ERICA Massonia.
Reading edition
CHARACTER SPECIFICUS.
Erica, antheris muticis, inclusis; corollis sub-cylindricis, viscosis, speciosissimis, tricoloratis; foliis subquaternis, pilis longis vestitis.
DESCRIPTIO.
Caulis fruticosus, erectus, bipedalis, basi simplicissimus, dein ramosus, rami suberecti, foliis toti tecti.
Folia subquaterna, oblonga, serrata, pilis longis vestita, supra plana, subtus sulcata, petiolis brevissimis adpressis.
Flores subterminales, plures, simplice verticillati, cernuo-patenti, pedunculi pilosi, foliolis tribus subtus instructi.
Calyx. Perianthium tetraphyllum, foliolis lanciolatis, hirsutis, adpressis, apicibus revolutis.
Corolla subcylindracea, micans, viscosa, rubra, lutea et viridia speciosissime colorata, ore arctato, quadrisido.
Stamina. Filamenta octo capillaria, longitudine tubi, receptaculo inserta. Antheræ muticæ.
Pistillum. Germen clavatum, sulcatum. Stylus filiformis, subexsertus. Stigma tetragonum.
Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.
Floret a mensi Augusti ad Decembrem.
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 blossom, which are nearly cylindrical, clammy, most beautiful, and three-coloured; the leaves grow mostly by fours, and are entirely covered with long hairs.
DESCRIPTION.
Stem shrubby, upright, grows two feet high, simple at the base, then branching, the branches nearly upright, and quite covered by the leaves.
Leaves grow mostly by fours, oblong, sawed, clothed with long hairs, smooth on the upper, and furrowed on the under part, having very short leaf-stems pressed to the branches.
Flowers are numerous, in single whorls, near the summit of the branches, bending downward, and spreading, the foot-stalks hairy, with three small leaves fixed on their under part.
Empalement. Cup four-leaved, which are lance-shaped, hairy, pressed to the blossom, and rolled back at the point.
Blossom nearly cylindrical, shining, clammy, and most beautifully coloured with red, yellow, and green, narrow at the mouth, which is divided into four segments.
Chives. Eight hair-like threads, the length of the blossom, fixed into the receptacle. Tips beardless.
Pointal. Seed-vessel club-shaped, and furrowed. Shaft thread-shaped, rather without the blossom. Summit 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 and Pointal.
4. The Chives detached from the Pointal; one tip magnified.
5. The Shaft and its Summit magnified.
