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 EPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
 
 UC-NRLF 
 
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 CATALOGU R1 m TURA rl 
 
 LIBRARY, 
 
 UNIVERS 
 
 c A LI FOR: 
 
 
 ECONOMIC PLANTS 
 
 IN TIlii COl.i F.CTIOS MF THE 
 
 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
 
 BY WILLIAM 8AUNDER3. 
 
 PUBLISH IZD BY AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. 
 
 c\j 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 WASHIKGTON: 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OF 1 
 1891. 
 
Itea I 
 
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
 
 CATALOGUE 
 
 OF 
 
 ECONOMIC PLANTS 
 
 IN THE COLLECTION OF THE 
 
 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
 
 BY WILLIAM SAUNDERS. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OP AGRICULTURE. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, 
 

 4^ 
 

 
 CATALOGUE OF ECONOMIC PLANTS IN THE COLLECTION OF THE U. S. 
 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 
 
 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 
 
 Washington, D. C., June 5, 1891. 
 
 SIR: I have duly prepared by your direction a descriptive list of 
 the more important economic plants at present contained in the col- 
 lection of the Department, in such a form as will, in my opinion, 
 most satisfactorily meet the wants of the numerous visitors and 
 others interested in the work performed by the Department in this 
 direction, and I beg to submit the same herewith for publication. 
 
 WILLIAM SAUNDERS, 
 Superintendent of Gardens and Grounds. 
 Hon. J. M. RUSK, 
 
 Secretary of Agriculture. 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OP PLANTS. 
 
 1. ABELMOSCHUS MOSCHATUS. This plant is a native of Bengal. Its seeds were 
 
 formerly mixed with hair powder, and are still used to perfume pomatum. 
 The Arabs mix them with their coffee berries. In the West Indies the 
 bruised seeds, steeped in rum, are used, both externally and internally, as a 
 cure for snake bites. 
 
 2. ABRUS PBECATORIUS. Wild liquorice. This twining, leguminous plant is a 
 
 native of the East, but is now found in the West Indies and other tropical 
 regions. It is chiefly remarkable for its small oval seeds, which are of a 
 brilliant scarlet color, with a black scar at the place where they are attached 
 to the pods. These seeds are much used for necklaces and other ornamental 
 purposes, and are employed in India as a standard of weight, under the name 
 of Rati. The weight of the famous Kohinoor diamond is known to have 
 been ascertained in this way. The roots afford liquorice, which is extracted 
 in the same manner as that from the true Spanish liquorice plant, the Gly- 
 cyrrhiza glabra. Recently the claim was made that the weather could be 
 foretold by certain movements of the leaves of this plant, but experimental 
 tests have proved its fallacy. 
 
 3. ABUTILON INDICUM. This plant furnishes fiber fit for the manufacture of ropes. 
 
 Its leaves contain a large quantity of mucilage. 
 
 4. ABUTILON VENOSUM. This malvaceous plant is common in collections, as are 
 
 others of the genus. They are mostly fiber-producing species. The flowers 
 of A. esculentum are used as a vegetable in Brazil. 
 
 5. ACACIA BRASILIENSIS. This plant furnishes the Brazil wood, which yields a red 
 
 or crimson dye, and is used for dyeing silks. The best quality is that received 
 from Pernambuco. 
 
 6. ACACIA CATECHU. The drug known as catechu is principally prepared from 
 
 this tree, the wood of which is boiled down, and the decoction subsequently 
 evaporated so as to form an extract much used as an astringent. The aca- 
 cia-art- very numerous, and yield many useful products. Gum arable is pro- 
 duced by several species, as A. vera, A. Arabica, A. Adansonii, A. verek, and 
 others. It is obtained by spontaneous exudation from the trunk and branches, 
 or by incisions made in the bark, from whence it flows in a liquid state, but 
 
 3 
 
 171708 
 
soon hafdenfr by exposure t<> the air. The largest quantity of the gum comes 
 ;\frc^Rw'fcary: : Crum-senegal is produced by A. vera. By some it is thought 
 that the timberof >At Arabica is identical with the Shittim tree, or wood of the 
 Bible. From the 'flowers of A. farnesiana a choice and delicious perfume is 
 obtained, the chief ingredient in many valued " balm of a thousand flowers." 
 The pods of A. concinna are used in India as a soap for washing ; the leaves 
 are used for culinary purposes, and have a peculiarly agreeable acid taste. 
 The seeds of some species are used, when cooked, as articles of food. From 
 the seeds of A. Niopo the Guahibo Indians prepare a snuff, by roasting the 
 seeds and pounding them in a wooden platter. Its effects are to produce a 
 kind of intoxication and invigorate the spirits. The bark of several species 
 is extensively used for tanning, and the timber, being tough and elastic, is 
 valuable for the manufacture of machinery and other purposes where great 
 strength and durability are requisite. 
 
 7. ACACIA DEAL BATA. The silver wattle tree of Australia. The bark is used for 
 
 tanning purposes. It is hardy South. 
 
 8. ACACIA HOMOLOPHYLLA. This tree furnishes the scented myall wood, a very 
 
 hard and heavy wood, of an agreeable odor, resembling that of violets. 
 Fancy boxes for the toilet are manufactured of it. 
 
 9. ACACIA MELANOXYLON. The wood of this tree is called mayall wood in New 
 
 South Wales. It is also called violet wood, on account of the strong odor it 
 has of that favorite flower; hence it is in great repute for making small 
 dressing cases, etc. 
 
 10. ACACIA MOLLISSIMA. The black wattle tree of Australia, which furnishes a 
 
 good tanning principle. These trees were first called wattles from being 
 used by the early settlers for forming a network or wattling of the supple 
 twigs as a substitute for laths in plastering houses. 
 
 11. ACROCOMIA SCLEROCARPA. This palm grows all over South America. It is 
 
 known as the great macaw-tree. A sweetish-tasted oil, called Mucaja oil, 
 is extracted from the fruit and is used for making toilet soaps. 
 
 12. ADANSONIA DIGITATA. The baobab tree, a native of Africa. It has been called 
 
 the tree of a thousand years, and Humboldt speaks of it as " the oldest or- 
 ganic monument of our planet." Adanson, who traveled in Senegal in 1794, 
 made a calculation to show that one of these trees, 30 feet in diameter, must 
 be 5,150 years old. The bark of the baobab furnishes a fiber which is made 
 into ropes and also manufactured into cloth. The fiber is so strong as to give 
 rise to a common saying in Bengal, " as secure as an elephant bound with 
 baobab rope." The pulp of the fruit is slightly acid, and the juice expressed 
 from it is valued as a specific in putrid and pestilential fevers. The ashes of 
 the fruit and bark, boiled in rancid palm oil, make a fine soap. 
 
 13. ADENANTHERA PAVONINA. A tree that furnishes red sandal wood. A dye is 
 
 obtained simply by rubbing the wood against a wet stone, which is used by 
 the Brahmins for marking their foreheads after religious bathing. The seeds 
 are used by Indian jewelers as weights, each seed weighing uniformly four 
 grains. They are known as Circassian beans. Pounded and mixed with bo- 
 rax, they form an adhesive substance. They are sometimes used as food. 
 The plant belongs to the Leguminosae. 
 
 14. ADHATODA VASICA. This plant is extolled for its charcoal in the manufacture 
 
 of powder. The flowers, leaves, roots, and especially the fruit, are con- 
 sidered antispasmodic, and are administered in India in asthma and intermit- 
 tent fevers. 
 
 15. ^EGLE MARMELOS. This plant belongs to the orange family, and its fruit is 
 
 known in India as Bhel fruit. It is like an orange ; the thick rind of the 
 unripe fruit possesses astringent properties, and. when ripe, has an exquisite 
 flavor and perfume. The fruit and other parts of the plant are used for 
 medicinal purposes, and a yellow dye is prepared from the skin of the fruits. 
 
 16. AGAVE AMERICANA. This plant is commonly known as American aloe, but it 
 
 is not a member of that family, as it claims kindred with the Amaryllis tribe 
 of plants. It grows naturally in a wide range of climate, from the plains of 
 South America to elevations of 10,000 feet. It furnishes a variety of prod- 
 ucts. The plants form impenetrable fences; the leaves furnish fibers of 
 various qualities, from the fine thread known as pita-thread, which is used for 
 twine, to the coarse fibers used for ropes and cables. Humboldt describes a 
 bridge of upward of 130 feet span over the Chimbo in Quito, of which the 
 main ropes (4 inches in diameter) were made of this fiber. It is also used for 
 making paper, The juice, when the watery part is evaporated, forms a good 
 
soap (as detergent as castile), and will mix and form a lather with salt water 
 as well as with fresh. The sap from the heart leaves is formed into pulque. 
 r l'li is sap is sour, but has sufficient sugar and mucilage for fermentation. 
 This vinous beverage has a filthy odor, but those who can overcome the 
 av.T-ion to this fetidsmell indulge largely in the liquor. A very intoxicating 
 brandy is made from it. Razor strops are made from the leaves ; they are 
 also used for cleaning and scouring pewter. 
 
 17. AGAVE RIGIDA. The sisal hemp, introduced into Florida many years ago, 
 
 for the sake of its fiber, but its cultivation has not been prosecuted to a com- 
 1 1 11 -rcial success. Like many other of the best vegetable fibers found in leaves, 
 it contains a gummy substance, which prevents the easy separation of the 
 fiber from the pulp. 
 
 18. ALEURITES TRILOBA. The candleberry tree, much cultivated in tropical coun- 
 
 tries for the sake of its nuts. The nuts or kernels, when dried and stuck on a 
 reed, are used by the Polynesians as a substitute for candles and as an article of 
 food; they are said to taste like walnuts. When pressed, they yield largely of 
 pure palatable oil, as a drying oil for paint, and known as artists' oil. The 
 cake, after the oil has been expressed, is a favorite food for cattle. The root 
 of the tree affords a brown dye, which is used to dye cloths. 
 
 19. ALGAROBIA GLANDULOSA. The mezquite tree, of Texas, occasionally reaching a 
 
 height of 25 to 30 feet. It yields a very hard, durable wood, and affords a large 
 quantity of gum resembling gum arabic, and answering every purpose of that 
 gum. 
 
 20! ALLAMANDA CATHARTICA. This plant belongs to the family of Apocynacece, 
 which contains many poisonous species. It is often cultivated for the beauty 
 of its flowers; the leaves are considered a valuable cathartic, in moderate 
 doses, especially in the cure of painter's colic; in large doses they are violently 
 emetic. It is a native of South America. 
 
 21. ALOE SOCOTRINA. Bitter aloe, a plant of the lily family, which furnishes the 
 
 finest aloes. The bitter, resinous juice is stored up in greenish vessels, lying 
 beneath the skin of the leaf, so that when the leaves are cut transversely, the 
 juice exudes, and is gradually evaporated to a firm consistence. The inferior 
 kinds of aloes are prepared by pressing the leaves, when the resinous juice 
 becomes mixed with the mucilaginous fluid from the central part of the leaves, 
 and thus it is proportionately deteriorated. Sometimes the leaves are cut and 
 boiled, and the decoction evaporated to a proper consistence. This drug is 
 imported in chests, in skins of animals, and sometimes in large calabash- 
 gourds, and although the taste is peculiarly bitter and disagreeable, the per- 
 fume of the finer sorts is aromatic, and by no means offensive. It is common 
 in tropical countries. 
 
 22. ALSOPHILA AUSTRALIS. This beautiful tree-fern attains a height of stem of 25 
 
 to 30 feet, with fronds spreading out into a crest 26 feet in diameter. These 
 plants are among the most beautiful of all vegetable productions, and in their 
 gigantic forms indicate, in a meager degree, the extraordinary beauty of the 
 vegetation on the globe previous to the formation of the coal measures. 
 
 20. ALSTONIA SCHOLARIS. The Pali-mara, or devil tree, of Bombay. The plant 
 
 attains a height of 80 or 90 feet; the bark is powerfully bitter, and is used in 
 India in medicine. It is of the family of Apocynacece. 
 
 24. AMOMUM MELEGUETTA. Malaguetta pepper, or grains of paradise; belonging 
 
 to the ginger family, Zingiberacece. The seeds of this and other species are 
 imported from Guinea; they have a very warm and camphor-like taste, and 
 are used to give a fictitious strength to adulterated liquors, but are not con- 
 sidered particularly injurious to health. The seeds are aromatic and stimu- 
 lating, and form, with other seeds of similar plants, what are known as car- 
 damoms. 
 
 25. AMYRIS BALSAMIFERA. This plant yields the wood called Lignum Rhodium. 
 
 It also furnishes a gum resin analogous to Elemi, and supposed to yield In- 
 dian Bdellium. 
 
 20. ANACARDIUM OCCIDENT ALE. The cashew nut tree, cultivated in the West Indies 
 and other tropical countries. The stem furnishes a milky juice, which be- 
 comes hard and black when dry, and is used as a varnish. It also secretes 
 a gum, like gum arabic. The nut or fruit contains a black, acrid, caustic oil, 
 injurious to the lips and tongue of those who attempt to crack the nut with 
 tht-ir tcrth: it becomes innocuous and wholesome when' roasted, but this 
 process must be carefully conducted, the acridity of the fumes producing 
 severe inflammation of the face if approached too near. 
 
27. ANANASSA SATIVA. The well-known pineapple, the fruit of which was de- 
 
 scribed three hundred years ago, by Jeande Lery, a Huguenot priest, as being 
 of such excellence that the gods might luxuriate upon it, and that it should 
 only be gathered by the hand of a Venus. It is supposed to be a native of 
 Brazil, and to have 'been carried from thence to the West, and afterwards to 
 the East Indies. It first became known to Europeans in Peru. It is univer- 
 sally acknowledged to be one of the most delicious fruits in the world. Like 
 all other fruits that have been a long time under cultivation, there are numer- 
 ous varieties that vary greatly, both in quality and appearance. The leaves 
 yield a fine fiber, which is used in the manufacture of pina cloth; this cloth 
 is very delicate, soft, and transparent, and is made into shawls, scarfs, hand- 
 kerchiefs, and dresses. 
 
 28. ANDIRA INERMIS. This is a native of Senegambia. Its bark is anthelmintic, 
 
 but requires care in its administration, being powerfully narcotic. It has a 
 sweetish taste, but a disagreeable smell, and is generally given in the form of 
 a decoction, which is made by boiling an ounce of the dried bark in a quart 
 of water until it assumes the color of Madeira wine. Three or four grains of 
 the powdered bark acts as a powerful purgative. The bark is known as 
 bastard cabbage bark, or worm bark. It is almost obsolete in medicine. 
 
 29. ANDROPOGON MURICATUS. The Khus-Khus, or Vetiver grass of India. The 
 
 fibrous roots yield a most peculiar but pleasing perfume. In India the leaves 
 are manufactured into' awnings, blinds, and sunshades; but principally for 
 screens, used in hot weather for doors and windows, which, when wetted, 
 diffuse a peculiar and refreshing perfume, while cooling the air. 
 
 30. ANDROPOGON SCH^ENANTHUS. The sweet-scented lemon grass, a native of 
 
 Malabar. An essential oil is distilled from the leaves, which is used in per- 
 fumery. It is a favorite herb with the Asiatics, both for medicinal and cu- 
 linary purposes. Tea from the dried leaves is a favorite beverage of some 
 persons. 
 
 31. ANONA CHERIMOLIA. The Cherimoyer of Peru, where it is extensively cultivated 
 
 for its fruits, which are highly esteemed by the inhabitants, but not so highly 
 valued by those accustomed to the fruits of temperate climates. The fruit, 
 when ripe, is of a pale greenish-yellow color, tinged with purple, weighing 
 from 3 to 4 pounds; the skin thin; the flesh sweet, and about the consistence 
 of a custard; hence often called custard apple. 
 
 32. ANONA MURICATA. The sour-sop, a native of the West Indies, which produces 
 
 a fruit of considerable size, often weighing over 2 pounds. The pulp is 
 white and has an acrid flavor, which is not disagreeable. 
 
 33. ANONA RETICULATA. The common custard apple of the West Indies. It has a yel- 
 
 lowish pulp and is not so highly esteemed as an article of food as some others 
 of the species. It bears the name of Condissa in Brazil. The Anonas are 
 grown to some extent throughout southern Florida. 
 
 34. ANONA SQUAMOSA. The sweet-sop, a native of the Malay Islands, where it is 
 
 grown for its fruits. These are ovate in shape, with a thick rind, which in- 
 closes a luscious pulp. The seeds contain an acrid principle, and, being re- 
 duced to powder, form an ingredient for the destruction of insects. 
 
 35. ANTIARIS INNOXIA. The upas tree. Most exaggerated statements respecting 
 
 this plant have passed into history. Its poisonous influence was said to be so 
 great as not only to destroy all animal life but even plants could not live 
 within 10 miles of it. The plant has no such virulent properties as the above, 
 but, as it inhabits low valleys in Java where carbonic acid gas escapes from 
 the crevices in volcanic rocks which frequently proves fatal to animals, the 
 tree was blamed wrongly. It is, however, possessed of poisonous juice, which, 
 when dry and mixed with other ingredients, forms a venomous poison for 
 arrows, and severe effects have been felt by those who have climbed upon 
 the branches for the purpose of gathering the flowers. 
 
 36. ANTIARIS SACCIDORA. The sack tree; so called from the fibrous bark being 
 
 used as sacks. For this purpose young trees of about a foot in diameter are 
 selected and cut into junks of the same length as the sack required. The 
 outer bark is then removed and the inner bark loosened by pounding, so that 
 it can be separated by turning it inside out. Sometimes a small piece of the 
 wood is left to form the bottom of the sack. The fruit exudes a milky, 
 viscid juice, which hardens into the consistency of beeswax, but becomes 
 black and shining. 
 
 37. ANTIDESMA BUNIAS. An East India plant which produces small, intensely 
 
 black fruit about the size of a currant, used in making preserves. The bark 
 
furnisher a good fiber, which is utilized in the manufacture of ropes. A 
 decoction of the leaves is a reputed cure for snake bites. The whole plant 
 is very bitter. 
 
 33. ARALIA PAPYRIFF.KA. The Chinese rice paper plant. The stems are filled with 
 pith of very tine texture and white as snow, from which is derived the article 
 known as rice paper, much used in preparing artificial flowers. 
 
 39. ARAUCARIA BIDWILLI. The Bunya-Bunya of Australia, which forms a large tree, 
 
 reaching from 150 to 200 feet in height. The cones are very large, and con- 
 tain one hundred to one hundred and fifty seeds, which are highly prized 
 by the aborigines as food. They are best when roasted in the shell, cracked 
 l>etween two stones and eaten while hot. In flavor they resemble roasted 
 chestnuts. During the season of the ripening of these seeds the natives grow 
 sleek and fat. That part of the country where these trees most abound is 
 called the Bunya-Bunya country. 
 
 40. ARAUCARIA BRASILIENSIS. The Brazilian Araucaria, which grows at great ele- 
 
 vations. The seeds of this tree are commonly sold in the markets of Rio 
 Janeiro as an article of food. The resinous matter which exudes from the 
 trunk is employed in the manufacture of candles. 
 
 41. ARAUCARIA CUNNINGHAMI. The Morton Bay pine. This Australian tree forms 
 
 a very straight trunk, and yields a timber of much commercial importance 
 in Sidney and other ports. It is chiefly used for house building and some of 
 the heavier articles of furniture. 
 
 42. ARAUCARIA EXCELSA. This very elegant evergreen is a native of Norfolk 
 
 Island. Few plants can compare with it in beauty and regularity of growth. 
 The wood is of no particular value, although used for building purposes in 
 Norfolk Island. 
 
 43. ARDISIA CRENATA. A native of China. The bark has tonic and astringent 
 
 properties, and is used in fevers and for external application in the cure of 
 ulcers, etc. 
 
 44. ARECA CATECHU. This palm is cultivated in all the warmer parts of Asia for 
 
 its seed. This is known under the name of betel nut, and is about the size of 
 a nutmeg. The chewing of these nuts is a common practice of hundreds of 
 thousands of people. The nut is cut into small pieces, mixed with a small 
 quantity of lime, and rolled up in leaves of the betel pepper. The pellet is 
 chewed, and is hot and acrid, but possesses aromatic and astringent proper- 
 ties. It tinges the saliva red and stains the teeth. The practice is considered 
 beneficial rather than otherwise, just as chewing tobacco-leaves, drinking al- 
 cohol, and eating chicken-salad are considered healthful practices in some 
 portions of the globe. A kind of catechu is obtained by boiling down the 
 seeds to the consistence of an extract, but the chief supply of this drug is Aca- 
 cia catechu. 
 
 45. ARGANIA SIDEROXYLON. This is the argan tree of Morocco. It is remarkable 
 
 for its low^-spreading mode of growth. Trees have been measured only 16 
 feet in height, while the circumference of the branches was 220 feet. The 
 fruit is much eaten and relished by cattle. The wood is hard and so heavy as 
 to sink in water. A valuable oil is extracted from the seeds. 
 
 46. ARISTOLOCHIA GRANDIFLORA. The pelican flower. This plant belongs to a fam- 
 
 ily famed for the curious construction of their flowers, as well as for their 
 medical qualities. In tropical America various species receive the name of 
 " Guaco," which is a term given to plants that are used in the cure of snake 
 bites. Even some of our native species, such as A. serpentaria, is known as 
 snake-root, and is said t o be esteemed for curing the bite of the rattlesnake. 
 It is stated that the Egyptian jugglers use some of these plants to stupify the 
 snakes before they handle them. A. bracteata and A. indica are used for 
 similar purposes in' India. It is said that the juice of the root of A. anguicida, 
 if introduced into the mouth of a serpent, so stupefies it that it may be han- 
 dled with impunity. The Indians, after having " guaconized " themselves, 
 that is, having taken Guaco, handle the most venomous snakes without in- 
 jury. 
 
