in botany; a genus of the monogynia order, belonging to the pentandra class of plants. There are eight species, of which the frutescens is the most remarkable. It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope. The root is fibrous, and spreads near the surface of the ground. The stalks are round, and inclining to be ligneous, but are of a very soft texture; they rise from two to three feet high, sending out several branches which grow erect, and are garnished with succulent leaves an inch or more in length, and about an eighth of an inch in breadth. At the end of each floret the flowers are produced, which are tubular, and spread open at the top; they are of a bright red colour; and when there are a large number of flowers open on the same plant, they make a fine appearance. The flowers are produced from June to autumn; and the seeds ripen in October. The plants are propagated by seeds, which must be sown in pots filled with light sandy earth, and plunged in a moderate hot-bed. In summer they may be exposed to the open air; but must always be sheltered in winter.

CHRONOMY, in antiquity, the art of representing any past transaction by the gestures of the body, more especially by the motions of the hands: this made a part of liberal education; it had the approbation of Socrates, and was ranked by Plato among the political virtues.