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Synopsis: Ovid

NARCISSUS, named in honour of Narcissus, a youth beloved by Echo. The story will be found in the third book of Ovid's "Metamorphoses." It is by no means certain that the flower now known as the narcissus is that which Ovid had in view when he described the nymphs as looking in the water for the corpse of the hapless youth, but "Only found A rising stalk with yellow blossoms crown'd." It is, perhaps, a matter of very small importance, but it has been suggested that the narcissus is not an aquatic plant, and that the narthecium answers fairly to the conditions and the description, and may really be the narcissus of the fable. N.O., Amaryllidaceoe. LINNAEAN: 6, Hexandria; 1, Monogynia.--This is an interesting order, and should be carefully studied, more especially as to the points in which it agrees or differs with Liliaceoe, for grave mistakes are made by lovers of plants in determining the relations of members of these orders. All the amaryllids are herbaceous perennials, and the majority have bulbous roots, but this is not a constant character. The leaves are sword shaped; the flowers are hermaphrodite, with six divisions, the stamens six, the ovary three-celled, the fruit a three-celled capsule. In the narcissus will be seen a striking departure from the simple structure of the flower of a true amaryllis. The tube or corona in the centre of the flower has greatly perplexed the botanists, many of whom regard it as composed of confluent stamens. In the lovely eucharis, which may be called the Daffodil of the Amazons, we have a similar structure, and the same problem as to its origin. The amaryllids are scattered pretty freely about the world, both in temperate and tropical climates; they are mostly acrid in their properties, and not a few of them are decidedly poisonous. On the other hand, although the lilies are in some cases acrid and dangerous, very many of them are useful as food and medicinal plants, which is not often the case with amaryllids. In this order we have in addition to the narcissus, which is so acrid that cattle never eat it, the snowdrop, snowflake, nerine, crinum, pancratium, hippeastrum, agave, and vallota, all much-prized garden plants. TROPAEOLUM, from tropaion, a trophy. N.O., Tropoeolaceoe. LINNAEAN: 8, Octandria; 1, Monogynia.

PLUMBAGO, from plumbum, lead. N.O., Plumbaginaceoe. LINNAEAN: 5, Pentandria; 1, Monogynia. - Herbs or shrubs with alternate leaves, and regular flowers consisting of one-pieced calyx and corolla, each divided into four or five lobes. Stamens as many as the lobes, and placed opposite to them. A comparatively unimportant order, the principal members of which are the statice or sea lavender, the acantholimon, and the plumbago. All these are useful in one way or another in the arts and in medicine, some of the statices being employed in tanning leather, and the leadworts being emetic when taken internally, and powerfully stimulant to the skin when applied externally. GEUM, from geo, to stimulate, the roots of some of the species being employed in medicine, and sometimes as substitutes for Peruvian bark. N.O., Rosaceoe. LINNAEAN: 12, Icosandria; 3, Polygynia. The geum, or avens, is allied to potentilla, and is consequently a near relative of the bramble and strawberry. Instead of producing a succulent receptacle called for convenience a "fruit," the geums and potentillas produce dry carpels. They are of considerable importance, however, on account of the tannic acid of their roots, those of the common avens, or Herb Bennett, being sometimes employed to flavour ale, while the roots of the common tormentil are in the north used in place of hops in brewing. For botanical characters see summary under "Rosa,". HEMEROCALLIS, from hemero, a day, and kallos, beauty, in allusion to the brief duration of the flowers. N.O., Liliaceoe. LINNAEAN: 6, Hexandria; 1, Monogynia.

ACHILLEA, from Achilles, pupil of Chiron, who first used it in medicine. It is worthy of note that the mighty Achilles, who slew Hector at Troy, was trained in horse-riding by Chiron the Centaur. The coincidence makes the derivation doubtful. N. O., Compositoe, or Asteraceoe. LINNAEAN: 19, Syngenesia; 2, Superflua.

PELARGONIUM, from pelargos, a stork, in reference to the form of the fruit before the seeds separate. N.O., Geraniaceoe. LINNAEAN: 16, Monadelphia; 4, Heptandria.--This order is of great extent and importance, and deserves careful study. The order may for present purposes be divided into three sections--the Pelargoniums, or stork's-bills, which have irregular flowers; the Geraniums, or crane's bills, which have regular flowers, with ten stamens; and the Erodiums, or heron's-bills, which have five stamens. The showy plants of our gardens are pelargoniums, and mostly natives of Southern Africa. The British species of the order are true geraniums or erodiums, one of the loveliest being the blue geranium (G. pratense) of our wet pastures and sheltered valleys. All the plants of this order are herbs or soft-textured shrubs; many have velvety fragrant leaves; and the flowers usually consist of five pieces, which in the pelargonium are of unequal sizes, but in the geranium are all of the same size. The fruit is dry, sometimes awned, owing to a feathery growth of the styles, and this structure favours their transport by the wind. The order has no place in tropical vegetation; but many of the species are found in the warmer temperate climes, and most of them affect open prairie lands where they are fully exposed to solar light. In their properties they are astringent and balsamic, and a few are of importance in the arts. Their exceeding beauty and almost endless variety entitle them to the highest consideration of the garden botanist.

