E R I C A Tetralix.
Crofs-leaved Heath.
0 CTANDR1A Monogynia.
G en. Char. Cal. 4-leaved. Cor. 4-cleft. Stamina
inferted into the receptacle. Antheroe with 2 pores.
C aff, fuperior, of 4 cells. Seeds many.
Spec. Char. Antheræ bearded. Style nearly con-
■ cealed. Corolla ovate. Leaves in fours, ciliated.
Flowers in round heads. x
S y n . Erica Tetralix. Linn. Sp. P i. 502. Sm. FI.
B rit. 4 18 . Hudf. \66. W ith.^TS- Hull. 84.
Relb. 156 . Sibth. 12 4 . Abbot. S ']. Curt.Lond.
fa fc . 1. t. 2 1 . Dickf. H . S icc.fafc. 9. 4.
E . Brabantica, folio Coridis, hirfuto, quaterno. Raii
Sprt. 4 7 1*
T h e Crofs-leaved H e a th is p e rh ap s th e m o d beautiful of
a ll o u r fpecies, confidering th e extreme w ax -lik e delicacy of
its blofloms, w h ic h vary from deep rofe colour to every (hade
o f c a rn a tio n , an d even to a p u re w h ite . I t is lefs common
th a n E. vulgaris o r cinerea, an d chiefly grows in moifl
boggy mofly places, flowering in Ju ly and A u g u ft.
T h e ilems feldom rife fo h ig h as th e C om m o n L in g , and
a re determinate ramofi, th e b ra n ch e s fp rin g in g m a n y from one
c en tre . Leaves in fours, on ftalks, ovate, revolute, fprinkled
w ith g lan d u la r rigid hairs. Flowers in ro u n d te rm in a l heads,
d ro o p in g to o n e fide, re fembling a c lu fter o f berries. Calyx
fringed, an d furnifhed w ith 2 leaves o r b ra fte se a t its bafe.
Co ro lla e lliptical, inflated, w ith a fmall fo u r-to o th ed orifice,
n o t foon fa llin g off, b u t fh rin k in g before i t fades, b y which
m e an s th e ftyle, o rig in a lly concealed, becomes p rom in en t.
A n th e rse concealed, ovate, fp u rred . S tigm a g lobula r. The
leaves an d b ra n ch e s are o ften m ore o r lefs down y . Capfule
w ith p a rtitio n s from th e c en tre o f its valves, as in Andromeda,
a p u z z lin g c ircumftan ce for th e philofophical ftu d en t o f na tu
ral genera .