OLD 
OLD 
lift of the German hiitorians and writers on public law. 
2. Limnasus Enucleatus ; 1670, folio; a valuable abridg¬ 
ment of that writer’s work “ De Jure Imperii Romano- 
G ermanici.” 3. Thefaurus Rerum-publicarum totius Or- 
bis; 4 vols. 8vo. 1675 ; a work which, though imperfedf, 
is ufeful, particularly for the knowledge of the modern 
kingdoms. 4. Traftatus de Rebus-publicis turbidis in 
tranquiljum ftatuns reducendis; 1677, 8vo. Senebicr Hijt. 
Lit. de Geneve. 
O'LDENDORF, a town of Weftphalia, in the county 
of Schauenburg, on the Wefer: five miles ealt of Rinteln. 
Lat. 52 8. N. Ion. 9. 20. E. 
O'LDENDORF, or Start Oldendorf, a town of 
Weftphalia, in the principality of Calenberg: twenty 
miles north-north-weft of Gottingen, and thirty-three 
fouth of Hanover. Lat. 51.47. N. Ion. 9. 41. E. 
OLDENLAN'DIA, J' [fo named by Plumier, in me¬ 
mory of Hear. Beruh. Oldenland, a Dane, who collected 
plants at the Cape of Good Hope in 1695. They came 
into the pofieffion of Burmann ; and there is an account of 
them in the fixth volume of the Amcenitates Acad, by 
Linnaeus.] In botany, a genus of the ciafs tetrandria, order 
monogynia, natural order of ftellatte, (rubiacete, Jnjf) 
Generic charafilers—Calyx : perianthium four-parted, the 
parts awl-ihaped, fuperior, permanent. Corolla: one-pe- 
talled ; tube cylindrical, clofed by a beard ; border four- 
parted, acute, fpreading, a little longer than the calyx. 
Stamina: filaments four, fimple, within the tu.be; antherse 
(mail. Piftillum : germen roundifii, inferior; ftyle fim¬ 
ple, the length of the ftamens; ftigma bifid, obtule. Pe- 
ricarpium : capfule twin, roundifii, two-celled, opening 
between the teeth of the calyx. Seeds numerous, very 
linall. According to Schreber, this genus fcarcely differs 
from Hedyotis ; and therefore one of the genera might 
be (pared. There is a difference however in the calyx, 
corolla, and receptacle.— EJJenlial Character. Calyx fat¬ 
tened to the pericarpium, with four free awl-fnaped teeth 
at top ; corolla one-petalled, four-cleft; capfule inferior, 
two-celled; receptacle free, fattened to the partition by 
the bafe only. There are iixteen fpecies. 
1. Oldenlandia verticillata, or whorled oldenlandia : 
flowers in whorls, (efiile; ftipules briftle-bearing. Stems 
about a foot high, fimple-jointed, even, round, with a 
groove on each fide. Leaves oppofite, fefiile, narrow- 
lanceolate, with the midrib (cored, acuminate, rugged. 
Stipules membranaceous, divided into bridles, as in Sper- 
macoce, fome of which are capillary, and longer than the 
flowers. Capfule roundifii, two-celied, many-feeded, con¬ 
nate, with the four acuminate leaflets of the calyx. Na¬ 
tive of Amboyna and Jamaica, on open hills. 
2. Oldenlandia repens, or creeping oldenlandia : cap- 
fules fefiile, hifpid ; leaves lanceolate. Stem ten inches 
high, herbaceous, branched, procumbent, jointed, creep¬ 
ing. Flowers white, axillary, folitary, on very fliort pe¬ 
duncles ; corolla four-cleft, bell-fiiaped. Capfule caly- 
cine, two-celled, many-feeded, opening irregularly. Rum- 
phius’s figure reprefents the leaves wide and rounded, 
whereas they appeared to Loureiro to be narrow and acute. 
Native of the Eaft Indies, and of China near Canton. 
3. Oldenlandia Capenfis, or Cape oldenlandia : flowers 
in whorls, peduncled ; leaves linear. This refembles the 
preceding very much ; but the capfule is fmooth. Native 
of the Cape of Good Hope, where it was found by Thun- 
berg. 
4. Oldenlandia uniflora, one-flowered, or water, olden¬ 
landia : peduncles quite fimple, lateral ; fruits rough¬ 
haired; leaves fubovate, acute. Native of Virginia and 
Jamaica. In the latter, according to Browne, it is found 
frequently in the waters; and then it grows of a length 
proportioned to the depth of the ftream, with which it 
yields and bends. Both leaves and (talks are then of a 
reddifh colour. Sometimes it is found upon the banks ; 
and then it is of a green colour, and a creeper, generally 
running, more oriels, according to the quantity of moif- 
ture. 
