ecurely it is caught, and thus this heedless
insect, as THOMSON calls it, terminates its existence in captivity most
miserable.
In the incomparable poem of Dr. DARWIN, entitled the _Botanic Garden_,
there is a figure given of this plant; and in the Supplement we have the
following account written by Mr. DARWIN, of Elston.
"In the Apocynum Androsaemifolium the Anthers converge over the
nectaries, which consist of five glandular oval corpuscles, surrounding
the germ, and at the same time admit air to the nectaries at the
interstice between each anther; but when a fly inserts its proboscis
between these anthers to plunder the honey, they converge closer, and
with such violence as to detain the fly, which thus generally perishes."
This explanation of a phaenomenon entitled to much attention, is widely
different from ours; which of the two is most consonant to truth and
nature, we shall leave to the determination of future observers.
In explaining the preceding appearances, to prevent confusion we called
those parts which form the cone in the middle of the flower Antherae, but
strictly speaking they are not such, the true Antherae being situated on
the inside of their summits, where they will be found to be ten in
number, making in fact the Apocynum a decandrous plant.
[281]
TURNERA ANGUSTIFOLIA. NARROW-LEAV'D TURNERA.
_Class and Order._
PENTANDRIA TRIGYNIA.
_Generic Character._
_Cal._ 5-fidus, infundibuliformis, exterior 2-phyllus. _Petala_ 5
calyci inserta. _Stigmata_ multifida. _Caps._ 1-locularis,
3-valvis.
_Specific Character and Synonyms._
TURNERA _angustifolia_ floribus sessilibus petiolaribus, foliis
lanceolatis rugosis acuminatis. _Mill. Dict. ed. 6. 4to._
TURNERA frutescens folio longiore et mucronato. _Mart. Cent. 49. t.
49._
This plant here represented is generally known to the Nurserymen about
London as the _Turnera ulmifolia_, or _Elm-leav'd Turnera_, its foliage
however does not answer to the name, nor to the figures of the plant as
given by MARTYN in his _Cent. Pl._ and LINNAEUS in his _Hortus
Cliffortianus_, which figures indeed are so similar that they look like
copies of each other, these represent the true elm leaf; on the same
plate of _Martyn's Cent._ there is given a very excellent figure of what
he considers as another species of Turnera, vide Synon. and which
MILLER, who cultivated it about the year 1773, also describes as a
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