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Octandria Monogynia

Generic Character.

Cal. 4-phyllus. Cor. 4-fida. Filamenta receptaculo inserta. Antherae apice bifide, pertusae. Caps. 4-locularis, 4-valvis, polysperma. Specific Character and Synonyms.

ERICA ampullacea foliis ciliatis mucronatis, bractaeis coloratis, floribus umbellatis subquaternis erecto-patentibus, stylo exserto. The leaves are short, linear, somewhat triangular, rigid, edged with fine crooked hairs, very visible when magnified, and terminating in a mucro or point, on the older branches recurved and mostly eight-rowed; each branch is usually terminated by four or five flowers, at first growing closely together, and covered so strongly with a glutinous substance, as to look as if varnished, and which is so adhesive as to catch ants and small flies; as the flowering advances, they separate more widely from each other, and finally a young branch grows out of the centre from betwixt them; the true calyx is composed of four lanceolate leaves, sitting close to and glued as it were to the corolla; besides these, there are several other leaves, which might be mistaken for those of the calyx, but which may with more propriety be called Bractae, or Floral-leaves; some of these, like the calyx, are wholly red, others red and green mixed together, and broader than the leaves of the plant; the flowers are about an inch and a quarter in length, inflated below, and contracted above into a long narrow neck, dilating again so as to form a kind of knob, in which the antherae are contained, just below the limb, which divides into four somewhat ovate obtuse segments, the upper side of these segments is of a very pale flesh colour, the under side of them as well as the deliated part just below them bright red, the body of the flower flesh colour, marked with eight longitudinal stripes of a deeper hue; filaments eight, antherae within the tube; style projecting about the eighth of an inch beyond the corolla; stigma, a round glutinous head.

The flowers as they decay become of a deeper red colour, and finally pale brown, still retaining their form, and appearing to advantage:--hitherto the plant has produced no seeds here, is increased with difficulty, either by cuttings or layers, but with most certainty in the latter way.