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Reclaiming Space
Reclaiming Space
Progressive and Multicultural Visions of Space
Exploration
Edited by
James S. J. Schwartz, Linda Billings, and Erika
Nesvold
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the
University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing
worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and
certain other countries.
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
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© Oxford University Press 2023
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in
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terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning
reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department,
Oxford University Press, at the address above.
You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same
condition on any acquirer.
CIP data is on file at the Library of Congress
ISBN 978–0–19–760479–3
eISBN 978–0–19–760481–6
DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780197604793.001.0001
For the dispossessed—of this planet, and of the stars
Contents
Index
Foreword
Lori Garver
The idea for this volume was first conceived in the autumn of 2016,
at the inaugural meeting of the Society for Social and Conceptual
Issues in Astrobiology (SSoCIA). It was there that two of us (Linda
Billings and James Schwartz) wondered aloud to one another about
putting together an edited volume dedicated to progressive, radical,
and “counter-culture” perspectives on space exploration and the
culture of spaceflight. Perhaps, we thought, we could assemble a
spiritual successor to Stewart Brand’s 1977 edited collection Space
Colonies (A Coevolution Book), which platformed a variety of
environmentalist critiques (and defenses) of space exploration during
the public commotion surrounding Princeton physicist Gerard
O’Neill’s advocacy for orbital habitats in the 1970s.
Beginning in the 2010s, however, it was no longer O’Neill’s “high
frontier” that was captivating spaceflight culture. Instead, it was
Richard Branson’s and Virgin Galactic’s efforts to grow the space
tourism industry. It was Jeff Bezos’s and Blue Origin’s plans to create
space-based industrial workforces. It was Elon Musk’s and SpaceX’s
mission to make humanity a “multiplanetary” species. In other
words, we are heirs to a spaceflight culture, ensconced as the
“NewSpace” movement, that by all appearances is dedicated to
promoting the interests of the most wealthy and powerful Earthlings.
This volume is a testament to the critical mass that has been
reached in response to the NewSpace movement. In 2020, when
Schwartz at last followed up with Billings about the idea for
Reclaiming Space, the volume came together remarkably—
breathtakingly—quickly. Erika Nesvold joined as coeditor within a few
short weeks. After a month, we had a dozen confirmed contributors
as well as proposals under consideration at several publishers. After
only another two or three months our contributor list had grown to
nearly thirty authors, and we had secured a publication contract for
the volume. Throughout this process, as editors, we have been
overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of our contributors. We are honored
to have constructed a platform from which so many individuals from
so many different backgrounds have chosen to speak, and we are
deeply grateful for their diligent and artful contributions, each
written under the many stressors inherent to life during a deadly
global pandemic. While our contributors are not individuals who are
opposed to space exploration, they all have concerns about how it is
proceeding, and they have many good ideas about how we can aim
for a better future, in space and on Earth.
We recognize at the same time that this book is long overdue, in
the sense that too few attempts have been made to invite culturally
nondominant perspectives into the space exploration conversation
(an error to which we editors, as privileged members of the
dominant culture, are not immune). We also recognize that this book
is inadequate, in the sense that no book, nor any proliferation of
books, could ever be sufficient for effecting positive changes on this
world and in the space and satellites that surround it, where
changes are badly needed.
Reclaiming Space: Progressive and Multicultural Visions of Space
Exploration is for a wide audience. Our aim has been to curate a
volume that is accessible to general space-interested readers, but
that also remains novel, meaningful, and informative to space
exploration researchers, employees of national spaceflight programs,
and members of the space industry. Its essays should be no more
difficult to read than something you might be asked to read in a
first-year humanities or social science course at university. We hope
it inspires younger minds just as much as it challenges the
assumptions of experienced experts.
A review of the biographies of our contributors will show a great
variety of home countries, backgrounds, expertise, and lived
experiences. While many of our contributors are academics who
work and teach at universities, some teach at other kinds of
institutions, some are artists, some are dancers, some are actors,
and some are award-winning authors of science and speculative
fiction. At the same time, all of our contributors are curious and
passionate about space. And all are eager to help us figure out how
to explore space in ways that substantially benefit all of humanity, as
opposed to benefiting only a privileged few.
