duced into England in 1697, and is occasionally to be met with in collections. There are good plants of both the species and the variety in the arboretum of Messrs. Loddiges. Plants of the species, in London, are Is. 6d. each, and seeds Is. an ounce; at New York, 374 cents a plant. 10. R. RADI CANS L. Identification. Lin. Spec., 381.; Dec. The rooting-branched Rhus, or Sumach; or Prod., 2. p. 69.; Don's Mill, 2. p. 71. Spec. Char., &c. Leaf of one pair of leaflets and an odd one, the odd one upon a petiole; all glabrous and entire. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 69.) A native of North America. De Candolle has characterised three forms of this species as follows: 1 R. r. 1 vulgaris. Stem climbing by means of roots emitted from it; Description, &c. This species, in America, has a low shrubby stem, and forms a bush from 2 ft. to 3 ft. in height, whence shoots proceed near the bottom to the distance of 20 ft. or 30 ft. on each side, rooting at the joints, and completely occupying the surface of the ground. Placed near a wall or a tree, the shoots climb up, and root into the joints of the wall, or into the furrows of the bark of the tree, if the latter should be old. It is a native of many parts of North America, from Canada to Georgia; sometimes covering the surface of the ground to a great extent; and at other times climbing to the top of the highest trees, and penetrating the bark with its fibrous roots. When the stem is cut, it emits a pale brown sap of a disagreeable scent; and staining so powerfully, that letters or marks made upon linen with it cannot be obliterated, but grow blacker the more the linen is washed, not being acted upon by common chemical agents. (Churchill's Medical Botany, vol. ii.) In Bigelow's Medical Botany, it is stated, that the plant is as common in the woods of America as the ivy is in the woods of Europe; " and the terrible effects of its poison are so frequent, that there seems to be no doubt on the subject. An American young man, who was cutting wood, had his feet, hands, and arms so dreadfully blistered by an unwary approach to this plant, that he could not work for some days." Kalm relates that the plant is poisonous to some persons, but less so to others, and that the same thing takes place with respect to it as with R. venenata. (See p. 553.) He mentions the case of two sisters, one of whom could manage a plant of R. radicans without being affected by its venom; whilst the other felt its exhalations as soon as she came within a yard of it, or even when she stood to windward of it at a still greater distance. Kalm says that the poison had not the least effect upon himself, though he tried it in various ways, and once squirted the juice into his eye; but that, on another person's hand, which he had covered very thickly with it, the skin, a few hours afterwards, became as hard as a piece of tanned leather, and peeled off afterwards in scales. (Travels, i. p. 177., as quoted in Martyn's Miller.) R. radicans was introduced into British gardens in 1640, and is common in collections in two distinct varieties. One, a dwarf kind, about a yard or less in height, with several upright stems; and emitting from about the bases of these stems numerous prostrate runners, which extend several, sometimes many, feet from the plant, and root into the earth: the other rising to a much greater height, having fewer stems, and being but little prone to emit prostrate runners, but producing, in the upper part, flexile and rather long branches, that climb when contiguous to objects of support; perhaps rather by emitted fibres than by convolution. 11. R. (R.) TOXICODE'NDRON Lin. The Poison-tree Rhus, or Sumach. Identification. Lin. Spec., 381.; Hook. Fl. Bor. Amer., 1. p. 127.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 69.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 72. Synonymes. R. Toxicodéndron quercifolium Michx. Flor. Bor. Amer., 1. p. 182., Pursh Fl. Sept. Amer., 1. p. 205.; Toxicodéndron pubescens Mill. Dict., No. 2., R. T. serratum Mill. Dict.; the com mon Poison Oak, Poison Nut, Poison Vine. Engraving. N. Du Ham., 2. t. 48.; and our fig. 231. Spec. Char., &c. Leaf of one pair of leaflets, and an odd one, the odd one upon a petiole; all inciso-angulate, pubescent. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 69.) A native of North America. Dr. Hooker remarks, that American botanists are at variance with regard to the distinctive characteristics of R. Toxicodéndron and R. radicans. Nuttall says, that they are certainly different. Pursh, and most other authors, either unite them, or speak with doubt as to the value of their distinctive characters. (Hook. Bor. Amer., i. p. 127.) Description, &c. The general appearance of this shrub closely resembles that of R. radìcans, of which, in all probability, it is only a variety. The male flowers, which are produced on separate plants from the female ones, come out from the side of the stalks, on close short spikes, and are of a pale green. The female flowers are produced in loose panicles, agreeing