ERICA stricta.
Reading edition
CHARACTER SPECIFICUS.
Erica antheris cristatis, inclusis, stylo exserto; corollis subovatis, ore arctatis, purpureis; floribus umbellatis, terminalibus; foliis quaternis, horizontalibus, obtusis, glabris.
DESCRIPTIO.
Caulis erectus, fruticosus, sesquipedalis; rami erecti, rigidi; ramuli verticillati, erecti.
Folia quaterna, glabra, obtusa, supra, plana, subtus sulcata, horizontaliter-patentia; petiolis brevissimis, adpressis.
Flores terminales, umbellati, cernui, umbellæ 6. ad 10 floræ; pedunculi colorati, longitudine florum, bracteis tribus, subulatis instructi.
Calyx. Perianthium tetraphyllum, foliolis ovato-lanceolatis, concavis, viridibus, glabris, obtusis.
Corolla subovata, glabra, cærulea-purpurea, ore arctata, laciniis minutis, reflexis.
Stamina. Filamenta octo, capillaria. Antheræ cristatæ, inclusæ.
Pistillum. Germen subrotundum, costatum, ad basin glandulosum. Stylus filiformis, exsertus. Stigma tetragonum.
Habitat in Lusitania.
Floret ab Augusto in Novembrem.
REFERENTIA.
1. Folium, lente auctum. 2. Flos. 3. Calyx, lente auctus. 4. Stamina et Pistillum. 5. Stamina a Pistillo diducta. 6. Stamen unum, auctum. 7. Pistillum, stigma auctum. 8. Germen, lente auctum.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Heath with crested tips within the blossom, shaft without; blossom nearly egg-shaped, narrowed at the mouth, purple; flowers grow in umbels at the end of the branches; leaves grow by fours, horizontal, blunt, and smooth.
DESCRIPTION.
Stem upright, shrubby, grows a foot and a half high; branches upright, stiff; small branches grow in whorles, upright.
Leaves grow by fours, smooth, blunt ended, smooth above, furrowed beneath, horizontally spreading; very short foot-stalks pressed to the branches.
Flowers terminate the branches, in umbels hanging down, umbels from 6 to 10 flowers; foot-stalks coloured, the length of the flowers having three floral leaves on them.
Empalement. Cup four-leaved, leaflets between lance and egg-shaped, concave, green, smooth and blunt.
Blossom nearly egg-shaped, smooth, of a blue purple, narrowed at the mouth, segments small, reflexed.
Chives. Eight hair-like threads. Tips crested, within the blossom.
Pointal. Seed-bud roundish, ribbed, glandular at the base. Shaft thread-shaped, without the blossom. Summit four-cornered.
Native of Portugal.
Flowers from August ’till November.
REFERENCE.
1. A Leaf, magnified. 2. A Flower. 3. The Empalement, magnified. 4. The Chives and Pointal. 5. The Chives detached from the Pointal. 6. A Chive, magnified. 7. The Pointal, the Summit magnified. 8. The Seed-bud, magnified.
