ERICA petiveriana aurantia.
Reading edition
CHARACTER SPECIFICUS.
Erica, antheris muticis, exsertis; corolla conica, aurantia, incurvata, pollicaris, limbo inflato clauso; calycinis foliolis imbricatis, subovatis, mucronatis, rigidis; floribus subternis, terminalibus; foliis ternis, linearibus, rigidis, obtusis, patentibus.
DESCRIPTIO.
Caulis erectus sesquipedalis, fuscus; rami tecti ramulis ternis, consertis, patentibus.
Folia terna, linearia, rigida, sub-scabra, subtus sulcata, obtusa, patentia.
Flores sub-terni, ramulorum terminales incurvati, penduli; pedunculi brevissimi.
Calyx. Perianthium duplex, exterium, tetraphyllum, foliolis lato ovatis, rigidis, luteis, adpressis, imbricatis; interium, tetraphyllum, foliolis priori similibus sed duplo longioribus.
Corolla conica, calyce triplo longior, aurantia; laciniis limbi ovatis, erectis, inflatis, incurvis.
Stamina. Filamenta octo, linearia, plana. Antheræ muticæ, exsertæ, lineares, corollæ longitudine, planæ, rubro-fuscæ.
Pistillum. Germen ovatum, sulcatum. Stylus, filiformis longitudine antherarum. Stigma obsolete-tetragonum.
Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.
Floret a Martio in Maium.
REFERENTIA.
1. Flos. 2. Calyx auctus. 3. Stamina, et Pistillum. 4. Stamina libera, anthera una diducta lente aucta. 5. Pistillum, magnitudine naturali. 6. Germen, lente auctum.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Heath with beardless tips, without the blossom, which is cone-shaped, orange, incurved and an inch long, the border swelled and shut; leaflets of the empalement tiled, nearly egg-shaped, pointed, harsh; flowers mostly by threes, terminal; leaves by threes, linear, harsh, blunt, and spreading.
DESCRIPTION.
Stem upright, a foot and a half high, brown; branches covered by smaller branches growing by threes, close together and spreading.
Leaves grow by threes, linear, harsh, rather rough, furrowed beneath, blunt and spreading.
Flowers grow mostly by threes, terminating the small branches, turned inwards and hanging down; foot-stalks very short.
Empalement. Cup double, the outer, three-leaved, leaflets broad-egg-shaped, harsh, yellow, pressed to the inner ones and tiled; the inner, four-leaved, leaflets like those of the outer, but twice the length.
Blossom conical, thrice the length of the cup, orange-coloured; segments of the border egg-shaped, upright, swelled out and incurved.
Chives. Eight linear, flat threads. Tips beardless, without the blossom, linear, the length of the blossom, flat and of red-brown.
Pointal. Seed-bud egg-shaped, furrowed. Shaft thread-shaped, the length of the tips. Summit bluntly four-cornered.
Native of the Cape of Good Hope.
Flowers from March till May.
REFERENCE.
1. A Flower. 2. The Empalement magnified. 3. The Chives, and Pointal. 4. The Chives free, one tip detached, magnified. 5. The Pointal, natural size. 6. The Seed-bud magnified.
