a general involucre of several pieces, as in Dipsacew; but 
_differ on the other hand from those of that order by hay- 
ing a simple calyx and inferior corolla. From Primula- 
ce the order recedes further, by the fruit being a solitary 
seed enveloped in the calyx and by stamens that are alter- 
nate with the segments of the corolla; whilst the presence 
of a real corolla removes it by a yet wider separation from 
Plumbaginee, Nyctagineee, and Proteacee. 
The description of the present species is from the mas- 
terly pen of the late Dr. Solander, and has been copied 
from the manuscript in Mr. Brown’s library. 
It was upon Guopuxarta Alypum that the older bota- 
nists had bestowed the name of “ Frutex terribilis,” and 
our gardeners that of “ Herb terrible,” influenced by the 
exaggerated repute of its drastic quality. The name has 
devolved upon the present species merely as a congener. 
Sir Hans Sloane, who found the shrub in Madeira, de- 
scribes the wood as white and hard, with a large pith; he 
however, as Dr. Solander remarks, mistook the fruit of the 
distinct flowers within the general inyolucre for a single 
fruit of a same flower. 
The shrub is said seldom to exceed three feet in height, 
and was found by Masson of that size growing wild among 
the rocks. 
- Introduced into our greenhouses by Sir Joseph Banks in 
sy . ' 
Drawn at the Nursery of Mr. Colvill, in the King’s 
‘Road, Chelsea. 
ee a ae ee eee 