CUPHEA, from kuphos, curved, referring to the form of the seed-pods. N.O., Lythraceoe. LINNAEAN: 11, Dodecandria; 1, Monogynia.--The Loosestrife family consists of herbs, shrubs, and trees, very variously furnished with leaves and flowers, and consequently a troublesome one to the student. The leaves are usually simple; the flowers hermaphrodite; the calyx tubular, and the corolla is inserted in the summit of the tube. The principal genera are Lythrum--of which we have a fine example in our river-side plant, L. salicaria--Cuphea, Lagerstromia, Peplis, and Ameletia. A member of this order, the Physocalymma floribunda of Brazil, supplies the rosewood of commerce; and another, the Lawsonia alba of Egypt, is the source of the celebrated henna, or heune, which the ladies of the East employ for dyeing their nails and fingers. BEGONIA, named after M. Begon, a French botanist. N. O., Begoniaceoe. LINNAEAN : 21, Monoecia; 9, Polyandria.--This small but interesting order is of little importance in the arts, but of great interest to the botanist and the gardener. It consists of herbs and under shrubs with alternate leaves, almost invariably divided; the flowers are unisexual, and usually consist of four pieces. In the male flowers the stamens form a spherical head; in the female flowers the stigmas are equally conspicuous, and resemble those of a melon or cucumber. It is singular that a four-parted flower should produce a three-lobed fruit, but such is the fact, and it is somewhat of an anomaly. The position of this order has been much discussed, but appears to have been settled by Dr. Lindley, in his "Vegetable Kingdom." He says, "The real affinities appear to be with cucurbits, with which Begoniads accord in the unisexual flowers, peculiar stigmas, and even ternary number of the carpels. The discovery by Mr. Hartweg of Begoniads scrambling up trees and shrubs to the height of twenty-five feet renders the resemblance almost complete". The begonias are in some places eaten as salads, the leaves and stems being agreeably flavoured with oxalic acid. The roots are bitter and astringent. CRATAEGUS, from kratos, strength. N.O., Rosaceoe. LINNAEAN: 12, Icosandria; 2, Di-pentagynia.

LABURNUM, "from labor, denoting what belongs to the hour of labour, and which may allude to its closing its leaflets together at night, and expanding them by day." This explanation by Dr. Prior is so unacceptable that we prefer Professor Skeat's declaration that the derivation is unknown. Cytisus laburnum belongs to N.O. Fabacoe, or Leguminiferoe. LINNAEAN: 17, Diadelphia; 4, Decandria.

LYCHNIS, from lychnos, a lamp, in allusion to the colour of the flowers. N.O., Caryophyllaceoe. LINNAEAN: 10, Decandria; 4, Pentagynia.--As a near relative of the pink, carnation, and silene, the lychnis sustains the honours of the family by producing brilliant flowers. All the members of this order are herbaceous plants, or subshrubby; none of them are trees in any proper sense of the word. We have had clove carnations ten years old with stems as hard as flint, and as thick as a large man's thumb; but it is not often any of the pink tribe attain to so mature a condition. One of their constant characters is the jointed and forked growth of the stems; another is the simple form of the leaves, which are opposite, and often unite and clasp the stem. The flowers are usually hermaphrodite, consisting of five sepals and five petals; the stamens equal in number to the petals, or double; styles thread-like, bearing the stigmas on their internal surface; fruit a one-celled capsule. In this order occur, in addition to the plants already named, the cerastium, spergula, saponaria, and gypsophila. They are for the most part useless, and also for the most part harmless. It is often stated that the clove of the spice-box is the produce of a caryophyllaceous plant; but that is a mistake arising out of the name Caryophyllus aromaticus. This is a member of the family of myrtles. It is the spicy odour of the carnation that obtains for it the specific name Caryophyllus; but the two "cloves" are in the natural system separated by as many as ninety-four orders.

COREOPSIS, from koris, in allusion to the resemblance of the seed to a small beetle.--See under "Aster," in synopsis, First Series, page xi. ADONIS, named in remembrance of Adonis, son of Cynaras. N.O., Ranunculaceoe. LINNAEAN: 13, Polyandria; 6, Polygynia.