 47. ARTANTHE ELONGATA. A plant of the pepper family, which furnishes one of 
 
 the articles known by the Peruvians as Matico, and which is used by them 
 for the same purposes as cubebs: I nit its chief value is as a styptic, an effect 
 probably produced by its nmuli under surface, acting mechanically like lint. 
 It has been employed internally to check hemorrhages, but with doubtful 
 
8 
 
 effect. Its aromatic bitter stimulant properties are like those of cubebs, and 
 depend on a volatile oil, a dark-green resin, and a peculiar bitter principle 
 called maticin. 
 
 48. ARTOCARPUS INCISA. This is the breadfruit tree of the South Sea Islands, 
 
 where its introduction gave occasion for the historical incidents arising from 
 the mutiny of the " Bounty." The round fruits contain a white pulp, of the 
 consistence of new bread. It is roasted before being eaten, but has little 
 flavor. The tree furnishes a viscid juice containing caoutchouc, which is 
 used as glue for calking canoes. In the South Sea Islands the breadfruit 
 constitutes the principal article of diet; it is prepared by baking in an oven 
 heated by hot stones. 
 
 49. ARTOCAIIPUS INTEGRIFOLIA. The jack of the Indian Archipelago, cultivated 
 
 for its fruit, which is a favorite article among the natives, as also are the 
 roasted seeds. The wood is much used, and resembles mahogany. Bird-lime 
 is made from the juice. 
 
 50. ASTROCARYUM VULGARE. Every part of this South American palm is covered 
 
 with sharp spines. It is cultivated to some extent by the Indians of Brazil for 
 the sake of its young leaves, which furnish a strong fiber for making bow- 
 strings, fishing nets, etc. The finer threads are knitted into hammocks, which 
 are of great strength. It is known as Tucum thread. The pulp of the fruit 
 furnishes an oil. In Guiana it is called the Aoura palm. 
 
 51. ATT ALE A COHUNE. This palm furnishes Cahoun nuts, from which is extracted 
 
 cohune oil, used as a burning oil, for which purpose it is superior to cocoanut 
 oil. Piassaba fiber is furnished by this and A.funifera, the seeds of which 
 are known as Coquilla nuts ; these nuts are 3 or 4 inches long, oval, of a rich 
 brown color, and very hard ; they are much used by turners for making the 
 handles of doors, umbrellas, etc. The fiber derived from the decaying of the 
 cellular matter at the base of the leaf -stalks is much used in Brazil for making 
 ropes. It is largely used in England and other places for making coarse brooms, 
 chiefly used in cleaning streets. 
 
 52. AVERRHOA BILIMBI. This is called the blimbing, and is cultivated to some 
 
 extent in the East Indies. The fruit is oblong, obtuse-angled, somewhat re- 
 sembling a short, thick cucumber, with a thin, smooth, green rind, filled with 
 a pleasant, acid juice. 
 
 53. AVERRHOA CARAMBOLA. The caramba of Ceylon and Bengal. The fruit of this 
 
 tree is about the size of a large orange, and, when ripe, is of a rich yellow 
 color, with a very decided and agreeable fragrance. The pulp contains a large 
 portion of acid, and is generally used as a pickle or preserve. In Java it is 
 used both in the ripe and unripe state in pies ; a sirup is also made of the 
 juice, and a conserve of the flowers. These preparations are highly v.tlued as 
 remedies in fevers and bilious disorders. 
 
 54. BACTRIS MAJOR. The Marajah palm, of Brazil, which grows upon the banks of 
 
 the Amazon River. It has a succulent, rather acid fruit, from which a vinous 
 beverage is prepared. B. minor has a stem about 14 feet high and about an 
 inch in diameter. These stems are used for walking canes, and are sometimes 
 called Tobago canes. 
 
 55. BALSAMOCARPON BREVIFOLIUM. This shrub is the algarrobo of the Chilians. 
 
 It belongs to the pea family. Its pods are short and thick, and when unripe 
 contain about 80 per cent of tannic acid; the ripe pods become transformed 
 into a cracked resinous substance, when their tanning value is much impaired: 
 this resinous matter is astringent, and is used for dyeing black and for mak- 
 ing ink. 
 
 5G. BALSAMODENDRON MYRRHA. A native of Arabia Felix, producing a gum resin, 
 sometimes called Opobalsamum, which was considered by the ancients as a 
 panacea for almost all the ills that flesh is heir to. B. Mukul yields a resin 
 of this name, and is considered identical with the Bdellium of Dioscorides and 
 of the Scriptures. The resin has cordial and stimulating properties, and is 
 burnt as an incense. In ancient times it was used as an embalming inre- 
 dient. 
 
 57. BAMBUSA ARUNDINACEA. The bamboo cane, a gigantic grass, cultivated in rnanv 
 tropical and semitropical countries. The Chinese use it in one way or other 
 for nearly everything they require. Almost every article of furniture in their 
 houses, including mats, screens, chairs, tables, bedsteads, and bedding, is made 
 made of bamboo. The masts, sails, and rigging of their ships consist chiefly 
 Of bamboo. A fiber has been obtained from the stem suitable for mixing 
 
9 
 
 \\ith wool, cotton, and silk; it is said to be very soft and to take dyes easily. 
 They have treatises and volumes on its culture, showing the best soil and the 
 -<>ns for planting and transplanting this useful production. 
 
 58. BAUHINIA VAHLII. The Maloo-climber of India, where the gigantic shrubby 
 
 steins often attain a height of 300 feet, running over the tops of the tallest 
 trees, and twisting so tightly around their stems as to kill them. The exceed- 
 ingly tough fibrous bark of this plant is used in India for making ropes and 
 in the construction of suspension bridges. The seeds form an article of food; 
 they are eaten raw, and resemble cashew nuts in flavor. 
 
 59. BEAUCARNEA RECURVIFOLIA. This Mexican plant is remarkable for the large 
 
 bulbiform swelling at the base of the stem. It is a plant of much elegance 
 and beauty, resembling a drooping fountain. 
 
 60. BERGERA KONIGI. The curry-leaf tree of India. The fragrant, aromatic leaves 
 
 are used to flavor curries. The leaves, root, and bark are used medicinally. 
 The wood is hard and durable, and from the seeds a clear, transparent oil, 
 called Simbolee oil, is extracted. 
 
 61. BERRY A AMMONILLA. This furnishes the Trincomalee wood of the Philippine 
 
 Islands and Ceylon, and is largely used for making oil casks and for building 
 boats, for which it is well adapted, being light and strong. 
 
 62. BERTHOLLETIA EXCELSA. This furnishes the well known Brazil nuts, or cream 
 
 nuts of commerce. The tree is a native of South America and attains a 
 height of 100 to 150 feet. The fruit is nearly round and contains from eight- 
 een to twenty-four seeds, which are so beautifully packed in the shell that 
 when once removed it is found impossible to replace them. A bland oil is 
 pressed from the seeds, which is used by artists, and at Para the fibrous bark 
 of the tree is used for calking ships, as a substitute for oakum. 
 
 63. BIGNOXIA ECHINATA. A native of Mexico, where it is sometimes called Mari- 
 
 posa butterfly. The branches are said to be used in the adulteration of sarsa- 
 parilla. B. cliica, a native of Venezuela, furnishes a red pigment, obtained 
 by macerating the leaves in water, which is used by the natives for painting 
 their bodies. The long flexible stems of B. kerere furnish the natives of French 
 Guiana with a substitute for ropes. B. alliacea is termed the Garlic shrub, 
 because of the powerful odor of garlic emitted from its leaves and branches 
 when bruised. These plants all have showy flowers, and the genus is repre- 
 sented with us by such beautiful flowers as are produced by B. radicans and 
 B. capreolata. 
 
 64. BIX A ORELLANA. Arnotta plant. This plant is a native of South America, but 
 
 has been introduced and cultivated both in the West and East Indies. It 
 bears bunches of pink-colored flowers, which are followed by oblong bristled 
 pods. The seeds are thinly coated with red, waxy pulp, which is separated 
 by stirring them in water until it is detached, when it is strained off and evapo- 
 rated to the consistence of putty, when it is made up into rolls ; in this con- 
 dition it is known as flag or roll arnotta, but when thoroughly dried it is 
 made into cakes and sold as cake arnotta. It is much used by the South 
 American Caribs and other tribes of Indians for painting their bodies, paint 
 being almost their only article of clothing. As a commercial article it is 
 mainly used as a coloring for cheese, butter, and inferior chocolates, to all of 
 which it gives the required tinge without imparting any unpleasant flavor 
 or unwholesome quality. It is also used in imparting rich orange and gold- 
 colored tints to various kinds of varnishes. 
 
 65. BLIGHIA SAPIDA. The akee fruit of Guinea. The fruit is about 3 inches long 
 
 by 2 inches wide; the seeds are surrounded by a spongy substance, which is 
 eaten. It has a subacid, agreeable taste. A small quantity of semisolid 
 fatty oil is obtained from the seeds by pressure. 
 
 66. BCEHMERIA NIVEA. A plant of the nettle family, which yields the fiber known 
 
 as Chinese grass. The beautiful fabric called grasscloth, which rivals the best 
 French cambric in softness and fineness of texture, is manufactured from 
 the fiber of this plant. The fiber is also variously known in commerce as 
 rheea, ramie, and in China as Tchow-ma. It is a plant of the easiest cul- 
 ture, and has been introduced into the Southern States, where it grows 
 freely. When once machinery is perfected so as to enable its being cheaply 
 prepared for the manufacturer, a great demand will arise for this fiber. 
 
 67. BOLDOA FRAORANS. A Chilian plant which yields small edible fruits; these, as 
 
 well as all parts of the plant, are very aromatic. The bark is used for tan- 
 ning, andj the wcod is highly esteemed for making charcoal. An alkaloid 
 
10 
 
 called boldinc-, extracted from the plant, has reputed medicinal value, and a 
 drug called Boldu is similarly produced. 
 
 68. BORASSUS FLABELLIFORMIS. The Palmyra palm. The parts of this tree are 
 
 applied to such a multitude of purposes that a poem in the Tamil language, 
 although enumerating eight hundred uses, does not exhaust the catalogue. 
 In old trees the wood becomes hard and is very durable. The leaves are 
 from 8 to 10 feet long, and are used for thatching houses, making various 
 mattings, bags, etc. They also supply the Hindoo with paper, upon which 
 he writes with a stylus. A most important product called toddy or palm 
 wine is obtained from the flower spikes, which yield a great quantity of 
 juice for four or five months. Palm-toddy is intoxicating, and when dis- 
 tilled yields strong arrack. Very good vinegar is also obtained from it, and 
 large quantities of jaggery or palm sugar are manufactured from the toddy. 
 The fruits are large and have a thick coating of fibrous pulp, which is cooked 
 and eaten or made into jelly. The young palm plants are cultivated for the 
 market, as cabbages are with us, and eaten, either when fresh or after being 
 dried in the sun. 
 
 69. BOSWELLIA THURIFERA. This Coromandel tree furnishes the resin known as 
 
 olibanum, which is supposed to have been the frankincense of the ancients. 
 It is sometimes used in medicine as an astringent and stimulant, and is em- 
 ployed, because of its grateful perfume, as an incense in churches. 
 
 70. BROMELIA KARATAS. The Corawa fiber, or silk-grass of Guiana, is obtained 
 
 from this plant, which is very strong, and much used for bowstrings, fishing 
 lines, nets, and ropes. 
 
 71. BROMELIA PINGUIN. This is very common as a hedge or fence plant in the 
 
 West Indies. The leaves, when beaten with a blunt mallet and macerated in 
 water, produce fibers from which beautiful fabrics are manufactured. The 
 fruit yields a cooling juice much used in fevers. 
 
 72. BROSIUM ALICASTRUM. The bread-nut tree of Jamaica. The nuts or seeds 
 
 produced by this tree are said to form an agreeable and nutritious article of 
 food. When cooked they taste like hazelnuts. The young branches and 
 shoots are greedily eaten 'by horses and cattle, and the wood resembles ma- 
 hogany, and is used for making furniture. 
 
 73. BROSIMUM GALACTODENDRON The cow tree of South America, which yields a 
 
 milk of as good quality as that from the cow. It forms large forests on the 
 mountains near the town of Cariaco and elsewhere along the seacoast of 
 Venezuela, reaching to a considerable height. In South America the cow 
 tree is called Palo de Vaca, or Arbol de Leche. Its milk, which is obtained by 
 making incisions in the trunk, so closely resembles the milk of the cow, both 
 in appearance and quality, that it is commonly used as an article of food by 
 the inhabitants of the places where the tree is abundant. Unlike many other 
 vegetable milks, it is perfectly wholesome, and very nourishing, possessing an 
 agreeable taste, and a pleasant balsamic odor, its only unpleasant quality be- 
 ing a slight amount of stickiness. The chemical analysis of this milk has 
 shown it to possess a composition closely resembling some animal substances; 
 and, like animal milk, it quickly forms a cheesy scum, and after a few days' 
 exposure to the atmosphere, turns sour and putrifies. It contains upwards 
 of 30 per cent of a resinous substance called galactine. 
 
 74. BRYA EBENUS. Jamaica or West India ebony tree. This is not the plant that 
 
 yields the true ebony-wood of commerce. Jamica ebony is of a greenish- 
 brown color, very hard, and so heavy that it sinks in water. It takes a good 
 polish, and is used by turners for the manufacture of numerous kinds of 
 small wares. 
 
 75. BYRSONIMA SPICATA. A Brazilian plant, furnishing an astringent bark used 
 
 for tanning, and also containing a red coloring matter employed in dyeing. 
 The berries are used in medicine, and a decoction of the roots is used for 
 ulcers. 
 
 76. CJESALPJNIA BONDUC. A tropical plant, bearing the seeds known as nicker nuts, 
 
 or bonduc nuts. These are often strung together for necklaces. The kernels 
 have a very bitter taste, and the oil obtained from them is used medicinally. 
 
 77. CJESALPINA PULCHERRIMA. This beautiful flowering leguminous plant is a na- 
 
 tive of the East Indies, but is cultivated in all the tropics. In Jamaica it is 
 called the " Barbados flower." The wood is sought after for charcoal, and a 
 decoction of the leaves and flowers is used in fevers. 
 
11 
 
 78. C/TSALPINTA SAPPAN. Tho brown ish-rod wood of this Indian tree furnishes the 
 
 Sappan wood of commerce, from which dyers obtain a red color, principally 
 used for dyeing cotton goods. Its root also affords an orange-yellow dye. 
 
 79. CALAMUS ROTANG. This is one of the palms that furnish the canos or rattans 
 
 used for chair bottoms, sides of pony-carriages, and similar purposes. It is a 
 climbing palm and grows to an immense length; specimens 300 feet long have 
 been exhibited, climbing over and amongst the branches of trees, supporting 
 themselves by means of the hooked spines attached to the leaf stalks. C. ru- 
 dentum and C. viminalis furnish flexible canes. In their native countries 
 they are used for a variety of manufacturing purposes, also for ropes and 
 cables used by junks and other coasting vessels. In the Himalayas they are 
 used in the formation of suspension bridges across rivers and deep ravines. C. 
 scipionum furnishes the well-known Malacca canes used for walking sticks. 
 They are naturally of a rich brown color. The clouded and mottled appear- 
 ance which some of these present is said to be imparted to them by smoking 
 and steaming. 
 
 80. CALLJSTEMON SALIGNUM. A medium-sized tree from Australia; one of the many 
 
 so-called tea trees of that country. The wood, which is very hard, is known 
 as stone wood and has been used for wood engraving. Layers of the bark 
 readily peel off; hence it also receives the name of paper-bark plant. 
 
 81. CALLITRIS QUADRIVALVIS. This coniferous plant is a native of Barbary. It 
 
 yields a hard, durable, and fragrant timber, and is much employed in the 
 erection of mosques, etc., by the Africans of the North. The resin that ex- 
 udes from the tree is used in varnish under the name of gum-sandarach. In 
 powder it forms a principal ingredient of the article known as pounce. 
 
 82. CALOPHYLLUM CALABA. This is called calaba tree in the West Indies, and an 
 
 oil, fit for burning, is expressed from the seeds. In the West Indies these 
 seeds are called Santa Maria nuts. 
 
 83. CALOTROPIS GIGANTEA. The inner bark of this plant yields a valuable fiber, 
 
 capable of bearing a greater strain than hemp. All parts of it abound in a 
 very acrid milky juice, which hardens into a substance resembling gutta- 
 percha; but in its fresh state it is a valuable remedy in cutaneous diseases. 
 The bark of the root also possesses similar medical qualities; and its tincture 
 yields mudarine, a substance that has the property of gelatinizing when 
 heated, and returning to the fluid state when cool. Paper has been made 
 from the silky down of the seeds. 
 
 84. CAMELLIA JAPONICA. A well-known green-house plant, cultivated for its large 
 
 double flowers. The seeds furnish an oil of an agreeable odor, which is used 
 for many domestic purposes. 
 
 85. CAMPHORA OFFICINARUM. This tree belongs to the Lauracae. Camphor is 
 
 prepared from the wood by boiling chopped branches in water, when, after 
 some time, the camphor becomes deposited and is purified by sublimation. 
 It is mainly produced in the island of Formosa. The wood of the tree is 
 highly prized for manufacturing entomological cabinets. As the plant grows 
 well over a large area in the more Southern States, it is expected that the 
 preparation of its products will become a profitable industry. 
 
 86. CANELLA ALBA. This is a native of the West Indies, and furnishes a pale 
 
 olive-colored bark with an aromatic odor, and is u^ed as a tonic. It is used 
 by the natives as a spice. It furnishes the true canella bark of couimerce, 
 also known as white-wood bark. 
 
 87. CAPPARIS SPINOSA. The caper plant, a native of the South of Europe and of 
 
 the Mediterranean regions. The commercial product consists of the flower- 
 buds, and sometimes the unripe fruits, pickled in vinegar. The wood and 
 bark possess acrid qualities which will act as a blister when applied to the 
 skin. 
 
 88. CARAPA GUIANENSIS. A meliaceous plant, native of tropical America, where it 
 
 grows to a height of 60 to 80 feet. The bark of this tree possesses febrifugal 
 properties and is also used for tanning. By pressure, the seeds yield a liquid 
 oil called carap-oii or crab-oil, suitable for burning in lamps. 
 
 89. CARICA PAPAYA. This is the South American papaw tree, but is cultivated in 
 
 most tropical countries. It is also known as the melon-apple. The fruit is 
 of a dingy orange-color, of an oblong form, about 8 to 10 inches long, by 3 or 
 4 inches broad. It is said that the juice of the tree, or an infusion of the 
 leaves and fruit, has the property of rendering tough fiber quite tender. 
 Animals fed upon the fruit and leaves will have very tender and juicy flesh. 
 
12 
 
 90. CARLTJDOVICA PALHATA. A pandanaceous plant from Panama and southward. 
 
 Panama hats are made from the leaves of this plant. The leaves are cut when 
 young, and the stiff parallel veins removed, after which they are slit into 
 shreds, but not separated at the stalk end, and immersed in boiling water for 
 a short time, then bleached in the sun. 
 
 91. CAR YOG AR NUCIFERUM. On the river banks of Guiana this grows to a large-sized 
 
 tree. It yields the butter-nuts, or souari-nuts of commerce. These are of a 
 flattened kidney shape, with a hard woody shell of a reddish -brown color, and 
 covered with wart-like protuberances. The nuts are pleasant to eat, and yield, 
 by expression, an oil called Piquia oil, which possesses the flavor of the fruit. 
 
 92. CARYOPHYLLUS AROMATICUS. This myrtaceous plant produces the well-known 
 
 spice called cloves. It forms a beautiful evergreen, rising from 20 to 30 feet 
 in height. The cloves of commerce are the unexpanded flower-buds; they 
 are collected by beating the tree with rods, when the buds, from the jointed 
 character of their stalks, readily fall, and are received on sheets spread on 
 purpose; they are then dried in the sun. All parts of the plant are aromatic, 
 from the presence of a volatile oil. The oil is sometimes used in toothache 
 and as a carminative in medicine. 
 
 93. CARYOTA URENS. This fine palm is a native of Ceylon, and is also found in other 
 
 parts of India, where it supplies the native population with various impor- 
 tant articles. Large quantities of toddy, or palm-wine, are prepared from 
 the juice, which, when boiled, yields very good palm sugar or jaggery, and 
 also excellent sugar candy. Sago is also prepared from the central or pithy 
 - part of the trunk, and forms a large portion of the food of the natives. The 
 fiber from the leaf stalk is of great strength; it is known as Kittool fiber, 
 and is used for making ropes, brushes, brooms, etc. A woolly kind of scruf , 
 scraped off the leaf stalks, is used for calking boats, and the stem furnishes 
 a small quantity of wood. 
 
 94. CASIMIROA EDULIS. A Mexican plant, belonging to the orange family, with a 
 
 fruit about the size of an ordinary orange, which has an agreeable taste, but 
 is not considered to be wholesome. The seeds are poisonous; the bark is bit- 
 ter, and is sometimes used medicinally. 
 
 95. CASSIA ACUTIFOLIA. The cassias belong to the leguminous family. The leaf- 
 
 lets of this and some other species produce the well-known drug called senna, 
 That known as Alexandria senna is produced by the above. East Indian 
 senna is produced by C. elongata. Aleppo senna is obtained from. C. obovata. 
 The native species, C. marylandica, possesses similar properties. The seeds 
 of C. absus, a native of Egypt, are bitter, aromatic, and mucilaginous, and 
 are used as a remedy for ophthalmia. C. fistula is called the Pudding-Pipe 
 tree, and furnishes the cassia pods of commerce. The seeds of C. occidentalis, 
 when roasted, are used as a substitute for coffee in the Mauritius and in the 
 interior of Africa. 
 
 9C. CASTILLOA ELASTICA. This is a Mexican tree, which yields a milky juice, form- 
 ing caoutchouc, but is not collected for commerce except in a limited way. 
 
 97. CASUARINA QUADRIVALVIS. This Tasmanian tree produces a very hard wood of 
 
 a reddish color, often called Beef wood. It is marked with dark stripes, and 
 is much used in some places for picture frames and cabinetwork. This be- 
 longs to a curious family of trees having no leaves, but looking like a gigantic 
 specimen of Horse'-tail grass, a weed to be seen in wet places. 
 