in shape and colour with the males; but are larger, and have a roundish germ supporting three very short styles. This species is common in woods, fields, and along fences, from Canada to Georgia, where, like the Rhús radicans, it is known by the name of the poison oak, or the poison vine. R. Toxicodéndron was introduced into England in 1640, when it was cultivated in the Bishop of London's garden at Fulham; it is now frequent in collections. R. Toxicodéndron yields a yellowish milky sap, the properties of which, as an indelible ink, are similar to those of the sap of R. radicans. The plant in the garden of the London Horticultural Society, in 1834, formed a bush 5 ft. high, and 5 ft. in diameter, after having been 10 years planted; and it is there readily distinguished from R. radicans by its deeply sinuated, or almost pinnatifid, leaflets. iii. Thezèra Dec. Sect. Char. Leaf of 3-5 sessile leaflets, disposed palmately. Flowers in short racemes. Sexes dioecious. Styles 3, distinct, short. Drupe roundish, marked at the tip with 3 tubercles; the nut compressed. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 72.) 12. R. PENTAPHY'LLA Desf. The five-leafleted-leaved Rhus, or Sumach. Identification. Desf. Fl. Atl., 1. p. 267. t. 77.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 72.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 75. Synonymes. Rhamnus pentaphyllus Jacq. Obs., 2. p. 27.; R. Thezèra (from thezas, a point, in reference to the prickles), Pers. Ench., p. 325., Tin. Pug., 1. p. 7. Engraving. Bocc. Sic., t. 21. Spec. Char., &c. Branches bearing spines. Petiole indistinctly winged. Leaflets 3-5, linear-lanceolate at the tip broader, obtuse, entire, or having 3 teeth. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 72.) A shrub, growing to the height of 10 ft., a native of Sicily and Barbary, and introduced in 1816. lous and eatable, and the bark dyes red, and is used in tanning leather. The fruit is acidu 13. R. ZIZY PHINA Tineo. The Zizyphus-like Rhus, or Sumach. Identification. Schrank in Flora, 1819, p. 314.; Tin. Pug. Sic., 1. p. 8.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 72.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 75. Synonymes. Rhamnus tripartita Ucria, and Zizyphus tripartita Roem. et Schult Syst., 5. p. 342., and 6. p. 663. Spec. Char., &c. Branches divaricate, bearing spines. Leaflets 3, glabrous, glossy above, wedgeshaped, toothed more than half their length. Racemes terminal. (Dec. Prod., p. 72.) A shrub, found in the mountainous parts of Sicily, where it grows to the height of 4 ft. Introduced in 1800. fiv. Lobadium Dec. Sect. Char. Leaf of 3 leaflets, and palmately disposed on the tip of the common petiole, cut in a serrate manner, the teeth large. Flowers in a dense catkin. Sexes polygamous. There are two-lobed glands under the ovary, alternate with the stamens. Styles 3, short, distinct. Drupe rather compressed, villose. Nut smooth. Aromatic shrubs. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 72.) 14. R. SUAVE'OLENS Ait. The sweet-scented Rhus, cr Sumach. Identification. Ait. Hort. Kew., 1. p. 368.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 72.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 75. Synonymes. Myrica trifoliàta Hortul., and, perhaps, of Lin.; Toxicodéndron crenatum Mill. Dict., No. 5. Spec. Char., &c. Leaflets oval, a little angular in the middle, glabrous. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 72, 73.) A native of Carolina, where it grows to the height of 6 ft., and produces its greenish-yellow flowers in May. It was introduced in 1759, but is not common in collections; is, in all probability, the same as the following sort. 15. R. (s.) AROMATICA Ait. The aromatic Rhus, or Sumach. Identification. Ait. Hort. Kew., 1. p. 367.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 73.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 75. Spec. Char., &c. Leaflets oval, a little angular in the middle, pubescent in a pilose manner. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 73.) A native of North America, in Kentucky, and from Pennsylvania to Carolina, where it grows to the height of 6 ft. Introduced in 1772. Nuttall has stated that the drupes are acid and eatable. The flowers are yellow, in dense terminal spikes. The plant in the Horticultural Society's Garden was, in 1834, 4 ft. high, after being 10 years planted. App. i. Other Species of Rhús, hardy and half-hardy. In Don's Miller, ninety-seven species of this genus are described; but, if it were possible to bring them all together, and cultivate them in the same garden, we question much if there would be found more than a fourth part of them entitled to be considered specifically or permanently distinct. We judge of those which we have not seen from those which we have observed for years in British gar. dens; and, as as we feel quite confident that R. typhina, R. viridifiòra, and R. glabra are one and the same species, and R. Toxicodéndron and R. radicans are also only one species, so we do not think it likely that the