used in curries 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 arrowroot.
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 seed
known as Tonka bean, used in scenting snuff and for other purposes
of perfumery. 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 CONTRAYERVA.--A plant from tropical America, the roots
of which are used in medicine under the name of Contrayerva root.
173. DRACÆNA 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. DRACÆNOPSIS 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 virtues to it. It has been long known and is
mentioned by Marco Polo in the thirteenth century.
177. DUBOISIA HOPWOODII.--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 ZIBETHINUS.--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 delicious flavor combined with a most offensive odor,
but when once the repugnance 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 chestnuts.
179. ELÆIS 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 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 candles. In Africa it is eaten as butter by the
natives.
180. ELÆIS MELANOCOCCA.--A palm from tropical America which produces
large quantities of oil.
181. ELÆOCARPUS HINAU.--A New Zealand tree, of the linden family. The
bark affords 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 CARDAMOMUM.--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 volatile oil. In India the fruits are
chewed by the natives with their betel.
183. EMBLICA OFFICINALIS.--A plant belonging to _Euphorbiaceæ_, 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 sweetmeats, 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 wells,
especially when the water is charged with an accumulation of
impure vegetable matter.
184. ENCKEA UNGUICULATA.--A plant of the family _Piperaceæ_, 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 throughout 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.
192. EUCALYPTUS GLOBULUS.--The blue gum, a rapid-growing tree,
attaining to a large size. Recently it has attracted attention and
gained some repute in medicine as an antiperiodic. The leaves have
also been applied to wounds with 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 perfume 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 Jamrosade.
195. EUGENIA PIMENTO.--The fruits of this West Indian tree are known in
commerce 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.
196. 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 Southern 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 produce incessant sneezing. As a medicine its
action is violent, and it is now rarely employed. There are a vast
number of species of _Euphorbia_, varying exceedingly in their
general appearance, but all of them having a milky juice which
contains active properties. Many of them can scarcely be
distinguished 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 employed 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. hypericifolia_ 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 caoutchouc 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 produces 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.
199. EUTERPE 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. EXC[OE]CARIA SEBIFERA.--This Euphorbiaceous plant is the tallow
tree of China. The 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 exudes 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 ingredients. Various species of Ipom[oe]a furnish a
spurious kind of this drug, which is often put in the market as
the genuine article.
202. EXOSTEMMA CARIBÆUM.--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 reputed 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 _Aurantiaceæ_. 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. FEVILLEA CORDIFOLIA.--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 and boiling 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 several 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, throwing 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 regarded as a purgative, emetic, and
alexipharmic; in overdoses it is an acrid poison.
211. FUSANUS ACUMINATUS.--A small tree of the Cape of Good Hope and
Australia. It bears a globular fruit of the size of a small peach,
and is known in Australia 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 has important medical properties, some physicians in
South America preferring it to cinchona in the treatment of
fevers. Its use has been greatly retarded by bark of the deadly
nux-vomica tree having been inadvertently sold for it. As this
bark is sometimes used in bitters, a mistake, as above, might
prove as fatal as cholera.
213. GARCINIA MANGOSTANA.--This tree produces the tropical fruit called
mangosteen, 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.
214. GARCINIA MORELLA.--It is supposed that Siam gamboge is obtained
from this tree, also that known as Ceylon gamboge. The juice is
collected by incising 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.
215. 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.
216. 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. GASTROLOBIUM BILOBUM.--A leguminous plant, having poisonous
properties. 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. spinosum_ 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 agreeable 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
considerable 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 Vitæ.
A resin, called gum guaiacum, exudes from the stem, and is
otherwise obtained from the wood by artificial means. It is of a
greenish-brown color, 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 manufacture 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 beverage 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. HÆMATOXYLON 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
leguminous 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 substitute 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 BIHAI.--A plant of the order _Musaceæ_, 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.