 98. CATHA EDULIS. This plant is a native of Arabia, where it attains the height of 
 
 7 to 10 feet. Its leaves are used by the Arabs in preparing a beverage like tea 
 or coffee. The twigs, with leaves attached, in bundles of fifty, and in pieces 
 from 12 to 15 inches in length, form a very considerable article of commerce, 
 its use in Arabia corresponding to that of the Paraguay tea in South America 
 and the Chinese tea in Europe. The effects produced by a decoction of the 
 leaves of Cafta, as they are termed, are described as similar to those produced 
 by strong green tea, only more pleasing and agreeable. The Arab soldiers chew 
 the leaves when on sentry duty to keep them from feeling drowsy. Its use is of 
 great antiquity, preceding that of coffee. Its stimulating effects induced some 
 Arabs to class it with intoxicating substances, the use of which is forbidden 
 by the Koran, but a synod of learned Mussulmans decreed that, as it did not 
 impair the health or impede the observance of religious duties, but only in- 
 creased hilarity and good humor, it was lawful to use it. 
 
 99. CECROPIA PELT ATA. The South American trumpet tree, so called because its 
 
 hollow branches are used for musical instruments. The Waupe Indians form 
 
13 
 
 a kind of drum by removing the pith or center of the branches. The inner 
 lark of the young branches yields a very tough fiber, which is made into 
 ropes. The milky juice of the stem hardens into caoutchouc. 
 
 100. CEDRELA ODORATA. This forms a large tree in the West India Islands, and is 
 
 hollowed out for canoes; the wood is of a brown color and has a fragrant 
 odor, and is sometimes imported under the name of Jamaica cedar. 
 
 101. CEPHJELIS IPECACUANHA. This Brazilian plant produces the true ipecacuanha, 
 
 and belongs to the Cinchonacce. The root is the part used in medicine, it 
 is knotty, contorted, and annulated, and of a grayish-brown color, and its 
 emetic properties are due to a chemical principle called emetin. 
 
 102. CERATONIA SILIQUA. The carob bean. This leguminous plant is a native of 
 
 the countries bordering on the Mediterranean. The seed pods contain a 
 quantity of mucilaginous and saccharine matter, and are used as food for 
 cattle. Besides the name of carob beans, these pods are known as locust 
 pods, or St. John's bread, from a supposition that they formed the food of 
 St. John in the wilderness. It is now generally admitted that the locusts 
 of St. John were the insects so called, and which are still used as an article 
 of food in some of the Eastern countries. There is more reason for the 
 belief that the husks mentioned in the parable of the prodigal son were 
 these pods. The seeds were at one time used by singers, who imagined 
 that they softened and cleared the voice. 
 
 103. CEIIBERA THEVETIA. The name is intended to imply that the plant is as dan- 
 
 gerous as Cerberus. The plant has a milky, poisonous juice. The bark is 
 purgative; the unripe fruit is used by the natives of Travancore to destroy 
 dogs, as its action causes their teeth to loosen and fall out. 
 
 104. CEREUS GIQANTEA. The suwarrow of the Mexicans, a native of the hot, 
 
 arid, and almost desert regions of New Mexico, found growing in rocky 
 places, in valleys, and on mountain sides, often springing out of mere 
 crevices in hard rocks, and imparting a singular aspect to the scenery of 
 the country, its tall stems often reaching 40 feet in height, with upright 
 branches looking like telegraph posts for signaling from point to point of 
 the rocky mountains. The fruits are about 2 or 3 inches long, of a 
 green color and oval form; when ripe they burst into three or four pieces, 
 which curve back so as to resemble a flower. Inside they contain numer- 
 ous little black seeds, imbedded in a crimson-colored pulp, which the 
 Indians make into a preserve. They also eat the ripe fruit as an article of 
 food. 
 
 105. CEREUS MACDONALDLE. A night-blooming cereus, and one of the most beau- 
 
 tiful. The flowers when fully expanded are over a foot in diameter, having 
 numerous radiating red and bright orange sepals and delicately white 
 petals. It is a native of the Honduras. 
 
 106. CEROXYLON ANDICOLA. The wax palm of New Grenada, first described by 
 
 Humboldt and Bonpland, who found it on elevated mountains, extend- 
 ing as high as the lower limit of perpetual snow. Its tall trunk is covered 
 with a thin coating of a whitish waxy substance, giving it a marbled 
 appearance. The waxy substance forms an article of commerce, and is 
 obtained by scraping the trunk. It consists of two parts of resin and one 
 wax, and, when mixed with one third of tallow, it makes very good 
 candles. The stem is used for building purposes, and the leaves for thatch- 
 ing roofs. 
 
 107. CHAMJEDOREA ELEGANS. This belongs to a genus of palms native of South 
 
 America. The plant is of tall, slender growth; the stems are used for 
 walking canes, and the young, unexpanded flower spikes are used as a 
 vegetable. 
 
 108. CHAM^EROPS FORTUNE. This palm is a native of the north of China, and is 
 
 nearly hardy here. In China, the coarse brown fibers obtained from the 
 leaves are used for making hats and also garments called So-e, worn in wet 
 weather. 
 
 109. CHAM^ROPS HUMILIS. This is the only European species of palm, and does 
 
 not extend farther north than Nice. The leaves are commonly used in the 
 south of Europe for making hats, brooms, baskets, etc. From the leaf fiber 
 a material resembling horse hair is prepared, and the Arabs mix it with 
 camel's hair for their tent covers. 
 
 110. CHAVICA BETEL. This plant is found all over the East Indies, where its leaf is 
 
 largely used by Indian natives as a masticatory. Its consumption is im- 
 
14 
 
 mense, and has been said to equal that of tobacco by Western peoples. 
 It is prepared for chewing by inclosing in the leaves a slice of the areca 
 nut, and a small portion of lime. It is thought to act as a stimulant to the 
 digestive organs, but causes giddiness and other unpleasant symptoms to 
 those not accustomed to its use. 
 
 111. CHIOCOCCA RACEMOSA. This plant is found in many warm countries, such as 
 
 in southern Florida. It is called cahinca in Brazil, where a preparation 
 of the bark of the root is employed as a remedy for snake bites. Almost 
 every locality where snakes exist has its local remedies for poisonous bites, 
 but they rarely prove to be efficient when truthfully and fairly tested. 
 
 112. CHLORANTHUS OFFICINALIS. The roots of this plant are an aromatic stimu- 
 
 lant, much used as medicine in the Island of Java; also, when mixed with 
 anise, it has proved valuable hi malignant smallpox. 
 
 113. CHLOROXYLON SWIETENIA. The satinwood tree of tropical countries. It is 
 
 principally used for making the backs of clothes and hair brushes, and for 
 articles of turnery- ware; the finest mottled pieces are cut into veneers and 
 used for cabinet-making. 
 
 114. CHRYSOBALANUS ICACO. The cocoa plum of the West Indies. The fruits 
 
 are about the size of a plum, and are of various colors, white, yellow, red, 
 or purple. The pulp is sweet, a little austere, but not disagreeable. The 
 fruits are preserved and exported from Cuba and other West India Islands. 
 The kernels yield a fixed oil, and an emulsion made with them is used 
 medicinally. 
 
 115. CHRYSOPHYLLUM CAINITO. The fruit of this plant is known in the West 
 
 Indies as the star apple, the interior of which, when cut across, shows ten 
 cells, and as many seeds disposed regularly round the center, giving a star- 
 like appearance, as stars are generally represented in the most reliable 
 almanacs. It receives its botanic name from the golden silky color on the 
 under side of the leaves. 
 
 116. CICCA DISTICHA. This Indian plant is cultivated in many parts under the 
 
 name of Otaheite gooseberry. The fruits resemble those of a green goose- 
 berry. They have an acid flavor; are used for preserving or pickling, and 
 eaten either in a raw state or cooked in various ways. 
 
 117. CINCHONA CALISAYA. The yellow bark of Bolivia. This is one of the so-called 
 
 Peruvian Bark trees. The discovery of the medicinal value of this bark is a 
 matter of fable and conjecture. The name cinchona is derived from that of 
 the wife of a viceroy of Peru, who is said to have taken the drug from South 
 America to Europe in 1639. Afterwards the Jesuits used it; hence it is 
 sometimes called Jesuit's bark. It was brought most particularly into 
 notice when Louis XIV of France purchased of Sir R. Talbor, an English- 
 man, his heretofore secret remedy for intermittent fever, and made it public. 
 There are various barks in commerce classified under the head of Peru- 
 vian barks. Their great value depends upon the presence of certain alka- 
 loid substances called quinine, cinchonine, and quinidine, which exist in 
 the bark in combination with tannic and other acids. Quinine is the 
 most useful of these alkaloids, and this is found in greatest quantities 
 in Calisaya bark. The gray bark of Huanuco is derived from Cinchona 
 micrantha, which is characterized by its yield of cinchonine, and the Loxa 
 or Loja barks are furnished in part by Cinchona officinalis, and are espe- 
 cially rich in quinidine. There is some uncertainty about the trees that 
 produce the various kinds of bark. These trees grow in the forests of 
 Bolivia and Peru, at various elevations on the mountains, but chiefly in 
 sheltered mountain valleys, and all of them at a considerable distance below 
 the frost or snow line. They are destroyed by the slightest frost. Plants of 
 various species have been distributed from time to time, in localities which 
 seemed most favorable to their growth, but all reports from these distri- 
 butions have, so far, been discouraging. 
 
 1 18. CINNAMOMUM CASSIA. This f urnishes cassia bark, which is much like cinna- 
 
 mon, but thicker, coarser, stronger, less delicate in flavor, and cheaper; 
 hence it is often used to adulterate cinnamon. The unexpanded flower 
 buds are sold as cassia buds, possessing properties similar to those of the 
 bark. It is grown in southern China, Java, and tropical countries gen- 
 erally. 
 
 119. CINNAMOMUM ZEYLANICUM. A tree belonging to Lauracese, which furnishes 
 
 the best cinnamon. It is prepared by stripping the bark from the branches, 
 when it rolls up into quills, the smaller of which are introduced into the 
 
15 
 
 larger, and then dried in the sun. Cinnamon is much used as a condiment 
 for its pleasant flavor, and its astringent properties are of medicinal value. 
 It is cultivated largely in Ceylon. The cinnamon tree is too tender to be- 
 come of commercial importance in the United States. Isolated plants may 
 be found in southern Florida, at least it is so stated, but the area suited to 
 its growth must be very limited. 
 
 120. CISSAMI-KI.OS I'AUKiitA. The velvet plant of tropical countries. The root fur- 
 
 nishes the Pareira brava of druggists, which is used in medicine. 
 
 121. CITRUS AURANTIUM. The orange, generally supposed to be a native of the 
 
 north of India. It was introduced into Arabia during the ninth century. It 
 was unknown in Europe in the eleventh century. Oranges were cultivated 
 at Seville towards the end of the twelfth century, and at Palermo in the 
 thirteenth. In the fourteenth century they were plentiful in several parts 
 of Italy. There are many varieties of the orange in cultivation. The blood 
 red, or Malta, is much esteemed; the fruit is round, reddish-yellow outside 
 and the pulp irregularly mottled with crimson. The Mandarin or Tanger- 
 ine orange has a thin rind which separates easily from the pulp, and is very 
 sweet and rich. The St. Michael's orange is one of the most productive and 
 delicious varieties, with a thin rind and very sweet pulp. The Seville or 
 bitter orange is used for the manufacture of bitter tincture and candied 
 orange-peel. The Bergamot orange has peculiarly fragrant flowers and 
 fruit, from each of which an essence of a delicious quality is extracted. 
 
 122. CITRUS DECUMANA. The shaddock, which has the largest fruit of the family. 
 
 It is a native of China and Japan, where it is known as sweet ball. The 
 pulp is acid or subacid, and in some varieties nearly sweet. From the thick- 
 ness of the skin the fruit will keep a considerable time without injury. 
 
 123. CITRUS JAPONICA. This is the Kum-quat of the Chinese. It forms a small 
 
 tree, or rather a large bush, and bears fruit about the size of a large cherry. 
 There are two forms, one bearing round fruits, the other long, oval fruits. 
 This fruit has a sweet rind and an agreeably acid pulp, and is usually eaten 
 whole without being peeled. It forms an excellent preserve, with sugar, 
 and is largely used in this form. 
 
 124. CITRUS LJMETTA. The lime, which is used for the same purposes as the lemon, 
 
 and by some preferred, the juice being considered more wholesome and the 
 acid more agreeable. There are several varieties, some of them being sweet 
 and quite insipid. 
 
 125. CITRUS LIMONUM. The lemon; this plant is found growing naturally in that 
 
 part of India which is beyond the Ganges. It was unknown to the ancient 
 Greeks and Romans. It is supposed to have been brought to Italy by the 
 Crusaders. Arabian writers of the twelfth century notice the lemon as 
 being cultivated in Egypt and other places. The varieties of the lemon are 
 very numerous and valued for their agreeable acid juice and essential oil. 
 They keep for a considerable time, especially if steeped for a short period 
 in salt water. 
 
 126. CITRUS MEDICA. The citron, found wild in the forests of northern India. The 
 
 Jews cultivated the citron at the time they were under subjection to the 
 Romans, and used the fruit in the Feast of the Tabernacles. There is no 
 proof of their having known the fruit in the time of Moses, but it is supposed 
 that they found it at Babylon, and brought it into Palestine. The citron 
 is cultivated in China and Cochin-China. It is easily naturalized and the 
 seeds are rapidly spread. In its wild state it grows erect; the branches are 
 spiny, the flowers purple on the outside and white on the inside. The fruit 
 f urmshes the essential oil of citron and the essential oil of cedra. There are 
 several varieties; the fingered citron is a curious fruit, and the Madras cit- 
 ron is very long and narrow; the skin is covered with protuberances. 
 
 127. CLUSIA ROSEA. A tropical plant which yields abundantly of a tenacious resin 
 
 from its stem, which is used for the same purpose as pitch. It is first of a 
 green color, but when exposed to the air it assumes a brown or reddish tint. 
 The Caribs use it for painting the bottoms of their boats. 
 
 128. COCCOLOBA UVIFERA. Known in tho West Indies as the seaside grape, fiom 
 
 the peculiarity of the perianth, which becomes pulpy and of a violet color 
 and surrounds the ripe fruit. The pulpy perianth has an agreeable acid 
 flavor. An astringent extract is prepared from the plant which is used in 
 medicine. 
 
 129. Cocos NUCIFERA. The cocoanut palm. This palm is cultivated throughout 
 
 the tropics so extensively that its native country is not known. One reason 
 
16 
 
 of its extensive dissemination is that it grows so close to the sea that the 
 ripe fruits are washed away by the waves and afterwards cast upon far- 
 distant shores, where they soon vegetate. It is in this way that the coral 
 islands of the Indian Ocean have become covered with these palms. Every 
 part of this tree is put to some useful purpose. The outside rind or husk 
 of the fruit yields the fiber from which the well-known cocoa matting is 
 manufactured. Cordage, clothes, brushes, brooms, and hats are made from 
 this fiber, and, when curled and dyed, it is used for stuffing mattresses and 
 cushions. An oil is produced by pressing the white kernel of the nut which 
 is used for cooking when fresh, and by pressure affords stearin, which is 
 made into candles, the liquid being used for lamps. The kernel is of great 
 importance as an article of food, and the milk affords an agreeable beverage. 
 While young it yields a delicious substance resembling blanc-mange. The 
 leaves are used for thatching, for making mats, baskets, hats, etc. ; combs 
 are made from the hard footstalk; the heart of the tree is used as we use 
 cabbages. The brown fibrous net work from the base of the leaves is used 
 as sieves, and also made into garments. The wood is used for building and 
 for furniture. The flowers are used medicinally as an astringent and the 
 roots as a febrifuge. 
 
 130. Cocos PLUMOSUS. A Brazilian species, highly ornamental in its long, arching 
 leaves, and producing quantities of orange-colored nuts, in size about as large 
 as a chestnut, inclosed in an edible pulp. 
 
 131 COFFEA ARABICA. The coffee plant, which belongs to the Cinchonacece and is a 
 native of Abyssinia, but is now cultivated in many tropical regions. It 
 can not be successfully cultivated in a climate where the temperature, at 
 any season of the year, falls below 55 degrees, although it will exist where 
 the temperature all but falls short of freezing, but a low fall of temperature 
 greatly retards the ripening of the fruit. Ripe fruits are often gathered 
 from plants in the extreme south of Florida. The beans or seeds are 
 roasted before use, and by this process they gain nearly one half in bulk 
 and lose about a fifth in weight. Heat also changes their essential quali- 
 ties, causing the development of the volatile oil and peculiar acid to which 
 the aroma and flavor are due. The berries contain theine; so also do the 
 leaves, and hi some countries the latter are preferred. 
 
 132. COFFEA LIBERICA. The Liberian coffee, cultivated in Africa, of which country 
 
 it is a native. This plant is of larger and stronger growth than the Ara- 
 bian coffee plant and the fruit is larger. This species is of recent introduc- 
 tion to commerce, and although it was reported as being more prolific than 
 the ordinary coffee plant, the statement has not been borne out in Brazil 
 and Mexico, where it has been tested. It is also more tender than the older 
 known species. 
 
 133. COLA ACUMINATA. An African tree, which has been introduced into the West 
 
 Indies and Brazil for the sake of its seeds, which are known as Cola, or 
 Kola, or Goora nuts, and extensively used as a sort of condiment by the 
 natives of Africa. A small piece of one of these seeds is chewed before 
 each meal to promote digestion. It possesses properties similar to the leaves 
 of coca and contains theine. These nuts have from time immemorial occu- 
 pied a prominent place in the dietetic economy of native tribes in Africa, 
 and the demand for them has established a large commercial industry in 
 the regions where they are obtained. 
 
 134. COLOCASIA ESCULENTA. This plant has been recommended for profitable cul- 
 
 ture in this country for its edible root-stock. It is cultivated in the Sand- 
 wich Islands under the name of Tara. The young leaves are cooked and 
 eaten in the same manner as spinach oV greens in Egypt. They are acrid, 
 but lose their acridity when boiled, the water being changed. The roots are 
 filled with starch, and have long been used as food in various semitropical 
 countries. 
 
 135. CONDAMINEA MACROPHYLLA. This plant belongs to the cinchona family, and 
 
 contains tonic properties. The Peruvian bark gatherers adulterate the true 
 cinchona bark with this, but it may be detected by its white inner surface, 
 its less powerful bitter taste, and- a viscidity not possessed by the cinchonas. 
 
 136. CONVOLVULUS SCAMMONIA. This plant furnishes the scammony of the drug- 
 
 gists. 
 
 137. COOKIA PUNCTVTA. A small-growing tree from China, which produces a fruit 
 
 known as the Wampee. This fruit is a globular berry, with five or fewer coin- 
 partments filled with ^uice. ft is much esteemed in China. 
 
17 
 
 138. COPAIFERA OFFICINALIS. This tree yields balsam of copaiba, used in medicine. 
 
 The balsam is collected by making incisions in the stem, when the liquor is 
 said to pour out copiously; as it exudes it is thin and colorless, but imme- 
 diately thickens and changes to a clear yellow. Like many other balsams, it 
 is nearly allied to the turpentines; it has a moderately agreeable smell, and 
 a bitter, biting taste of considerable duration. Distilled with water it yields 
 a limpid essential oil. 
 
 139. COPERNICA CERIFERA. The Carnuba, or wax palm of Brazil. It grows about 40 
 
 feet high, and has a trunk 6 or 8 inches thick, composed of very hard wood, 
 which is commonly employed in Brazil for building and other purposes. The 
 upper part of the young stem is soft, and yields a kind of sago, and the bitter 
 fruits are eaten by tb * Indians. The young leaves are coated with wax, called 
 Carnaub wax, which is detatched by shaking them, and then melted and run 
 into cakes; it is harder than beeswax, and has been used for making candles. 
 The leaves are used for thatch, and, when young, are eaten by cattle. 
 
 140. COPROSMA ROBUSTA. A cinchonacepus shrub. The leaves of this plant were 
 
 formerly used in some of the religious ceremonies of the New Zealanders. 
 
 141. CORDIA MYXA. This produces succulent, mucilaginous, and emollient fruits, 
 
 which are eaten. These qualities, combined with a slight astringency, have 
 led to their use as pectorals, known as Sebestens. The wood of this tree is 
 said to have furnished the material used by the Egyptians in the construction 
 of their mummy cases; it is also considered to be one of the best woods for 
 kindling fire by friction. 
 
 143. CORDYLINE AUSTRALIS. The Australian Ti, or cabbage tree, a palm-like plant 
 of 15 to 20 feet in height. The whole plant is fibrous, and it has been sug- 
 gested as good for a paper-making material. The juice of the roots and stem 
 contains a small amount of sugar, and has been employed for procuring 
 alcohol. 
 
 143. CORYPHA UMBRACULIFERA. The Talipot palm, a native of Ceylon, producing 
 
 gigantic fan-like leaves. These leaves have prickly stalks 6 or 7 feet long, 
 and when fully expanded form a nearly complete circle of 13 feet in diam- 
 eter. Large fans made of these leaves are carried before people of rank 
 among the Cinghalese; they are also commonly used as umbrellas, and tents 
 are made by neatly joining them together; they are also used as a substitute 
 for paper, being written upon with a stylus. Some of the sacred books of 
 the Cinghalese are composed of strips of them. The hard seeds are used by 
 turners. 
 
 144. COUROUPITA GUIANENSIS. The fruit of this tree is called, from its appearance, 
 
 the cannon-ball fruit; its shell is used as a drinking vessel, and when fresh 
 the pulp is of an agreeable flavor. 
 
 1 15. CRAT^EVA QYNANDRA. This West Indian tree yields a small fruit which has a 
 strong smell of garlic, hence it is called the garlic pear. The bark is bitter 
 and used as a tonic. 
 
