Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/747

 LYCAON ed, while in the rush it is many-seeded and often three-celled. There are five species found in the northern states, three of which are pe- culiar to high mountains or far northern local- ities, while two are quite common in woods, meadows, and pastures ; all of our species are natives of Europe also. The hairy wood rush (L. pilosd) is common in woods, and the field wood rush (L. campestris) is usually found in drier places ; they both flower early in May ; the former has but one flower to each stalk of the umbel, while the latter has several flowers in compact clusters to each stalk. In all the species the flowers have the general structure of the lily family, but the six sepals are husk- like and green or straw-colored. The plants have no important use, but are interesting in their structure and for their early flowering. LYCAON, a mythical king of Arcadia, gener- ally represented as a son of Pelasgus by Meli- boea, daughter of Oceanus, and described by some as the first civilizer of his country, by others as a barbarian who defied the gods. He became by several wives the father of a great number of sons, who were so notorious for ar- rogance and impiety that Jupiter resolved to punish them. Appearing to them at their dwelling in Arcadia disguised as a poor man, they invited him to a repast, at which was served up the flesh of a boy whom they had murdered. The god rejected the horrible food, and transformed Lycaon and all his sons save one into wolves, or according to some de- stroyed them by a flash of lightning. The flood of Deucalion was said to have been a consequence of the crimes of the Lycaonidse. LYCAONIA, in ancient geography, a division of Asia Minor, bounded N. by Galatia, E. by Oappadocia, S. by Oilicia, S. W. by Isauria (which at certain periods was regarded as a part of it), and W. by Phrygia, and now in- cluded in the Turkish vilayet of Konieh. It was a narrow table land, deficient in water, with frequently varying boundaries. The in- habitants, according to the Acts of the Apos- tles, spoke a peculiar dialect. They were war- like and skilled in archery. The principal town was Iconium, now Konieh. Lycaonia is first mentioned in Xenophon's history of the expedition of the younger Cyrus, at the time of which it belonged to the Persian em- pire. After its conquest by Alexander and his death, it was attached to the kingdom of Syria, and subsequently came into the posses- sion of Eumenes, king of Pergamus, while a portion of it was ruled by native chieftains. In the latter half of the 1st century B. O.^it was conquered by Amyntas, king of Galatia, with which country it passed on his death to the Komans under Augustus, being annexed to the province of Cappadocia. LYCEUM, the principal gymnasium at Athens, dedicated to Apollo Lyceus, whence its name. It was situated in the eastern suburb of the city, and was surrounded with lofty plane .trees. It was elaborately adorned by Pisistra- LYCHNIS 741 tus, Pericles, and Lycurgus the orator. Here Aristotle and his disciples taught, and were called peripatetics from their habit of walking up and down its porches while lecturing. LYCHMS (Gr. M^of, a light or lamp), a ge- nus of old-world plants belonging to the pink family (caryophyllacea), and so called either on account of the flame color of some species, or because the cottony leaves anciently an- swered as wicks for lamps ; the botanical name is in common use for the garden species. The scarlet lychnis (L. Chalcedonica), from Sibe- ria, sometimes called Maltese cross, is an old garden plant, its single and double forms being from a fine rich scarlet to rose color and even white. Jupiter's lychnis and rose-of-heaven are names for L. flos-Jovis and L. ccdi-rosa, species sometimes cultivated. The ragged robin or cuckoo lychnis (L. flos-cuculi) is a well known early summer plant, usually with double pink-red flowers. Another common plant in old gardens is the mullein pink or rose cam- Scarlet Lychnis (L. Chalcedonica). pion (L. coronaria), which has its stem and leaves covered with a white cottony down, and flowers varying from deep crimson to white. L. Sieboldii, from Japan, and L. Eaageana, probably a hybrid, are comparatively recent introductions. The garden species are readily raised from seeds, and most of them are self- sowing ; some are not perfect perennials, and need to be multiplied by division if it is desired to have them continue from year to year. Some of the species are weeds in Europe, and two have become naturalized in this country. The evening-blooming lychnis (L. vespertina), of which a double form is sometimes culti- vated, has white or pinkish flowers, which open in the evening; it is as yet only sparingly established in the older states. The corn cockle, quite too common in our grain fields as well as those of Europe, is an annual, softly-hairy plant, with showy purplish-red flowers; this was formerly called agrostemma githago, but