the EBONY-TREE; a genus of the dendroidea order, belonging to the diadelphia class of plants. There is but one species, the cretica, a native of the island of Crete, and some others in the Archipelago. It rises with a shrubby stalk three or four feet high; which puts out several side-branches; garnished with hoary leaves at each joint, composed of five narrow spear-shaped lobes, which join at their tails to the footstalk, and spread out like the fingers of a hand. The branches are terminated by thick spikes of large purple flowers, which are of the butterfly or peacock kind. The plants may be propagated from seeds sown in the autumn. In this country, the plants must be protected during the winter, as they are unable to bear the cold.