158. ORDER LXIV. CHAILLETI A'CEÆ. Genus 1, Species 1; Hot-house Species 0; Green-house Species 1; Hardy Ligneous Spectes 0; This order contains only three genera, Chaillètia, Leucòsia, and Tapùra. It agrees with Terebinthacea in being furnished with a corolla and calyx. Fruit furnished with a dry covering, including a two or three celled nut, each cell containing one pendulous seed. Shrubs with entire alternate leaves, furnished with stipules and axillary and terminal panicled racemes of small white flowers; chiefly natives of tropical Africa and its islands. The kernel of the fruit of Chaillètia toxicària is used by the natives of Sierra Leone for poisoning rats and mice. Cuttings. 815 Chaillètia Dec. 159. ORDER LXV. AQUILARI'NEÆ. Genus 1, Species 1; Hot-house Species 1; Green-house Species 0; Hardy Ligneous Species 0; The plants contained in this order are very imperfectly known. being erect, not inverted, as well as in the capsules being 2-valved. of Asia. Cuttings. 1370 Aquilària L. It differs from the preceding in the seeds 160. ORDER LXVI. TEREBINTHA CEE Genera 27, Species 142; Hot-house Species 58; Green-house Species 62; Hardy Ligneous Species 22 ; Hardy Herbaceous Species 0. 40 ft.; 0 feet; 0 feet. This order is, notwithstanding the labours of several botanists, in a very confused state; from want of sufficient knowledge of many of the genera, which have been hitherto imperfectly described, it is difficult either to determine the value of the characters assigned to the tribes, or the dignity of the tribes themselves. All the species are shrubs or trees, with alternate exstipulate leaves, and inconspicuous flowers, and abound in a balsamiferous resin, which is chiefly present in the leaves and bark, and from which the denomination of the order has been derived. Notwithstanding the minuteness of their flowers, many of the species are valuable as ornamental plants, on account of the beauty of their foliage, others for the sake of their utility in arts or medicine, and others for their fruit. The Cashew and the Pistachio are valuable for their nuts, which are well known articles in the markets of Europe. The Spondias and Mango are equally famous in the tropics. The well-known balsam of Mecca is the produce of the Balsamodendron gileadensis; and balm of Acouchi, of the I'cica heterophylla; gum comes from Amyris elemifera and I'cica leptophylla; mastich from Pistàcia atlántica and Lentiscus; and Venetian turpentine from Pistàcia Terebinthus. Schinus Molle produces a resin, which in Peru is used as a dentrifice, as myrrh is with us. Some of the best varnishes are prepared from the exudation of I'cica guianensis, Rhús vérnix, copallina, Melanorrhoea, and others; the finest kinds of incense are also afforded by plants of this order, such as the wood and resin of the different species of I'cica, of Amyris balsamifera, and of Canàrium commune, the Coumia, which is used in Guiana for such purposes, and finally, the Boswellia serrata, which is the true frankincense of Indian temples. But among the fragrant and wholesome plants of which the order chiefly consists, lie concealed others in which acrid and poisonous qualities no less abound. Such are several species of Rhús, the juice of which produces blisters upon the skin; and the Amyris toxifera, the juice of which is accounted poisonous. To conclude this long list of the uses and dangers of Terebinthacea, the bark of Rhus glabra is used as a febrifuge and as a mordant for red colors, and that of Rhús Coriaria as a powerful means of tanning the skins of animals. Cuttings, layers, and seeds. Genera 244, Species 2626; Ilot house Species 886; Green-house Species 675; Hardy Ligneous Species 177; Hardy Herbaceous Species 888. 1174 ft.; 58 feet; 0 feet. The family to which the various kinds of pulse belong is one of the most familiar to the world, and at the same time one of the most useful to mankind. Their papilionaceous flowers characterise a large number, and their pods and pinnate leaves the remainder, with a few exceptions which it is not necessary to particularise. As objects of ornament, many are possessed of unrivalled beauty, for example, among hardy flowering trees, the Robinia and the Laburnum; among shrubs, for decorating the borders of the flower-garden, the various tribes of Cytisus, Caragana, Colutea, Amórpha, and others; among hardy climbers, the far-famed Wistaria of China, and its sister of North America, with the species of the herbaceous genera Vicia and Lathyrus; and, lastly, among hardy herbaceous plants, the numerous species of Lupinus and