ERICA quadriflora.
Reading edition
CHARACTER SPECIFICUS.
Erica antheris cristatis, inclusis; stylo incluso; floribus terminalibus, quaternis; corollis globosis purpureis; calyce reflexo; foliis quaternis, ciliatis, flaccidis.
DESCRIPTIO.
Caulis debilis, sesquipedalis; rami plurimi, virgati; ramuli frequentissimi, erecto-patentes.
Folia quaterna, linearia, ciliata, flaccida, subtus lævissime sulcata, petiolis brevissimis.
Flores in apice ramulorum quaterni, cornui, purpurei; pedunculi filiformes, florum longitudine, bracteis tribus instructi.
Calyx. Perianthium tetraphyllum, foliolis subulatis, reflexis, ad basin coloratis.
Corolla globosa, purpurea, glabra; laciniis limbi minutis, obtusis, erectis.
Stamina. Filamenta capillaria. Antheræ cristatæ, inclusæ.
Pistillum. Germen turbinatum, sulcatum, atropurpureum. Stylus filiformis, inclusus, staminibus parum longior. Stigma tetragonum.
Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.
Floret a mense Junii in Augustum.
REFERENTIA.
1. Folium, lente auctum. 2. Flos. 3. Calyx, auctus. 4. Stamina et Pistillum. 5. Stamina et Pistillum, antheræ liberæ. 6. Stamen, auctum. 7. Pistillum, auctum.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Heath with crested tips, within the blossom; shaft within; flowers terminate the branches by fours; blossoms globular, and purple; cup reflexed; leaves grow by fours, fringed and flaccid.
DESCRIPTION.
Stem weak, a foot and a half high; branches many, twiggy; smaller branches very numerous, upright-spreading.
Leaves grow by fours, linear, fringed and flaccid, slightly furrowed beneath, with very short foot-stalks.
Flowers grow by fours at the end of the smaller branches, nodding and purple; the foot-stalks thread-shaped the length of the flowers, having three floral leaves.
Empalement. Cup four-leaved, leaflets awl-shaped, reflexed and coloured at the base.
Blossom globular, purple, smooth; segments of the border very small, obtuse, upright.
Chives. Threads hair-like. Tips crested, within the blossom.
Pointal. Seed-bud top-shaped, furrowed, dark purple. Shaft thread-shaped, within the blossom, a little longer than the chives. Summit four-cornered.
Native of the Cape of Good Hope.
Flowers from the month of June till August.
REFERENCE.
1. A Leaf, magnified. 2. A Flower. 3. The Empalement, magnified. 4. The Chives and Pointal. 5. The Chives and Pointal, the chives free. 6. A Chive, magnified. 7. The Pointal, magnified.