 146. CRESCENTIA CUJETE. The calabash tree of the West Indies, where it is valued 
 
 for the sake of its fruits, which resemble pumpkins hi appearance and oc- 
 casionally reach a diameter of 18 inches. Divested of their pulp, which is 
 not edible, they serve various useful domestic purposes, for carrying water, 
 and even as kettles for cooking. They are strong and light. 
 
 147. CROTON CALSAMIFERUM. This West Indian shrub is sometimes called sea-side 
 
 balsam or sage. A thick, yellowish, aromatic juice exudes from the ex- 
 tremities of the broken branches, or wherever the stem has been wounded. 
 In Martinique a liquor called Eau de Mantes is distilled from this balsamic 
 juice with spirits of wine. The young leaves and branches are used in 
 warm baths, on account of their agreeable fragrance and reputed me- 
 dicinal virtues. 
 
 148. CROTON ELEUTHERIA. This plant furnishes cascarilla bark, used as an aro- 
 
 matic bitter tonic, having no astringency. It has a fragrant smell when 
 burnt, on which account it has been mixed with smoking tobacco. 
 
 [49. CROTON TIGLIUM. A plant of the family Euphorbiacece, from the Indian 
 Archipelago, which produces the seeds from whence croton oil is extracted. 
 It is a very powerful medicine, and eveji in pressing the seeds for the pur- 
 pose of extracting the oil, the workmen, ^re subject to irritation of the eyes 
 and other casualties, 
 28582 2 
 
18 
 
 150. CUBED A OFFICINALIS. A native of Java, which furnishes the cubeb fruits of 
 
 commerce. These fruits are like black pepper, but stalked, and have an 
 acrid, hot, aromatic taste; frequently used medicinally. 
 
 151. CURCAS PURGANS. A tropical plant cultivated in many warm countries for 
 
 the sake of its seeds, known as physic nuts. The juice of the plant, which 
 is milky, acrid, and glutinous, produces an indellible brown stain, on linen. 
 The oil from the seeds is used for burning in lamps; and in paints. In 
 China it is boiled with oxide of iron and used as a varnish. It is also used 
 medicinally. 
 
 152. CURCUMA LONGA. A plant belonging to the Zingiberacece, the roots of which 
 
 furnish turmeric. This powder is used in India as a mild aromatic, and 
 for other medicinal purposes. It also enters into the composition of curry- 
 powder, and a sort of arrow root is made from the young tubers. 
 
 153. CURCUMA ZEDOARIA. This plant furnishes zedoary tubers, much used in India 
 
 as aromatic tonics. 
 
 154. CYATHEA MEDULLARIS. This beautiful tree fern is a native of Australia, 
 
 where it attains a height of 25 to 30 feet, having fronds from 10 to 15 feet in 
 length. It contains a pulpy substance in the center of the stem, of a starchy, 
 mucilaginous nature, which is a common article of food with the natives. 
 The trees have to be destroyed in order to obtain it. 
 
 155. CYBISTAX ANTISYPHILITICA. A plant of the order of Bignoniacece, called 
 
 Atunyangua in the Andes of Peru, where the inhabitants dye their cotton 
 "lothes by boiling them along with the leaves of this plant; the dye is a per- 
 manent blue. The bark of the young shoots is much employed in medicine. 
 
 156. CYCAS REVOLUTA. The sago palm of gardens. The stem of the plants 
 
 abounds in starch, which is highly esteemed in Japan. A gum exudes from 
 the trunk of the old plant, which is employed medicinally by the natives of 
 India. 
 
 157. CYCAS CIRCINALIS. A native of Malabar, where a kind of sago is prepared 
 
 from the seeds, which are dried and powdered; medicinal properties are also 
 attributed to the seeds. 
 
 158. DACRYDIUM FRANKLINII. Called Huon pine, because of its being found near 
 
 the Huon River, in Tasmania. It belongs to the yew family. It furnishes 
 valuable timber, very durable, and is used for ship and house building ; 
 some of the wood is very beautifully marked, and is used in furniture mak- 
 ing and cabinetwork. 
 
 159. DALBERGIA sissoo. A tree of northern India, the timber of which is known 
 
 as Sissum wood. This w r ood is strong, tenacious, and compact, much used 
 for railway ties and for gun-carriages. 
 
 160. DAMARA AUSTRALIS. A singular plant of the Coniferce, family, called the 
 
 Kauri pine. It forms a tree 150 to 200 feet in height, and produces a hard, 
 brittle resin-like copal, which is used in varnish. 
 
 161. DASYLIRION ACROTRICHUM. A plant of the pineapple family, from Mexico. 
 
 The leaves contain a fine fiber, which may be ultimately more extensively 
 utilized than it is at present. 
 
 162. DESMODIUM GYRANS. An interesting plant of the pea family, called the mov- 
 
 ing plant, on account of the rotatory motion of the leaflets. These move in 
 all conceivable ways, either steadily or by jerks. Sometimes only one leaf or 
 two on the plant will be affected ; at other times a nearly simultaneous 
 movement may be seen in all the leaves. These movements are most ener- 
 getic when the thermometer marks about 80. This motion is not due to 
 any external or mechanical irritation . 
 
 163. DIALIUM ACUTIFOLIUM. The velvet tamarind, so called, from the circum- 
 
 stance that its seed-pods are covered with a beautiful black velvet down . 
 The seeds are surrounded by a farinaceous pulp of an agreeable acid taste. 
 
 164. DIALIUM INDUM. The tamarind plum, which has a delicious pulp of slightly 
 
 acid flavor. 
 
 165. DICKSONIA ANTARCTICA. The large fern tree of Australia. This plant attains 
 
 the height of 30 or more feet, and its fronds or leaves spread horizontally 
 some 20 to 25 feet. It is found in snowy regions, and would be perfectly 
 hardy south. It is one of the finest objects of the vegetable kingdom when 
 of sufficient size to show its true beauties. 
 
 166. DIEFFENBACHIA SEGUINA. This has acquired the name of dumb cane, in con- 
 
 sequence of its fleshy, cane-like stems, rendering speechless any person 
 
19 
 
 who may happen to bite them, their acrid poison causing the tongue to 
 swell to an immense size. An ointment for applying to dropsical swellings 
 is prepared by boiling the juice in lard. Notwithstanding its acridity, a 
 wholesome starch is prepared from the stem. 
 
 1C7. DILLENIA SPECIOSA. An East Indian tree, bearing a fruit which is used in cur- 
 ries and for making jellies. Its slightly acid juice, sweetened with sugar, 
 forms a cooling beverage. The wood is very tough, and is used for making 
 gun-stocks. 
 
 168. DION EDULE. A Mexican plant, bearing large seeds containing a quantity of 
 
 starch, which is separated and used as arrow root. 
 
 169. DIOSPYROS EBENUM. An East Indian tree which in part yields the black 
 
 ebony wood of commerce, much used in fancy cabinetwork and turnery, 
 door knobs, pianoforte keys, etc. 
 
 170. DIOSPYROS KAKI. The Chinese date plum or persimmon. The fruits vary in size 
 
 from that of a medium-sized apple to that of a large pear ; they also vary 
 much in their flavor and consistency, some being firm, and others having a 
 soft custard-like pulp, very sweet and luscious. The Chinese dry them in 
 the sun and make them into sweetmeats ; they are sometimes 'imported, 
 and in appearance resemble large-sized preserved figs. These plants are 
 being quite largely cultivated in some of the southern States, and the fruit 
 is entering commerce. 
 
 171. DIPTERIX ODORATA. This leguminous plant yields the fragrant send known 
 
 us Tonka bean, used in scenting snuff and for other purposes of prefumery. 
 The odor resembles that of new-mown hay, and is due to the presence of 
 coumarine. The tree is a native of Cayenne and grows 60 to 80 feet high. 
 
 172. DORSTENIA CONTRA YERVA. A plant from tropical America, the roots of which 
 
 are used in medicine under the name of Contrayerva root. 
 
 173. DRACAENA DRACO. The Dragon's Blood tree of Teneriffe. This liliaceous 
 
 plant attains a great age and enormous size. The resin obtained from this 
 tree has been found in the sepulchral caves of the Cuanches, and hence it 
 is supposed to have been used by them in embalming the dead. Trees of 
 this species, at present in vigorous health, are supposed to be as old as the 
 pyramids of Egypt. 
 
 174. DRAC^NOPSIS AUSTRALIS. Ti or cabbage tree of New Zealand. The whole 
 
 of this plant is fibrous and has been used for paper making. The juice of 
 the roots and stem contains a small amount of sugar and has been used for 
 producing alcohol. 
 
 175. DRIMYS WINTERI. This plant belongs to the magnolia family and furnishes the 
 
 aromatic tonic known as Winter's bark. It is a native of Chili and the 
 Strait of Magalhaens. 
 
 176. DRYOBALANOPS AROMATICA. A native of the Island of Sumatra. It furnishes 
 
 a liquid called camphor oil and a crystalline solid known as Sumatra or 
 Borneo camphor. Camphor oil is obtained from incisions in the tree, and 
 has a fragrant, aromatic odor. It has been used for scenting soap. The 
 solid camphor is found in cracks of the wood, and is obtained by cutting 
 down the tree, dividing it into blocks and small pieces, from the interstices 
 of which the camphor is extracted. It differs from the ordinary camphor 
 in being more brittle and not condensing on the sides of the bottle in which 
 it is kept. It is much esteemed by the Chinese, who attribute many vir- 
 tues to it. It has been long known and is mentioned by Marco Polo in the 
 thirteenth century. 
 
 177. DUBOSIA HOPWOODH. The leaves of this Australian plant are chewed by the 
 
 natives of Central Australia, just as the Peruvians and Chilians masticate 
 the leaves of the Erythroxylon coca, to invigorate themselves during their 
 long foot journeys through the country. They are known as Pitury leaves. 
 
 178. DURIO ZIBETHIXUS. A common tree in the Malayan Islands, where its fruit 
 
 forms a great part of the food of the natives. It is said to have a most deli- 
 cious flavor combined with a most offensive odor, but when once the repug- 
 nance of the peculiar odor is overcome it becomes a general favorite. The 
 unripe fruit is cooked and eaten, and the seeds roasted and used like chest- 
 nuts. 
 
 179. EL^EIS GUINEENSIS. The African oil palm is a native of southwestern Africa, 
 
 but has-been introduced into other regions. It grows to a height of 20 to 30 
 
20 
 
 feet and bears dense heads of fruit. The oil is obtained by boiling the fruits 
 in water and skimming off the oil as it rises to the surface. It is used in the 
 manufacture of candies. In Africa it is eaten as butter by the natives. 
 
 180. EL.EIS MELANOCOCCA. A palm from tropical America which produces large 
 
 quantities of oil. 
 
 181. EL^OCARPUS HINAU. A New Zealand tree, of the linden family. The bark 
 
 atf ords an excellent permanent dye, varying from light brown to deep black. 
 The fruits are surrounded by an edible pulp, and they are frequently pickled 
 like olives. 
 
 182. ELETTARIA CARD AMOMUM. This plant furnishes the fruits known as the Small 
 
 or Malabar cardamoms of commerce. The seeds are used medicinally for 
 their cordial aromatic properties, which depend upon the presence of a vola- 
 tile oil. In India the fruits are chewed by the natives with their betel. 
 
 183. EMBLICA OFFICINALIS. A plant belonging to Euphorbiacece, a native of India. 
 
 In Borneo the bark and young shoots are used to dye cotton black, for 
 which purpose they are boiled in alum. The fruits are made into sweet- 
 meats, with sugar, or eaten raw, but they are exceedingly acid; when ripe 
 and dry, they are used in medicine, under the name of Myrobalani emblici. 
 The natives of Travancore have a notion that the plant imparts a pleasant 
 flavor to water, and therefore place branches of the tree in their weils, 
 especially when the water is charged with an accumulation of impure 
 vegetable matter. 
 
 184. ENCKEA UNGUICULATA. A plant of the family Piperacece, having an aromatic 
 
 fruit like a berry, with a thick rind. The roots are used medicinally in 
 Brazil. 
 
 185. ENTADA SCANDENS. This leguminous plant has remarkable pods, which often 
 
 measure 6 or 8 feet in length. The seeds are about 2 inches across, and 
 half an inch thick, and have a hard, woody, and beautifully polished shell, 
 of a dark-brown or purplish color. These seeds are frequently converted 
 into snuff-boxes and other articles, and in the Indian bazars they are used 
 as weights. 
 
 186. ERIODENDRON ANFRACTUOSUM. The silk-cotton, or God tree of the West 
 
 Indies. The fruit is a capsule, filled with a beautiful silky fiber, which is 
 very elastic, but can not be woven, and is only used for stuffing cushions. 
 
 187. ERYTHRINA CAFFRA. The Kaffir tree of South Africa. The wood is soft and 
 
 so light as to be used for floating fishing nets. The scarlet seeds are employed 
 for making necklaces. The Erythrinas, of which there are many species, 
 are mostly remarkable for the brilliant scarlet of their flowers, and are 
 known as Coral trees. 
 
 188. ERYTHRINA UMBROSA. This is a favorite tree for growing in masses, for the 
 
 purpose of sheltering cocoanut plantations, and inducing a proper degree 
 of moisture in their neighborhood. 
 
 189. ERYTHROXYLON COCA. The leaves of this plant, under the name of coca, are 
 
 much used by the inhabitants of South America as a masticatory. It forms 
 an article of commerce among the Indians, who carefully dry the leaves and 
 use them daily. Their use, in moderation, acts as a stimulant to the nervous 
 system and enables those who chew them to perform long journeys without 
 any other food. The use of coca in Peru is a very ancient custom, said to 
 have originated with the Incas. It is common throughput the greater part 
 of Peru, Quito, New Granada; and on the banks of the Rio Negro it is known 
 as Spadic. A principle, called cocaine, has been extracted from the leaves, 
 which is used in medicine. 
 
 190. EUCALYPTUS AMYGDALINA. The peppermint tree, a native of Tasmania. It 
 
 produces a thin, transparent oil possessed of a pungent odor resembling oil 
 of lemons, and tasting like camphor, which has great solvent properties. The 
 genus Eucalyptus is extensive and valuable. The greater number form 
 large trees, known in Australia as gum trees. 
 
 191. EUCALYPTUS GIGANTEA. This stringy bark gum furnishes a strong, durable 
 
 timber, used for shipbuilding and other purposes. E. robusta contains 
 large cavities in its stem, between the annual concentric circles of wood, 
 filled with a red gum. Many of the species yield gums and astringent 
 principles and also a species of manna. The timber of these trees has been 
 pronounced to be unsurpassed for strength and durability by any other 
 timber known. The leaves of these trees are placed vertically to the sun, 
 a provision suited to a dry and" sultry climate, 
 
21 
 
 192. EUCALYPTUS GLOBULUS. The blue gum, a rapid-growing tree, attaining to 
 
 a lar-v si/.e. KVcontly it has attracted attention and gained some repute in 
 in-ilicine :ts an anti|MTi<><li<-. The leaves have also l>c<>n applied to wounds 
 witli some success. It produces a strong camphor-smelling oil, which has a 
 mint-like taste, not at all disagreeable. 
 
 193. EUGENIA ACRIS. The wild clove or bayberry tree of the West Indies. In 
 
 Jamaica it is sometimes called the black cinnamon. The refreshing per- 
 fume known as bay rum is prepared by distilling the leaves of this tree 
 with rum. It is stated that the leaves of the allspice are also used in 
 this preparation. 
 
 194. EUGENIA JAMBOSA. A tropical plant, belonging to the myrtle family, which 
 
 produces a pleasant rose-flavored fruit, known as the Roseapple, or Jamro- 
 sade. 
 
 195. EUGENIA PIMENTO. The fruits of this West Indian tree are known in com- 
 
 merce as allspice; the berries have a peculiarly grateful odor and flavor, 
 resembling a combination of cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon; hence the 
 name of allspice. The leaves when bruised emit a fine aromatic odor, and 
 a delicate odoriferous oil is distilled from them, which is said to be used as 
 oil of cloves. The berries, bruised and distilled with water, yield the 
 pimento oil of commerce. 
 
 190. EUGENIA UGNI. This small-foliaged myrtaceous plant is a native of Chili. It 
 bears a glossy black fruit, which has an agreeable flavor and perfume, and 
 is highly esteemed in its native country. The plant is hardy in the South- 
 ern States. 
 
 197, EUPHORBIA CANARIENSIS. This plant grows in abundance in the Canary 
 
 Islands and Teneriffe, in dry, rocky districts, where little else can grow, 
 and where it attains a height of 10 feet, with the branches spreading 15 or 
 20 feet. It is one of the kinds that furnish the drug known as Euphorbium. 
 The milky juice exudes from incisions made in the branches, and is so 
 acrid that it excoriates the hand when applied to it. As it hardens it falls 
 down in small lumps, and those who collect it are obliged to tie cloths over 
 their mouths and nostrils to exclude the small, dusty particles, as they pro- 
 duce incessant sneezing. As a medicine its action is violent, and it is now 
 rarely employed. There are a vast number of species of Euphorbia, vary- 
 ing exceedingly in their general appearance, but all of them having a milky 
 juice which contains active properties. Many of them can scarcely be dis- 
 tinguished from cactuses so far as relates to external appearances, but the 
 milky exudation following a puncture determines their true character. E. 
 grandidens is a tall-growing, branching species, and attains a height of 30 
 feet. The natives of India use the juice of E. antiquorum, when diluted, 
 as a purgative. The juice of E. heptagona and other African species is em- 
 ployed to poison arrows; the juice of E. cotinifolia is used for the same 
 purpose in Brazil. The roots of E. gerardiana and E.pithyusa are emetic, 
 while E. thymifolia and E. hyperitifolia possess astringent and aromatic 
 properties. The poisonous principle which pervades these plants is more 
 or less dissipated by heat. The juice of E. cattimandoo furnishes caout- 
 chouc of a very good quality, which, however, becomes brittle, although 
 soaking in hot water renders it again pliable. E. phosphorea derives the 
 name from the fact of its sap emitting a phosphorescent light, on warm 
 nights, in the Brazilian forests. 
 
 198. EUTERPE EDULIS. The assai palm of Para. It grows in swampy lands, and pro- 
 
 duces a small fruit thinly coated with clotted flesh of which the inhabitants 
 of Para manufacture a beverage called assai. The ripe fruits are soaked 
 in warm water and kneaded until the fleshy pulp is detached. This, when 
 strained, is of a thick, creamy consistence, and, when thickened with 
 cassava farina and sweetened with sugar, forms a nutritious diet, and is 
 the daily food of a large number of the people. 
 
 109. EITERPE MONTANA. The center portion of the upper part of the stem of this 
 West Indian palm, including the leaf bud, is eaten either when cooked as 
 a vegetable or pickled, but the tree must be destroyed in order to obtain it. 
 
 200. EXCCECARIA SEBIFERA. This Euphorbiaceous plant is the tallow tree of Clmia. 
 Tin- fruits, are about half an inch in diameter, and each contains three 
 seeds, thickly coated with a fatty substance which yields the tallow. This 
 is obtained by first steaming the seeds, then bruising them to loosen the fat 
 without breaking the seeds, which are removed by sifting. The fat is 
 then made into flat circular cakes and pressed, when the pure tallow ex- 
 
22 
 
 udes in a liquid state and soon hardens into a white, brittle mass. Candles 
 made from this get soft in hot weather, which is prevented by coating them 
 with insect wax. A liquid oil is obtained from the seeds by pressing. The 
 tree yields a hard wood, used by the Chinese for printing blocks, and its 
 leaves are used in dyeing black. 
 
 201. EXOGONIUM PURGA. This plant furnishes the true jalap-tubers of commerce. 
 
 They owe their well-known purgative properties to their resinous ingredi- 
 ents. Various species of Ipomoea furnish a spurious kind of this drug, 
 which is often put in the market as the genuine article. 
 
 202. EXOSTEMMA CARIB^UM. This West Indian plant has become naturalized in 
 
 southern Florida. It belongs to the cinchona family and is known as 
 Jamaica bark. It is also known as Quinquina Caraibe. The bark is re- 
 puted to be a good febrifuge, and also to be employed as an emetic. It is 
 supposed to contain some peculiar principle, as the fracture displays an 
 abundance of small crystals. The capsules, before they are ripe, are very 
 bitter, and their juice causes a burning itching on the lips. 
 
 203. FERONIA ELEPHANTUM. The wood apple or elephant apple tree of India, 
 
 belonging to the family Aurantiacece. It forms a large tree in Ceylon, and 
 yields a hard, heavy wood, of great strength. It yields a gum, which is 
 mixed with other gums and sold under the name of East Indian gum 
 arabic. The fruit is about the size of an orange, and contains a pulpy 
 flesh, which is edible, and a jelly is made from it, which is used in cases of 
 dysentery. The leaves have an odor like that of anise, and the native 
 India doctors employ them as a stomachic and carminative. 
 
 204. FEUILL^EA CORDIPOLIA. The sequa or cacoon antidote of Jamaica. It belongs 
 
 to the cucumber family, and climbs to a great height up the trunks of 
 trees. The seeds are employed as a remedy in a variety of diseases, and 
 are considered an antidote against the effects of poison; they also contain 
 a quantity of semisolid fatty oil, which is liberated by pressing a .id boil- 
 ing them in water. 
 
 205. Ficus ELASTICA. This plant is known as the india-rubber tree. It is a native 
 
 of the East Indies, and is the chief source of caoutchouc from that quarter 
 of the globe, although other species of Ficus yield this gum, as well as sev- 
 eral plants of other genera. It is a plant of rapid growth, and from the 
 larger branches roots descend to the earth as in the case of the banyan tree. 
 
 206. Ficus INDICA. The famous banyan tree of history. Specimens of this Indian 
 
 fig are mentioned as being of immense size. One in Bengal spreads over a 
 diameter of 370 feet. Another covered an area of 1,700 square yards. It 
 is one of the sacred trees of the Hindoos. It was known to the ancients. 
 Strabo describes it, and it is mentioned by Pliny. Milton also alludes to it 
 as follows: 
 
 Branching so broad along, that in the ground 
 The bending twigs take root; and daughters grow 
 About the mother tree; a pillared shade, 
 High overarched, with echoing walks between. 
 There oft the Indian herdsman, shunning heat, 
 Shelters in cool ; and tends his pasturing herds 
 At loop-holes cut through thickest shade. 
 
