N E R 
64. Nerita Antillarum : (hell fubglobular, black; within 
it is white, grooved and ftriate; the crown is obtufe j both 
lips are wrinkled and denticulate. This is a very com¬ 
mon (hell in the Antilles. 
65. Nerita flammea: (hell fubglobular, with crowded 
tranfverfe ftrias, white, with purplilh undulate rays ; both 
lips toothed. There are two other varieties : the one 
(haded with red, the rays inclining to black ; the other 
with bands partly livid, partly dotted with red. They 
are found in the American iflands. 
66. Nerita fulgurans : (hell fubglobular, with crowded 
tranfverfe ftriae, deep black, with ochraceous rays; both 
lips (lightly denticulate, the inner one tuberculate in the 
middle. It is found in the American iflands. 
67. Nerita tefl'elata : (hell obtufe, tranfverfely ftriate 
with white and black ; lips denticulate. It is found in 
the feveral iflands fituated between Africa and America. 
68. Nerita bifafciata ; (hell biackifti, with two grey 
bands; the crown white. It inhabits India. It is un¬ 
certain to what feflion it belongs. 
69. Nerita litterata: (hell fubglobular, white, with va¬ 
rious charadlers ; the inner lip is crenulate and toothed. 
A variety of this fpecies is marked with bands compofed 
of parallel lines. It inhabits India. 
70. Nerita violacea: (hell ovate, folid, fmooth; it is of 
a violet colour, dotted with white ; the inner lip is denti¬ 
culate beneath. A variety is marked with chel'nut fpots, 
varied with black. 
71. Nerita Senegalenfis : (hell ovate, obtufe, folid, and 
of a deep black colour, within it is white, grooved ; both 
lips are toothed. This, as its fpecific name imports, is 
found in Senegal; an inch broad, and about half as wide. 
72. Nerita promontorii: (hell black, ovate, pointed; 
with thirty grooves. This is an African (hell, twice as 
broad as it is long, fometimes varied with white; the 
crown is compofed of three whorls; the left lip is wrinkled. 
73. Nerita tricolor: (hell variegated red, black, and 
whitilh ; the firft with fifteen elevated ftrite ; both lips 
toothed. This is found in Africa. 
74. Nerita perverfa : (hell fqrrounded with belts; fpire 
contrary; aperture eight toothed. Hitherto it has been 
found in a foflile ftate only. 
75. Nerita turrita: (hell with alternate white and black 
bands, within white; crown very much elevated; the 
outer lip acute. This inhabits the Antille-illands, in 
frefti-waters. 
76. Nerita aculeata : (hell blackifli, tranfverfely ftriate; 
the ftrite are fpinous; the inner lip is flattilh, fmooth, and 
(lightly toothed. It inhabits the rivers of India; and re- 
fembles the N. pulligera. 
NER'ITOS, a mountain in the ifland of Ithaca ; as alfo 
a fmall ifland in the Ionian Sea, according to Mela. The 
word Neritos is often applied to the whole ifland of Ithaca, 
and Ulyfles, the king of it, is called Neritius dux, and his 
(hip Neritia navis. The people of Saguntum, as defcended 
from a gentian colony, are called Neritia proles. 
NERI'TUM, in ancient geography, a town of Cala¬ 
bria; now called Nardo; which fee, p. 581. 
NE'RIUM, J’. [derivation uncertain.] Oleander, or 
Rose-bay ; in botany, a genus of the clafs pentandria, 
order monogynia, natural order of contortas, (apocinete, 
Jujf.) Generic characters — Calyx: perianthium five- 
parted, acute, very fmall, permanent. Corolla: one- 
petalled, funnel-form; tube cylindric, fliorter than 
the border; border very large, five-parted; fegments 
wide, blunt, oblique. NeCtary, a crown terminating the 
tube, (hort, lacerated into capillary fegments. See Bo¬ 
tany Plate VIII. fig. 26. Stamina : filaments five, awl- 
fhaped, very (hort, in the tube of the corolla; antherte 
fagittate, converging, terminated by a long thread. Pif- 
tillum: germen roundifli, bifid; ftyle cylindric, the 
length of the tube ; ftigma truncate, fitting on an orblet, 
fattened to the antheras. Pericarpium : follicles, two, 
round, long, acuminate, ereCf, one-valved, opening lon¬ 
gitudinally. Seeds : numerous, oblong, crowned with 
down, placed imbricately.— Efj'ential Character. Corolla 
Vol. XVI, No. 1149. 
