffi the fe¬ 
cond day. Fruit like that of biennis, but longer and nar¬ 
rower at bottom, with the mouth converging and lefs 
rugged. Mr. Curtis remarks, that luxuriant fpecimens 
exceed five feet in height, that the flowers are uncom¬ 
monly large and fltovvy, and continue blowing from July 
to Odlober. Native of Buenos Ayres. 
б. Oenothera molliffima, or foft tree-primrofe : leaves 
lanceolate waved, pubefcent, very foft. This has a flirubby 
ftalk, more than two feet high, hairy. Flowers axillary, 
like the other forts ; at firft pale-yellow, but as they de¬ 
cay changing to an orange colour, fmaller than thole of 
O. biennis. This is alio a biennial plant, native of 
Buenos Ayres. It was cultivated before 1732 in the El- 
tham garden, belonging to James Sherard, M. D. being 
railed there from the feed of fpecimens fent from Ame¬ 
rica. It flowers from June to Odlober. 
7. Oenothera rofea,or rofe-flowered tree-primrofe: leaves 
ovate toothed, lower ones lyrate, capfules club-lhaped. 
This rarely exceeds a foot in height. Its role-coloured 
flowers expand during the whole of the day, and are pro. 
duced during moft of the fummer months. Of the eleven 
fpecies, fays Mr. Curtis, this only and the next have red 
+ or 