Our academic contributors hail from disciplines as varied as
anthropology, astrobiology, astronomy, astrophysics, communication
science, law, linguistics, philosophy, and physics. This
multidisciplinarity appears even among the editors, as one (Nesvold)
earned her doctorate in astrophysics, another (Billings) earned her
doctorate in mass communication, and yet another (Schwartz)
earned their doctorate in philosophy. Let this highlight that there are
many ways to contribute to conversations about space exploration
and space policy—these are not domains that are reserved
exclusively for the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering,
Mathematics) disciplines. If indeed, as is commonly assumed in
spaceflight culture, we are obliged to extend human society into
space, it is not clear how we will do that without the help of all of
the disciplines, vocations, and artistries (as well as hobbies and
pastimes) that we require to maintain societies here on Earth. It
might be difficult to justify ruling anyone out of the conversation.
Certainly, there are many more voices and perspectives that
deserve a hearing than can fit in an edited volume of modest length.
Although we did not seek to exclude any families of perspectives
from this volume, the result is neither fully nor perfectly inclusive.
There are many other perspectives that we ought to appreciate and
understand. Tentatively, we hope to assemble sequels to this volume
in order to platform a greater variety of voices and perspectives. We
also would like to encourage others to pursue related ideas for
anthologies and special issues, meetings and informal gatherings,
and conferences and symposia, for there is so much important work
to be done! That said, we would be remiss if we did not point the
reader to other anthologies which have helped to inspire and pave
the way for the book you are reading right now, including (but not
limited to): Isaiah Lavender III’s Black and Brown Planets: The
Politics of Race in Science Fiction (University Press of Mississippi,
2014); Grace Dillon’s Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of
Indigenous Science Fiction (University of Arizona Press, 2012); Ed
Finn and Joey Eschrich’s Visions, Ventures, Escape Velocities: A
Collection of Space Futures (Center for Science and the Imagination,
Arizona State University, 2017); and Eugene Hargrove’s Beyond
Spaceship Earth: Environmental Ethics and the Solar System (Sierra
Club Books, 1986).
We have many individuals to thank for helping bring this volume
into existence. First and foremost, we are beyond grateful to each of
our contributors, who have filled this volume with compelling and
insightful ideas about space exploration. We encourage readers to
learn more about their unique and fascinating novels, art projects,
research, and other work. Should you peruse the contributor
biography section of this book, no doubt you will discover more than
one topic that intrigues you! We also thank Jeremy Lewis, Bronwyn
Geyer, Michelle Kelley, and Oxford University Press for their warm
support and encouragement throughout the process of editing this
book. Lastly, we thank Tony Milligan for insightful conversations very
early in the editing process.
Jim thanks everyone who has helped them to shape their values
for the better, as well as those who played important behind-the-
scenes roles in bringing this volume to life. In no particular order, I
thank: Cindy Johnson, Zach Pirtle, Susan Sterrett, Susan Castro, Jeff
Smith, Mukesh Chiman Bhatt, Sheri Wells-Jensen, Jonathan Trerise,
Daniel Capper, Daniela de Paulis, Margaret Race, Lucas Mix, Ted
Peters, Keith Abney, Wendy Whitman Cobb, Chelsea Haramia,
William R. Kramer, Deana Weibel, John Traphagan, Kelly Smith,
Lucianne Walkowicz, Chyla Pugh, Ashley Bergman, Katie Klein,
Rebecca Nicole, Jessica Garner, Deb Michling, Rebecca Teich-
McGoldrick, Kate Nance, Glenn Baughman, Jay Price, Kathryn
Denning, Steve Dick, Roger Launius, Chinyere Okafor, Neal Allen, A.
