the EBONY TREE: A genus of the dendroidea order, belonging to the diadelphia clas of plants: and in the natural method ranking under the 32d order, Papilionaceae. The segments of the calyx are the length of the corolla, and the latter has scarce any alae: there is one rough seed. 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 pea-bloom kind. The plants may be propagated from seeds sown in the autumn. In this coun- try the plants must be protected during the winter, as they are unable to bear the cold.