Part 2

STAMINA. Filamenta octo capillaria, apice curvata. Antheræ aristatæ, inclusæ.

PISTILLUM. Germen sub-globosum, sulcatum. Stylus exsertus. Stigma tetragonum.

Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.

Floret a mensi Octobris, in Februarium.

REFERENTIA.

1. Folium unum, lente auctum.

2. Calyx, et Corolla.

3. Calyx, lente auctus.

4. Stamina, lente aucta.

5. Pistillum, lente auctum.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

HEATH, with bearded tips, within the blossom; the shaft without; the blossoms bell-shaped and white; flowers grow in bunches, pointing all one way, nodding and very sweet; leaves grow by fours, linear and rough.

DESCRIPTION.

STEM shrubby, growing a foot high, the larger and smaller branches grow upright, of an ash colour, downy and harsh.

LEAVES grow by fours, linear, obtuse, a little hairy, roughish and spreading; with very short foot-stalks, pressed to the branches.

FLOWERS grow on the upper branches in loose spikes, pointing one way, nodding and in bunches; the foot-stalks very short, having three small floral leaves.

EMPALEMENT. Cup of four leaves, which are tapered, very short, smooth and pressed to the blossom.

BLOSSOM, bell-shaped, small, sweet-scented, and white; the segments upright, with the points a little bent outwards.

CHIVES. Eight hair-like threads, curved at the end. Tips bearded, and within the blossom.

POINTAL. Seed-bud nearly globular and furrowed. Shaft without the blossom. Summit four-cornered.

Native of the Cape of Good Hope.

Flowers from October, till February.

REFERENCE.

1. A Leaf, magnified.

2. The Empalement, and Blossom.

3. The Empalement, magnified.

4. The Chives, magnified.

5. The Pointal, magnified.

ERICA calycina.

CHARACTER SPECIFICUS.

ERICA, antheris cristatis, inclusis; foliis ternis; rami filiformes; corollis minutis, urceoli-formes; calycis foliola corolla longiora; pedunculis longissimis.

DESCRIPTIO.

CAULIS filiformis, spithameus, erectus, ramosissimus.

FOLIA terna, lanceolata, supra concava, adpressa, glabra; petiolis brevissimis.

FLORES plures, in ultimis ramulis terminales, umbellati; pedunculis carneis, longissimis, bracteis tribus coloratis instructis.

CALYX. Perianthium tetraphyllum, foliolis lato-ovatis, carneis, corolla longiora.

COROLLA minuta, urceoli-formis, apice dilute carnea, ad basi virescens; oris laciniis reflexis, saturate carneis.

STAMINA. Filamenta octo capillaria; antheræ cristatæ, inclusæ.

PISTILLUM. Germen sub-globosum. Stylus sub-exsertus filiformis. Stigma tetragonum.

Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.

Floret a mensi Septembri, in Decembrem.

REFERENTIA.

1. Calyx, et Corolla.

2. Corolla.

3. Calyx, lente auctus.

4. Stamina, et Pistillum.

5. Stamina a Pistillo diducta; anthera una lente aucta.

6. Stylus, et Stigma lente, aucta.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

HEATH, with crested tips, within the blossom; the leaves grow by threes; the branches are thread-shaped, the blossoms small and pitcher-shaped; the leaves of the cup are longer than the flower, the foot-stalks very long.

DESCRIPTION.

STEM thread-shaped, grows half a foot high, upright, and very much branched.

The LEAVES grow by threes, are lance-shaped, concave on the upper surface, pressed to the stem, and smooth, having very short foot-stalks.

The FLOWERS are numerous, and terminate the smaller branches in bunches; the foot-stalks are very long, flesh coloured, with three coloured floral leaves.

EMPALEMENT. Cup four-leaved, which are of a broad oval form, flesh coloured, and longer than the blossom.

The BLOSSOM is small, of a pitcher-shape, light flesh colour at the end, greenish at the base; the segments of the mouth are bent back, and deep flesh coloured.