J. Link, Brian Green, Tony Milligan, Charles Cockell, Gonzalo
Munévar, David Hewitt, Les Johnson, Marcus Cooper, Susan
Vineberg, Matt McKeon, Debra Nails, Jamie Lindemann Nelson, John
Corvino, Ben Ragan, Zach Weinersmith, Steve Baxter, Ben Kitley-
Hassenger, Corey Kitley-Hassenger, Maüz, Jonathan Natale,
Alexandria Mason, David Cheely, Jennifer Blount Goosen, Travis Figg,
Tom, Josh, and the fabulous community at J’s Lounge, Sarah Lundin,
Crystal Chitwood, Greg Grillot, Ginnie Johnson, Kristin Platt, Conrad
Johnson, Marna Cole, Sean Johnson, Addie Carter, Indigo Challender,
Ila Phelps, Em White, Hannah Erickson, Lee Jones, Sam Anderson,
Samara Bergman Murphy, and my students. Also, my deepest
gratitude to Erika and Linda, for being phenomenal coeditors!
Linda thanks: My NASA funders—Mary Voytek, head of the NASA
Astrobiology Program; Lindley Johnson and Kelly Fast with NASA’s
Planetary Defense Program. Roger Launius and Steve Dick, former
NASA chief historians, who gave me opportunities to research, write
about, and publish critiques of the dominant ideology of space
exploration.
Erika thanks: Linda and Jim, for inviting me to this project and
making it a delightful experience; my invaluable JustSpace
cofounder, Lucianne Walkowicz; all of the scholars and activists who
have shared their time and expertise to improve me understanding
of these issues, particularly Margaret Newell of The Ohio State
University and Sarah Newell of the International Labor Rights Forum;
and all of the tireless (and tired) activists working to show us visions
of a better future on Earth, without which we cannot hope to
imagine a better future in space.
With apologies to those we have forgotten to acknowledge,
Jim, Linda, and Erika
Contributors
Recurring Themes
Despite the diversity of the professional and personal backgrounds
of our contributors, there are nevertheless several patterns that
emerge in the chapters that follow. In particular, four themes stand
out as common reference points for significant and oftentimes
problematic aspects of the space exploration status quo. Moreover, it
should not be terribly surprising to learn that there are common
themes across a volume such as this. The perspectives of the
contributors to this volume, while interestingly varied, are all
perspectives affected by the same underlying geopolitical realities.
One common theme comes from the cultural narratives and
metaphors of spaceflight propounded by global space powers, such
as the United States’ embrace of Manifest Destiny in space. A second
theme is the observed reality that contemporary spaceflight activities
take place in a political sphere dominated by libertarian sensibilities
and in an economic environment that aspires to free-market
capitalism. A third theme is space exploration’s rich and eventful
legal history that includes not only national space legislation but also
legally binding international treaties such as the 1967 United Nations
Outer Space Treaty. The fourth theme is the need to consider ethics
when balancing the interests of the many different stakeholders in
space exploration.
Here we discuss the significance of each theme. However, we
advise the reader that these discussions are not intended to provide
anyone with a comprehensive introduction to the history and culture
of spaceflight,1 but only to contextualize this volume and its
contents.
The necessaries of life occasion the great expense of the poor. They find it
difficult to get food, and the greater part of their little revenue is spent in
getting it. The luxuries and vanities of life occasion the principal expense of
the rich, and a magnificent house embellishes and sets off to the best
advantage all the other luxuries and vanities which they possess. A tax upon
house-rents, therefore, would in general fall heaviest upon the rich; and in
this sort of inequality there would not, perhaps, be anything very
unreasonable. It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to
the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something
more than in that proportion. (Smith 1776)
Too many practicing capitalists today—especially the ultra-rich, such
as billionaire space exploration and exploitation advocates Jeff
Bezos, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk—show little inclination to
“contribute to the public expense.” In fact, they have accepted public
subsidies to build their various businesses, and thus their own
wealth.
Neoliberalism is a twentieth-century reconceptualization of
capitalism, calling for free-market capitalism that reduces or
eliminates regulation of prices, trade, and banking. Neoliberalism has
no concern for the poor. Nonetheless, neoliberalism in the United
States accommodates corporate subsidies and tax breaks, which are
anathema to free-market capitalism.
Libertarianism, an ideology embraced by many space exploration
and exploitation advocates, is an even more extreme flavor of
neoliberalism, promoting private property rights, individual freedom,
and unlimited growth as key priorities.