species, or names given as species, under the other sections, are more distinct. It is the business of botanical writers, however, to record all these names with their descriptions; and of cultivators, to endeavour to procure them for their gardens, in order to compare them together; for which last reason we subjoin the following names : R. lobata Hook. (Ft. Bor. Amer., i. p.127. t. 46.) is a very handsome species, or perhaps only a tolerably distinct variety, closely resembling R. Toxicodéndron var. quercifolium, at least, as the plant bearing that name appears in the garden of the London Horticultural Society. Dr. Hooker says, "Although nearly allied as this [R. lobàta] is to the two preceding species [R. radicans and R. Toxicodéndron], I nevertheless venture to consider it distinct. Its general habit is very different, having erect straight stems, and numerous small leafy branches. The leaflets, besides that they are deeply lobed with acute sinuses, are truly ovate, very obtuse, and greatly smaller than in any state of R. Toxicodendron or R. radicans which I have seen: the panicles, too, are exceedingly numerous, and large in proportion to the size of the leaf." (Fl. Bor. Amer., i. p. 127.) The shrub was discovered by Douglas, on the outskirts of woods in dry soils in North-west America, particularly at Fort Vancouver. not yet introduced, but appears to be a very desirable variety. It is R. acuminata Dec. (Don's Mill., ii. p. 70.), a native of Nepal, and hardy; not yet introduced. R. Amèla D. Don (Don's Mill., ii. p. 72.), the R. Bucku-Amela of Hort. Brit., is a Nepal tree, growing to the height of 4 ft., with dioecious flowers, disposed in large terminal spikes. It is marked as having been introduced in 1823, and as requiring the protection of a frame. It seems a most desirable species; but we have not seen it. R. bahamensis G. Don (Don's Mill., ii. p. 72.) is a climbing shrub, a native of the Bahama Islands, not yet introduced, probably only a modification of R. radicans. R. Oryacántha and R. oryacanthoides of Hort. Brit., the R. Oxyacántha and R. dioica of Don's Miller, the first introduced in 1823, and the last in 1825, are considered hardy; but they are rarely to be met with in gardens. (See, also, several species enumerated under Anacardiaceæ of the Himalaya, p. 174.) The frame and green-house species of Rhús are numerous, as will be seen by a glance at our Hort. Brit., p. 110. When tried in the open air, many of them will probably be found hardy, and perhaps all of them half-hardy. R. heterophýllä, generally kept in the green-house, was planted against a wall in the garden of the London Horticultural Society, in 1832, and is found quite hardy. We anticipate the hardiness of most of the other species from their habits; viz. from their being generally deciduous, in the open air, in the neighbourhood of London; producing their shoots rapidly, and so early in the season as to allow time for their ripening before the approach of frost; and from their having no visible buds in the shoots, but numerous germs in the roots: a proof that a great part of the vitality of the plant is under ground, and, consequently, comparatively safe from the influence of the weather. GENUS III. DUVAU'A Kth. THE DUVAUA. Lin. Syst. Polygàmia Monc'cia. Identification. Kth. Gen. Tereb., p. 8.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 74.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 76.; Lindley in Bot. Reg., t. 1568. 1573. 1580. Synonymes. Schinus sp. Andr.; Amyris sp. Cav. Derivation. Called Duvaúa, "after M. Duvau, a French botanist, known as the editor of the original edition of Richard's Analyse du Fruit; and for some observations on Verónica." (Lindley, in Bot. Reg., t. 1568.) Sexes Gen. Char., &c. Calyx persistent, with 4-5 segments. Corolla of 4-5 concave petals. monœciously polygamous. Stamens 8-10, inserted under a pitcher-shaped calycine disk, which has as many sinuses and as many teeth as there are stamens: these are opposite the sinuses, and half of them opposite the petals, and half of them alternate with them. Anthers in the fruitbearing flowers barren. Ovary conical, including one ovule, barren in some flowers. Styles 3-4. Stigmas capitate. Fruit a globose drupe, with a leathery nut, whose seed is pendulous, and has flat cotyledons, and a long radicle.-Chilian trees and shrubs, becoming spiny as they advance in growth; their leaves simple, and their flowers disposed in axillary racemes, many in a raceme. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 74., and Lindley, in Bot. Reg., t. 1568. 1573. 