CHIVES. Eight hair-like threads; the tips crested, and within the blossom.

POINTAL. Seed-vessel nearly globular; the shaft thread-shaped, partly out of the blossom. Summit four-cornered.

Native of the Cape of Good Hope.

Flowers from September, till December.

REFERENCE.

1. The Empalement, and Blossom.

2. The Blossom.

3. The Empalement magnified.

4. The Chives and Pointal.

5. The Chives detached from the Pointal; one tip magnified.

6. The Shaft and its Summit magnified.

ERICA campanulata.

CHARACTER SPECIFICUS.

ERICA, antheris muticis, inclusis; floribus solitariis, cernuis; calycibus coloratis; corollis globoso-campanulatis, luteis; foliis quaternis, linearibus, angustissimis.

DESCRIPTIO.

CAULIS fruticosus, pedalis, erectus, filiformis; rami et ramuli filiformes, virgati, glabri.

FOLIA quaterna, linearia, angusta, glabra, erecta; petiolis brevissimis, adpressis.

FLORES terminales, subsolitarii, cernui; pedunculi colorati, bracteis tribus, coloratis, subulatis, instructi.

CALYX. Perianthium tetraphyllum, foliolis ovatis, acuminatis, concavis, adpressis, coloratis.

COROLLA globoso-campanulata, lutea; laciniis semi-ovatis, subreflexis.

STAMINA. Filamenta octo, capillaria, incurvata. Antheræ muticæ, inclusæ.

PISTILLUM. Germen sub-globosum. Stylus columnaris. Stigma tetragonum.

Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.

Floret a mensi Junii, in Augustum.

REFERENTIA.

1. Calyx, et Corolla.

2. Corolla.

3. Calyx, lente auctus.

4. Stamina, et Pistillum.

5. Anthera una, aucta.

6. Pistillum, lente auctum.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

HEATH, with beardless tips, within the blossom; flowers grow singly, hanging down; cups coloured; blossoms globularly bell-shaped, and yellow; leaves grow by fours, are linear, and very narrow.

DESCRIPTION.

STEM shrubby, grows a foot high, upright, and thread-shaped; the greater and smaller branches are thread-shaped, twiggy, and smooth.

LEAVES grow by fours, linear, narrow, smooth, and upright; very short foot-stalks, pressed to the branches.

FLOWERS grow mostly solitary, at the end of the smaller branches, hanging down; the foot-stalks are coloured, having three awl-shaped, coloured floral leaves on them.

EMPALEMENT. Cup four-leaved, leaflets egg-shaped, pointed, concave, pressed to the blossom, and coloured.

BLOSSOM, globularly bell-shaped, and yellow; the segments half egg-shaped, and a little reflexed.

CHIVES. Eight hair-like threads, curved inwards. Tips beardless, and within the blossom.

POINTAL. Seed-bud nearly globe-shaped. Shaft pillar-shaped. Summit four-cornered.

Native of the Cape of Good Hope.

Flowers from June, till August.

REFERENCE.

1. The Empalement, and Blossom.

2. The Blossom.

3. The Empalement, magnified.

4. The Chives, and Pointal.

5. A Tip, magnified.

6. The Pointal, magnified.

ERICA capitata.

CHARACTER SPECIFICUS.

ERICA, antheris muticis, sub-inclusis; corollis globosis, albidis, tomentosis, tectis calyce magno, hispido, colorato; foliis ternis, pilosis.

DESCRIPTIO.

CAULIS erectus, laxus, filiformis, fuseus; rami filiformes, villosi; ramuli capillares, frequentes, tomentosi.

FOLIA terna, linearia, obtusa, dorso sulcata, pilis longis hirta; petiolis brevissimis, adpressis.

FLORES in extremis ramulis terminales bini, vel terni, cernuo-patenti; pedunculi brevissimi, bracteis tribus, minutis, adpressis, instructi.

CALYX. Perianthium tetraphyllum, foliolis ovatis, concavis, incurvatis maximis, totis densissime hirtis, adpressis, luteo-viridis.

