Corolla 5-petala. Nectaria 5 supra germen. Caps. 3. s. 5, coalitæ. Semina tecta.
Blossom. Five petals. Five nectaries above the seed-bud. Seed-vessels 3 or 5, joined together. Seeds covered.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Diosma ovata, foliis alternis, oppositis, odoris, supra glabris, infra punctatis, patentibus: floribus plerumque duobus, axillaribus, in medio ramulorum, albis. Caulis erectus: ramis simplicibus.
Diosma with oval leaves, alternate, opposite, and full of scent, smooth above, dotted beneath, and spreading. Flowers grow mostly two together from the axillæ of the leaves, about the middle of the branches, and are white. Stem upright. Branches simple.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. Seed-buds, honey-cups, chives, and pointal.
3. A petal.
4. A chive magnified.
5. Seed-bud and pointal.
Among the scented foliage characteristic of so many of the Diosmas the present species is by far the most powerful, and is the plant called Buku, so much used by the Hottentots, at the Cape of Good Hope, by way of perfume. They mix it with grease, and anoint themselves with it so profusely that a stranger can scarcely endure the effluvia of it. The D. serrata also possesses a similar scent, and is most likely used occasionally for the same purpose by the natives. Its scent, when rubbed, remains a long time, and by some is thought very pleasant, by others as disagreeable: a difference of opinion in general attending all very strong perfumes. The foliage has a very neat appearance, and the clear white flowers give it a lively aspect. Like several others of the genus, it blooms in winter and spring. Our figure was made from the Clapham collection.[Pg 65]
