ERICA obbata.
Reading edition
CHARACTER SPECIFICUS.
Erica, antheris basi bicornibus, inclusis; flores quaterni, terminales, erecti, ventricosi; limbus maximus, laciniis patentibus, rotundatis, crenulatis; glandulæ octo fauci circumpositæ; foliis quaternis, reflexis, rigidis, ciliatis.
DESCRIPTIO.
Caulis fruticosus, pedalis ramosus; rami laxi, filiformes, sub-erecti.
Folia quaterna, reflexa, rigida, ciliata, subtus sulcata; petioli brevissimi.
Flores terminales, quaterni, erecti, glaberrimi, sessili; pedunculi brevissimi, bracteis tribus ovatis, ciliatis, adpressis, instructi.
Calyx. Perianthium tetraphyllum, foliolis ovatis, concavis, ciliatis, adpressis.
Corolla ventricosa, basi quadrata, ore arctata, leviter striata, glaberrima; limbus maximus, laciniis crenulatis, rotundatis, patentibus; glandulæ octo, fauci circumpositæ.
Stamina. Filamenta octo, capillaria. Antheræ inclusæ, bifidæ, basi bicornes.
Pistillum. Germen acuminatum, basi glandulosum. Stylus filiformis, subexsertus. Stigma subtetragonum, purpureum.
Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.
Floret a mense Aprilis, in Junium.
REFERENTIA.
1. Calyx et Corolla. 2. Calyx, lente auctus. 3. Corolla. 4. Lacinia una limbi, aucta. 5. Stamina, anthera una lente aucta. 6. Pistillum, lente auctum.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Heath, with tips two horned at the base, within the blossom; flowers grow by fours terminating the branches, upright and bellied; border very large, segments spreading, rounded, slightly scolloped; eight glands placed round the mouth; leaves grow by fours, reflexed, harsh, and fringed.
DESCRIPTION.
Stem shrubby, a foot high, branching; branches loose, thread-shaped, rather upright.
Leaves grow by fours, reflexed, harsh, fringed, furrowed beneath; very short foot-stalks.
Flowers terminate the branches by fours, are upright, smooth, and sit close on to the branch; foot-stalks very short, having three egg-shaped, fringed floral leaves, which are pressed to the cup.
Empalement. Cup four-leaved, leaflets egg-shaped, concave, fringed, and pressed to the blossom.
Blossom bellied, squared at the base, straitened at the mouth, slightly striped, and very smooth; border very large, segments a little scolloped, rounded and spreading; eight glands surrounding the mouth.
Chives. Eight hair-like threads. Tips within the blossom, two-cleft, and two horns at the base.
Pointal. Seed-bud tapered, glandular at the base. Shaft thread-shaped, nearly without the blossom. Summit a little four-cornered, and purple.
Native of the Cape of Good Hope.
Flowers from the month of April, till June.
REFERENCE.
1. The Empalement and Blossom. 2. The Empalement, magnified. 3. The Blossom. 4. One segment of the border, magnified. 5. The Chives, one tip, magnified. 6. The Pointal, magnified.
