Tips crested, and within the blossom. Flowers terminate the small branches in umbels of from 3 to 5, nodding. Footstalks short, with three floral leaves of the shape of the cup, and pressed to it. Blossom egg-shaped and swelled out, of a crystalline white, shining, and of the size of a pea: segments of the border rolled back. Leaves by threes, obtuse, linear, and between erect and spreading. Stem shrubby, upright, a foot and a half high, with numerous small branches. * * * * * Native of the Cape of Good Hope. In bloom from July till October. REFERENCE. 1. The empalement magnified. 2. The chives spread open, one tip magnified. 3. Seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified. 4. Seed-bud magnified. [Illustration] ERICA obbata, _var. umbellata_. DESCRIPTIO. Antheræ inclusæ, basi bicornes. Flores terminales, umbellati, conferti, pedunculis brevibus. Corolla ventricosa, nitidissime alba, basi quadrata, ore arctata, leviter sulcata. Limbus maximus; laciniis rotundatis, patentibus; glandulis octo fauci circumpositis. Folia quaterna, reflexa, rigida, ciliata, acuminata, subtus sulcata. Caulis fruticosus, pedalis, ramosus. Rami laxi, filiformes. DESCRIPTION. Tips within the blossom, and two-horned at their base. Flowers terminate the branches in umbels crowded together, with short footstalks. Blossom bellied, of a very shining white, squared at the base, straitened at the mouth, and slightly furrowed. Border very large. Segments roundish, and spreading, with eight glands surrounding the mouth. Leaves by fours, reflexed, harsh, fringed, sharp-pointed, and furrowed beneath. Stem shrubby, a foot high, branching. The branches are loose, and thread-shaped. * * * * * Native of the Cape of Good Hope. In bloom from May till August. REFERENCE. 1. The empalement. 2. A segment of the border magnified. 3. The chives and pointal, one tip magnified. 4. Seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified. 5. Seed-bud magnified. [Illustration] ERICA patens. DESCRIPTIO. Antheræ muticæ, sub-inclusæ. Flores in apice ramulorum, terni. Pedunculi breves. Corolla campanulata, purpurea; laciniis ovatis, concavis, maximis, expansis. Folia terna, ovalia, concava, glandulosa, obtusa, patentia; petiolis brevissimis adpressis. Caulis fruticosus, erectus, bipedalis. Rami et ramuli numerosi, verticillati, virgati, patentes. DESCRIPTION. Tips beardless, just within the blossom. Flowers terminate the small branches, by threes. Footstalks short. Blossom bell-shaped, and purple. The segments of the border are oval, concave, very large, and spreading. Leaves by threes, oval, concave, glandular, blunt, and spreading; with very short footstalks pressed to the branches. Stem shrubby, upright, two feet high. The large and small branches are numerous, whorled, twiggy, and spreading. * * * * * Native of the Cape of Good Hope. In bloom from February till June. REFERENCE.