C 3 7 8 ]
n ' C U S C U T A europsea.
Greater Dodder.
T E T R A N D R I A Digynla.
G en. C har. Cal. 4-cleft. Corolla of one petal. Cap.
fule 2-celled.
Spec. C har. Flowers nearly feflile. Corolla without
fcales. Stigmas Ample.
S y n . C u fc u ta europsea. Linn. Sp. PI. 180. With.
Bot. Ar r . 1 6 5 . FI. Dan. t. 19 9 . inaccu rate.
"W " E have been led into an error in the firft volume of this
■ work, p. 55, concerning the molt common Britifh Cufcuta,
■ which, from trufting too much to the Linnsean fpecific character,
we there publiihed as the europcea, notwithftanding Dr. Stokes’s
juft remarks in the Bot. Arr. which ought certainly to hare
warned us. We however take the firft opportunity of correcting
this error, Mr. Sowerby having laft autumn received wild
fpecimens of the real europtea from Mr. Alexander Smith of
Aberdeen, and others from the Rev. Mr. Hemfted, which have
at the fame time verified the plant as a native of Britain, and
0 helped us to fix an efl’ential character between that and the other.
This character confifts in the total want of the neCtary, or more
properly fcales, at the bafe of the ftamina. The true europ<m
is alfo larger in all its parts, except that the ftyles are rather
fhorter, and generally more divaricated. The Ample ftigmas
of both thefe l'pecies diftinguifh them from C. americana, which
has capitate ftigmas. The number of ftamina, and fegments
of the corolla, varies from 4 to 5 in all the fpecies ; the latter
we have found the molt prevailing, at leaft in the Epithymum,
americana, and a new Eaft Indian fpecies', fo that perhaps the
genus ought to he removed to the 5th clafs. C. europaa grows
parafitically upon nettles, flax, thiftles, &c. flowering in Au-
guft and September, The corolla is very thin, pellucid, reticulated,
and permanent.
We beg leave to fubftitute the following fynonyms and characters
for thofe already given to our Fab. 55.
C U S C U T A Epithymum,
Lejfer Dodder.
Spec. C har. Flowers feffile. A fringed fcale clofe
at the bafe of each ftamen. Stigmas Ample.
Syn . Cufcuta Epithymum. Linn. Syjl. Veg. ed. 13.
140. With. Bot. Arr. 166. FI. Dan. t. 427. bad.
T h e fynonym of Ray probably belongs to this, being by
far the molt common, but the C. major of Bauhin mult be t
other. Britilh authors in general have either confounded t
two, or taken, as we did, the Epithymum for the europea.