Astragalus. Great, however, as is the beauty of the Leguminòsæ which can brave the inclemencies of the seasons of Northern Europe, it must give way before the splendor and elegance of their brethren of the tropics. The flowers of the Erythrina, or Coral tree, are of the deepest crimson, and borne in profusion upon some of the loftiest trees of the forest. The Bauhinias, with their twin leaves, hang in festoons of flowers from branch to branch, and are only rivalled by the less vigorous and elegant, but more richly colored blossoms of the Mucunas. But all these, with their broad heavy foliage and gaudy colors, are far surpassed by the rugged trunks, trembling airy foliage, and golden flowers of the fine-leaved Acacias, which cast a charm over even the most sterile deserts of burning Africa. While the forests of hot countries are thus indebted to species of this order for their timber, the meadows and pastures of the same latitudes are enamelled with the flowers of myriads of Hedysarums and Desmodiums, and animated by the wonderful motion of sensitive plants. As in our own country, the gayest part of our scenery is in many places indebted to the yellow flowers of our furze and broom, so in other countries the same effect is produced by other genera of Leguminòsæ; by Lipària, Borbònia, and Aspálathus at the Cape of Good Hope, and by the Pultenæas, Daviesias, Aotuses, and multitudes of similar genera in New Holland. The wood of the order is very hard and durable, with a yellow tinge, sometimes changing into green, as in the Laburnum of Europe, and in the better known Brazil wood of commerce, produced by Casalpinia. The following useful remarks upon the properties of the order are made by M. Decandolle : "The family of leguminous plants, though established upon characters of primary importance, offers, never. theless, so large a number of species and such singular botanical anomalies, that it is easy to foresee that its properties will exhibit little uniformity. Still more exceptions may be anticipated, if one reflects that the chemical principle which is found most abundantly in every part of leguminous plants, and to which we must attribute their principal properties, is the extractive. It is probable that this principle, either from its own nature, or from its peculiar power of uniting with different matters, or perhaps instead of being a simple prin. ciple, it is rather a compound of different matters; it is probable, I say, that the extractive principle exhibits much less uniformity in its results than any other. It is, without doubt, to the presence of the extractive principle, in considerable quantities, that many leguminous plants owe their purgative properties, which are common to several extracts, and which many chemists attribute to the acetate of potash, which they are almost universally found to contain. Thus the leaves and foliaceous pods of Cássia Senna Lin, of Cássia lanceolata Forsk., of Cássia emarginata of the Antilles, of the Cássia marylandica employed in the United States, of Colutea arborescens, of Genista púrgans, and perhaps also of Coronilla E'merus, act as brisk purgatives, and often cause wind and pain in the bowels. The juice of Coronilla vària excites vomiting, and may even become poisonous when taken in too large quantities. It is, perhaps, from a different cause that the pulp which is contained in the husks of leguminous plants operates upon the human body; it purges gently without causing the least pain, and ought to be considered as laxative rather than purgative. Such is the character of the juicy pulp that exists in the Cassia fistula Lin., in the Tamarindus indica Lin., in the Ceratònia siliqua Lin., and probably in the Inga vèra and I. punctata, which are eaten in small quantities in the Antilles, but which, taken more copiously, would have the same effect as our Carobs. There are some fruits of Leguminosa, for example, the Sophora and the Gleditschia, with tumid pods, in which is found a juice which surrounds, it is true, the seeds, as in the plants just mentioned, but which differs from them altogether in its very astringent and nauseous flavour; the nature and properties of this juice deserve to be examined by chemists, and would undoubtedly throw some light upon the nature of Legumindsæ. I am induced to think, that the astringent juice of the Sophora is a secretion of the pericarp, whilst the sweet and purgative juice of the Cassia would be a secretion of the external part of the seed; but this hypothesis requires to be verified: what leads me to this opinion, is