 207. Ficus RELIGIOSA. The pippul tree of the Hindoos, which they hold in such 
 
 veneration that, if a person cuts or lops off any of the branches, he is looked 
 upon with as great abhorrence as if he had broken the leg of one of their 
 equally sacred cows. The seeds are employed by Indian doctors in medicine. 
 
 208. FLACOURTIA SEPIARIA. A bushy shrub, used in India for hedges. Its fruit 
 
 has a pleasant, subacid flavor when perfectly ripe, but the unripe fruit is 
 extremely astringent. The Indian doctors use a liniment made of the bark 
 in cases of gout, and an infusion of it as a cure for snake bites. 
 
 209. FOURCROYA CUBENSE. This plant is closely related to the agave, and, like 
 
 many of that genus, furnishes a fine fiber, which is known in St. Domingo 
 as Cabuya fiber. These plants are very magnificent when in flower, throw- 
 ing up stems 20 to 30 feet in height, covered with many hundreds of yucca- 
 like blossoms. 
 
 210. FRANCISCEA UNIFLORA. A Brazilian plant called Mercurio vegetal; also known 
 
 as Manaca. The roots, and to some extent the leaves, are used in medicine; 
 the inner bark and all the herbaceous parts are nauseously bitter; it is re- 
 
23 
 
 as a purgative, emetic, and alexrphannic; in overdoses it is an 
 acrid poison. 
 
 .Ml. Fi s AM -s A< t MIN ATUS. A small tree of the Cape of Good Hope and Australia. 
 It l>ears a globular fruit of the size of a small peach, and is known in Aus- 
 tralia as the native peach. It has an edible nut, called the Quandang nut, 
 which is said to be as sweet and palatable as the almond. 
 
 212. GALIPEA OFFICINALIS. This South American tree furnishes Angostura bark, 
 
 which lias ini]M>rtant medical properties, some physicians in South America 
 preferring it to cinchona in the treatment of fevers. Its use has been 
 > i atly retarded by bark of the deadly nux-vomica tree having been 
 inadvertently sold for it. As this bark is sometimes used in bitters, a mis- 
 take, as above, might prove as fatal as cholera. 
 
 213. GAKCINIA MANGOSTANA. This tree produces the tropical fruit called mangos- 
 
 tern, a beautiful fruit, having a thick, succulent rind, which contains an 
 astringent juice, and exudes a gum similar to gamboge. The esculent 
 interior contains a juicy pulp, of the whiteness and solubility of snow, and 
 of a refreshing, delicate, delicious flavor. The bark of the tree is used as a 
 basis for black dye, and it has also some medicinal value. 
 
 21 1. GARCINIA MORELLA. It is supposed that Siam gamboge is obtained from this 
 tiv.-. also that known as Ceylon gamboge. The juice is collected by incis- 
 ing the stems, or by breaking young twigs of the tree and securing the 
 yellow gum resinous exudations in hollow bamboos, where it is allowed to 
 harden. It is employed by artists in water colors and as a varnish for 
 lacquer work. 
 
 21.">. GARCINIA PICTORIA. A fatty matter known as gamboge butter is procured 
 from the seeds of this tree in Mysore. They are pounded in a stone mortar, 
 then boiled till the butter or oil rises to the surface. It is used as a lamp 
 oil, and sometimes in food. 
 
 2 Hi. GARDENIA FLORIDA and GARDENIA RADICANS. Cape Jasmines, so called from 
 a supposition that they were natives of the Cape of Good Hope. The 
 genus belongs to the cinchona family. G. lucida furnishes a fragrant 
 resin somewhat similar to myrrh. The fruit of G. campanulata is used 
 as a cathartic, and also to wash out stains in silks. G. gummifera yields a 
 resin something like Elemi. 
 
 217. GASTROLOBITJM BILOBIUM. A leguminous plant, having poisonous proper- 
 
 ties. In western Australia, where it is a native, farmers often lose their 
 cattle through their eating the foliage. Cats and dogs that eat the flesh of 
 these poisoned cattle are also poisoned. G. obtusum and G. spitiosum 
 possess similar properties. 
 
 218. GENIPA AMERICANA. This belongs to the cinchona family, and produces the 
 
 fruit called genipap or marmalade box. It is about the size of an orange, 
 and has an agreeable flavor. The juice of the fruit yields a bluish-black 
 dye, called Canito or Lana-dye. This color is very permanent, and is much 
 used by Indians in South America. 
 
 219. GEONOMA SCHOTTIANA. A pretty Brazilian palm; the leaves are used for 
 
 thatching huts, and other parts of the plant are utilized. 
 
 220. GOUANIA DOMINGENSIS. A plant of the buckthorn family, known in Jamaica 
 
 as Chaw-Stick, on account of its thin branches being chewed as an agree- 
 able stomachic. Tooth brushes are made by cutting pieces of the stem to 
 convenient lengths and fraying out the ends. A tooth powder is prepared 
 by pulverizing the dried stems. It is said to possess febrifugal properties, 
 and owing to its pleasant bitter taste it is used for flavoring cooling beverages. 
 
 221. GREVILLEA ROBUSTA. The silk oak tree of Australia; a tree that attains a 
 
 large size, and is remarkable for the graceful beauty of its foliage. 
 
 222. GREWIA ASIATICA. This Indian tree represents a genus of plants of consider- 
 
 able economic value. This particular species yields a profusion of small red 
 fruits which are used for flavoring drinks, having a pleasant acid flavor. 
 The fibrous inner bark is employed by the natives for making fishing nets, 
 ropes, twine, and for other similar purposes. 
 
 223. GRIAS CAULIFLORA. The anchovy pear of Jamaica. The fruit is pickled and 
 
 eaten like the mango, having a similar taste. 
 
 224. GUAIACUM OFFICINALE. The wood of this tree is called Lignum Vitae. A 
 
 resin, called gum guaiacum, exudes frorh the stem, and is otherwise ob- 
 tained from the wood by artificial means. It is of a greenish-brown color, 
 
24 
 
 with a balsamic fragrance, and is remarkable for the changes of color it 
 undergoes when brought into contact with various substances. Gluten 
 gives it a blue tint : nitric acid and chlorin change it successively to green, 
 blue, and brown. The resin is used medicinally as also are the bark and wood. 
 
 225. GUAZUMA TOMENTOSA. This plant is nearly allied to the chocolate-nut tree, 
 
 and yields fruits that abound in mucilage, as also does the bark of the 
 young shoots. The mucilage is given out in water, and has been used as a 
 substitute for gelatin or albumen in clarifying cane juice in the manufac- 
 ture of sugar. The timber is light, and is employed for the staves of sugar 
 hogsheads ; it is known in Jamaica as bastard cedar. A strong fiber is 
 obtained from the young shoots. 
 
 226. GUILIELMA SPECIOSA. The peach palm of Venezuela. The fruits are borne 
 
 in large drooping bunches, and their fleshy outer portion contains starchy 
 matter, which forms a portion of the food of the natives. They are cooked 
 and eaten with salt, and are said to resemble a potato in flavor. A bever- 
 age is prepared by fermenting them in water, and the meal obtained from 
 them is made into bread. The wood of the old trees is black, and so hard 
 as to turn the edge of an ax. 
 
 227. H^EMATOXYLON CAMPECHIANUM. The logwood tree. This dyestuff is largely 
 
 used by calico printers and other dyeing manufacturers. It is also used as 
 an ingredient in some writing inks. The heart wood is the part used for 
 dyeing. This is cut into chips which yield their color to water and alcohol. 
 The colors are various according to treatment, giving violet, yellow, purple, 
 and blue, but the consumption of logwood is for black colors, which are 
 obtained by alum and iron bases. 
 
 228. HARDENBERGIA MONOPHYLLA. An Australian climbing plant of the legumi- 
 
 nous family. The long, carrot-shaped, woody root was called, by the early 
 settlers in that country, sarsaparilla, and is still used in infusion as a sub- 
 stitute for that root. 
 
 229. HARTIGHSEA SPECTABILIS. A New Zealand tree, called Wahahe by the natives, 
 
 who employ the leaves as a substitute for hops, and also prepare from 
 them a spirituous infusion as a stomachic medicine. 
 
 230. HELICONIA BIHAL A plant of the order Musacece, from South America. The 
 
 young shoots are eaten by the natives, and the fruits are also collected and 
 used as food. It also furnishes a useful fiber. 
 
 231. HEVEA BRASILIENSIS. A tree of tropical America growing in damp forests, 
 
 especially in the Amazon valley, which, together with other trees called 
 siphonia furnish the Para rubber, or American caoutchouc. The sap is col- 
 lected from incisions made in the tree during" the dry season, and is poured 
 over clay molds and dried by gentle heat, successive pourings being made 
 till a sufficiently thick layer is produced. 
 
 232. HIBISCUS ROSA SINENSIS. The flowers of this malvaceous plant contain a 
 
 quantity of astringent juice, and, when bruised, rapidly turn black or 
 deep purple; they are used by the Chinese ladies for dyeing their hair and 
 eyebrows, and in Java for blacking shoes. 
 
 233. HIBISCUS SABDARIFFA. -This species is known in the West Indies as red sor- 
 
 rel, on account of the calyxes and capsules having an acid taste. They 
 are made into cooling drinks, by sweetening and fermentation. The bark 
 contains a strong useful fiber which makes good ropes if not too much 
 twisted. It is also known as the Roselee plant. 
 
 234. HIBISCUS TILIACEUS. A plant common to many tropical countries. Its wood 
 
 is extremely light when dry, and is employed by the Polynesians for get- 
 ting fire by friction, which is said to be a very tedious and tiresome opera- 
 tion, and difficult to accomplish. Good fiber is also obtained from the bark. 
 
 235. HIPPOMANE MANCINELLA. This is the poisonous manchineel tree of South 
 
 America and other tropical regoins. The virulent nature of the juice of this 
 tree has given it a reputation equal to that forced upon the upas tree of Java. 
 The juice is certainly very acrid, and even its smoke, when burning, causes 
 temporary blindness. The fruit is equally dangerous, and from its beauti- 
 ful appearance is sometimes partaken of by those who are unaware of its 
 deleterious properties, but its burning effects on the lips soon causes them 
 to desist. Indians are said to poison their arrows with the juice of this tree. 
 
 236. HURA CREPITANS. This tropical plant is known as the sand-box tree. Its 
 
 deep-furrowed, rounded, hard-shelled fruit is about the size of an orange, 
 and when ripe and dry, it bursts open with a sharp noise like the report of 
 
25 
 
 a pistol; h.-nee, it is also called the monkey's dinner boll. An emetic oil 
 is extracted from the seeds, and a venomous, milky juice is abundant in 
 all parts of the plant. 
 
 237 .HYMEN .HA COURBARIL. The locust tree of the West Indies; also called algar- 
 roba in tropical regions. This is one of the very largest growing trees 
 known, and living trees in Brazil are supposed to have been growing at 
 the commencement of the Christian era. The timber is very hard, and is 
 much used for building purposes. A valuable resin, resembling the anime 
 of Africa, exudes from the trunk, and large lumps of it are found about 
 the roots of old trees. 
 
 238. HYPHJE THEBAICA. The doum, or doom palm, or gingerbread of Egypt; it 
 
 grows also in Nubia, Abyssinia, and Arabia. The fibrous, mealy husks of 
 the seeds are eaten, and taste almost like gingerbread. In the Thebias this 
 palm forms extensive forests, the roots spreading over the lurid ruins of one 
 of the largest and most splendid cities of the ancient world. 
 
 239. ICICA HEPTAPHYLLA. The incense tree of Guiana, a tall-growing tree, fur- 
 
 nishing wood of great durability. It is called cedar wood on account of 
 its fragrant odor. The balsam from the trunk is highly odoriferous, and 
 used in perfumery, and is known as balsam of acouchi; it is used in medi- 
 cine. The balsam and branches are burned as incense in churches. 
 2 to. ILK.Y PAUAOUAYENSIS. This is the tea plant of South America, where it oc- 
 cupies the* same important position in the domestic economy of the country 
 as the Chinese tea does in this. The mate is prepared by drying and roast- 
 ing the leaves, which are then reduced to a powder and made into pack- 
 ages. When used, a small portion of the powder is placed in a vessel, sugar 
 is added, and boiling water poured over the whole. It has an agreeable, 
 slightly aromatic odor, rather bitter to the taste, but very refreshing and 
 invigorating to the human frame after severe fatigue. It acts in some de- 
 gree as an aperient and diuretic, and in overdoses produces intoxication. 
 It contains the same active principle, theine as tea and coffee, but not their 
 volatile and empyreumatic oils. 
 
 241. ILLICIUM ANISATUM. This inagnoliaceous plant is a native of China, and its 
 
 fruit furnishes the star anise of commerce. In China, Japan, and India it 
 is used as a condiment in the preparation of food, and is chewed to pro- 
 mote digestion, and the native physicians prescribe it as a carminative. 
 It is the flavoring ingredient of the preparation Anisette de Bordeaux. Its 
 flavor and odor are due to a volatile oil, which is extracted by distillation, 
 and sold as oil of anise, which is really a different article. 
 
 242. ILLICIUM FLORID ANUM. A native of the Southern States. The leaves are said 
 
 to be poisonous; hence, the plant is sometimes called poison bag. The bark 
 has been used as a substitute for cascarilla. 
 
 243. ILLICIUM RELIGIOSUM. A Japanese species, which reaches the size of a small 
 
 tree, and is held sacred by the Japanese, who form wreaths of it with which 
 to decorate the tombs of their deceased friends, and they also burn the 
 fragrant bark as incense. Their watchmen use the powdered bark for 
 burning in graduated tubes, in order to mark the time, as it consumes slowly 
 and uniformly. The leaves are said to possess poisonous properties. 
 
 244. INDIQOFERA TINCTORIA. The indigo plant, a native of Asia, but cultivated 
 
 and naturalized in many countries. The use of indigo as a dye is of great 
 antiquity. Both Dioscorides and Pliny mention it, and it is supposed to 
 have been employed by the ancient Egyptians. The indigo of commerce is 
 prepared by throwing the fresh cut plants into water, where they are 
 steeped for twelve hours, when the water is run off into a vessel and agi- 
 tated in order to promote the formation of the blue coloring matter, which 
 docs not exist ready formed in the tissues of the plant, but is the result of 
 tin- oxidation of other substances contained in them. The coloring matter 
 then settles at the bottom: it is then boiled to a certain consistency and 
 afterwards spread out on cloth frames, where it is further drained of water 
 and pressed into cubes or cakes for market. 
 
 24-"). IPOM.-F.A ruim.v. A species of jalap is obtained from this convolvulaceous 
 plant: this is a ruinous matter eonlained in the juices. 
 
 240. IRIARTELLA SETIGERA. A South American palm growing in the underwood 
 
 of the forests on the Amazon and Rio Negro. The Indians use its slender 
 stems for making their blmv pipes or gravatanas, through which they blow 
 small poisoned arrows with accuracy to a considerable distance. 
 
26 
 
 247. JAMBOSA MALACCENSIS. This Indian plant belongs to the myrtle family. It 
 
 produces a good-sized edible fruit known as the Malay apple. 
 
 248. JASMINUM SAMBAC TRIFOLIATUM. A native of South America. The flowers 
 
 are very fragrant, and an essential oil, much used in perfumery under the 
 name of jasmine oil, is obtained from this and other species. 
 
 249. JATROPHA CLAUCA. An East Indian plant the seeds of which when crushed 
 
 furnish an oil which is used in medicine. 
 
 250. JATROPHA CTJRCAS. The physic nut tree of tropical America. This plant con- 
 
 tains a milky, acrid, glutinous juice, which forms a permanent stain when 
 dropped on linen, and which might form a good marking ink. Burning oil is 
 expressed from the seeds in the Philippine Islands; the oil, boiled with oxide 
 of iron, is used in China as a varnish. It is used in medicine in various 
 ways, the leaves for fomentations, the juice in treating ulcers, and the seeds 
 as purgatives. 
 
 251. JUBJEA SPECTABILIS. The coquito palm of Chili. The seed or nut is called 
 
 cokernut, and has a pleasant, nutty taste. These are used by the Chilian con- 
 fectioners in the preparation of sweetmeats, and by the boys as marbles, 
 being in shape and size like them. The leaves are used for thatching, and 
 the trunks or stems are hollowed out and converted into water pipes. A 
 sirup called Miel de Palma or palm honey, is prepared by boiling the sap 
 of this tree to the consistency of treacle, and is much esteemed for do- 
 mestic use as sugar. The sap is obtained by cutting off the crown of leaves 
 when it immediately begins to flow and continues for several months pro- 
 vided a thin slice is shaved off the top every morning. Full-grown trees 
 will thus yield 90 gallons. 
 
 252. KJEMPFERIA GALANGA. This plant belongs to the family of gingers. The 
 
 root stocks have an aromatic fragrance and are used medicinally in India 
 as well as in the preparation of perfumery. The flowers appear before the 
 leaves upon very short stems. 
 
 253. KIGELIA PINNATA. This plant is interesting from the circumstance of its being 
 
 held sacred in Nubia, where the inhabitants celebrate their religious festivals 
 under it by moonlight, and poles made of its wood are erected as symbols of 
 special veneration before the houses of their great chiefs. The fruits, which 
 are very large, when cut in half and slightly roasted, are employed as an 
 outward application to relieve pains. 
 
 254. KRAMERIA TRIANDRIA. This is one of the species that yield the rhatany roots 
 
 of commerce. In Peru an extract is made from this species, which is a mild, 
 easily assimilated, astringent medicine. It acts as a tonic, and is used in 
 intermittent and putrid fevers. It is also styptic, and when applied in plas- 
 ters is used in curing ulcers. The color of the infusion of the roots is blood- 
 red, on which account it is used to adulterate, or rather it forms an ingredi- 
 ent in the fabrication of port wine. 
 
 255. KYDIA CALYCINA. An Indian plant of the family Byttneriacece. The bark is 
 
 employed in infusion as a sudorific and in cutaneous diseases, and its fibrous 
 tissue is manufactured into cordage. 
 
 256. LAGETTA LINTEARIA. The lace-bark tree of Jamaica. The inner bark con- 
 
 sists of numerous concentric layers of fibers, which interlace in all directions, 
 and thus present a great resemblance to lace. Articles of apparel are made 
 of it. Caps, ruffles, and even complete suits of lace are made with it. It 
 bears washing with common soap, and when bleached in the sun acquires a 
 degree of whiteness equal to the best artificial lace. Ropes made of it are 
 very durable and strong. 
 
 257. LANSIUM DOMESTICUM. A low-growing tree of the East Indies, which is culti- 
 
 vated to some extent for its fruit, which is known in Java and Malacca as 
 lanseh fruit, and is much esteemed for its delicate aroma; the pulp is of 
 somewhat firm consistence and contains a cooling, refreshing juice. 
 
 258. LAPAGERIA ROSEA. A twining plant from Chili. The flowers are very beau- 
 
 tiful, and are succeeded by berries, which are said to be sweet and eatable. 
 The root has qualities closely resembling sarsaparilla and used for the same 
 purpose. 
 
 259. LATANIA RUBRA. A very beautiful palm from the Mauritius. The fruit con- 
 
 tains a small quantity of pulp, which is eaten by the natives, but is not con- 
 sidered very palatable by travelers. 
 
 260. LAWSONIA INERMIS. This is the celebrated henna of the East. The use of the 
 
 powdered leaves as a cosmetic is very general in Asia and northern Africa, 
 
27 
 
 the practice having descended from very remote ages, as is proved by the 
 Egyptian mummies, the parts dyed being usually the finger and toe nails, 
 the tips of the fingers, the palms of the hands, and soles of the feet, receiv- 
 ing a reddish color, considered by Oriental belles as highly ornamental. 
 Henna is prepared by reducing the leaves to powder, and when used is 
 made into a pasty mass with water and spread on the part to be dyed, being 
 allowed to remain for twelve hours. The plant is known in the West In- 
 dies as Jamaica Mignonette. 
 
 261. LECYTHIS OLLARIA. This tree produces the hard urn-shaped fruits known in 
 
 Brazil as monkey cups. The seeds are eatable and sold as Sapucaia nuts. 
 The fruit vessels are very peculiar, being 6 inches in diameter and having 
 closely fitting lids, which separate when the seeds are mature. The bark is 
 composed of a great number of layers, not thicker than writing paper, 
 which the Indians separate and employ as cigar wrappers. 
 
 262. LEPTOSPERUM LANIQERUM. A plant known throughout Australia as Captain 
 
 Cook's tea tree, from the circumstance that, on the first landing of this nav- 
 igator in that country, he employed a decoction of the leaves of this plant 
 as a corrective to the effects of scurvy among his crew, and this proved an 
 efficient medicine. Thickets of this plant, along the swampy margin of 
 streams, are known as Tea- tree scrubs. It is also known among the natives 
 as the Manuka plant. The wood is hard and heavy, and was formerly used 
 for making sharp-pointed spears. It belongs to the myrtle family of plants. 
 
 263. LICUALA ACDTIFIDA. This palm is a native of the island of Pulo-Penango, and 
 
 yields canes known by the curious name of Penang Lawyers. It is a low- 
 growing plant, its stems averaging an inch in diameter. The stems are con- 
 verted into walking canes by scraping their rough exteriors and straighten- 
 ing them by means of fire heat. 
 
 261. LIMONIA ACIDISSIMA. An East India shrub which produces round fruits about 
 the size of damson plums, of a yellowish color, with reddish or purplish 
 tints. They are extremely acid, and the pulp is employed in Java as a sub- 
 stitute for soap. 
 
 265. LIVISTONIA AUSTRALIS. This is one of the few palms found in Australia. The 
 unexpanded leaves, prepared by being scalded and dried in the shade, are 
 used for making hats, while the still younger and more tender leaves are 
 eaten like cabbage. 
 