1580.) There are four species in cultivation, which are all very handsome evergreen bushes, with bright shining foliage; the leaves rather small, oblong, and toothed; with numerous small flowers of a greenish yellow, and small dry berries. Properties and Uses. The foliage emits, when bruised, a strong but not unpleasant odour of the nature of turpentine; and it is probable that this odour pervades all parts of the plants, especially those in which the sap is most abundant. A pretty phenomenon is exhibited by the leaves of D. ovata, and, doubtless, by those of every species of Duvaúa and of Schinus, when thrown upon water, both in a whole state and when broken into pieces. The leaves, or parts of leaves, "after lying a short time, will be found to start and jump as if they were alive, while at the instant of each start a jet of oily matter is discharged into the water. This circumstance appears to be owing to some peculiar irritability of the parenchyma of the leaves, which, when acted upon by water, causes the turpentine sacs, that abound in them, to empty themselves with violence; and the movements of the leaves may be ascribed to the recoil produced by the discharge. Thus we have in every leaf a sort of vegetable battery, which will keep up its fire until the stock of ammunition is expended." (Bot. Reg.) The movements of the leaves upon the water have been compared to a fleet of ships employed in manœuvring, or to persons engaged in dancing. (Gard. Mag., vol. ix. p. 377.) Dr. Gillies states that the Pehuenco Indians prepare by fermentation an intoxicating liquor from the fruit of D. latifòlia, or a nearly allied species. (Bot. Reg.) Propagation and Culture. Seeds have been produced plentifully in the London Horticultural Society's garden by D. dependens, trained to a south wall; and seeds of D. latifolia are often imported from Chile. Plants of this genus may also be multiplied by cuttings of the ripe wood struck in sand, under a bell-glass, in a gentle heat. The species will not bear the climate of London without protection from frost; but, if trained to a wall, and sheltered by a roof of thatch in winter, they succeed perfectly in short, they are about as hardy as myrtles." (Bot. Reg.) D. ovata, and, it is probable, all the species, "will grow in any soil or situation which is dry in summer, and well drained in winter; and would probably succeed in the crevices of rocks in Devonshire or Cornwall." (Bot. Reg.) D. dependens, D. ovata, and D. latifòlia have flowered in the London Horticultural Society's Garden, the two former in July, and plentifully; the last in June and July, but, it seems by the figure in Bot. Reg., much less abundantly than the other two. The fruit produced by D. dependens consists of small, dry, blackish purple berries. The species appear highly desirable to all who have a conservative wall, if it were only to excite an interest in plants in the minds of children, by exhibiting to them the curious action of the leaves. 21. D. DEPENDENS Dec. The drooping-branched Duvaua. Identification. Dec. Prod., 2. p. 74.; Don's Mill, 2. p. 75.; Synonymes. Amyris polygama Cav. Icon., 3. p. 20. t. 239.; Engravings. Cav. Ic., t. 239.; Bot. Reg., t. 1573.; and our fig. 232. 232 Spec. Char., &c. Leaves mostly, especially upon the flowerbearing branches, obovate, and very obtuse, or even emarginate, with scarcely any denticulations. Racemes scarcely exceeding the leaves in length. Stamens mostly 10. Flowers smaller than those of D. ovata. (Lindley, in Bot. Reg., t. 1573.) A tree, a native of Chili, where it is called Huinghan. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 74.) Introduced in 1790. There is an old plant of it in the Botanic Garden at Kew, against a wall with a west aspect, which has attained a considerable size, with very little protection. There is also a tree in the Chelsea Botanic Garden, which is 12 ft. high, with a trunk 7 in. in circumference, after having been 5 years planted. The plant in the London Horticul tural Society's Garden has passed seven winters against a wall with a southern exposure. The winter of 1835-6 having been unusually severe, has withered the leaves and the smaller shoots of this and of some other species of Duvaúa in this garden; but, on examining the trees, April 20. 1836, we find the stronger shoots, and the trunk and branches, uninjured, and buds and leaves rapidly developing themselves. 2. D. OVA TA Lindl. The ovate-leaved Duvaua. Identification. Lindl. in Bot. Reg., t. 1568. Engraving. Bot. Reg., t. 1568. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves ovate, toothed, in most acute at the tip, in some obtuse. Racemes a little longer than the leaves. Stamens mostly 8. (Lindley, in Bot. Reg., t. 1568.) Nearly related to D. dependens; "but the plants are so different when growing side by side, that we cannot think it right to combine them." (Lindley.) About 6 ft. high. Branches spinescent. Introduced about 1825 or 1826. The plant in the Horticultural Society's Garden was planted in 1831. To us it appears only a variety of the preceding species. 3. D. LATIFO`LIA Gill. The broad-leaved Duvaua. Identification. Gillies MSS.; Lindl. in Bot. Reg. t. 1580. 233 Racemes Spec. Char., &c. Leaves oblong, acute, coarsely toothed, so alleges, has been the case with Zizània aquática; and the second, according to Dr. Walker, with Passiflora cærulea. 4. D. DENTATA Dec. The toothed-leaved Duvaua. Identification. Dec. Prod., 2. p. 74.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 76. Synonyme. Schinus dentata Andr. Bot. Rep., t. 620. Q Q |