palm of Jamaica, and is said to yield the leaves so extensively
used in the manufacture 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.
415. TINOSPORA CORDIFOLIA.--A climbing plant, so tenacious of life that
when the 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 poisonous insects and for ulcers. The
young shoots are used as emetics.
416. TRIPHASIA TRIFOLIATA.--A Chinese shrub, with fruit about the size
of hazelnuts, 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 limeberries.
417. TRISTANIA NERIIFOLIA.--A myrtaceous plant from Australia, called
the turpentine tree, owing to its furnishing a fluid resembling
that product.
418. URCEOLA ELASTICA.--A plant belonging to the _Apocynaceæ_, 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 with 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, resembling jute rather than flax or hemp.
420. UVARIA ODORATISSIMA.--An Indian plant which is supposed to yield
the essential 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 medicine.
422. VANILLA PLANIFOLIA.--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
inclosed 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 placed in an oven heated up to
about 140° F. Here they remain for twenty-four to forty-eight
hours, according to the size of the pods, the largest requiring
the longest time. 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 INDICA.--This plant yields a useful gum resin, called
Indian copal, piney varnish, white dammar, or gum anine. The resin
is procured by cutting 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 agreeable
fragrance. The Portuguese employ this resin instead of incense.
Ornaments 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 TINCTORIA.--The leaves of this plant furnish an inferior
kind of indigo. The wood is beautifully white, close-grained, and
ivory-like, and is much used for making Indian toys.
426. XANTHORRH[OE]A ARBOREA.--The grass gum tree of Australia, also
called black boy. This is a liliaceous plant, which produces a
long flower-stalk, bearing at the top an immense cylindrical
flower-spike, and when the short black stem is denuded of leaves,
the plants look very like black men holding 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
obtained 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 AL[OE]FOLIA.--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 _Cycadaceæ_,
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 prepared 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.
Transcriber's Endnotes
The following list details significant changes to the originally
published text, along with other noteworthy points:
Page 4. "Acacia deal bata" amended to _Acacia dealbata_.
Page 5. "Amomum meleguetta" amended to _Amomum melegueta_.
Page 6. "Andropogon schænanthus" amended to _Andropogon
sch[oe]nanthus_.
Page 7. "Araucaria bidwilli" amended to _Araucaria bidwillii_.
Page 7. "Araucaria cunninghami" amended to _Araucaria cunninghamii_.
Page 9. "Beaucarnea recurvifolia" remains as printed but could be
an earlier classification of _Beaucarnea recurvata_ based upon
the description.
Page 9. "Bergera konigi" amended to _Bergera koenigii_.
Page 10. "Brosium alicastrum" amended to _Brosimum alicastrum_.
Page 10. "Cæsalpina pulcherrima" amended to _Cæsalpinia pulcherrima_.
Page 11. "Callistemon salignum" amended to _Callistemon salignus_.
Page 13. "Cinchonacæ" amended to _Cinchonaceæ_.
Page 13. "Chamærops fortunii" amended to _Chamærops fortunei_.
Page 17. "Croton calsamiferum" amended to _Croton balsamiferum_.
Page 18. "Dialium acutifolium" remains as printed but could be an
earlier classification of _Dialium cochinchinense_ or _Codarium
acutifolium_.
Page 19. "Dubosia hopwoodii" amended to _Duboisia hopwoodii_.
Page 22. "Feuillæa cordifolia" amended to _Fevillea cordifolia_.
Page 22. "Fourcroya cubense" remains as printed but probably refers
to _Furcræa cubensis_.
Page 23. "Gastrolobium bilobium" amended to _Gastrolobium bilobum_.
Page 24. "Roselee" amended to _Roselle_.
Page 25. "Hyphæ thebaica" amended to _Hyphæne thebaica_.
Page 25. "Ipomæa purga" amended to _Ipom[oe]a purga_.
Page 26. "Jatropha clauca" remains as printed but probably refers
to _Jatropha glauca_.
Page 26. "Krameria triandria" amended to _Krameria triandra_.
Page 27. "Leptosperum lanigerum" amended to _Leptospermum lanigerum_.
Page 27. "Livistonia australis" amended to _Livistona australis_.
Page 27. "Machærum firmum" amended to _Machærium firmum_.
Page 29. "Monstera dellciosa" amended to _Monstera deliciosa_.
Page 30. "Myrosperum toluiferum" amended to _Myrospermum toluiferum_.
Page 31. "Ophiorhiza mungos" amended to _Ophiorrhiza mungos_.
Page 35. "Plumieria alba" amended to _Plumeria alba_.
Page 35. "puniein" amended to _punicin_.
Page 36. "Raphia t[oe]digera" amended to _Raphia tædigera_.
Page 37. "Sabal adansoni" amended to _Sabal adansonii_.
Page 38. "Anastatica hierochuntina" amended to _Anastatica
hierochuntica_.
Page 39. "Strelitzia regina" amended to _Strelitzia reginæ_.
Page 39. "Strychnos nux vomica" amended to _Strychnos nux-vomica_.
Page 41. "Tristania nerifolia" amended to _Tristania neriifolia_.