1. A Blossom complete, as it stands in the Empalement. 2. The four Petals of the Flower thrown open, to shew the situation and character of the tips. 3. The Seed-bud, Shaft, and Summit. It is to the curious and beautiful structure of the empalement, (the flowers being nearly concealed within it,) that this species of Protea owes its specific title, and for which it is so much admired. There are different varieties of it, which are considered by Thunberg, in his Diss. de Prot. of 1781, as distinct species; but which are certainly only varieties of one stock: we have drawings of two of these, the one flesh-coloured, the other white; and hope to be able to demonstrate as just, our postulatum, when the synonims are given, as proposed, at the close of this volume. This plant was first introduced to the Royal Gardens at Kew, from the Cape of Good Hope, in 1786, by Mr. F. Masson: it flowers at a very early age, and when the stem is not more than two feet high, mostly from the centre or leading branch of the plant. It is propagated by cuttings, which should be put in about the end of May, three or four, at most, in a pot, filled with good stiff loam, which should be pressed hard to the lower end of the cuttings, and the pot placed under a hand-glass in the shade. When the plants are to be removed into separate pots, it will be necessary to add a small portion of peat earth to the loam, and place them in an airy and dry part of the greenhouse. These directions are necessary to be observed, in the culture of nearly every species of this extended genus. Our figure was taken in the month of July 1799, from a plant in the Hibbertian collection, Clapham-common. [Illustration] PLATE CIV. LACHNÆA ERIOCEPHALA. _Woolly-headed Lachnæa._ CLASS VIII. ORDER I. _OCTANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Eight Chives. One Pointal. GENERIC CHARACTER. CALYX. Perianthium monophyllum, persistens; tubo longo, tenui; limbo quadripartito, inæquali; lacinia summa retrofracta, minima; laciniis reliquis tribus erectis; intermedia majore. COROLLA nulla. STAMINA. Filamenta octo capillaria, erecta, longitudine ferme floris. Antheræ simplices. PISTILLUM. Germen ovatum. Stylus filiformis, germinis lateri insertus. Stigma capitatum, hispidum. PERICARPIUM nullum. Fructus in fundo calycis. SEMEN unicum, ovatum. EMPALEMENT. Cup one leaf, remaining; tube long, slender; border of four divisions, unequal; the upper segment appearing broke back, and small; the three other segments are upright; the middle one the largest. BLOSSOM none. CHIVES. Eight hair-like threads, upright, almost the length of the flower. Tips simple. POINTAL. Seed-bud egg-shaped. Shaft thread-shaped, fixed into the side of the seed-bud. Summit a hairy knob. SEED-VESSEL none. The fruit is in the bottom of the cup. SEED one, egg-shaped. SPECIFIC CHARACTER.