COROLLA sub-globosa, alba, lanata, in sinu calycis fere recondita.

STAMINA. Filamenta octo capillaria, receptaculo inserta. Antheræ muticæ sub-inclusæ.

PISTILLUM. Germen subrotundum, apice pilosum. Stylus filiformis, exsertus. Stigma tetragonum.

Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.

Floret a mensi Julii, in Octobrem.

REFERENTIA.

1. Calyx, et Corolla.

2. Corolla.

3. Calyx, lente auctus.

4. Stamina, et Pistillum.

5. Stamina a Pistillo diducta, anthera una lente aucta.

6. Stylus, et Stigma, lente aucta.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

HEATH, with beardless tips, just within the blossoms, which are globular, white and downy, being covered with a large, hairy, coloured cup; leaves grow by threes, and are hairy.

DESCRIPTION.

STEM upright, weak, thread-shaped, and brown; branches thread-shaped, and hairy; small branches like hairs, numerous, and downy.

LEAVES grow by threes, linear, blunt, furrowed at the back, and covered with long, harsh hairs; foot-stalks very short, and pressed to the branches.

FLOWERS grow at the extremity of the smaller branches, by twos or threes, spreading out, and nodding; foot-stalks very short, having three small floral leaves, which are pressed to the blossom.

EMPALEMENT. Cup of four leaves, which are egg-shaped, concave, turned inwards, very large, quite covered with strong hairs, pressed to the blossoms, and of a yellow-green.

BLOSSOM nearly globular, white and woolly, almost hid within the cup.

CHIVES. Eight hair-like threads, fixed into the receptacle. Tips beardless, and nearly within the blossom.

POINTAL. Seed-bud nearly round, and hairy at the end. Shaft thread-shaped, and without the blossom. Summit four-cornered.

Native of the Cape of Good Hope.

Flowers from the month of July, till October.

REFERENCE.

1. Empalement, and Blossom.

2. A Blossom.

3. The Empalement, magnified.

4. The Chives, and Pointal.

5. The Chives detached from the Pointal, one Tip magnified.

6. The Shaft, and its Summit, magnified.

ERICA cerinthoides.

CHARACTER SPECIFICUS.

ERICA, antheris muticis, inclusis; corollis tubulato-ventricosis, læte sanguineis, fasciculatis, hispidis; foliis quaternis, rigidis, ciliatis.

DESCRIPTIO.

CAULIS flexibilis, erectus, cinereus, sesquipedalis; rami pauci, erecti, raro ramulosi.

FOLIA quaterna, ciliata, oblonga, convexa, subtus sulco exerata, petiolis brevibus, adpressis.

FLORES magni, sessiles, aggesti in capitulum, cernui, pedunculi hispidi, bracteis tribus foliis similibus instructi.

CALYX. Perianthium tetraphyllum, foliolis lanceolatis, hispidis, foliis similibus.

COROLLA, tubulato-ventricosa, læte sanguinea, hirsuta, ore obsolete quadrifida; pollicaria.

STAMINA. Filamenta octo capillaria. Antheræ muticæ, inclusæ.

PISTILLUM. Germen cylindricum, hirsutum. Stylus filiformis, sub-exsertus. Stigma tetragonum.

Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.

Floret a mensi Augusti, in Aprilem.

REFERENTIA.

1. Calyx, et Corolla.

2. Calyx lente auctus.

3. Stamina, et Pistillum.

4. Stamina a Pistillo diducta; anthera una lente aucta.

5. Stylus, et Stigma, lente aucta.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

HEATH, with beardless tips, within the blossoms, which are of an inflated tubular shape, of a rich blood colour, hairy, and bundled together; the leaves grow by fours, are harsh, and lashed.

DESCRIPTION.

STEM grows upright, pliant, ash-coloured, and a foot and a half high; the branches are few, and upright, seldom branching.

