LYCHNIDEA, or Balsam Lychnis; a genus of the monogynia order, belonging to the pentandra class of plants. There are seven species, all of them natives of North America. They have perennial roots, from which arise herbaceous stalks from nine inches to two feet in height, adorned with tubulated flowers of a purple colour. They are propagated by offsets, and will bear the winters in this country. They require a moist rich soil, in which they thrive better and grow taller than in any other.

PHYCTENAE, in medicine, small eruptions on the skin.