A number of contributors to this volume express concerns about
extending these ideologies and exploitative economic frameworks
into outer space, as humans expand their presence beyond Earth. By
doing so, they argue, space explorers, exploiters, and colonizers
would continue practices that, on Earth, have done great harm to
people and their environments. However, you should not expect to
find a unified, contrasting political or economic ideology, to which
each of our contributors subscribes. Each of our contributors has a
distinct understanding of what is problematic about the spaceflight
status quo, and each has their own suggestions for what to do about
it.
This treaty was ratified at a time when only the United States and
the Soviet Union had access to space. Now China, Europe, India,
and Japan have access to space, as do several commercial launch
companies such as the New Zealand-based Rocket Lab.
Consequently, the customers of all of these launch service providers
also have access to space. While an increasing number of nations
are now involved in space exploration and development—one of the
latest to enter being the United Arab Emirates—the effort is by no
means inclusive.
The 1979 United Nations Moon Agreement was an attempt by
non-space-faring nations to establish their rights in space via
international treaty, and it
reaffirms and elaborates on many of the provisions of the Outer Space Treaty
as applied to the Moon and other celestial bodies, providing that those bodies
should be used exclusively for peaceful purposes, that their environments
should not be disrupted, that the United Nations should be informed of the
location and purpose of any station established on those bodies. In addition,
the Agreement provides that the Moon and its natural resources are the
common heritage of mankind and that an international regime should be
established to govern the exploitation of such resources when such
exploitation is about to become feasible. (UN General Assembly 1979)
Volume Overview
This volume is divided into five sections of chapters, grouped
thematically. Part 1 includes chapters that provide the reader with
overlooked and underappreciated aspects of spaceflight’s historical
context. Part 2 includes chapters that discuss the impact of creative
projects, such as works of science fiction and space art, on our
thinking about space exploration. Part 3 contains chapters
addressing and demonstrating by example why it is vital to engage
with diverse cultural perspectives on space. Part 4 contains chapters
with a distinctively pragmatic orientation, which explore pathways
for effecting change in the space sector. Lastly, Part 5 contains
chapters seeking to advise our exploration of space over the long-
term, including discussions of reproductive rights and educational
rights for future members of space societies. However, you should
not read too much into how we have partitioned this volume, as the
partitioning was done in response to, not in anticipation of, the
chapters contained in this book. Moreover, the distinguishing
features of each part are fuzzy; many chapters would not seem out
of place appearing in other places in the volume.
CRASSULA OBLIQUA.
Oblique-leaved Crassula.
CLASS V. ORDER V.
P E N TA N D R I A P E N TA G Y N I A . F i v e C h i v e s . F i v e P o i n t a l s .
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Calyx pentaphyllus. Petala quinque. Squamæ quinque nectariferæ ad
basin germinis.
Empalement five-leaved. Petals five. Five honey-bearing pores at the
base of the germ.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER, &C.
Crassula, foliis ovatis obliquis integerrimis acutis distinctis, margine
cartilagineis. Willd. Sp. Pl. 1. 1553.—Ait. Hort. Kew. 1. 395.
Crassula, with leaves egg-shaped oblique very entire acute distinct, and
cartilaginous on the margin.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower with its empalement.
2.The seed-bud and pointals.
3. A detached pointal magnified
Although the genus Crassula is a very extensive one, and possesses many
species which are remarkable either for beauty, singularity, or fragrance; the
one which we have here the satisfaction of illustrating is, we think, by far the
most ornamental; and is at the same time both a stately and a singular plant.
It is very succulent, and requires the heat of the hot-house to make it bloom;
but prospers best, like all other succulent plants of the more tender kind, on
the shelves of a dry stove. It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, and is
propagated with facility by cuttings; prefers a light loamy soil, and a dry
treatment; and produces its large bunches of flowers late in the year; which
are very showy and of considerable duration, particularly if removed into the
green-house while in bloom, and at that time more liberally watered.
The oblique-leaved Crassula is an old inhabitant of our gardens, but not a
frequent one. Our drawing was made from a fine specimen obligingly sent
us by Thomas Evans, esq. from his fine collection at Stepney, last August.