The LEAVES grow by fours, are lashed, oblong, rounded on the upper surface, and deeply furrowed on the under side, with short foot-stalks, pressed to the stems.

The FLOWERS are large, growing in close bunches, fixed altogether at the end of the branches, bending downward; the foot-stalks are hairy, having three floral leaves, similar to the other leaves.

EMPALEMENT. Cup four-leaved, which are lance-shaped, hairy, and like the other leaves.

BLOSSOM, of an inflated tubular form, hairy, and of a rich red or blood colour, the mouth slightly cut into four segments; an inch long.

CHIVES. Eight hair-like threads. Tips beardless, and within the blossom.

POINTAL. Seed-vessel cylinder shape, and hairy. Style thread-shaped, nearly without the blossom. Summit four-cornered.

Native of the Cape of Good Hope.

Flowers from August, till April.

REFERENCE.

1. The Empalement, and Blossom.

2. The Empalement magnified.

3. The Chives, and Pointal.

4. The Chives detached from the Pointal; one tip magnified.

5. The Shaft, and its Summit, magnified.

ERICA cernua.

CHARACTER SPECIFICUS.

ERICA, antheris cristatis, inclusis; floribus umbellatis, cernuis, secundis, sub-ovatis, pallide-carneis; foliis quaternis.

DESCRIPTIO.

CAULIS fruticosus, erectus, pedalis; rami sub-simplices, erecto-patenti.

FOLIA quaterna, linearia, obtusa, subtus sulcata, sub-scabrida; petiolis brevissimis, adpressis.

FLORES in apice ramorem umbellati, cernui; pedunculi longi, colorati, bracteis tribus, linearibus, instructi.

CALYX. Perianthium tetraphyllum, foliolis minutis, subulatis, ciliatis, coloratis.

COROLLA sub-ovata, pallide-carnea; laciniis limbi acuminatis, sub-erectis.

STAMINA. Filamenta octo capillaria apice introrsum declinata. Antheræ cristatæ, inclusæ.

PISTILLUM. Germen turbinatum, fulcatum. Stylus cylindricus, sub-inclusus. Stigma obsolete tetragonum.

Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.

Floret a mensi Augusti in Decembrem.

REFERENTIA.

1. Calyx, et Corolla.

2. Calyx, lente auctus.

3. Stamina a Pistillo diducta, anthera una lente aucta.

4. Germen, Stylus, et Stigma, lente aucta.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

HEATH, with crested tips, within the blossom; the flowers grow in bunches, nodding, all pointing one way, nearly egg-shaped, and of a pale flesh colour; leaves growing by fours.

DESCRIPTION.

STEM shrubby, upright, and grows a foot high; the branches are almost simple, upright, and spreading.

LEAVES grow by fours, linear, blunt, channelled beneath, and roughish; having very short foot-stalks pressed to the branches.

FLOWERS grow in bunches, at the end of the branches, nodding; the foot-stalks are long and coloured, with three linear floral-leaves on them.

EMPALEMENT. Cup of four leaves, which are small, awl-shaped, fringed, and coloured.

BLOSSOM, nearly egg-shaped, of a pale flesh-colour; the segments of the border tapered, and nearly upright.

CHIVES. Eight hair-like threads, bent downward on the inner side. Tips crested, and within the blossom.

POINTAL. Seed-bud turban-shaped, and channelled. Shaft cylindrical just within the blossom. Summit obscurely four-cornered.

Native of the Cape of Good Hope.

Flowers from August, till December.

REFERENCE.

1. The Empalement, and Blossom.

2. The Empalement, magnified.

3. The Chives detached from the Pointal; one tip magnified.

4. The Seed-bud, Shaft, and Summit, magnified.

A SHORT DISSERTATION, &c.

