FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75  
76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   >>  
ta, C. 345. Oppositifolia, C. 492. Speciosa, C. 1790. These three all purple, and scarcely distinguishable from sweet pease-blossom, only smaller. Stipulacea, C. 1715. Small, and very beautiful, lilac and purple, with a leaf and mode of growth like rosemary. The "Foxtail" milkwort, whose name I don't accept, C. 1006, is intermediate between this and the next species. 15. Mixta, C. 1714. I don't see what mingling is meant, except that it is just like Erica tetralix in the leaf, only, apparently, having little four-petalled pinks for blossoms. This appearance is thus botanically explained. I do not myself understand the description, but copy it, thinking it may be of use to somebody. "The apex of the carina is expanded into a two-lobed plain petal, the lobes of which are emarginate. This appendix is of a bright rose colour, and forms the principal part of the flower." The describer relaxes, or relapses, into common language so far as to add that 'this appendix' "dispersed among the green foliage in every part of the shrub, gives it a pretty lively appearance." Perhaps this may also be worth extracting. "Carina, deeply channeled, _of a saturated purple_ within, sides folded together, so as to include and firmly embrace the style and stamens, which, when arrived at maturity, upon being moved, escape elastically from their confinement, and strike against the two erect petals or alae--by which the pollen is dispersed. "Stem shrubby, with long flexile branches." (Length or height not told. I imagine like an ordinary heath's.) The term 'carina,' occurring twice in the above description, is peculiar to the structure of the pease and milk-worts; we will examine it afterwards. The European varieties of the milkwort, except the chamaebuxus, are all minute,--and, their ordinary epithets being at least inoffensive, I give them for reference till we find prettier ones; altering only the Calcarea, because we could not have a 'Chalk Juliet,' and two varieties of the Regina, changed for reason good--her name, according to the last modern refinements of grace and ease in pronunciation, being Eu-vularis, var. genuina! My readers may more happily remember her and her sister as follows:-- 16. (I.) Giulietta Regina. Pure blue. The same in colour, form, and size, throughout Europe. (II.) Giulietta Soror-Reginae. Pale, reddish-blue or white in the flower, and smaller in the leaf, otherwise like the Regina. (III.) Giulietta De
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75  
76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   >>  



Top keywords:

Giulietta

 

Regina

 

purple

 

appearance

 

carina

 

flower

 

dispersed

 

ordinary

 

colour

 
varieties

appendix
 
description
 

milkwort

 
smaller
 

occurring

 
reddish
 
Reginae
 

structure

 

Europe

 

peculiar


confinement

 

strike

 
elastically
 
escape
 

maturity

 

petals

 

Length

 

branches

 

height

 

examine


imagine

 

flexile

 

pollen

 

shrubby

 

changed

 

reason

 

Juliet

 
happily
 

readers

 

vularis


genuina

 

pronunciation

 
modern
 

refinements

 

remember

 

sister

 
epithets
 
inoffensive
 

minute

 
European