the flavour commonly found in husks; in the Carobs, for example, the husk is astringent, and the pulp sweet and laxative. But let us return to the properties which may be attributed to the extractive principle. It is undoubtedly from some one of these modifications that the singular property of the Piscidia and many Galegas is derived, which are employed in America to stupefy fish, which are taken by this means as readily as with Nux vómica. The decoction of the root of Galega virginiana is considered in America as a powerful vermifuge. It is, perhaps, indeed, to the very same cause that the rubefacient powers of the fresh leaves of some Leguminosæ are to be ascribed, which act readily upon the skin if applied as plasters; as, for example, in Ornithopus scorpioides among ourselves, and Moringa pterygosperma elsewhere. It appears to me, that it is to the greater or less considerable mixture of the extractive principle with the fæcula contained in the seed, that the different properties of the pulse of leguminous plants may be attributed. If found in small quantities, the seed may serve as food for man and animals, as we see in French beans, peas, lentils, chick peas, beans, and many others, &c. If found in a more considerable quantity, it will render them purgative or emetic, as in the Cytisus Labúrnum, the Anagyris fo'tida, and even in most Coronillas. It is remarkable that the botanical characters of Leguminose should so strictly agree with the properties of their seeds: the latter may be divided into two sections; namely, first, those of which the cotyledons are thick and filled with fæcula, and destitute of cortical pores, and which, moreover, in germination do not undergo any change, but nourish the young plant by means of that supply of food which they already contain; secondly, those of which the cotyledons are thin, with very little fæcula, and furnished with cortical pores, and which change at once into leaves at the time of germination, for the purpose of elaborating food for the young plant. All the seeds of the first section are employed as food in different countries; none of those of the second section are ever so employed: the Cajan, which has long been classed among the Cytisi, was apparently an exception to this general rule; but observation has proved the contrary. Bearing in mind its known properties, I formerly paid particular attention to its structure, and I have shown in a note which accompa nies my catalogue of the Montpelier garden, that the Cajan forms a particular genus much more nearly allied to the French bean than to the Cýtisi, and that it, in fact, belongs to the first of the sections which I have just described. The seeds of Leguminosa present also many other anomalies more difficult to reduce to any fixed laws thus some are found which contain a rather large portion of fixed oil; such as the seed of the Arachis hypogaa, lately introduced into European agriculture, and that of Moringa pterygosperma which pro. duces oil of ben: there are some, of which the flavour and smell are rather powerful; as the seed of D pterix or Coumaroúna odora of Aublet, which, under the name of Tonquin bean, is used for perfuming snuff": "there are others which, like the chick pea, have rather a bitter taste and exciting properties, and are on that account administered for the jaundice. There are others again, like those of the Andira, which are so bitter as to be used in Java and Brazil as tonic, alexiteric, and vermifuge. In a word, are not the aperient and diuretic properties which are observable in the herbage and the roots of many leguminous plants, such as broom, beans, Ononis, Moringa pterygosperma, Anthyllis crética, &c., to be attributed to a modification of this extractive principle? There are, in another view, roots which are furnished with tubercles, that is to say, with reservoirs of fæcula, which furnish mankind with wholesome food, as we see in the Lathyrus tuberosus, which is caten in Holland, the Dolichos tuberòsus, and the D. bulbòsus, which the Indians use as food. The roots of the liquorice have a sweet and mucilaginous taste, which is well known by every body, and which, united to an acrid and rather exciting principle, causes it to be employed as a pectoral; the analysis of this root, published by M. Robiquet, proves that, independently of its woody skeleton, the same kind of amylaceous fæcula is found as in the tuberous roots of which we have just been speaking; it is thence seen that the acrid flavour of decoctions of liquorice depends on the small quantity of resinous oil