ERICA sessiliflora.
Reading edition
CHARACTER SPECIFICUS.
Erica antheris aristatis, inclusis; stylo-exserto; floribus densissimè imbricato-spicatis, horizontalibus, sessilibus; corollis clavatis, sesquipollicaribus, albidis, apicibus viridibus; foliis quaternis; subulatis, glabris.
DESCRIPTIO.
Caulis strictissimus, rigidus, bipedalis; rami paucii erecti; ramuli verticillati, patentes, plurimi.
Folia quaterna, subulata, glabra, patentia, petiolis brevissimis, adpressis.
Flores sub apice ramorum spicati, imbricati, sessiles, horizontaliter siti.
Calyx. Perianthium duplex, exterius, triphyllum, foliolis spathulatis, concavis, carnosis, imbricatis; interius tetraphyllum, foliolis obcordatis, concavis, mucronatis.
Corolla clavata, albo-virescens, sesquipollicaris; laciniis obtusis, erectis.
Stamina. Filamenta octo capillaria, longitudine ferè corollæ. Antheræ aristatæ, inclusæ.
Pistillum. Germen turbinatum, sulcatum, ad basin glandulosum. Stylus filiformis, sub-exsertus, apice curvatus. Stigma obsoletè tetragonum.
Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.
Floret ab Augusto in Octobrem.
REFERENTIA.
1. Calyx, lente auctus. 2. Calyx, et Corolla. 3. Stamina et Pistillum, anthera una diducta et aucta. 4. Pistillum, magnitudine naturali, stigma auctum. 5. Germen, auctum.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Heath with bearded tips, within the blossom; shaft without, flowers grow in very close, tiled spikes, horizontal and close to the stem; blossom club-shaped, an inch and a half long, white with green ends; leaves grow by fours, awl-shaped, smooth.
DESCRIPTION.
Stem grows very upright, stiff, and two feet high; branches few, upright; small branches grow in whorls, spreading and numerous.
Leaves grow by fours, awl-shaped, smooth, spreading, foot-stalks very short and pressed to the stem.
Flowers grow in spikes near the end of the branches, tiled, without foot-stalks, and horizontal.
Empalement. Cup double; the outer, three-leaved, leaflets spatula-shaped, concave, fleshy and tiled; the inner, four-leaved leaflets inversely-heart-shaped, concave, with a small pointed end.
Blossom club-shaped, of a whitish green, an inch and a half long; segments blunt, upright.
Chives. Eight hair-like threads, the length nearly of the blossom. Tips bearded within the blossom.
Pointal. Seed-bud top-shaped, furrowed and glandular at the base. Shaft thread-shaped, just without the blossom, curved at the end. Summit bluntly four-cornered.
Native of the Cape of Good Hope.
Flowers from August, till October.
REFERENCE.
1. The Empalement, magnified. 2. The Empalement, and Blossom. 3. The Chives and Pointal; one tip detached and magnified. 4. The Pointal, natural size, the Summit magnified. 5. The Seed-bud, magnified.