 2G6. LUCUMA MAMMOSUM. This sapotaceous plant is cultivated for its fruit, which 
 is called marmalade, on account of its containing a thick agreeably flavored 
 
 dp, bearing some resemblance in appearance and taste to quince marma- 
 e. A native of South America. 
 
 267. MABA GEMINATA. The ebony wood of Queensland. The heart wood is black, 
 
 and the outside wood of a bright red color. It is close-grained, hard, heavy, 
 elastic and tough, and takes a high polish. 
 
 268. MACADAMIA TERNIFOLIA. An Australian tree which produces an edible nut 
 
 called the Queensland nut. This fruit is about the size of a walnut, and 
 contains within a thick pericarp, a smooth brown-colored nut, inclosing a 
 kernel of a rich and agreeable flavor, resembling in Lome degree that of a 
 filbert. 
 
 269. MACH.-ERUM FIRMUM. A South American tree which furnishes a portion of the 
 
 rosewood of commerce. Various species of the genus, under the common 
 Brazilian name of Jaccaranda, are said to yield this wood, but there is 
 some uncertainty about the origin of the various commercial rosewoods. 
 
 270. MACLURA TINCTORIA. The fustic tree. Large quantities of the bright yellow 
 
 wood of this tree are exported from South America for the use of dyers, 
 who obtain from it shades of yellow, brown, olive, and green. A concen- 
 trated decoction of the wood deposits, on cooling, a yellow crystalline mat- 
 ter called Morine. This tree is sometimes called old fustic, in order to 
 distinguish it from another commercial dye called young fustic, which is 
 obtained in Europe from a species of Rhus. 
 
 271. MACROPIPER METHYSTICUM. A plant of the pepper family, which furnishes the 
 
 root called Ava by the Polynesians. It has narcotic properties, and is em- 
 ployed medicinally, but is chiefly remarkable for the value attached to it as a 
 narcotic and stimulant beverage, of which the natives partake before they 
 commence any important business or religious rites. It is used by chewing 
 the root and extracting the juice, and has a calming rather than an intox- 
 icating effect. It is a filthy preparation, and only partaken of by the lower 
 classes of Feejeeans. 
 
28 
 
 272. MACROZAMIA DENISONII. An Australian cycad, the seeds of which contain a 
 
 large amount of farina, or starchy matter, which formerly supplied a con- 
 siderable amount of food for the natives of that country. The fresh seeds 
 are very acrid, but when steeped in water and roasted they become palatable 
 and nutritious. 
 
 273. MALPIGHIA GLABRA. A low-growing tree of the West Indies, which produces 
 
 an edible fruit called the Barbadoes cherry. 
 
 274. MAMMEA AMERICANA. The fruit of this tree, under the name of mammee 
 
 apple, is very much esteemed in tropical countries. It often attains a size of 
 6 or 8 inches in diameter and is of a yellow color. The outer rind and the 
 pulp which immediately surrounds the seeds are very bitter, but the inter- 
 mediate is sweet and aromatic. The seeds are used as anthelmintics, an 
 aromatic liquor is distilled from the flowers, and the acrid, resinous gum 
 distilled from the bark is used to destroy insects. 
 
 275. MANETTIA CORDIFOLIA. This climbing-plant is a native of South America, and 
 
 belongs to the family of Cinchonacece. The rind of the root has emetic 
 properties, and is used in Brazil for dropsy and other diseases. It is also 
 exported under the name of Ipecacuan, chiefly from Buenos Ayres. 
 
 276. MANGIFERA INDICA. The mango, in some of its varieties esteemed as the 
 
 most delicious of tropical fruits, while many varieties produce fruit whose 
 texture resembles cotton and tastes of turpentine. The unripe fruit is 
 pickled. The pulp contains gallic and citric acid. The seeds possess 
 anthelmintic properties. A soft gum resin exudes from the wounded bark, 
 which is used medicinally. 
 
 277. MANICARIA SACCIFERA. Bussu palm of South America. Its large leaves are 
 
 used for thatching roofs , for which purpose they are well fitted and very 
 durable. The fibrous spathe furnishes a material of much value to the na- 
 tives. This fibrous matter when taken off entire is at once converted into 
 capital bags, in which the Indian keeps the red paint for his toilet, or the 
 silk cotton for his arrows, or he stretches out the larger ones to make him- 
 self a cap of nature's own weaving, without seam or joint. 
 
 278. MANIHOT UTILISSIMA. This euphorbiaceous plant yields cassava or mandiocca 
 
 meal. It is extensively cultivated in tropical climates and supplies a great 
 amount of food. The root is the part used, and in its natural condition is 
 a most virulent poison, but by grating the roots to a pulp the poison is ex- 
 pelled by pressure, and altogether dissipated by cooking. The expressed 
 juice, when allowed to settle, deposits the starch known as tapioca. 
 
 279. MARANTA ARUNDINACEA. The arrowroot plant, cultivated for its starch. 
 
 The tubers being reduced to pulp with water, the fecula subsides, and is 
 washed and dried for commerce. It is a very pure kind of starch, and very 
 nutritious. The term arrowroot is said to be derived from the fact that 
 the natives of the West Indies use the roots of the plant as an application 
 to wounds made by poison arrows. 
 
 280. MAURITIA FLEXUOSA. The Moriche, or Ita palm, very abundant on the banks 
 
 of the Amazon, RiQ Negro, and Orinoco Rivers. In the delta of the lat- 
 ter it occupies swampy tracts of ground, which are at times completely 
 inundated, and present the appearance of forests rising out of the water. 
 These swamps are frequented by a tribe of Indians called Guaranes, who 
 subsist almost entirely upon the produce of this palm, and during the period 
 of the inundations suspend their dwellings from the tops of its tall stems. 
 The outer skin of the young leaves is made into string and cord for the 
 manufacture of hammocks. The fermented sap yields palm wine, and 
 another beverage is prepared from the young fruits, while the soft inner 
 bark of the stem yields a farinaceous substance like sago. 
 
 281. MAXIMILIANA REGIA. An Amazonian palm called Inaja. The spathes are so 
 
 hard that, when filled with water, they will stand the fire, and are some- 
 times used by the Indians as cooking utensils. The Indians who prepare 
 the kind of rubber called bottle rubber, make use of the hard stones of the 
 fruit as fuel for smoking and drying the successive layers of niilky juice us 
 it is applied to the mold upon which the bottles are formed. The outer 
 husk, also, yields a kind of saline flour used for seasoning their food. 
 
 282. MELALEUCA MINOR. A native of Auj tralia and the islands of the Indian Ocean. 
 
 The leaves, being fermented, are distilled, and yield an oil known as caju- 
 put or cajeput oil, which is green, and has a strong aromatic odor. It is 
 
29 
 
 valuable as an antispasmodic and stimulant, and at one time had a great 
 reputation as a cure for cholera. In China the leaves are used as a tonic in 
 the form of decoction. 
 
 283. MELICOCCA BIJUGA. This sapindaceous tree is plentiful in tropical America 
 and the West Indies, and is known as the Genip tree. It produces numer- 
 ous green egg-shaped fruits, an inch in length, possessing an agreeable 
 vinous and somewhat aromatic flavor, called honey berries or bullace plums. 
 The wood of the tree is hard and heavy. 
 
 2*1. MKLOCACTUS COMMUNIS. Commonly called the Turk's Cap cactus, from the 
 flowering portion on the top of the plant being of a cylindrical form and 
 red color, like a fez cap. Notwitlistanding that they grow in the most dry 
 sterile places, they contain a considerable quantity of moisture, which is 
 \\vll known to mules, who resort to them when very thirsty, first removing 
 the prickles with their feet. 
 
 283. MESEMBRYANTHEMUM CRYSTALLINUM. The ice plant, so called in consequence 
 of every part of the plant being covered with small watery pustules, which 
 glisten in the sun like fragments of ice. Large quantities of this plant are 
 collected in the Canaries and burned, the ashes being sent to Spain for the 
 use of glass makers. M. edule is called the Hottentot's fig, its fruit being 
 about the size of a small fig, and having a pleasant, acid taste when ripe. 
 M. tortuosum possesses narcotic properties, and is chewed by the Hottentots 
 to induce intoxication. The fruits possess hygrometric properties, the 
 dried, shriveled, capsules swelling out and opening so as to allow of the es- 
 cape of the seeds when moistened by rain, which at the same time fits the 
 soil for their germination. 
 
 286. MIKANIA GUACO. A composite plant which has gained some notoriety as the 
 
 supposed Cundurango, the cancer-curing bark. It has long been supposed 
 to supply a powerful antidote for the bite of venomous serpents. 
 
 287. MIMUSOPS BALATA. The Bully tree. This sapotaceous plant attains a great 
 
 size in Guiana and affords a dense, close-grained, valuable timber. Its 
 small fruits, about the size of coffee berries, are delicious when ripe. The 
 flowers also yield a perfume when distilled in water, and oil is expressed 
 from the seeds. 
 
 288. MIMUSOPS ELENGI. A native of Ceylon, where its hard, heavy, durable timber 
 
 is used for building purposes. The seed also affords a great amount of oil. 
 
 289. MONODORA GRANDIFLORA. An African plant belonging to the Anonacea3. It 
 
 produces large fruit, which contains a large quantity of seeds about the size 
 of the Scarlet-Runner bean. They are aromatic and impart to the fruit the 
 odor and flavor of nutmeg; hence they are also known as calabash nut- 
 megs. 
 
 2 ( JO. MONSTERA DELLCIOSA. This is a native of southern Mexico and yields a deli- 
 cious fruit with luscious pineapple flavor. The outer skin of the fruit, if 
 eaten, causes a stinging sensation in the mouth. This is easily removed 
 when the fruit is ripe. The leaves are singularly perforated with holes at 
 irregular intervals, from natural causes not sufficiently explained. In Trin- 
 idad the plant is called the Ceriman. 
 
 201. MORINGA PTERYGOSPERMA. A native of the East Indies, where it bears the 
 name of horse-radish tree. The seeds are called ben nuts and supply a 
 fluid oil, highly prized by watchmakers, called oil of ben. The root is pun- 
 gent and stimulant and tastes like horse-radish. 
 
 292. MORONOBEA COCCINEA. Thehpg gum tree, which attains the height of 100 feet. 
 
 * A fluid juice exudes from incisions in the trunk and hardens into a yellow 
 resin. It is said the hogs in Jamaica when wounded rub the injured part 
 against the tree so as to cover it with the gum, which possesses vulnerary 
 properties; hence its name. The resin has been employed as a substitute 
 for copaiba balsam, and plasters are made of it. 
 
 293. MUCUNA PRURIENS. A tall climbing plant of the West Indies and other warm 
 
 climates. It is called the cowage, or cow-itch, on account of the seed pods 
 being covered with short brittle hairs, the points of which are finely ser- 
 rated, causing an unbearable itching when applied to the skin, which is 
 relieved by rubbing the part with oil. It is employed as a vermifuge. In 
 East Africa it is called Kitedzi. Tin sea 1 > -ans found on the coast of Florida 
 are the seeds of Mucuna altissima. Jn Cuba these are called bulls' eyes, 
 
30 
 
 294. MURRAYA EXOTICA. A Chinese plant of the orange family. The fruit is suc- 
 
 culent, and the white flowers are very fragrant. They are used in per- 
 fumery. 
 
 295. MUSA CAVENDISHII. This is a valuable dwarf species of the banana from 
 
 southern China. It bears a large truss of fine fruit, and is cultivated to 
 some extent in Florida, where it endures more cold than the West India 
 species and fruits more abundantly. 
 
 296. MUSA ENSETE. This Abyssinian species forms large foliage of striking beauty. 
 
 The food is dry and uneatable ; but the base of the flower stalk is eaten by 
 the natives. 
 
 297. MUSA SAPIENTUM. The banana plant. This has been cultivated and used as 
 
 food in tropical countries from very remote times, and furnishes enormous 
 quantities of nutritious food, and serves as a staple support to a large num- 
 ber of the human race. The expressed juice is in some countries made into 
 a fermented liquor and the young shoots eaten as a vegetable. 
 
 298. MUSA TEXTILIS. This furnishes the fiber known as manilla hemp, and is cul- 
 
 tivated in the Philippine Islands for this product. The finer kinds of the 
 fiber are woven into beautiful shawls and the coarser manufactured into 
 cordage for ships. The fiber is obtained from the leaf -stalks. 
 
 299. MussvENDA FRONDOSA. This cinchonaceous plant is a native of Ceylon. The 
 
 bark and leaves are esteemed as tonic and ferbrifuges in the Mauritius, 
 where they are known as wild cinchona. The leaves and flowers are also 
 used as expectorants, and the juice of the fruit and leaves is used as an eye- 
 wash. 
 
 300. MYRISTICA MOSCHATA. The nutmeg tree. The seed of this plant is the nut- 
 
 meg of commerce, and mace is the seed cover of the same. When the nuts 
 are gathered they are dried and the outer shell of the seed removed. The 
 mace is also dried 5 iii the sun and assumes a golden yellow color. The most 
 esteemed nutmegs come from Penang. At one time the nutmeg culture 
 was monopolized by the Dutch, who were in the habit of burning them 
 when the crop was too abundant, in order to keep up high prices. 
 
 301. MYROSPERMUM PERUIFERUM. This plant yields the drug known as balsam of 
 
 Peru, which is procured by making incisions in the bark, into which cotton 
 rags are thrust; a fire is then made round the tree to liquefy the balsam. 
 The balsam is collected by boiling the saturated rags in water. It is a thick, 
 treacly looking liquid, with fragrant aromatic smell and taste, and is not 
 used so much in. medicine as it formerly was. 
 
 302. MYROSPE&UM TOLUIFERUM. A South American tree, also called Myroxylon, 
 
 which yields the resinous drug called balsam of Tolu. This substance is 
 fragrant, having a warm, sweetish taste, and burns with an agreeable odor. 
 It is used in perfumery and in the manufacture of pastiles, also for flavor- 
 ing confectionery, as in Tolu lozenges. 
 
 303. MYRTUS COMMUNIS The common myrtle. This plant is supposed to be a na- 
 
 tive of western Asia, but now grows abundantly in Italy, Spain, and the 
 south of France. Among the ancients the myrtle was held sacred to Venus 
 and was a plant of considerable importance, wreaths of it being worn by 
 the victors of the Olympic games and other honored personages. Various 
 parts of the plant were used in medicine, in cookery, and by the Tuscans 
 in the preparation of myrtle wine, called myrtidanum. It is still used in 
 perfumery, and a highly perfumed distillation is made from the flowers. 
 The fruits are very aromatic and sweet, and are eaten fresh or dried and 
 used as a condiment. 
 
 304. NANDINA DOMESTIC A. A shrub belonging to the family of berberries. It is a 
 
 native of China and Japan, where it is extensively cultivated for its, fruits. 
 It is there known as Nandin. 
 
 305. NAUCLEA GAMBIR. -A native of the Malayan Islands, which yields the Gambir, 
 
 or Terra Japonica of commerce. This is prepared by boiling the leaves in 
 water until the decoction thickens, when it is poured into molds, where it 
 remains until it acquires the consistency of clay; it is then cut into cubes 
 and thoroughly dried. It is used as a masticatory in combination with the 
 areca nut and betel leaf, and also for tanning purposes. 
 
 306. NECTANDRA LEUCANTHA. The greenheart, or bibiru tree of British Guiana* 
 
 furnishing bibiru bark, which is used medicinally as a tonic and febrifuge, 
 its properties being due to the presence of an uncrystallizable alkaloid, 
 also found in the seeds. The seeds are also remarkable for containing 
 
31 
 
 upwards of 50 per cent of starch, which is made into a kind of bread by 
 the natives. The timber of this tree is extensively employed in shipbuild- 
 ing, its great strength and durability rendering it peculiarly well suited for 
 this purpose. 
 
 307. NEPENTHES DISTILLATORIA. This pitcher plant is a native of Ceylon. The 
 
 pitchers are partly filled with water before they open; hence it was sup- 
 posed to be produced by some distilling process. In Ceylon the old, tough, 
 flexible stems are used as willows. 
 
 308. NEPHELIUM LITCHI. This sapindaceous tree produces one of the valued indig- 
 
 enous fruits of China. There are several varieties; the fruit is round, 
 about an inch and a half in diameter, with a reddish-colored, thin, brittle 
 shell. When fresh they are filled with a sweet, white, transparent, jelly- 
 like pulp. The Chinese are very fond of these fruits and consume large 
 quantities of them, both in the fresh state and when dried and preserved. 
 
 309. NERIUM OLEANDER. This is a well-known plant, often seen . J n cultivation, and 
 
 seemingly a favorite with many. It belongs to a poisonous family and is a 
 dangerous poison. A decoction of its leaves forms a wash, employed in the 
 south of Europe to destroy vermin; and its powdered wood and bark con- 
 stitute the basis of an efficacious rat-poison. Children have died from eating 
 the flowers. A party of soldiers in Spain, having meat to roast in camp, 
 procured spits and skewers of the tree, which there attains a large size. The 
 wood having been stripped of its bark, and brought in contact with the meat, 
 was productive of fatal consequences, for seven men died out of the twelve 
 who partook of the meat and the other five were for some time danger- 
 ously ill. 
 
 310. NOTELJEA LIGUSTRINA. The Tasmanian iron wood tree. It is of medium growth 
 
 and furnishes wood that is extremely hard and dense, and used for mak- 
 ing sheaves for ships' blocks, and for other articles that require to be of 
 great strength. The plant belongs to the olive family. 
 
 311. OCHROMA LAGOPUS. A tree that grows about 40 feet high, along the seashores 
 
 in the West Indies and Central America, and known as the cork wood. 
 The wood is soft, spongy, and exceedingly light, and is used as a substitute 
 for cork, both in stopping bottles and as floats for fishing nets. It is also 
 known as Balsa. 
 
 u!2. (ENOCARPUS BATAVA. A South American palm, which yields a colorless, 
 sweet-tasted oil, used in Para for adulterating olive oil, being nearly as 
 good for this purpose as peanut oil, so largely used in Europe. A pain table 
 but slightly aperient beverage is prepared by triturating the fruits in water, 
 and adding sugar and mandiocca flour. 
 
 313. OLEA EUROP^EA. The European olive, which is popularly supposed to furnish 
 
 all the olive oil of commerce. It is a plant of slow growth and of as slow 
 decay. It is considered probable that trees at present existing in the Vale 
 of Gethsemane are those which existed at the commencement of the 
 Christian era. The oil is derived from the flesh of the fruit, and is pressed 
 out of the bruised pulp; inferior kinds are from second and third pressings. 
 The best salad oil is from Leghorn, and is sent in flasks surrounded by rush- 
 work. Gallipoli oil is transported in casks, and Lucca in jars. The pick- 
 ling olives are the unripe fruits deprived of a portion of their bitterness by 
 soaking in water in which lime and wood ashes are sometimes added, and 
 then bottled in salt and water with aromatics. 
 
 314. OPHIOCARYON PARADOXUM. The snake nut tree of Guiana, so called on 
 
 account of the curious form of the embryo of the seed, which is spirally 
 twisted, so as to closely resemble a coiled-up blacksnake. The fruits are 
 as large as those of the black walnut, and although they are not known to 
 possess any medical properties, their singular snake-like form has induced 
 the Indians to employ them as an antidote to the poison of venomous 
 snakes. The plant belongs to the order of Sapindacece. 
 
 315. OPHIORHIZA MUNGOS. A plant belonging to the cinchona family, the roots of 
 
 which are reputed to cure snake bites. They are intensely bitter, and from 
 this circumstance they are called earth-galls by the Malays. 
 
 316. OPHIOXYLON SERPENTIXUM. A native of the East Indies, where the roots are 
 
 used in medicine as a febrifuge and alexipharmic. 
 
 317. OPUNTIA COCHINELLIFERA. A native of Mexico, where it is largely cultivated 
 
 in. what are called the Nopal plantations for the breeding of the cochineal 
 insect. This plant and others are aLo grown for a similar purpose in the 
 
32 
 
 Canary Islands and Madeira. Some of these plantations contain fifty thou- 
 sand plants. Cochineal forms the finest carmine scarlet dye, and at least 
 there are 2,000 tons of it produced yearly, in value worth $2,000 per ton. 
 
 318. OPUNTIA TUNA. This plant is a native of Mexico and South America gener- 
 
 ally. It reaches a height of 15 to 20 feet and bears reddish-colored flowers, 
 followed by pear-shaped fleshy fruits 2 or 3 inches long, and of a rich car- 
 mine color when ripe. It is cultivated for rearing the cochineal insect. 
 The fruits are sweet and juicy; sugar has been made from them. The juice 
 is used as a water-color and for coloring confectionery. 
 
 319. OREODAPHNE CALIFORNICA. The mountain laurel, or spice bush, of Califor- 
 
 nia. When bruised it emits a strong, spicy odor, and the Spanish Ameri- 
 cans use the leaves as a condiment. 
 
 320. OREODOXAOLERACEA. The West Indian cabbage palm, which sometimes at- 
 
 tains the height of 170 feet, with a straight cylindrical trunk. The semicyl- 
 indrical portions of the leaf -stalk are formed into cradles for children, or 
 made into splints for fractures. Their inside skin, peeled off while green, 
 and dried, looks like vellum, and can be written upon. The heart of young 
 leaves, or cabbage, is boiled as a vegetable or pickled, and the pith affords 
 sago. Oil is obtained from the fruit. 
 
 321. ORMOSIA DASYCARPA. This is the West Indian bead tree, or necklace tree, 
 
 the seeds of which are roundish, beautifully polished, and of a bright scarlet 
 color, with a black spot at one end resembling beads, for which they are sub- 
 stitutes, being made into necklaces, bracelets, or mounted in silver for studs 
 and buttons. It is a leguminose plant. 
 
 322. OSMANTHUS FRAGRANS. This plant has long heen cultivated as Olea Fragrans. 
 
 The flowers have a fine fragrance, and are used by the Chinese to perfume 
 tea. It appears that they consider the leaves also valuable, for they are 
 frequently found in what is expected to be genuine tea. 
 