which it contains, and that its sweet properties are by no means analogous to common sugar, since it is insoluble in cold water, soluble in warm water or in alcohol, not capable of fermentation, and does not yield to the action of nitric acid any of the known products of sugar. It may here be added, that the sugary flavour of liquorice, and its other properties, are not confined to this genus; they are found equally in the roots of Trifolium alpinum, vulgarly called Mountain liquorice; in those of the Abrus precatorius, from which a pectoral draught is prepared in Hindoostan, called Velti, and in others. The barks of some trees of the leguminous class are remarkable for their bitterness, and are used as febrifuges; the different kinds of Geoffroya and Andira possess this bitter and febrifugal quality in a remarkable degree; in India, the bark of the Agati grandiflora and of the Guilandina Bonducella are employed for the same purpose. The barks of many leguminous plants are also remarkable for their astringent qualities, caused by the quantity of tannin which they are found to contain; this is observable in the Acàcia Catechu, and in the Acàcia arábica, which is used for tanning leather, and elsewhere. It is well known that almost all colouring matter proceeds from the extractive principle; and as it appears that this principle abounds in Leguminose, we ought to find in them a considerable number of the colors which are used by dyers: to this family, in fact, belong the principal blue colors, known by the name of indigo, extracted from every kind of Indigofera, and from some Galegas; and the red colors, which are yielded by all the species of Casalpinia and of Hæmatoxylon. We may add the red juice, which is drawn from the Pterocarpus draco and santálinus, under the name of sandal and of dragon's blood; from Batea frondosa, under the name of gum lac; and also from Dalbérgia Monetària. These juices appear to differ in many particulars, but their history and analysis are at present so far from being known, that it is impossible to form a true estimate of the nature of their differences. But anomalies of this nature are far from being confined to the plants just mentioned. Among the exotic drugs employed in the arts they are very common; such, for example, are the balsam of Capivi, produced by the copaifera; the balsam of Peru, which, NATURAL ARRANGEMENT. Mutis says, is obtained from Myrospermum peruíferum, and the balsam of Tolu from M. toluiferum; the Cachou, which has been found to be almost pure tannin; and which is supposed to be produced by Acacia Catechu; of the same character is that remarkable resin that is yielded by Hymena a Courbaril; gum Arabic, produced by the bark and roots of Acàcia vèra, Sénegal, arábica, and others; gum tragacanth obtained from Astragalus créticus, gúmmifer, and vèrus; and finally, manna, secreted by Alhagi Maurorum," Cuttings and seeds; some by division. The arrangement of this tribe of plants has been found to be attended with much difficulty. By Linnæus, and the writers who succeeded him, the number of genera was much smaller than those admitted by botanists of the present age; many additions have been made in consequence of the discovery of New Holland, and a large number of subdivisions in old genera have been from time to time introduced by one writer or another. To combine these scattered improvements under one uniform system has lately been attempted by the learned He divides Leguminosa into two grand botanist, from whom the foregoing extract has been taken. M Decandolle's method being here adopted, it will be useful to explain the principles upon which it is founded. divisions, the first of which consists of plants the radicle of whose seed is curved back upon the edge of the cotyledons, and the second of those whose radicle and cotyledons are straight: the former are CURVE'MBRIE, the latter RECTE'MBRIE. In the Curvémbria, certain diversities in the structure of the calyx and corolla again divide into two principal forms: one of which, comprehending all the genera with papilionaceous flowers, is called Papilionacea; and the other, consisting of a very small number of species, with one or two petals or more, and an obscurely lobed calyx, is called Swartzie'æ. The last is not subdivided, but the Papilionacea resolve themselves into the two great tribes pointed out by M. Decandolle, namely, those with fleshy cotyleIn Rectémbrice dons and eatable pulse, Sarcóloba; and those with foliaceous cotyledons and seeds which are not eatable, Phyllolobe. Each of these is divisible by three, upon slight differences in the fructification. two suborders, Mimòsea and Casalpineæ, are formed upon variations in the aestivation of the calyx and corolla; in the former, it is valvate, in the latter, imbricated; the first constitute a single tribe, the latter divide into three, distinguished by less momentous peculiarities of structure. Having premised thus much, the following tabular explanation will be intelligible: 0 29 98 lig. 2. herb. 29.44ft.; 9ft 0 6 6 4 181. Subtribe 2. Euhedysàrea. 