PLATE CCCCXV.
CANTUA CORONOPIFOLIA.
Coronopus-leaved Cantua.
CLASS V. ORDER I.
P E N TA N D R I A M O N O G Y N I A . F i v e C h i v e s . O n e P o i n t a l .
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Calyx 3-5-fidus. Corolla infundibuliformis. Stigma trifidum. Capsula
trilocularis, trivalvis, polysperma. Semina alata.
Empalement from three-to five-cleft. Blossom funnel-shaped. Summit
trifid. Capsule three-celled, three-valved, many-seeded. The seeds winged.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER, &C.
Cantua, floribus terminalibus, staminibus longitudine corollæ, foliis
pinnatifidis.
Cantua, with terminal flowers, chives the length of the blossom, and
feather-cleft leaves.
Cantua (coronopifolia). Willd. Sp. Pl. 1. 879.
Polemonium (rubrum), foliis pinnatifidis linearibus, floribus racemosis
pendulis. Linn. Sp. Pl. ed. 3. p. 231.
Ipomea (rubra). Linn. Syst. Veg. 171.
Ipomopsis (elegans), minutim pubescens, foliis lineari-pinnatifidis. Mich.
Fl. Boreali-Americ. 1. 142.
Quamoclit pinnatum erectum, floribus in thyrsum digestis. Dill. Hort.
Elth. 321. tab. 241. fig. 312.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2.The blossom spread open, with the chives attached.
3. The seed-bud and pointal, with the summit magnified
Although the Coronopus-leaved Cantua was cultivated in Sherard’s
celebrated garden at Eltham, in the time of Dillenius, and is figured by him,
in the Hort. Elth. above cited, as a species of Quamoclit, it has been an entire
stranger to our modern gardens until very lately; having no doubt long since
perished in all the old collections.
Who the reintroducer of this very elegant plant is, we have yet to learn:
but the beautiful specimen here figured, was obligingly communicated to us
by the Marquis of Blandford, from White Knights, Berks, about the end of
November last.
It is a native of Carolina, and sufficiently hardy, we should think, to resist
the cold of our ordinary winters: its root is herbaceous, and the plant admits
of increase by parting the same, in spring or autumn.
Writers have differed in a very remarkable manner concerning the Genus
to which they should refer this plant; and Linnæus himself seems to have
been as undetermined as any of them concerning it; having at different times
given it as a Polemonium, and an Ipomea; as will appear among our
synonyms above. Michaux has called it Ipomopsis: and another foreign
writer, whose work we have not got, has given it the appellation of Noothea
Pulchella: but Willdenow has added it to the genus Cantua, with which we
conceive, in our humble opinion, it sufficiently accords; and have therefore
ventured to follow him in his arrangement of it.
PLATE CCCCXVI.
S A LV I A C H A M Æ D R I F O L I A .
Germander-leaved Sage.
CLASS II. ORDER I.
D I A N D R I A M O N O G Y N I A . Tw o C h i v e s . O n e P o i n t a l .
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Corolla inæqualis. Filamenta tranverse pedicello affixa.
Blossom unequal. Chives affixed transversely to a pedicel.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER, &C.
Salvia, foliis ovalibus rugosis obsolete crenatis, verticillis terminalibus
nudis quadrifloris, staminibus corolla brevioribus.
Sage, with oval rough obsoletely notched leaves, terminal naked four-
flowered whorls, and chives shorter than the blossom.
Salvia Chamædrifolia. Donn’s Hort. Cantab. p. 7.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2.The blossom with the chives attached.
3. The seed-bud and pointal, with the summit magnified
Our drawing was made from plants in the Hibbertian collection at Clapham
last autumn: but we have also seen this Sage in other places; particularly at
Cambridge; and know it to be the Salvia Chamædrifolia of the Hortus
Cantabrigiensis ed. 3.: but we do not find that name in any other publication
within our reach.
Mr. Donn marks it as a green-house perennial, and gives Spain as its
native country, but with a note of interrogation; and adds that it flowers in
July and August; and that it was introduced into our gardens in the year
1798.
