, but it must be remembered, that the weather during that
period was uncommonly mild; it will be safest therefore to consider
it as a tender herbaceous plant.

It differs so much in its fructification from many others of the genus,
that Prof. MURRAY has considered it as a _Moraea_, with which,
in our humble opinion, it has scarcely any affinity.

[172]

LAMIUM ORVALA. BALM-LEAVED ARCHANGEL, or DEAD-NETTLE.

_Class and Order._

DIDYNAMIA GYMNOSPERMIA.

_Generic Character._

_Corollae_ labium superius integrum, fornicatum; lab. infer. 2-lobum;
faux utrinque margine dentata.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

LAMIUM _Orvala_ foliis cordatis inaequaliter arguteque serratis, corollis
fauce inflata, caulibus coloratis. _Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14.
Murr. p. 534._

LAMIUM maximum sylvaticum alterum. _Bauh. Pin. 231._

GALEOPSIS maxima pannonica. _Clus. hist. 2. p. 35._ Hungary Dead-Nettle,
or the Dragon Flower. _Park. Parad. p. 385._

[Illustration: No 172]

Few of the plants of this genus have been thought to possess sufficient
beauty for the flower-garden, the present one excepted, the magnificence
of whose blossoms justly entitles it to rank with the more curious, if
not the most beautiful of the vegetable tribes.

Though not common in our gardens, it has long been introduced, having
been cultivated and accurately described, though badly figured, by
PARKINSON in his _Parad. terr._

It grows spontaneously in the woods of Italy and Hungary, and flowers
with us about the latter end of April, at which time, if cold winds
prevail, it is apt to be injured, unless placed in a sheltered part of
the garden.

It may be propagated either by seeds, or by parting its roots in autumn,
is a hardy plant and grows readily.

[173]

AITONIA CAPENSIS. CAPE AITONIA.

_Class and Order._

MONADELPHIA OCTANDRIA.

_Generic Character._

Monogyna. _Cal._ 4-partitus. _Cor._ 4-petala. _Bacca_ sicca,
4-angularis, 1-locularis, polysperma.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

AITONIA _Capensis_. _Linn. Suppl. Pl. p. 303._ _Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed.
14. Murr. p. 612._

COTYLEDON foliis linearibus, flore quadrifido, fructu subrotundo. _Burm.
Afric. 53. t. 21. s. 2._

[Illustration: No 173]

This genus, of which there is only one known species, has been named by
the younger LINNAEUS, in honour of Mr. WILLIAM AITON, author of the
_Hortus Kewensis_, and Botanic Gardener to h