Antecedent to the year 1772, the few species of this, now so numerous Genus, known in our British gardens, were, the E. vulgaris, E. Tetralix, E. cineria and E. vagans natives; the E. Dabœcii, from Ireland; the E. arborea introduced in 1748, from Madeira; the E. herbacea or carnea in 1763, from Switzerland; the E. mediterranea in 1765, from Minorca, and the E. scoparia, E. viridi-purpurea, E. australis, E. ciliaris and E. umbellata, from Portugal, between the years 1768 and 1707. The two other European species we possess, the E. stricta and E. multiflora, natives of Spain, have been but twelve years in cultivation with us. Of the African species, found within the district of the Cape of Good Hope and the adjacent territory, which have swelled the Genus to so great an extent; and which, but as an echo to the general voice, may be said to contribute, by the extreme brilliancy of the flowers of these species, more than any other, to the present splendor of our green-houses, were unknown, till the above æra, to our English botanists, but by name. In the year 1771 seeds of two species were received, at the Hammersmith nursery, from the Cape, both of them vegetated; the first which flowered, proving the E. tubiflora, of the Sp. Plant. of Linnæus; the other, from the resemblance it bears to the Spruce Fir, was then named E. abietina; but since, altered in the Kew catalogue, to E. concinna. Two years subsequent, 1774, Mr. Francis Masson, botanical collector to His Majesty at the Cape, laid the foundation for the celebrity of that superb collection at Kew, which for many years, with unrivalled lustre, far outshone all others, particularly by the number and variety of this most beautiful tribe of plants: for which we refer to the second Vol. of the catalogue of that garden; where the E. curviflora, E. lutea, E. cruenta, E. persoluta, E. baccans, E. marifolia, E. abietina, E. corifolia, E. paniculata, E. empetrifolia, E. spumosa, E. capitata, E. conspicua, E. cerinthoides, E. viscaria, E. Plukenetii, E. Petiveri, and E. petiolata, are all stated to have been of that year’s introduction. From this period, till within these few years, the accession was so rapid, that it would be difficult, nay nearly impracticable, to ascertain the precise date when most of the remaining species were introduced; as many different collectors were about this time, or shortly after, producing in their collections new species to which they each claimed the honour of priority of introduction; the enumeration of these, therefore, in succession would be but a list of names, and in no way illustrate the present subject. It will be nothing relevant to our purpose, to know how many Ericas were enumerated by Petiver, Plukenet, Hermann, Oldenland, Ray, &c. &c.; as, before Linnæus had, by his mode of classification, determined the precise limits of the Genus, the confusion that then pervaded all the elder Botanists is such, that any comment from them, would rather perplex, than elucidate. Wherefore, beginning with the Systema Naturæ of Linnæus, Vol. II. of 1767, including the European species, he there enumerates but 42; and Dahlgren, in 1770, edited a dissertation, under his eye, on the genus, containing a catalogue of 58 names from Bergius, the Mantissa, &c. Thunberg returning from Africa in 1772, added 13 to the number; all of which were inserted in the Supplementum Plantarum of 1781. From this last work, and some other sources, Murray has, in his Syst. Veg. of 1784, made up a Catalogue of 74 names. The last to be noticed, till the appearance of the Hort. Kew. is, the Dissertatio de Erica; published under the inspection of Thunberg, in 1785, with a list and descriptions of 91 species. In the year 1789, a Catalogue of the plants cultivated in the Royal Gardens at Kew, was published by Mr. Aiton; where, 41 Heaths are to be found in the 2d Vol.; and four in the addenda at the end of the 3d, making in all 45. Martyn in his Edition of Miller’s Dictionary, fasciculus of 1795, article Erica, enumerates but 84. Willdenow, collating from all the foregoing, and assisted by his friend Wendland, of the Royal Gardens at Herenhausen, Hanover; has mounted the list to 137, in his Species Plantarum, now publishing in continuation at Berlin. This, however, as will appear by the catalogue, falls far short of the number, we have now, in actual cultivation in Britain. From the great number of beautiful specimens lately received by G. Hibbert, Esq. many of which were accompanied by seeds, now living plants, contributing to the present richness of the extensive and superb Collection of that Gentleman at Clapham, and brought