 323. PACHIRA ALBA. A South American tree the inner bark of which furnishes a 
 
 strong useful fiber, employed in the manufacture of ropes and various kinds 
 of cordage. The petals of the flowers are covered with a soft silky down 
 which is used for stuffing cushions and pillows. 
 
 324. PANDANUS UTILIS. The screw pine of the Mauritius, where it is largely cul- 
 
 tivated for its leaves, which are manufactured into bags or sacks for the 
 exportation of sugar. They are also used for making other domestic vessels 
 and for tying purposes. 
 
 325. PAPPEA CAPENSIS. A small tree of the soapberry or sapindaceous family, 
 
 a native of the Cape of Good Hope, where the fruit is known as the wild 
 plum, from the pulp of which a vinous beverage and excellent vinegar are 
 prepared, and an eatable, though slightly purgative, oil is extracted from 
 the seeds. The oil is also strongly recommended for baldness and scalp 
 affections. 
 
 826. PAPYRUS ANTIQUORUM. The paper-reed of Asia, which yielded the substances 
 used as paper by the ancient Egyptians. The underground root-stocks 
 spread horizontally under the muddy soil, continuing to throw up stems as 
 they creep along. The paper was made from thin slices, cut vertically from 
 the apex to the base of the stem, between its surface and center. The slices 
 were placed side by side, according to the size required, and then, after 
 being wetted and beaten with a wooden instrument until smooth, were 
 pressed and dried in the sun. 
 
 327. PARITIUM ELATUM. The mountain mahoe, a malvaceous plant, that furnishes 
 the beautiful lace-like bark called Cuba bast, imported by nurserymen for 
 tying their plants. It was at one time only seen as employed in tying 
 together bundles of genuine Havana cigars. It forms a tree 40 feet or more 
 in height, and yields a greenish-blue timber, highly prized by cabinet- 
 makers. 
 
 828, PARKIA .AFRICANA. The African locust tree, producing seeds which the natives 
 of Soudan roast, and then bruise and allow to ferment in water until they 
 become putrid, when they are carefully washed, pounded into powder, and 
 made into cakes, which are said to be excellent, though having a very 
 unpleasant smell. The pulp surrounding the seeds is made into a sweet 
 farinaceous preparation, 
 
33 
 
 329. PARKINSONIA ACULEATA. This leguminous plant is called Jerusalem Thorn. 
 
 Although a native of Southern Texas and Mexico, it is found in many trop- 
 ical countries, and is frequently used for making hedges. Indians in Mex- 
 ico employ it as a febrifuge and sudorific and also as a remedy for epilepsy. 
 
 330. PARMENTIERA CEREIFERA. In the Isthmus of Panama this plant is termed 
 
 the Candle tree, because its fruits, often 4 feet long, look like yellow can- 
 dles suspended from the branches. They have a peculiar, apple-like smell, 
 and cattle that partake of the leaves or fruit have the smell communicated 
 to the beef if killed immediately. 
 
 331. PASSIFLORA QUADRANGULARIS. The fruit of this plant is the Granadilla of the 
 
 tropics. The pulp has an agreeable though rather mawkish taste. The 
 root is said to possess narcotic properties, and is used in the Mauritius as an 
 emetic. 
 
 332. PAULLTNIA SORBILIS. The seeds of this climbing sapindaceous plant furnish 
 
 the famous guarana of the Amazon and its principal tributaries. The ripe 
 seeds, when thoroughly dried, are pounded into a fine powder, which made 
 into dough with water, is formed into cylindrical rolls, from 5 to 8 inches 
 long, becoming very hard when dry. ft is used as a beverage, which is 
 prepared by grating about half ateaspoonful of one of the cakes into about 
 a teacup of water. It is much used by Brazilian miners, and is considered 
 a preventive of all manner of diseases. It is also used by travelers, who 
 supply themselves with it previous to undertaking lengthy or fatiguing 
 journeys. Its active principle is identical with theine, of which it contains 
 a larger quantity than exists in any other known plant, being more than 
 double that contained in the best black tea. 
 
 333. PAVETTA BORBONICA. This belongs to the quinine family. The roots are bit- 
 
 ter, and are employed as a purgative ; the leaves are also used medicinally. 
 
 334. PEDILANTHUS TTTHYMALOIDES. This euphorbiaceous plant has an acrid, milky, 
 
 bitter juice ; the root is emetic, and the dried branches are used medici- 
 nally. 
 
 335. PERESKIA ACULEATA. The Barbadoes gooseberry, which belongs to the family 
 
 Cactacece. It grows about 15 feet in height, and produces yellow-colored, 
 eatable, and pleasant- tasted fruit, which is used in the West Indies for 
 making preserves. 
 
 336. PERSE A GRATTSSIMA. The avocado or alligator pear, a common tree in the 
 
 West Indies. The fruits are pear-shaped, covered with a brownish-green 
 or purple skin. They are highly esteemed where grown, but strangers 
 d<> not relish them. They contain a large quantity of firm pulp, possessing 
 a buttery or marrow-like taste, and are frequently called vegetable marrow. 
 They are usually eaten with spice, lime-juice, pepper, and salt. An abun- 
 dance of oil, for burning and for soap-making, may be obtained from the 
 pulp. The seeds yield a deep, indelible black juice, which is used for mark- 
 ing linen. 
 
 337. PHCENIX DACTYLIFERA. The date palm, very extensively grown for its fruit, 
 
 which affords the principal food for a large portion of the inhabitants of 
 Africa, Asia, and southern Europe, and likewise of the various domestic 
 animals dogs, horses, and camels being alike partial to it. The tree 
 attains to a great age, and bears annually for two hundred years. The 
 huts of the poorer classes are constructed of the leaves: the fiber surround- 
 in.- the bases of their stalks is used for making ropes and coarse cloth: the 
 stalks are used for the manufacture of baskets, brooms, crates, walking 
 sticks, etc., and the wood for building substantial houses; the heart of 
 young leaves is eaten as a vegetable; the sap affords an intoxicating bev- 
 erage. It may be further mentioned that the date was, probably, the palm 
 which supplied the "branches of palm trees" mentioned by St. John 
 (xii, 13) as having been carried by the people who went to meet Christ on 
 his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and from which Palm Sunday takes 
 its name. 
 
 338. PHORMIL-M TENAX. This plant is called New Zealand flax, on account of the 
 
 leaves containing a large quantity of strong, useful fiber, which is used by 
 the natives of that country for making strings, ropes, and articles of cloth- 
 ing. The plant could be grown in this climate, and would no doubt be 
 largely cultivated if some efficient mode of separating the fiber could be 
 discovered. 
 28582 3 
 
34 
 
 339. PHOTINIA JAPONICA. The Japanese Medlar, or Chinese Lo-quat. It bears a 
 
 small oval fruit of an orange color when ripe, having a pleasant subacid 
 flavor. It stands ordinary winters in this climate, and forms a fine ever- 
 green, medium-sized tree. 
 
 340. PHYSOSTIGMA VENENOSUM. A strong leguminous plant, the seeds of which 
 
 are highly poisonous, and are employed by the natives of Old Calabar as 
 an ordeal. Persons suspected of witchcraft or other crimes are compelled 
 to eat them until they vomit or die, the former being regarded as proof of 
 innocence, and the latter of guilt. Recently the seeds have been found 
 to act powerfully in diseases of the eye. 
 
 341. PHYTELEPHAS MACROCARPA. The vegetable ivory plant, a native of the north- 
 
 ern parts of South America. The fruit consists of a collection of six or 
 seven drupes; each contains from six to nine seeds, the vegetable ivory of 
 commerce. The seeds at first contain a clear, insipid liquid; afterwards 
 it becomes milky and sweet, and changes by degrees until it becomes hard 
 as ivory. Animals eat the fruit in its young green state; a sweet oily pulp 
 incloses the seeds, and is collected and sold in the markets under the name 
 of Pipa de Jagua. Vegetable ivory may be distinguished from animal 
 ivory by means of sulphuric acid, which gives a bright red color with the 
 vegetable ivory, but none with the animal ivory. 
 
 342. PICRASHA EXCELSA. This yields the bitter wood known as Jamaica Quassia. 
 
 The tree is common in Jamaica, where it attains the height of 50 feet. The 
 wood is of a whitish or yellow color, and has an intensely bitter taste. 
 Although it is used as a medicine in cases of weak digestion, it acts as a 
 narcotic poison on some animals, and the tincture is used as fly poison. 
 Cups made of this wood, when filled with water and allowed to remain for 
 some time, will impart tonic properties to the water. 
 
 343. PINCKNEYA PUBENS. This cinchonaceous plant is a native of the Southern 
 
 States and has a reputation as an antiperiodic. It is stated that incom- 
 plete examinations have detected cinchonine in the bark. It has been used 
 successfully as a substitute for quinine. A thorough examination of this 
 plant seems desirable so that its exact medical value may be ascertained. 
 
 344. PIPER BETEL. This plant belongs to the Piperacece. Immense quantities of 
 
 the leaves of this plant are chewed by the Malays. It tinges the saliva a 
 bright red and acts as a powerful stimulant to the digestive organs and sal- 
 ivary glands; when swallowed it causes giddiness and other unpleasant 
 symptoms in persons unaccustomed to its use. 
 
 345. PIPER NIGRUM. This twining shrub yields the pepper of commerce. It is cul- 
 
 tivated in the East and West Indies, Java, etc., the Malabar being held in 
 the highest esteem. The fruit when ripe is of a red color, but it is gathered 
 before being fully ripe and dried in the sun, when it becomes black and 
 shriveled. White pepper is the same fruit with the skin removed. When 
 analyzed, pepper is found to contain a hot acrid resin and a volatile oil, as 
 well as a crystalline substance called piperin, which has been recom- 
 mended as a substitute for quinine. 
 
 346. PISTACIA LENTISCUS. The mastic tree, a native of southern Europe, northern 
 
 Africa, and western Asia. Mastic is the resin of the tree and is obtained 
 by making transverse incisions in the bark, from which it exudes in drops 
 and hardens into small semitransparent tears. It is consumed in large 
 quantities by the Turks for chewing to strengthen the gums and sweeten 
 the breath. It is also used for varnishing. 
 
 347. PISTACIA TEREBINTHUS. The Cyprus turpentine tree. The turpentine flows 
 
 from incisions made in the trunk and soon becomes thick and tenacious, 
 and ultimately hardens. Galls gathered from this tree are used for tanning 
 purposes, one of 'the varieties of morocco leather being tanned with them. 
 
 348. PISTACIA VERA. The pistacia tree, which yields the eatable pistachio nuts. It 
 
 is a native of western Asia. The nuts are greatly eaten by the Turks and 
 Greeks, as well as in the south of Europe, either simply dried like almonds 
 or made into articles of confectionery. 
 
 319. PITHECOLOBIUM SAMAN. This leguminous plant yields eatable pods, which are 
 fed to cattle in Brazil. Some Mexican species produce pods that are boiled 
 and eaten, and certain portions contain saponaceous properties. The pods 
 are sometimes called Manilla tamarinds. The leaves of this tree fold closely 
 up at night, so that they do not prevent the radiation of heat from the sur- 
 face of the ground, and dew is therefore deposited underneath its branches. 
 The grass on the surface of the ground underneath this tree being thus wet 
 
35 
 
 with dew. while tli.it under other trees is found to be dry, has given it the 
 name of rain tree, under the supposition that the leaves dropped water 
 during the night. 
 
 350. PITTOSPORUM UNDULATUM. A plant from New Zealand, which reaches a con- 
 siderable size, and furnishes a wood similar to boxwood. The flowers are 
 very fragrant. 
 
 331. PLAGIANTHUS BETULINUS. The inner bark of the young branches of this plant 
 yields a very fine fiber, sometimes called New Zealand cotton, though more 
 like flax than cotton ; it is the Akaroa of the New Zealanders. In Tasma- 
 nia it bears the name of Currajong. Good cordage and twine for fishing 
 nets are made from this fiber. A superior paper pulp is prepared from the 
 wood; it is also employed in making handles to baskets, rims for sieves, and 
 hoops for barrels. 
 
 352. PLATONIA INSIGNIS. A Brazilian tree which bears a fruit known in that 
 
 country as Pacoury-uva. The pulp of this fruit is semiacid, very delicious, 
 and is employed in making preserves. The seeds embedded in this pulp 
 have the flavor of almonds. 
 
 353. PLUMBAGO SCANDENS. The root of this plant is called Herbe du Diable in San 
 
 Domingo; it is acrid in the highest degree, and is a most energetic blister- 
 ing agent when fresh. 
 
 354. PLUMIERIA ALBA. A South American plant. The flowers are used in per- 
 
 fumery, and furnish the scent known as Frangipane or Frangipani. In 
 Jamaica the plant is known as red jasmine. 
 
 355. POGOSTEMON PATCHOULY. This plant affords the celebrated patchouli per- 
 
 fume. The peculiar odor of patchouli is disagreeable to some, but is very 
 popular with many persons. The odoriferous part of the plant, is the 
 leaves and young tops, which yield a volatile oil by distillation, from which 
 an essence is prepared; satchets of patchouli are made of coarsely powdered 
 leaves. Genuine Indian shawls and Indian ink were formerly distin- 
 guished by their odor of this perfume, but the test does not now hold good. 
 Ill effects," such as loss of sleep, nervous attacks, etc., have been ascribed 
 to its extensive use. 
 
 356. PONGAMIA GLABRA. Some years ago this tree was recommended as suitable 
 
 for avenue-planting in the south of France. In India an oil called poonga 
 is exp essed from the seeds, which is much used for mixing with lamp oil. 
 It is of a deep yellow color, and is fluid at temperatures above 60 F. , but 
 below that it becomes solid. 
 
 357. PORTLANDIA GRANDIFLORA This plant belongs to the cinchonaceous family, 
 
 and is said to possess properties similar to those of the true cinchona. The 
 bark is exceedingly bitter. 
 
 $58. PSIDIUM CATTLEYANUM. This is the purple guava from China. The fruits are 
 filled with juicy, pale flesh, of a very agreeable acid-sweet flavor. 
 
 359. PSIDIUM PYRIFERUM. The West Indian guava, a well-known fruit in the 
 tropics, but only known here in the shape of guava jelly. The wood of 
 the tree has a fine, close grain, and has bean experimented with as a sub- 
 stitute for boxwood for engraving purposes, but it is too soft to stand the 
 pressure of printing. 
 
 860. PSYCHOTRIA LEUCANTHA. A plant belonging to the cinchona family. Emetic 
 properties are assigned to the roots, which are also used in dyeing. Native 
 of Peru. 
 
 361. PTEROCARPUS MARSUPIUM. This tree affords gum-kino, which is obtained by 
 making incisions in the bark, from which the juice exudes and hardens 
 into a brittle mass, easily broken into small angular, shining fragments of 
 a bright ruby color. It is highly astringent. The wood is hard and valua- 
 ble for manufacturing purposes. 
 
 862. PUNICA GRANATUM. The pomegranate, a native of northern Africa and west- 
 ern Asia. The fruit is valued in warm countries on account of its deli- 
 cious cooling and refreshing pulp. Numerous varieties are grown, some 
 being sweet and vinous, and others acid or of a bitter, stringent taste; the 
 color also varies from light to dark red. The bark of the root abounds 
 in a peculiar principle called puniein. This bark appears to have been 
 known to the ancients, and used by them as a vermifuge, and is still used 
 in Hindostan as a specific against tapeworm. The rind of the fruit of the 
 bitter varieties contains a large amount of tannin, and is used for tanning 
 morocco leather. The flowers yield a red dye. 
 
36 
 
 363. QUASSIA AMARA. The wood of this plant furnishes Surinam quassia. It is 
 
 destitute of smell, but has an intensely bitter taste, and is used as a tonic. 
 The root has also reputed medicinal value, as also have the flowers. 
 
 364. QUILLAJA SAPONARIA. The Quillai or Cully of the Chilians. Its bark is called 
 
 soap-bark, and is rough and dark -colored externally, but internally consists 
 of numerous regular whitish or yellowish layers, and contains a large 
 quantity of carbonate of lime and other mineral matters. It is also rich in 
 saponine, and is used for washing clothes; 2 ounces of the bark is sufficient 
 to wash a dress. It also removes all spots or stains, and imparts a fine 
 luster to wool; when powdered and rubbed between the hands in water, it 
 makes a foam like soap. It is to be found in commerce. 
 
 365. BANDIA ACULEATA. A small tree native of the West Indies, also found in 
 
 southern Florida. In the West Indies the fruit is used for producing a blue 
 dye, and medicinal properties are assigned to the bark. 
 
 366. RAPHIA TOEDIGERA. The Jupati palm. The leaf -stalks of this plant are used 
 
 by the natives of the Amazon for a variety of purposes, such as construct- 
 ing inside walls, making boxes and baskets, etc. R. vinifera, the Bamboo 
 palm, is similarly used by the Africans, who also make a very pliable cloth 
 of the undeveloped leaves. Palm wine is one of the products of the genus. 
 
 367. EAVENALA MADAGASCARIENSIS. This plant is called the Travele 's tree, prob- 
 
 ably on account of the water which is stored up in the large cup-like sheaths 
 of the leaf -stalks, and which is sought for by travelers to allay their thirst. 
 The broad leaves are used in Madagascar as thatch to cover their houses. 
 The seeds are edible, and the blue, pulpy aril surrounding them yields an 
 essential oil. 
 
 368. RHAPIS FLABELLIFORMIS. The ground rattan palm. This is supposed to 
 
 yield the walking-canes known as rattan, which is doubted. It is a native 
 of southern China, and is also found in Japan, where it is known by the 
 name of Kwanwortsik. 
 
 369. RHIZOPHORA MANGLE. This plant is known as the mangrove, possibly because 
 
 no man can live in the swampy groves that are covered with it in trop- 
 ical countries. The seeds germinate, or form roots before they quit the 
 parent tree, and drop into the mud as young trees. The old plants send out 
 aerial roots into the water, upon which the mollusca adhere, and as the tide 
 recedes they are seen clinging to the shoots, verifying the statements of 
 old travelers that they had seen oysters growing on trees. All parts of this 
 tree contain tannin. The bark yields dyes, and in the West Indies the 
 leaves are used for poulticing wounds. The fruit is edible; a coarse, brittle 
 salt is extracted from the roots, and in the Philippines the bark is used as 
 a febrifuge. 
 
 370. ROTTLERA TINCTORIA. This plant belongs to the order Euphorbiacece, and 
 
 reaches the size of a small tree in the Indian Arohipelago and southern 
 Australia. From the surface of the trilobed capsules of this plant, which 
 are about the size of peas, a red, mealy powder is obtained, well known in 
 India as kamala, and which is used by Hindoo silk-dyers, who obtain from 
 it a deep, bright, durable orange or flame color of great beauty. This is 
 obtained by boiling the powder in a solution of carbonate of soda. When 
 the capsules are ripe the red powder is brushed off and collected for sale, 
 no other preparation being necessary to preserve it. It is also used medici- 
 nally as an anthelmintic and has been successfully used in cases of tape- 
 worm. A solution removes freckles and pistules and eruptions on the skin. 
 
 371. RUELLIA INDIGOTICA. This small bush is extensively cultivated in China for 
 
 the preparation of a blue coloring-matter of the nature of indigo. The 
 pigment is prepared from the entire plant by a process similar to that em- 
 ployed in procuring the common indigo. It is sold in China in a pasty 
 state. The water in which the plant is steeped is mixed with lime and 
 rapidly agitated, when the coloring deposits at the bottom of the vessel. 
 
 372. SABAL ADANSONI. This dwarf palm is a native of the Southern States. The 
 
 leaves are made into fans, and the soft interior of the stem is edible. 
 
 373. SABAL UMBRACULIFERA. This is a West Indian palm; the leaves are used for 
 
 various purposes, such as making mats, huts, etc. 
 
 374. SACCHARUM OFFICINARUM. The sugar cane. Where the sugar cane was first 
 
 cultivated is unknown, but it is supposed to have been in the East Indies, 
 for the Venetians imported it from thence by the Red Sea prior to the year 
 1148. It is supposed to have been introduced into the islands of Sicily, Crete, 
 
37 
 
 Rhodes, and Cyprus by the Saracens, as abundance of sugar was made in 
 these islands previous* to the discovery of the West Indies in 1492 by the 
 Spaniards, and the East Indies and Brazil by the Portuguese in 1497 and 1560. 
 It was cultivated afterwards in Spain, in Valentia, Granada, and Murcia 
 bv the Moors. In the fifteenth century it was introduced into the Canary 
 Islands by the Spaniards and to Madeira by the Portuguese, and thence to 
 the West India Islands and to Brazil. The Dutch began to make sugar in 
 the island of St. Thomas in the year 1610 and in Jamaica in 1644. Its cul- 
 ture has since become general in warm climates and its use universal. 
 
 375. SAGUERUS SACCHARIFER. The arenga palm, which is of great value to the 
 
 Malays. The black horsehair like fiber surrounding its leaf -stalks is made 
 into cordage; a large amount of toddy or palm wine is obtained by cutting 
 off the flower spikes, which, when inspissated, affords sugar, and when fer- 
 mented a capital vinegar. Considerable quantities of inferior sago and sev- 
 eral other products of minor importance are derived from this palm. 
 
 376. SAGUS RUMPHII. This palm produces the sago of commerce, which is prepared 
 
 from the soft inner portion of the trunk. It is obtained by cutting the 
 trunk into small pieces, which are split and the soft substance scooped out 
 and pounded in water till the starchy substance separates and settles. This 
 is sago meal; but before being exported it is made into what is termed 
 pearl sago. This is a Chinese process, principally carried on at Singapore. 
 The meal is washed, strained, and spread out to dry; it is then broken up, 
 pounded, and sifted until it is of a regular size. Small quantities being 
 then placed in bags, these are shaken about until it becomes granulated or 
 pearled. 
 
 377. SALVADORA PERSICA. This is supposed to be the plant that produced the 
 
 mustard seed spoken of in the Scriptures. 
 
 378. SANDORICUM INDICUM. A tropical tree, sometimes called the Indian sandal 
 
 tree, which produces a fruit like an apple, of agreeable acid flavor. The 
 root of the tree has some medicinal value. 
 
