^& HORTUS JAMAICENSIS OR A BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION, (ACCORDING TO THE LINNEAN SYSTEM) AND AN ACCOUNT OF THE VIRTUES, &c. OF ITS INDIGENOUS PLANTS HITHERTO KNOWN, AS ALSO OF THE MOST USEFUL EXOTICS. COMPILED FROM THE BEST AUTHORITIES, AND ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED, IN TWO VOLUMES, , ^ Bj JOHN LUNAtf' /*' YOi~ IL ,-' Y JAMAICA : PRINTED AT THE OFFICE OF THE ST. JAGO DE LA VEGA GAZETTE. 1814. t t i - "v. ORK - ANICAL IIOKTUS JAMAICENSIS. ft it simple, thready; stem herbaceous, from two inches to half a foot in length, Sub-divided, procumbent, pubescent, tender, three-winged from the decurrent pe- tioles; branclilets from the axils of the leaves procumbent; leaves opposite, wedge- shaped at the base, ovate-roundish, entire, pubescent; petioles decurrentat the sides, the wings converging to the side opposite to the petiole. Flowers axillary, two to four, in clusters, small, white, on short peduncles ; calycine segments linear, erect, some- what hirsute; tube of the corolla narrower at the base, a little longer than the calyx; segments, of the border roundish, erect, convex, incumbent, not spreading ; filaments from the base of the corolla, wider at bottom, awl-shaped; anthers roundish; germ oblong, conical; sty les contiguous, stigmas blunt; capsule oblong, blunt, four-cor- nered, acuminate, one-celled, two valved ; containing many minute, roundish, brown, 2 seeds. It is an annual plant in cultivated ground. ^">. Browne says that the, whole ^ of tnis little plant is samewlv.it hairy, with the stalk, and branches margined; he met - 2 with it about the Angels, near Spanish Town. < ^ Vol. II. A, NASEBERRY, 3? | >- 5 . 8 ilORTUS JAMATCENSIS. ItePKRiTiC NASEBERRY-TREE. ACHR \S. Cl. 6, on. \.Hexandria monogi/nia. Nat. on. Dumosa. &EX. char. iVc Bully-Tree, /j. 12+. SAPOTA. Annona folds laurinis glabris, viridi fuscis, fruclu tnin&re rotunda viridi Jlavo, scabro, seminibus Juscis, splenderUibtts, fistitra alba y notatis. Sloane, v. 2, p. 171, t. 230. Achras l \ 2. Broune, p. 200, t. 19, f. 3. Flowers solitary ; leaves lanceolate-ovate. This tree rises to a considerable height, and is known also by the name olsapodilla ; the trunk is straight, and covered with a dark brown bark. The branches shoot on all sides towards the top, having twigs very thick beset with leaves, collected towards the ends of the branches. in various circular clusters ; they are smooth, and of a dull green colour. The flowers come out both from the axils and the ends of the 'twigs, mixed among the leaves, singly, on peduncles the length of the petioles, inclining down- wards, they are white, and almost closed. The fruit is a round berry, covered with a rough brown coat, hard at first, but becoming soft wherr kept a few days to mellow, about the size of a small apple, having from six to twelve cells, with several seeds in each ; surrounded by the pulp, which, in colour, consistence, and taste, somewhat resembles that of the English pear, but sweeter ; the seeds are smooth, shining black, with a white streak on one edge, and within a hard shell, containing a white kernel, which is bitter, and may be used in strengthening emulsions. All the tender parts of this tree are full of a milky juice, as well as the fruit, while yewng. The bark is as- tringent. Floane observes that the fruit, when tree-ripe, is so full of milk as to drop out plentifully, when gathered, and, if cut, there appear little rills or veins of milk quite through the pulp, which is so acerb as to draw the mouth together, and cannot be eaten until kept some days till rotten as medlars. It is then an agreeable fruit Sloane-also observes that the seeds are best raised from earth brought from under bas- tard cedar trees. See Bully-Tree and Mammee Sapota. Navelworth See Pennyworth. . NEPHRITIC-TREE. MIMOSA. Cl. 23y or. 1. Polygamia monoecia. Nat. or. Lomentacac. GEN. CIUR. See Cacoons, p. 137. ITCGUIS-CAT.I. catclaw. Acacia arbor ea major spinosa, pinnis quatuor, majcribus siiorotuvdij t siliquis varie intortis. Sloane, v. 2, p. 56. Fru/icosa, J'oliis ovatif binuto-binatis ; seviiiiibus comprcssis atra~nitentibus t Jiocculis ru~ idlis adnatis. Browne, p. 252. Tfcoro^ **HRmc HORTUS JAM AIC EN SIS. $ Thorny; leaves bigemminate, blunt. This is a small tree, from seven to ten feet in height; the trunk is branched and un- armed ; branches sub-divided, commonly unarmed, ash-coloured, wrinkled; stipvfles none. Petiole bifid, each part terminated by two, sometimes, but rarely, by four leaflets; leaflets wedge- shaped, ovate, blunt, entire, a little oblique, nerved, smooth ; glands at the division of the petiole, and between the pinnas ; peduncles axillary and "lateral, clustered, scattered, terminated by a head of flowers ; corolla whitish ; filaments monadclphous, three times as long as the corolla, capillary, purplish; anthers minute, simple; gernr oblong, compressed, biood-red; style awl-shaped ; stigma simple ; le- gume compressed, twisted; seeds five or six, compressed a little, shining, black, (astened by a scarlet membrane. S'rr. Sloane observes that the peas are eaten by goats in a scarcity of other food. The bark is very astringent, and used in lotions and fo- mentations; it is bitterish, and