4ft.; 19 ft. 1980 Adésmia Dec. 2115 Eschynómene L. 0 1 15 28 20 1 11 182. Subtribe 3. Alhàgea. 2128 Alhagi Tou. 2129 Alysicárpus Neck. 2130 Bremontièra Dec. 184. Tribe 4. VICIEE lig. 0. herb. 190. 20ft.; 284 ft. 0 1 2884 Gleditschia L 1276 Reichárdia Roth 1282 Cadia Forsk, 1290 Hardwickia Rox. 1139 Jonèsia Rox. 1271 Cássia L. 1267 Omphalobium Jac. 1288 Copaifera L. 34 Codàrium Vahl 192. DOUBTFUL. 1990 Phyllolobium Fis. Genera 46, Species 783; Hot-house Species 12; Green-house Species 73; Hardy Ligneous Species 478; Hardy Herbaceous Species 219. ↑ 1993 feet; 284 feet; 0 feet. With the exception of Chrysobalàneæ and Sanguisorbeæ, this order is so uniform in its appearance, that Rosa, the type from which all the other genera are to be considered variations, when justly understood, will be found to contain every form of structure which is essential to the order. Having stated this, it will be at once obvious, that if the other genera have such close affinity to Rosa, they must also bear a great analogy in beauty. And this is, indeed, the fact. Amygdalus and Prunus among trees, and Potentilla, Gèum, and others, among herbaceous genera, rival the rose in their blossoms, and, in many particulars, surpass that most lovely of all flowers in foliage and general appearance. But it is not for charms alone of smell, or blossom, or foliage, that this order has fixed itself so high in the estimation of mankind. It has also the rare merit of comprehending all the most important of the fruits of the temperate regions of the world. Thus the apple and the pear belong to Pyrus, the apricot to Armenlaca, the plum to Prùnus, the peach and the nectarine to Persica; Eriobotrya produces the loquat, Méspilus the medlar, and, finally, the quince is borne by the Cydonia. The medical powers of many plants of this order are not less active than their fruit is excellent. The principal of these is the well-known Prussic acid, which exists in abundance in the leaves and kernels of many genera, especially of Prùnus and Amygdalus: it is the basis of Laurel water, which, when taken in small doses, acts either as a violent purgative or as an emetic; and, in stronger doses, is said to destroy irritability without exciting inflammation; these properties, however, although thus dangerous in the distilled water of the laurel and other similar plants, can scarcely be said to exist in any important quantity in the plants in a state of nature. The kernel of the bitter almond, for example, in which the Prussic acid is more abundant than usual, is used for many culinary and other purposes without any bad effect. There are, however, cases in which it is said to be dangerous to eat the fresh leaves or kernel; as in the Cérasus virginiana, the leaves and fruit of which are reputed in the United States to be poisonous to certain animals. Besides the Prussic acid, there are several other principles which abound in the order. All Drup ceæ yield a gum which is nearly allied to gum Arabic, and which affords a strong evidence of the affinity that exists between Rosaceae and Leguminosæ A great deal of astringency is found in many species, whence different parts have been occasionally employed as febrifuges, and as remedies for hæmorrhage, diarrhoea, and dysentery. The root of the Tormentilla is used for tanning in the Ferro Isles; and that of the Capollim cherry in Mexico. The bark of Cérasus virginiana is used as a febrifuge in the United States; Potentilla réptans has been praised for the same properties. The root of Geum urbanum has been found, by Milandi and Moretti, to contain one eleventh of its weight of tannin; it has been used both in America and Europe as a substitute for Jesuit's bark. The leaves of Dryas octopétala in the north of Europe, of Rubus arcticus in Norway, of Prùnus spinòsa and Cérasus àvium, and of Rosa rubiginosa, have been manufactured into a sort of substitute for tea. The bark of the root of Gillenia trifoliata is remarkable in having, in addition to the astringency already mentioned, an emetic property, on which account it is employed in North America as Ipecacuanha. It is said, that a similar power exists in other Spiræas. Cutting, division, and seeds; by grafts, budding, and inarching. It must not be omitted, that the order Rosacea nearly answers to the Icosandria of Linnæus. Genera 2, Species 8; Hot-house Specics 0; Green-house Species 0; Hardy Ligneous Species 8; Hardy Herbaceous Species 0. 