 379. SANSEVIERA GUINEENSIS. Called the African bowstring hemp, from the fibers 
 
 of the leaves being used for bowstrings. 
 
 380. SANTALUM ALBUM. Thi? tree yields the true sandalwood of India. This fra- 
 
 grant wood is in two colors, procured from the same tree; the yellow-colored 
 wood is from the heart and the white-colored from the exterior, the latter 
 not so fragrant. The Chinese manufacture it into musical instruments, 
 small cabinets, boxes, and similar articles, which are insect proof. From 
 shavings of the wood an essential oil is distilled, which is used in per- 
 fumery. 
 
 381. SAPINDUS SAPONARIA. The soapberry tree. The fruit of this plant is about 
 
 the size of a large gooseberry, the outer covering or shell of which contains 
 a saponaceous principle in sufficient abundance to produce a lather with 
 water and is used as a substitute for soap. The seeds are hard, black, and 
 round, and are used for making rosaries and necklaces, and at one time 
 were covered for buttons. Oil is also extracted from the seeds and is known 
 as soap oil. 
 
 382. SAPIUM INDICUM. A widely distributed Asiatic tree which yields an acrid, 
 
 milky juice, which, as also the leaves of the plant, furnishes a kind of dye. 
 The fruit in its green state is acid, and is eaten as a condiment in Borneo. 
 
 383. SAPOTA ACHRAS. The fruit of this plant is known in the West Indies as the 
 
 sapodilla plum. It is highly esteemed by the inhabitants; the bark of the 
 tree is astringent and febrifugal; the seeds are aperient and diuretic. 
 
 384. SAPOTA MULLERL The bully or balata tree of British Guiana, which furnishes 
 
 a gum somewhat intermediate between India rubber and gutta-percha, 
 being nearly as elastic as the first without the brittleness and f riability of 
 the latter, and requiring a high temperature to melt or soften it. 
 
 385. SCHIXUS MOLLE. The root of this plant is used medicinally and the resin that 
 
 exudes from the tree is employed to astringe the gums. The leaves are so 
 filled with resinous fluid that when they are immersed in water it is ex- 
 p^lled with such violence as to have the appearance of spontaneous motion 
 in consequence of the recoil. The fruits are of the size of pepper corns and 
 are warm to the taste. The pulp surrounding the seeds is made into a kind 
 of beverage by the Mexican Indians. The plant is sometimes called Mexi- 
 can pepper. 
 
38 
 
 386. SCHOTIA SPECIOSA A small tree of South Africa called Boerboom at the Cape 
 
 of Good Hope. The seeds or beans are cooked and eaten as food. The 
 bark is used for tanning purposes and as an astringent in medicine. 
 
 387. SEAFORTHIA ELEGANS. This palm is a native of the northern part of Australia, 
 
 where it is utilized by the natives. The seeds have a granular fibrous rind, 
 and are spotted and marked like a nutmeg. 
 
 388. SELAGINELLA LEPIDOPHYLLA. This spscies of club moss is found in southern 
 
 California, and has remarkable hygrometric qualities. Its natural growth 
 is in circular roseate form, and fully expanded when the air is moist, but 
 rolling up like a ball when it becomes dry. It remains green and acts in 
 this peculiar manner for a long time after being gathered. Of late years 
 numbers have been distributed throughout the country under the names of 
 " Rose of Jericho" and " Resurrection Plant." This is, however, quite dis- 
 tinct from the true Rose of Jericho, Anastatica hierochuntina, a native of 
 the Mediterranean region, from Syria to Algeria. This plant, when grow- 
 ing and in flower, has branches spread rigidly, but when the seed ripens 
 the leaves wither, and the whole plant becomes dry. each little branch 
 curling inward until the plant appears like a small ball: it soon becomes 
 loosened from the soil, and is carried by the winds over the dry plains, and 
 is often blown into the sea, where it at once expands. It retains this 
 property of expanding when moistened for at least ten years. 
 
 C39. SEMECARPUS ANACARDIUM. The marking nut tree of India. The thick, fleshy 
 receptacle bearing the fruit is of a yellow color when ripe, and is roasted 
 and eaten. The unripe fruit is employed in making a kind of ink. The 
 hard shell of the fruit is permeated by a corrosive juice, which is used on 
 external bruises and for destroying warts. The juice, when mixed with 
 quick-lime, is used to mark cotton or linen with an indelible mark. When 
 dry it forms a dark varnish, and among other purposes it is employed, 
 mixed with pitch and tar, in the calking of ships. The seeds, called 
 Malacca beans, or marsh nuts, are eaten, and are said to stimulate the 
 mental powers, and especially the memory; and finally they furnish an oil 
 used in painting. 
 
 390. SERISSA FCETIDA. A cinchonaceous shrub, having strong astringent properties. 
 
 The roots are employed in cases of diarrhea, also in ophthalmia and 
 certain forms of ulcers. It is a native of Japan and China. 
 
 391. SHOREA ROBUSTA. This tree produces the Saul wood of India, which has a 
 
 very high reputation, and is extensively employed for all engineering pur- 
 poses where great strength and toughness are requisite. It is stronger and 
 much heavier than teak. An oil is obtained from the seeds, and a resin 
 similar to Dammar resin is likewise obtained from the tree. 
 
 392. SID A PULCHELLA. A plant of the mallow family; the bark contains fibrous 
 
 tissues available for the manufacture of cordage. The root of S. acuta is 
 esteemed by the Hindoos as a medicine, and particularly as a remedy for 
 snake bites. The light wood of these species is used to make rocket sticks. 
 
 393. SIM ABA CEDRON. A native of New Grenada, where it attains the size of a 
 
 small tree, and bears a large fruit containing one seed; this seed, which 
 looks like a blanched almond, is known in commerce as the cedron. As a 
 remedy for snake bites it has been known from time immemorial in New 
 Grenada. It is mentioned in the books of the seventeenth century. Recently 
 it has obtained a reputation as a febrifuge, but its value as an antidote to the 
 bites of snakes and scorpions is universally believed, and the inhabitants 
 carry a seed with them in all their journey ings; if they happen to be bitten 
 by any venomous reptile they scrape about two grains of the seed in brandy 
 ' or water and apply it to the wound, at the same time taking a like dose 
 internally. This neutralizes the most dangerous poisons. 
 
 394. SIMARUBA OFPICINALIS. This tree yields the drug known as Simaruba bark, 
 
 which is, strictly speaking, the rind of the root. It is a bitter tonic. It is 
 known in the West Indies as the mountain damson. 
 
 395. SIPHONIA ELASTICA. The South American rubber plant, from which a great 
 
 portion of the caoutchouc of commerce is obtained. There are several 
 species of siphonia which, equally with the above, furnish the India 
 rubber exported from Para. The caoutchouc exists in the tree in the form 
 of a thin, white milk, which exudes from incisions made in the trunk, and 
 is poured over molds, which were formerly shaped like jars, bottles, or 
 
39 
 
 shoes, hence often called bottle rubber. As it dries, the coatings of milky 
 jni<-H are repeated until the required thickness is obtained, and the clay 
 mold removed. It belongs to the extensive family Euphorbiacece. 
 
 396. SMILAX MEDICA. This plant yields Mexican sarsaparilla, so called to distin- 
 
 guish it from the many other kinds of this drug. The plant is a climber, 
 similar to the sniilax of our woods. 
 
 397. SPONDIAS MOMBIN. This yields an eatable fruit called hog plum in the West 
 
 In- lies. The taste is said to be peculiar, and not very agreeable tostrangers. 
 It is chiefly used to fatten swine. The fruit is laxative, the leaves as- 
 tringent, and the seeds possess poisonous qualities. The flower buds are 
 used as a sweetmeat with sugar. 
 
 398. STRELITZIA REGINA. A plant of the Musa or banana family. The flowers are 
 
 very beautiful for the genus. It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope. 
 The seeds are gathered and eaten by the Kaffirs. 
 
 399. STRYCHNOS NUX VOMICA. This is a native of the Cpromandel coast and 
 
 Cochin-China. It bears an orange -like fruit, containing seeds that have 
 an intensely bitter taste, owing to the presence of two most energetic poi- 
 sons, strychnine and brucine. The pulp surrounding the seeds is said to be 
 harmless, and greedily eaten by birds. The wood of the plant is hard and 
 bitter, and possesses similar properties to the seeds, but in a less degree. It 
 is used in India in intermittent fevers and in cases of snake bites. S. tiente 
 is a Java shrub, the juice of which is used in poisoning arrows. S. toxi- 
 fera yields a frightful poison called Ourari or Wourari, employed by the 
 natives of Guiana. This is considered to be the most potent sedative in 
 nature. Several species of Strychnos are considered infallible remedies for 
 snake bites; hence are known as snakewood. $. pseudo-quina, a native of 
 Brazil, yields Colpache bark, which is much used in that country in cases of 
 fever, and is considered equal to quinine in value. It does not contain 
 strychnine, and its fruits are edible. S. potatorum furnishes seeds known 
 in India as clearing-nuts, on account of their use in clearing muddy water. 
 St. Ignatius beans are supposed t j be yielded by a species of Strychnos, 
 from the quantity of strychnine contained in the seeds. 
 
 400. SWIETENIA MAHAGONI. This South American plant furnishes the timber 
 
 known in commerce as mahogany. The bark is considered a febrifuge, 
 and the seeds prepared with oil were used by the ancient Aztecs as a cos- 
 metic. The timber is well known, and much used in the manufacture of 
 furniture. 
 
 401. TACCA PINNATIFIDA. This is sometimes called South Sea arrowroot. The 
 
 tubers contain a great amount of starch, which is obtained by rasping 
 them and macerating four or five days in water, when the fecula separates 
 in the same manner as sago. It is largely used as an article of diet 
 throughout the tropics, and is a favorite ingredient for puddings and cakes. 
 
 402. TAMARINDUS INDICA. The tamarind tree. There are two varieties of this 
 
 species. The East Indian variety has long pods, with six to twelve seeds. 
 The variety cultivated in the West Indies has shorter pods, containing one 
 to four seeds. Tamarinds owe their grateful acidity to the presence of 
 citric, tartaric, and other vegetable acids. The pulp mixed with salt is 
 used for a liniment by the Creoles of the Mauritius. Every part of the 
 plant has had medicinal virtues ascribed to it. Fish pickled with tama- 
 rinds are considered a great delicacv. It is said that the acid moisture 
 exhaled by the leaves injures the cloth of tents that remain under them 
 for any length of time. It is also considered unsafe to sleep under the 
 trees. 
 
 403. TANGHINIA VENENIFERA. This plant is a native of Madagascar, and of the 
 
 family Apocynacece. Formerly, when the custom of trial by ordeal was 
 more prevalent than now, the seeds of this plant were in great repute, and 
 unlimited confidence was placed in the poisonous seeds as a detector of 
 guilt. The seeds were pounded, and a small piece swallowed by each per- 
 son to be tried; those in whom it caused vomiting were allowed to escape, 
 but when it was retained in the stomach, it would quickly prove fatal, and 
 their guilt was thus held to be proven. 
 
 404. TASMANNIA AROMATICA. The bark of this plant possesses aromatic qualities, 
 
 closely resembling Winter's bark. The small black fruits are used as a 
 substitute for pepper. 
 
40 
 
 405. TECTONA GRANDIS. The teak tree. Teak wood has been extensively employed 
 
 for shipbuilding in the construction of merchant vessels and ships of war; 
 its great strength and durability, the facility with which it can be worked, 
 and its freedom from injury by fungi, rendering it peculiarly suitable for 
 these purposes. It is a native of the East India Islands, and belongs to the 
 order Verbenacece. 
 
 406. TERMINALIA CATAPPA. The astringent fruits of this tropical plant are employed 
 
 for tanning and dyeing, and are sometimes met with in commerce under 
 the name of myrobalans, and used by calico printers for the production of 
 a permanent black. The seeds are like almonds in shape and whiteness, 
 but, although palatable, have a peculiar flavor. 
 
 407. TETRANTHERA LAURIFOLIA. This plant is widely dispersed over tropical Asia 
 
 and the islands of the Eastern Archipelago. Its leaves and young branches 
 abound in a viscid juice, and in Cpchin-China the natives bruise and mace- 
 rate them until this becomes glutinous, when it is used for mixing with 
 plaster, to thicken and render it more adhesive and durable. Its fruits 
 yield a solid fat, used for making candles, although it has a most disagree- 
 able odor. 
 
 408. THE A VIRIDIS. This is the China tea plant, whose native country is undeter- 
 
 mined. All kinds and grades of the teas of commerce are made from 
 this species, although probably it has some varieties. Black and green 
 teas are the result of different modes of preparation; very much of the 
 green, however, is artificially colored to suit the foreign trade. The finest 
 teas do riot reach this country; they will not bear a sea voyage, and are 
 used only by the wealthy classes in China and Russia. The active princi- 
 ples of the leaves are theine and a volatile oil, to which latter the flavor and 
 odor are due. So far as climate is concerned for the existence of the tea 
 plant in the United States, it will stand in the open air without injury 
 from Virginia southwards. A zero frost will not kill it. But with regard 
 to its production as a profitable crop, the rainfall in no portion of the States 
 is sufficient to warrant any attempt to cultivate the plant for commercial 
 purposes. But this does not prevent its culture as a domestic article, and 
 many hundreds of families thus prepare all the tea they require, from 
 plants it may be from the pleasure ground or lawn, where the plant forms 
 one of the best ornaments. 
 
 409. THEOBROMA CACAO. This plant produces the well-known cacao, or chocolate, 
 
 and is very extensively cultivated in South America and the West India 
 Islands. The fruit, which is about 8 to 10 inches in length by 3 to 5 in 
 breadth, contains between fifty and a hundred seeds, and from these the cacao 
 is prepared. As an article of food it contains a large amount of nutritive 
 matter, about 50 per cent being fat. It contains a peculiar principle, 
 which is called theobromine. 
 
 410. THEOPHRASTA JUSSI^EI. A native of St. Domingo, where it is sometimes 
 
 called Le petit Coca. The fruit is succulent, and bread is made from the 
 
 411. THESPESIA POPULNEA. A tropical tree, belonging to the mallow family. The 
 
 inner bark of the young branches yields a tough fiber, fit for cordage, and 
 used in Demerara for making coffee bags, and the finer pieces of it for cigar 
 envelopes. The wood is considered almost indestructible under water, and 
 its hardness and durability render it valuable for various purposes. The 
 flower buds and unripe fruits yield a viscid yellow juice, useful as a dye, 
 and a thick, deep, red-colored oil is expressed from the seeds. 
 
 412. THEVETIA NERIIFOLIA. This shrubby plant is common in the West Indies 
 
 and in many parts of Central America. Its bark abounds in a poisonous 
 milky juice, and is said to possess powerful properties. A clear, bright, 
 yellow-colored oil, called Exile oil, is obtained, by expression, from the 
 
 413. THRINAX ARQENTEA. This beautiful palm is called the Silver Thatch palm 
 
 of Jamaica, and is said to yield the leaves so extensively used in the manu- 
 facture of hats, baskets, and other articles. It is also a native of Panama, 
 where it is called the broom palm, its leaves being there made into brooms. 
 
 414. TILLANDSIA ZEBRINA. A South American plant of the pineapple family; the 
 
 bottle-like cavity at the base of the leaves will sometimes contain a pint or 
 more of water, and has frequently furnished a grateful drink to thirsty 
 travelers. 
 
41 
 
 415. TINOSPORA CORDIFOLIA. A climbing plant, so tenacious of life that when 
 
 tlu- stem is cut across or broken, a rootlet is speedily sent down from above, 
 which continues to grow until it reaches the ground. A bitter principle, 
 calumbine, pervades the plant. An extract called galuncha is prepared 
 from it, considered to be a specific for the bites of posionous insects and for 
 ulcers. The young shoots are used as emetics. 
 
 416. TRIPHASIA TRIFOLIATA. A Chinese shrub, with fmit about the size of hazel- 
 
 nuts, red-skinned, and of an agreeable sweet taste; when green, they have 
 a strong flavor of turpentine, and the pulp is very sticky. They are also 
 preserved whole in sirup, and are sometimes called linieberries. 
 
 417. TRISTANIA NERIFOLIA. A myrtaceous plant from Australia, called the tur- 
 
 pentine tree, owing to its furnishing a fluid resembling that product. 
 
 418. URCEOLA ELASTICA. A plant belonging to the Apocynacece, a native of the 
 
 islands of Borneo and Sumatra, where its milky juice, collected by making 
 incisions in its soft, thick, rugged bark, or by cutting the trunk into junks, 
 forms one of the kinds of caoutchouc called juitawan, but it is inferior to 
 the South American, chiefly owing to want of care in its preparation, the 
 milky juice being simply coagulated by mixing wdth salt water, instead of 
 being gradually inspissated in layers on a mold. The fruit contains a pulp 
 which is much eaten by the natives. 
 
 419. URENA LOBATA. A malvaceous plant, possessing mucilaginous properties, for 
 
 which it is used medicinally. The bark affords an abundance of fiber, re- 
 sembling jute rather than flax or hemp. 
 
 420. UVARIA ODORATISSIMA. An Indian plant which is supposed to yield the essen- 
 
 tial oil called Ylang-Ylang, or Alan-gilan. This oil is obtained by distillation 
 from the flowers, and is highly esteemed by perfumers, having an exquisite 
 odor partaking of the jasmine and lilac. 
 
 421. VANGUERIA EDULIS. A cinchonaceous plant, the fruits of which are eaten in 
 
 Madagascar under the name of Voa-vanga. The leaves are used in medi- 
 cine. 
 
 422. VANILLA PLAXIFOLIA. The vanilla plant, which belongs to the orchid family. 
 
 The fruit is used by confectioners and others for flavoring creams, liquors, 
 and chocolates. There are several species, but this gives the finest fruit. It 
 is a climbing orchid, and is allowed to climb on trees when cultivated for its 
 fruit. In Mexico, from whence is procured a large portion of the fruit, it 
 is cultivated in certain favorable localities near the Gulf coast, where the 
 climate is warm. Much of the value of the bean depends upon the process 
 of its preparation for the market. In Mexico, where much care is given to 
 this process, the pods are gathered before they are fully ripe and placed in 
 a heap, under protection from the weather, until they begin to shrivel, when 
 they are submitted to a sweating process by wrapping them in blankets in- 
 closed in tight boxes; afterwards they are exposed to the sun. They are 
 then tied into bundles or small bales, which are first wrapped in woolen 
 blankets, then in a coating of banana leaves first sprinkled with water, then 
 
 E laced in an oven heated up to about 140 F. Here they remain for twenty- 
 Kir to forty -eight hours, according to the size of the pods, the largest re- 
 quiring the longest tune. After this heating they are exposed to the sun 
 daily for fifty or sixty days, until they are thoroughly dried and ready for 
 . the market. 
 
 423. VATERIA IXDICA. This plant yields a useful gum resin, called Indian copal, 
 
 piney varnish, white dammar, or gumanine. The resin is procured by cut- 
 ting a notch in the tree, so that the juice may flow out and become hardened. 
 It is used as a varnish for pictures, carriages, etc. On the Malabar coast it 
 ' is manufactured into candles, which burn with a clear light and an agree- 
 able fragrance. The Portuguese employ this resin instead of incense. Orna- 
 ments are fashioned from it under the name of amber. It is also employed 
 in medicine. 
 
 424. WEINMANNIA RACEMOSA. A New Zealand tree called Towhia by the natives 
 
 of that country. Its bark is used for tanning purposes, and as a red and 
 brown dye, which give fast colors upon cotton fabrics. 
 
 425. WRIGHTIA TIXCTORIA. The leaves of this plant furnish an inferior kind of in- 
 
 digo. The wood is beautifully white, close-grained, and ivory-like, and is 
 much used for making Indian toys. 
 
 426. XANTHORRHCEA ARBOREA. The grass gum tree of Australia, also called black 
 
 boy. This is a liliaceous plant, which produces a long flower-stalk, bear- 
 ing at the top an immense cylindrical flower-spike, and when the short 
 28582 4 
 
42 
 
 black stem is denuded of leaves, the plants look very like black men hold- 
 ing spears. The leaves afford good fodder for cattle, and the tender white 
 center is used as a vegetable. A fragrant resin, called acaroid resin, is ob- 
 tained from it. 
 
 427. XIMENIA AMERICANA. A small tree, found in many warm regions; among 
 
 others in southern Florida. In Brazil it is called the Native Plum on 
 account of its small yellow fruits, which have a subacid and somewhat 
 astringent aromatic taste. The wood is odoriferous and is used in the West 
 Indies as a substitute for sandalwood. 
 
 428. YUCCA ALCEFOLIA. The yucca leaves afford a good fiber, and some southern 
 
 species are known as bear's grass. The root stems also furnish a starchy 
 matter, which has been rendered useful in the manufacture of starch. 
 
 429. ZAMIA FURFURACEA. This plant belongs to the order Cycadeacece, and is 
 
 grown to some extent for the starchy matter contained in the stem, which 
 is collected and used as arrowroot; but it is not the true arrowroot, that 
 being produced by a species of Maranta. 
 
 430. ZAMIA INTEGRIFOLIA. The coontie plant of Florida. The large succulent 
 
 roots afford a quantity of arrowroot, said to be equal to the best of that 
 from Bermuda. The fruit has a coating of an orange-colored pulp, which 
 is said to form a rich edible food. It was from the roots of this plant that 
 the Seminoles of Florida obtained their white meal. 
 
 431. ZINGIBER OFFICINALE. This plant is cultivated in most warm countries for 
 
 the sake of its rhizomes, which furnish the spice called ginger . It is pre- 
 pared by digging up the roots when a year old, scraping them, and drying 
 them in the sun. Ginger, when broken across, shows a number of little 
 fibers embedded in floury tissue. Its hot pungent taste is due to a volatile 
 oil. It also contains starch and yellow coloring matter. Ginger is used 
 for various medicinal purposes, and in many ways as a condiment, and in 
 the preparation of cordials and so-called teas. 
 
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 DEC 24 1924 
 
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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA UBRARY