We believe that A. B. Lambert, Esq. was the first introducer of it, and that
gentleman thinks he received the seeds of it from Spain. The first time of our
seeing it was at J. Vere’s, Esq. in the autumn of 1802, where it was cultivated
as a green-house shrub, and by the name of S. citrina, a name that well
expresses the charming odour of its leaves when gently rubbed; which not a
little resembles the pleasing, well-known scent of Lemon Thyme.
It is propagated by cuttings in the usual way: its stem and branches are
very slender, but shrubby, and arise to the height of two or three feet. The
flowers are terminal, large, showy, and posses a beautiful colour of the
deepest blue.
PLATE CCCCXVII.
CROTOLARIA PULCHELLA.
Ternate Larger-flowered Crotolaria.
CLASS XVII. ORDER IV.
D I A D E L P H I A D E C A N D R I A . Tw o B r o t h e r h o o d s . Te n
Chives.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Legumen turgidum, inflatum, pedicellatum. Filamenta connata cum
fissura dorsali.
Pod turgid, inflated, pedicelled. Chives conjoined with a dorsal fissure.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Crotolaria, frutescens, ramulis teretibus sericeis, foliis ternatis, foliolis
lineari-lanceolatis acutis petiolis sesquilongioribus, subtus subpilosis.
Crotolaria, shrubby, with cylindrical silky branches, and ternate leaves,
with the leaflets linear-lanced acute-once, and-an-half the length of the foot-
stalks, and somewhat hairy beneath.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2.The standard.
3.One of the wings.
4.The keel.
5.The chives.
6. The seed-bud and pointal
The species of Crotolaria here represented, may perhaps be the “C. (pilosa)
foliis ternatis pilosis, foliolis mucronatis, floribus terminalibus,” of
Thunberg’s Prodromus: but from so insufficient a character we have not
ventured to determine it to be that plant; having rather chosen to give it as a
new species by the name of Pulchella; which it well deserves.
It is a green-house plant, a native we understand of the Cape; and arises
with a straight, but little branched, woody stem, to the height of about 3 feet:
the branches are cylindrical and silky: the leaves alternate and ternate,
inclining to hoary, with pubescent and channelled foot-stalks: the leaflets are
lance-shaped, or linear-lanced, once and an half, or sometimes twice the
length of their common foot-stalk, and furnished beneath with minute, close-
pressed hairs: the flowers are in a terminal racemus, large, yellow, and
showy; and are produced in the month of July.
Hitherto we have seen this plant only at the Nursery of Messrs. Colvill, in
the King’s Road, where our drawing was made. In favourable seasons the
plant will probably ripen its seeds in this country: and at other times we have
no doubt of its being capable of propagation by cuttings in the usual way;
although we do not know that this has yet actually been done.
PLATE CCCCXVIII.
G E N T I A N A C AT E S B Æ I .
Catesby’s Gentian.
CLASS V. ORDER II.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Corolla monopetala. Capsula bivalvis, unilocularis; receptaculis duobus
longitudinalibus.
Blossom one-petalled. Capsule two-valved, one-celled; with two
longitudinal receptacles.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER, &C.
Gentiana, foliis remotis oppositis ternatisque, corollis verticillatis
ventricosis decemfidis, laciniis alternis inæqualiter bifidis lacerisque;
calycibus minute ciliatis.
Gentian, with remote opposite and ternate leaves, whorled ten-cleft
bellied flowers, with their alternate segments unequally bifid and torn; and
minutely ciliated empalements.
Gentiana (Catesbæi), corollis campanulatis ventricosis extus cæruleis,
foliis lanceolatis remotis. Walt. Fl. Carolin. 109.
Gentiana (Saponaria), corollis quinquefidis campanulatis ventricosis
verticillatis, foliis ovato-lanceolatis trinerviis. Willd. Sp. Pl. 1. 1338.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2.The blossom spread open.
