Leaves growing by fours, linear, pointed, between upright and spreading, smooth and shining, of a light green, with short leaf-stems pressed to the branches.
Flowers yellowish, sweet-scented, mostly four together, terminating the branches; having very short footstalks.
Empalement. Cup double; the inner one has four leaves, which are erect, ovate, and keel-shaped; the outer has three leaves, and rests on the former.
The Blossom oblong-egg-shaped, bluntly four-edged, contracted at the mouth, which is terminated by a four-lobed border, whose segments are equal, and rolled back.
Chives. Eight hair-like threads, nearly of a length with the pointal, crooked at their upper part, and fixed in the receptacle. Tips beardless, within the blossom, cleft, and fixed to the threads at their back.
Pointal. Seed-vessel inversely egg-shaped, furrowed with eight channels. Shaft linear, erect, nearly of a length with the blossom. Summit nearly four-cornered.
Native of the Cape of Good Hope.
In bloom from March till July.
REFERENCE.
| 1. The Empalement and Blossom. |
| 2. The Empalement magnified. |
| 3. The Chives and Pointal. |
| 4. The Chives detached from the Pointal, one tip magnified. |
| 5. The Shaft and its Summit magnified.[Pg 169] |