from the Cape of Good Hope by Mr. Niven, who was employed for the only purpose, of amassing the vegetable treasures of that country, to enrich the Clapham gardens, and herbarium; as well as, from the numberless importations, by different hands, of seeds, since we have been in possession of that territory; a fair conjecture may be made, that the Genus is not bounded, by double the number of species with which we are at present acquainted. Few, if any, of the species but have been increased by cuttings; which has occasioned the total disuse of propagation by layers; wherefore, the only methods we shall treat of, is this, and from the seed. The process for the making, and planting of the cuttings, is as follows. Let a middle sized pot be prepared by filling it, within three inches of the margin, with small broken potsherds, or some such matter; to the end that, a constant and ready drain may be gained for the water, which it will be necessary to give the cuttings, at any time the earth, &c. shall appear dry on the surface. Then consulting the list given with Volume 1st, take a sufficient quantity of sandy loam, sandy peat, or common sand, or a mixture of any of them finely sifted, to fill the pot up to the margin, and press it lightly with the hand; thus prepared it is fit to receive the cuttings. These must be taken about an inch long, or shorter, according to the nature and season of the plants making their fresh branches, from the smallest and tenderest shoots; cutting off the leaves from two-thirds of their length close to the shoot; for which a pair of small scissars is the most convenient. When a few are thus made ready, for not many should be cut at a time, lest they wither before they can be planted, with a small piece of wood, tapered to a point, dibble them into the pot; fixing the lower end of the cutting as firm as possible. When the pot has been thus filled with them, at about half an inch distance each way, leaving a clear half inch from the inner edge; cover them with a small bell-glass, procured as near as possible to fit within its inner rim, then place it under a large hand-glass, or frame, where it must be kept from the stronger rays of the sun, until the cuttings are rooted. Some time after this has taken place, which will be known by their growth, the small bell-glass must be first removed; about a week after, the pot may be taken from under the large hand-glass, and the plants exposed to the open air, in the shade of a north wall, or in winter put in the shady part of the green-house, to protect them from the sun and wind, till they are removed into separate pots. The seeds of some species, which ripen in this country, as well as those which may be procured from the Cape, may be sown about the middle of March, in pots, prepared in the same way as directed for cuttings; with this exception, that the earth be invariably sandy peat finely sifted; the seeds should be covered so slightly, that they may be but just concealed; when covered, they must be watered with a watering-pot whose rose, or head should admit of a passage for the water, only as a light dew; lest the seeds be all thrown together, or washed over the side of the pot. Both plants from cuttings, and seedlings, may be removed with greater safety whilst quite young, than after they have acquired a considerable size. The smallest pots that can be procured, are the best for the first transplanting; in which they should remain, till the pots are quite filled with roots. The earth in which all Heaths thrive most is a soft, loose, sandy peat. That nothing may be wanting, which we can contribute, to the illustration of the Genus; a list is subjoined, communicated by Messrs. Lee and Kennedy, of all those species cultivated by them at their nursery, Hammersmith; unquestionably, the most extensive collection, of living plants, of every denomination, now in Europe.

ERICA coccinea.

CHARACTER SPECIFICUS.

ERICA, antheris muticis, sub-inclusis, stylus exsertus; flores in sumitate ramorem, verticillati, clavati, curvati, coccinei; foliola calycis acuta; foliis senis, incurvis.

DESCRIPTIO.

CAULIS erectus, cinereo-fuscus, pedalis; rami verticillati, erecto-patentes, raro ramulosi.

FOLIA sena, incurvata, acuta, glabra, sub-glauca; petiolis adpressis.

FLORES in summite ramorum verticillati, conserti, brevissime pedunculati, bracteæ calyciformes.

CALYX. Perianthium tetraphyllum, foliolis subulatis, marginibus membranaceis, acutis, carinatis.

COROLLA curvata, elevata, pubescens, sanguinea; oris laciniis erectis.

STAMINA. Filamenta octo capillaria, longitudine tubi. Antheræ muticæ, sub-inclusæ.