21 feet; 0 feet; 0 feet. Beautiful hardy early-flowering shrubs, natives of North America and Japan, with sweet-scented yellowish or lurid purple flowers, which are either axillary or terminal, and simple opposite exstipulate feather-nerved leaves. The wood, leaves, and flowers of Calycanthus flóridus are sweet-scented, hence it is called American allspice. The order differs from Rosacea in the form of the embryo, and from Granateæ in the imbricate æstivation of the calyx; from both, in the absence of petals, and in the numerous divisions of the calyx. Cuttings and layers. 1532 Calycanthus L. 5 0 | 1534 Chimonanthus Lindl. 3 0 203. ORDER LXX. GRANA TEÆ. Genus 1, Species 5; Hot-house Species 0; Green-house Species 1; Hardy Ligneous Species 4; Hardy Herbaceous Species 0.20 feet; 0 feet; 0 feet. This order consists of only one genus, the well-known pomegranate, which is well worth a place in every garden, on account of its beautiful scarlet flowers. It differs from Myrtacea in the leaves being destitute of pellucid dots, as well as in the seeds being enveloped in pulp; from Calycantheæ in the calyx being valvate in æstivation; and from Memecýleæ in the stamens being indefinite. Cuttings, layers, or seeds. Genera 3, Species 4; Hot-house Species 4; Green-house Species 0; Hardy Ligneous Species 0; Tropical shrubs or trees, with opposite entire smooth exstipulate leaves destitute of dots, axillary or terminal bluish-violet or white flowers, and edible fruit. It is a very doubtful order. Cuttings. 1195 Memécylon L. | 3346 Mouriria J. | 1364 Petaluma Swz. 205. ORDER LXXII. COMBRETA CEÆ. Genera 7, Species 39; Hot-house Species 37; Green-house Species 2; Hardy Ligneous Species 0; Hardy Herbaceous Species 0. 0 feet; 0 feet; 0 feet. Combretum and Quisqualis are among the most splendid of the climbing plants of the tropics, adorning the trees from which they depend with garlands of white and crimson, and yellow. The bark of Bucida Buceras is used with success in Guiana for tanning leather. The juice of Terminalia vérnix is employed by the Chinese as a varnish; it is, however, caustic, and its exhalation dangerous; benzoin is the produce of Terminalia Benzoin. The kernel of several species is eaten as a nut, and the expressed oil has the remarkable quality of not becoming rancid. Cuttings. Genus 1, Species 1; Hot-house Specics 1; Green-house Species 0; Hardy Ligneous Species 0; Fine trees and shrubs, natives of tropical America, with terminal panicled or thyrsoid racemes of yellow flowers, and opposite or whorled entire feather-nerved leaves, each furnished with two stipulas at the base. This order agrees with Combretacea in having convolute cotyledons and inverted seeds, and with Onagràriæ, particularly with the genus Lopèzia, in the flowers being monandrous, or, if triandrous, two of the anthers are always sterile. Cuttings. 21 Fochýsia Poir. Genera 2, Species 2; Hot-house Species 2; Green-house Species 0; Hardy Ligneous Species 0; The mangroves are plants of arborescent stature, which are remarkable, in tropical countries, for growing upon the shores of the sea and rivers, even as far as low water. The seeds have the singular property of germinating, while enclosed within the capsule and adhering to their parent, and pushing forth a long fusiform radicle, which lengthens till it reaches the soil, where it takes root, and forms a new individual. The bark of Rhizophora gymnorhiza, which is very astringent, is used in India for dyeing black. Cuttings, Genus 1, Specics 1; Hot-house Species 1; Green-house Species 0; Hardy Ligneous Species 0; A very doubtful order, containing only one genus. A beautiful shrub, native of Sierra Leone, with terminal corymbs of white flowers, and a one-leaved permanent calyx. Leaves long, entire, and coriaceous. Seeds. 1504 Lophira Banks 211. ORDER LXXVI. ONAGRA'RIÆ. Genera 14, Species 146; Hot-house Species 15; Green-house Species 2; Hardy Ligneous Species 0; Hardy Herbaceous Species 99.0 feet; 2 fot;3 feet. A very well defined order, generally known by its pollen cohering, by a sort of filamentous substance, an inferior polyspermous ovarium, a tetrasepalous tetrapetalous flower, with a definite number of stamens, and |