N E R 72 !) 
with the tube terminated by a lacerated crown ; follicles 
two, ereft. 
1. Nerium oleander, common rofe-bay, or oleander: 
leaves linear-lanceolate, in threes; tranfverfely nerved 
underneath ; calycine, leaflets fquarrofe ; neClaries flat, 
three-cu(ped. This rifes with feveral (talks to the height 
of eight or ten feet. The branches come out by threes 
round the principal ftalks, and have a fmooth bark, which 
in that with red flowers is of a purplilh colour, but in 
that with white flowers is of a light green. The leaves, 
for the mod part, ftand by threes round the ftalks, upon 
very (hort footftalks, and point upwards; they are three 
or four inches long, and three quarters of an inch broad 
in the middle, of a dark green, very (lift', and end in 
acute points. See Botany Plate VII. fig. 22. vol. iii. 
The flowers come out at the end of the branches in large 
loole bunches, and are of a bright purple or crimfon co— 
lour, or of a dirty-white. The feed-vefl'els are brown fol¬ 
licles, about four inches long. It flowers in July and 
Auguft ; and in warm feafons the flowers are iucceeded 
by pods, but the feeds feldom ripen well in England. In 
warm dry fummers this plant makes a fine appearance ; 
the flowers then opening in great plenty ; but in cold 
moiit leafons the flowers often decay without expand¬ 
ing, unlefs the plants are placed in a green-houfe, or 
under a glafs-cafe. That with white flowers is the 
moft tender. Other varieties are the ftripe-leaved ; the 
broad-leaved double-flowered, the ftriped doubie-flow- 
ered, and different (hades of red, from purple to crim¬ 
fon or fcarlet. Juflieu remarks, that Nerium oleander 
is not milky. It is a native of the Levant, Spain, Por¬ 
tugal, Italy, by the fides of dreams, and near the fea- 
coalt. It abounds every-where in the ifland of Candia* 
or Crete, by rivers and torrents ; and there the variety /S’, 
with white flowers, is chiefly found ; in the mountains 
and plains about Antioch or Scanderoon, it is found 
abundantly; in Sicily, by all the torrents defending 
from Mount Etna; in many parts of Italy, as between 
Nice and Genoa, near Monte Baldo, &c. but particularly 
in all the low grounds of Magna Gra;cia, in the kingdom 
of Naples. Belon fays, that in Crete and on Mount Athos 
the Rhododendron, which is this (hrub, grows to a great 
fize, infomuch that in Creteit is fometimes ufed for build¬ 
ing-timber. It has the name Rhododendron, from the 
fimilitude of its flowers in fize and colour to a rofe : Rho- 
dodaphne for the fame reafon ; and becaufe, as Gerard 
exprelfes it, “it makes a gallant (how, like the bay-tree.” 
Hence alfo our Englilh name rofe-bay; but it is now more 
commonly known by its officinal name oleander ; which 
is alfo adopted into all the European languages, except 
the French, in which it is laurofe, or laurier-rofe, that is, 
bay-rofe, or rofe-bay. The Italians have adopted nerio and 
rofalauro, as well as oleandro. It was cultivated by Ge¬ 
rard in 1596. The leaves of the oleander are acrid and 
poifonous, therefore certainly not proper to be ufed inter¬ 
nally without great caution. Oil, in which the leaves are 
infufed, is recommended in the itch and other cutaneous 
diforders, in preference to mercurial preparations, for 
children and delicate conftitutions. 
2. Nerium odorum, fweet-fcented rofe-bay, or olean¬ 
der : leaves linear-lanceolate, in threes; calycine leaflets 
ereft; nettaries many-parted; fegments filiform. This 
rifes with (hutibby ftalks, fix or (even feet high, covered 
with a brown bark. Leaves ft iff, from three to' four inches 
long, and not more than a quarter of an inch broad, of a 
light green, and the edges reflexed; they are oppolite, or 
alternate, or by threes round the branches. The flowers 
are produced in loofe bunches at the end of the branches; 
they are of a pale red, and have an agreeable mufky fcent. 
It grows naturally in India. 
This has been confounded with the firft fpecies. It 
was cultivated in 1758, by Mr. Miller, and flowers from 
June to Auguft. Probably the N. oleander of Thunberg 
and Loureiro is this fpecies. The latter, however, aflerts 
that his plant has fcarcely any fmell. 
g, N. Iatifolium s leaves fix inches long, and one inch 
§ Z broad 
