Chapter IV: Part 4

393. SIMABA 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 journeyings; 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 OFFICINALIS.--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 shoes, hence often called
bottle rubber. As it dries, the coatings of milky juice are
repeated until the required thickness is obtained, and the clay
mold removed. It belongs to the extensive family _Euphorbiaceæ_.

396. SMILAX MEDICA.--This plant yields _Mexican_ sarsaparilla, so
called to distinguish it from the many other kinds of this drug.
The plant is a climber, similar to the smilax of our woods.

397. SPONDIAS MOMBIN.--This yields an eatable fruit called hog plum in
the West Indies. The taste is said to be peculiar, and not very
agreeable to strangers. It is chiefly used to fatten swine. The
fruit is laxative, the leaves astringent, and the seeds possess
poisonous qualities. The flower buds are used as a sweetmeat with
sugar.

398. STRELITZIA REGINÆ.--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 Coromandel 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 poisons, _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. toxifera_ 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. _S. 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 to 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 cosmetic. 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 tamarinds are
considered a great delicacy. 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 _Apocynaceæ_. 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 person 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.

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
_Verbenaceæ_.

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
Cochin-China the natives bruise and macerate 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
disagreeable odor.

408. THEA VIRIDIS.--This is the China tea plant, whose native country
is undetermined. 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 not reach
this country; they will not bear a sea voyage, and are used only
by the wealthy classes in China and Russia. The active principles
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 JUSSIÆI.--A native of St. Domingo, where it is
sometimes called Le petit Coca. The fruit is succulent, and bread
is made from the seeds.

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 seeds.

413. THRINAX ARGENTEA.--This beautiful palm is called the Silver Thatch
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_.