Vot. XVII. No. 1189, 
4 JD 
5. Oldenlandia biflora, or two-flowered oldenlandia : 
peduncles two-flowered, longer than the petiole; leaves 
lanceolate. Native of the Eaft Indies. Annual. 
6. Oldenlandia umbellata, umbelled oldenlandia, or 
Eaft-India madder: umbels naked, lateral, alternate; 
leaves linear. This is a fmall biennial, rarely-triennial, 
plant. Root from one to two feet long, (lender, with few- 
lateral fibres. Stem, in the cultivated fort, eredf, round, 
jointed below, very ramous, fomewhat fcabrous, from fix 
to twelve inches high. Branches axillary, the under op¬ 
pofite, decullated, fpreading horizontally, and nearly as 
long as the Item ; above alternate, or in pairs from the 
axils. In the wild fort, there is fcarcely any ftem, but 
many diffufe (craggy branches, with their flower-bearing 
extremities eredft. Leaves oppofite, or by threes or fours, 
fefiile, linear, pointed, fcabrous, fpreading, from half to 
three quarters of an inch long, by one-third of an inch in 
breadth. In the axils of the principal leaves are generally 
fafcicies of fmaller leaves. Stipules connecting, ciliate. 
Flowers terminating, fmall, white, very numerous ; the 
w'hole forming a large umbel, compofed of linall three- 
cleft umbellets. BraCles minute, awl-fhaped. Native of 
the Eaft Indies, growing in very light dry fimdy ground 
near the fea; flowering during the latter part of the wet 
leafon ; and the feed ripe in January. It is much culti¬ 
vated on the coaft of Coromandel, where its roots defeend 
to a great depth in the fand. It is ufed in dying red, pur¬ 
ple, a deep clear brown, orange, and to paint the red 
figures on chintz; of all which Dr. Roxburgh has given 
a full account; and from his fplendid work tiie annexed 
reprefentation is copied. 
The woody part of the chai/-root, as it is called, is white 
and taftelefs ; it is the bark only that is poftefied of the co¬ 
louring principle; when frefli, it is orange-coloured", 
tinges the fpittle yellow, and leaves a flight degree of acri¬ 
mony on the point of the tongue for fome hours after 
chewing; to appearance it lofes its yeliow colour in dry¬ 
ing, but (till retains the above property on being chewed. 
It impregnates cold water or fpirits with a ftraw-colour ; 
to boiling water it gives a browniflt porter-colour. The 
watery infufions and fpirituous tinClures are changed into 
a bright and deep red by alkaline fubftances ; and are ren¬ 
dered paler, or nearly deltrcyed, by acids. The colour¬ 
ing power of this root is faid to improve by keeping three 
or four years. When the wild fort can be had in any quan¬ 
tity, it is efteemed one-third or one-fourth ftronger, and 
yields a better colour; and, when thefe roots can be had 
of two years growth, they are reckoned fti 11 better. This 
plant is the tjheri-vello of the Telingas ; and the faya-ver, 
or imburel, of the Tamuls. The Telinga phylicians do 
not give any part of the plant a place in their materia 
rnedica ; but the Malabar phylicians fay that the roots 
cure poifonous bites, colds, and cutaneous diforders, and 
warm the conftitution. This plant has been introduced 
info the ifland of Jamaica. 
7. Oldenlandia hirfuta, or hairy oldenlandia: umbels 
axillary; ftem and calyxes hifpid; leaves ovate, acute. 
Native of Java, where it was found by Thunberg. 
8. Oldenlandia corymbofa, or hyftop-leaved oldenlan¬ 
dia: peduncles many-flowered ; leaves linear-lancSolate. 
This is a low annual plant, feldom above three or four 
inches high, dividing into many branches, which fpread 
near the ground ; but, according to Browne, it rifes ge¬ 
nerally to the height of ten or fourteen inches. It is a 
native of Jamaica; introduced, before 1739, by Mr. Robert 
Millar. 
9. Oldenlandia paniculata, or panicled oldenlandia: 
peduncles panicled, terminating; leaves oval-lanceolate; 
Stem almoft upright, fix inches high. Flowers purple, 
on a long common peduncle. Native of the Eaft Indies. 
10. Oldenlandia pentandria, or five-ftamened oldenlan¬ 
dia : flowers five-ftamened, one-ftyled; leaves linear; pe¬ 
duncles two-flowered. This re(embles O. biflora, but is 
larger, and half a foot high. Koenig fent it from Tran- 
quebar. 
5 Y 
11. Oldenlandia. 
