PLATE CCLXXI.
A S C L E P I A S G I G A N T E A.
Gigantic Swallow-wort, or Auricula tree.
CLASS V.
PENTANDRIA DIGYNIA.
ORDER II.
I*'ive Chives. Two Pointais.
G E N E R I C CHARACTER.
C A L Y X . Penanthium quinquefidum, acutum,
parvum, perfiftens.
C O K O L L A . Monopetala, plana vel rcfli.r.a, q u i n -
q u r p a r t i l a , laciniis ovato-acuminatis, levit
e r c um fule flexis.
Nrctaria quinqué, t u b o filnmentorum infra
a n t h c r a s adnata, carnofa leu cucullata, e
fundo c o r n i c u l um aculuui i n t r u r f nm flexum
exferentia.
S T A M I N A . Filaments quinqué, in lubum, baft
ventrieolum, counata. Anthcrx oblonga;,
erecta;, biloculares, membrana inflcxa, ftigmati
incumbente terminara-, u t r i n q u c ala
reverfa deorfum latefccnte. Pollen counatus
in corpufcula decern, obverfe-lanceolata,
plana, in loculis i n t h e n e dependí
i.ii.i e nlis brevibus, ficpe flexuofis;
quae per paria annexa font tubcreulis q u i n qué,
cart if i g í n c i s , d i dy mis, a n g u l i s lligmatis,
i n t e r anthera>, adbaerentibus.
P I S T I L I . A . Germina duo, oblonga, acuminata.
Styll duo, (ubulari.- Stigma utrifque commune,
magnum, craflum, pentagonum,
fupra apicibus a n t h c : a r um tectum, media
u m b i l i r a t t i m .
P R U I C ABPieM.Folltculiduo,magni,oblongi,acum
i n a t i , ventricoli, u n i l o c u l a r s univalves.
S E M I N A numeróla, imbricata, pappo corónala.
Rcceptaculum niembranaceum, libe r u m .
E M I ' A L E M E S T . Cup five-cleft, tharp, fmall, r e maining.
BLOSSOM one petal flat or rcflexed, five-parted ;-
divifions pointedly cgg-iliaped, (lightly
bending with the fun.
Honey-cups five, growing to the t u b e of t he
threads below the tips, ilelhy or hooded,
protruding a fliarp horn from the bottom
which bends inwards.
C H I V E S . Five threads collected into a tube
fwelling at the bafe. Tips oblong, upright,
two-celled, terminated by an inflex memb
r a n e laying ou t h e fummit, having a reverted
wing on each (ide, g r o w i n g broader
downwards. The pollen is collected into
ten fmall bodies inverfely tancc-ihaped,
flat, hanging down into the cells of t he
tips by iliort threads, often flexible, which
are fixed by pairs to five Ikinny twin tubercules,
adhering to t h e angles of t h e fummit,
between the tips.
P O I N T A L S . Seed-buds two, oblong, tapered.
Shads two, a w l - l h a p e d . Summit common
to both, largo, thick, five-cornered, covered
at top by the ends of the tips, umbilicate
in the middle.
SEED-VESSEL. T W O pods, large, ublong, tapered,
bellied, one celled, one valved.
SEERS numerous, tiled, crowned w i t h a feather.
Receptacle (kinny, (tee.
S P E C I F T C C H A R A C T E R.
Asclepias foliis candidis, obovato-oblongis;
tiolis b r e v i i l i m i s ; laciniis corolla: refle:
T I I E C
Swallow-wort w i t h whitened leaves, between i n verfely
egg-thaped and o b l o n g ; foot-flalks
11 very fhort; fegments of t h e bloflom reflexed.
R E F E R E N C E TO T H E P L A T E.
1. T h e Empalement.
2. The C h i v e s and Pointal, natural fize.
3. T h e Chives and Pointal, without the five outer feales or honey-cups, magnified.
4. One of t h e outer fcalcs, magnified.
5. One of t h e inner, upright feales, which furround the feed-buds, magnified.
6. T h e Seed-buds, Shafts and Summit, with the chives a t t a c h e d to t h e fommit, magnified,
j a n t i c Swallow-wort, a native of the Eaft Indies, is a very lender hot-boufe plant; is very
fubject to lofe its leaves in winter, and requires t h e afiiflauce of the bark-bed to keep it in perfection.
I n the K e w Catalogue, it is faid to have been cultivated fo long ago as t h e year lfjrjo, at the Royal
Gardens, Hampton Court. To render it vigorous and flonrilhiug, it Ihould be planted in rich e a r t h;
compoied of, one half rotten d u n g , a n d t h e o t h e r leaf mould and loam; and watered but fparingly in
winter. It is feldum propagated but from feeds, which are frequently procured from the Eaft, and
as often from the Weft Indies. In the illand of Jamaica, it is known by t h e name of the Auricula
t r e e , where it a t t a i n s t o the height of fix or feven feet. Our d r a w i n g was t a k e n from a moft magnificent
fpecimen, obligingly fent us b y M r s . M e t h u e n , (of which our figure reprefents but a fmall (ide
b u n c h ) , meafuring above a foot in diameter. The plant, we believe the fined in E n g l a n d , is in the.
c o t l e a i o n of Paul Methuen, Efq. CorJham, W i l t s.
M u c h as we are inclined to tread in the beaten path of our predecefibrs, and, more particularly,
t h a t of the greateft luminary of this intricate fcience, Linna;us, yet c a n we, b u t with regret, forbear
an a l t e r a t i o n we t h i n k fo necefi'ary, in t h e claflification of this genus. That the clafs Gynandria may,
or ought to be excluded from the twenty-four, we (hall not be fofward to give our futTrage, in
conjunction with fome modern reformers; and, as they t e rm tbemfelves, improvers upon t h e L i n n t e an
fyftem; but, whilft it is retained, this genus has (tronger claims, in our opinion, upon it, than any
which has h i t h e r t o been thrown to it. Indeed we had fo clafied it, upon fuch grounds had furmed
its generic c h a r a c t e r ; and had hopes, no one would have difputed our pofition as j u f t , upon an i n -
fpection of the diflectious annexed to the figure. Yet fearing, by fome, it might be confidered as a
perplexing innovation; for innovation in all cafes is certainly more or lefs fo, the genus having pafled
t h e fcrutinifing ordeal of fo many botanifis; we have, reluctantly, for the prefent, given up what,
neverthelefs, we lhall confider as nccetfary for fome boldei hand than ourielves to u n d e r t a k e.