3. The pointal
The beautiful species of Gentiana here represented, does not appear to be
noticed either in Willdenow’s edition of Species Plantarum, or the Hortus
Kewensis of Mr. Aiton; except by the former of these authors, as being
synonymous with G. Saponaria; from which as a species we conceive it
distinct: neither do we find it enumerated in Mr. Donn’s Hortus
Cantabrigiensis: but it is described by Walter in his Flora Caroliniana, under
the name of Catesbæi; and is known in several of the principal gardens in the
neighbourhood of London by that appellation; which we have therefore
thought it more eligible to adopt, than run any risk of occasioning confusion
by applying a new one.
The plant is perennial and herbaceous, a native of Carolina, and is
propagated by parting its roots in autumn, or early spring; but requires a
moist sheltered situation, and peat earth in the open air, to make it flourish.
It rises with several stems to the height of a foot or upwards: the leaves
are opposite, or in threes, remote, lanceolate, stem-clasping, and obscurely
three-nerved, with scabrous margins, occasioned by minute, upwardly-
directed serrulations, which at the base of the leaf are decurrent, and form
four or six roughened lines on the stem: the flowers are irregularly whorled;
but the uppermost whorl is by much the largest; each blossom is of a rich
deep purple colour, ventricose, and opens very little at the mouth, where it is
divided into ten incurving segments, every other of which is of a much paler
colour than the rest, broader, unequally bifid, and minutely lacerated: the
empalement is five-cleft, and its segments are linear-lance-shaped, with
minutely ciliated edges, after the manner of the edges of the leaves.
The living specimen from which our figures were made, was obligingly
communicated to us by the Hon. Mr. Irby, of Farnham Royal, Bucks.
PLATE CCCCXIX.
G E N I S TA L U S I TA N I C A .
Portugal Genista.
CLASS XVII. ORDER IV.
D I A D E L P H I A D E C A N D R I A . Tw o B r o t h e r h o o d s . Te n
Chives.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Calyx bilabiatus: 2-3 dentibus, binis superioribus brevissimis. Vexillum
oblongum a pistillo staminibusque deorsum reflexum.
Empalement two-lipped: with 2-3 teeth, the two uppermost very short.
The standard oblong, and reflexed downwards from the chives and pointal.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER, &C.
Genista, caule aphyllo, spinis decussatis. Willd. Sp. Pl. 2. 946.—Ait.
Hort. Kew. 2. 16.
Genista, with a leafless stem, and decussated spines.
Scorpius secundus. Clus. Hist. 1. p. 107.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2.The standard.
3.One of the wings.
4.The keel.
5.The chives.
6.The seed-bud and pointal.
7. The same magnified
The Portugal Genista is a very spiny, and almost leafless shrub, of bushy
growth; and although very well known to most of the old Botanists, does not
appear to have been cultivated in the British gardens until the year 1771;
when, according to Mr. Aiton’s Hortus Kewensis, it was introduced by Mrs.
Primmet. It is a native of Portugal and Spain, but is sufficiently hardy to
resist the cold of our ordinary winters, if planted in a sheltered situation: yet
is extremely liable to be injured, or even destroyed, in those which take
place with rigour and severity: but as it very frequently produces good seeds,
a supply of it is not difficult to be kept up that way. The best time of sowing
them is spring, and they will require some slight protection from frost while
young.
The plant blooms freely from March till May, and when decorated with
its golden flowers, makes a very ornamental appearance in the shrubbery; in
which, although it has been so long in cultivation, we cannot help regretting
that it but seldom occurs: and we venture to recommend it along with G.
germanica (a closely allied species) to the further attention of our cultivating
friends.
Like many other shrubby leguminous plants, this Genista is averse to
being frequently transplanted; and never suffers the operation of removal
with impunity. Let that business therefore, when necessary, be performed
with all possible diligence and care. Our figure was taken from plants in the
Clapham collection.
PLATE CCCCXX.
GERANIUM FLORIBUNDUM.
Tuberous Many-flowered Geranium.
CLASS XVI. ORDER IV.
M O N A D E L P H I A D E C A N D R I A . T h r e a d s u n i t e d . Te n
Chives.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Monogyna. Stigmata quinque. Fructus rostratus pentacoccus.
One Pointal. Five summits. Fruit beaked, five berries.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.