ERICA Monsoniana.
Reading edition
CHARACTER SPECIFICUS.
Erica antheris aristatis, inclusis; stylo exserto; floribus terminalibus ternis; calyce duplici, albo; corollis oblongo-ovatis, candidissimis, fauce arctatis; foliis ternis, glabris.
DESCRIPTIO.
Caulis fruticosus, erectus, sexpedalis et ultra; rami erecti, pauci; ramuli frequentissimi, brevi.
Folia terna, glabra, in ramis adultioribus latiora, obtusa, in ramulis junioribus linearia, acuta, minora; petiolis brevissimis.
Flores in ramulorum apice terni, nutantes, albi, spicam quasi formantes prope caulis summitatem; pedunculi fere nulli.
Calyx. Perianthium, duplex, exterium tetraphyllum; foliolæ oblongæ, membranaceæ, obtusæ apice reflexæ, liberæ, coloratæ; interium foliolis similibus sed duplo majoribus priori.
Corolla oblongo-ovata, acuminata, glabra, fauce arctata, candidissima; laciniis reflexis, obtusis.
Stamina. Filamenta octo capillaria. Antheræ inclusæ, aristatæ, nigræ.
Pistillum. Germen oblongum, glabrum, ad basin glandulosum. Stylus filiformis, parum curvatus. Stigma tubulosum.
Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.
Floret a Maio, in Julium.
REFERENTIA.
1. Folia terminalia ramulorum ad basin florum. 2. Calyx 3. Corolla. 4. Stamina et Pistillum, anthera una diducta, lente aucta. 5. Germen auctum. 6. Pistillum, magnitudine naturali, Stigma auctum.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Heath with bearded tips, within the blossom; shaft without; flowers terminate the branches by threes; cup double, white; blossoms oblong-egg-shaped, of a very clear white, and narrowed at the mouth; leaves grow by threes, and smooth.
DESCRIPTION.
Stem shrubby, upright, grows six feet high, and more; branches upright, and few; smaller branches numerous, short.
Leaves grow by threes, smooth, on the older branches broader and blunt, on the younger linear, pointed and smaller; very short foot-stalks.
Flowers grow by threes at the end of the smaller branches, hanging down, and white, forming as it were a spike near the top of the stem; hardly any foot-stalks.
Empalement. Cup double, the outer four-leaved; the leaflets oblong, skinny, obtuse, turned back at the top, loose and coloured; the inner with leaflets like the other but twice the size.
Blossom oblong egg-shaped, tapered, smooth, narrowed at the mouth, of a very clear white; segments reflexed, blunt.
Chives. Eight hair-like threads. Tips within the blossom, bearded and black.
Pointal. Seed-bud oblong, smooth, glandular at the base. Shaft thread-shaped, a little curved. Summit tubular.
Native of the Cape of Good Hope.
Flowers from May, till July.
REFERENCE.
1. The terminating leaves of the smaller branches at the base of the flowers. 2. The Empalement. 3. The Blossom. 4. The Chives and Pointal, one Tip detached, magnified. 5. The Seed-bud, magnified. 6. The Pointal, natural size. Summit magnified.