in powder, or decoction, used as a fomentation, cures old ulcers, and restores due tone to the parts when more than usually relaxed in the other sex ; but such applications, Browne observes, should be used with great caution, and only at particular tunes ; he calls it the Hack-bead shrub ; and it is also called Bar- bun/ thorn ; the wood steeped in water yields a beautiful red tincture, which might be useful in dying. It is easily propagated by seeds or cuttings. This tree is so called in Jamaica for its being a sovereign remedy for the stone, gravel, and difficulty of making urine; it is also good in obstructions of the liver and spleen. The use of it was discovered to our traders to the main continent of America, where a Spanish bishop did such wonders with it for the gravel and stone, that, being willing it shou'd be known for a public benefit of mankind, he shewed the shrub cr tree to some of our merchants, who soon found the same tree in Jamaica, but chiefly about St. Jatjo de la Vega, lor which reason it is believed the Spaniards planted them ; for if you go above four or five miles from that town, you will hardly meet with one of these trees throughout the island.* It has a mossy flower, that smells as sweet as die English May or hawthorn; is a large shrub, with little roundish leaves; the whole plant grows al- most like an English maple, but is full of small prickles; its leaves glassy, small, and round; its flowers are like the fingrigo ; its fruit is a small long red pod, which when ripe opens of itself, turning inside out, curling, and twisting, shewing a black bean, with a white poppy down substance at one end, in the shape of a kidney. Upon this account, said the Spanish bishop, nature points out the use of this plant ; the bean it- self is in shape of the kidnev, and that white poppy substance about it signifies the fat of the kidnev. It is the bark which is chiefly used : When decocted, it smells like new wort, but a little bitterish, of which they must drink plentifully-, it worketh by urine. I have often given it with good success ; but I am of opinion the fruit would be found to be prevalent if experienced, for the bark is so used, that it is now rare to meet with a tree that hath not been barked. Barhara, p. 111. See Cacoons Cashaw Gum- Arabic Inga-Tree Sensitive Plant Wild Ta- marind. A 2 NETTLES. * This is still the case. In tfce vicinity of Spini-h Town they grow plentifully in most hedges, ami become beautiful little trees; very seldom to be found with prickles; perhaps, being exotic, they may have changed tacir habit in this respect, since the tinjf of Barhara. Swartz observes they were coinmtily unarmed. HORTUS JAMAICENSrS. |b*K4f NETTLES. URTICA. Cl. 21, en. 4. Monoecia tetrandria. Nat. or. Scabridcc. Gen. char. See Dwarf Elder, p. 275. Besides the dwarf elder, the following^ species are natives o! Jamaica. 'J he following species hare alternate leaves : 1. BACCIFERA. BERRIED. Frutcscens; foliis amplioribus cvatis, siriu&fo-devtatis, rtervis petiolis et cautious (Kiilealis. Browne, p. 337. Urtiea 9: Leaves alternate, cordate-toothed, prickly; stem shrubby ; female calyxes berried. This is a small tree from, sixteen to eighteen feet high, simple, except*, at the top, where it is. sub-divided, scabrous, prickly; prickles thick, shortish, standing out, oc- cupying the stem longitudinally ; branches herbaceous, prickly, stinging very power- fully ; leaves largfe> a span long, pctioled, cordate -ovate, serrate, nerved, smooth;, the nerves underneath and the petioles prickly ; the upper sides.*!" the leaves has convex points, terminated bj a prickle, scattered over them. Racemes cauline, many-parted, prickly, fed; flowerset the ends .of the branchlets of the racemes, sessile, dioecious; calyx of the males one-leafed, five-cleft, convex; border spreading, a little reflexed, with lanceolate red segments; nectar} the bottom of the calyx, .cup-shaped, white. Filaments five, thicker at tte b; nuated at the top, twice as long as the segment* of the cal) x, inserted lx low the divisions ol it ; audit rs three-celled, roundish, whitish ; the rudiment of a pistil in the middle . calyx of the female flowers four-lobed, two of the lobes a little bigger ; germ ovate, acute, compressed, green ; stigma villosc, pur- ple ; calyx. berried, enlarging, at first embracing the germ to the middle, but after- wards becoming like a berry, oblong, blunt at the end, four-lobed, inclosing the seed,, while, pellucid ; seed small, black. Native of the West Indies, in lofty mountains and in shady places, flowering in Spring. ^)'a'. Browne calls this the large prickly; liettle, which he could only find in Blue Mountain Valley. 2. LAFTULACEA. Leaves alternate, ovate, somewhat scabrous ; flowers terminating, sub-sessile, monoecious; seeds three, cornered; stems diffuse. 3. SF.SSIl.U'LORA. SESSILE-FLOWERED, Leaves alternate, lanceolate-ovate, crenate; racemes very short, axillary; flowers monoecious, distinct ; stem erect. 4. ELATA. ELATE. Leaves alternate, ovate-acute, serrate ; stem arboreous ; branches almost nakedj racemiferous ; flowers dioecious. 7 he following species are oppositc-lca-ced. 5. iMICROPHVLLA. Humilior, disticha, difvsa, tompressa, oblique assurgens; foliolit minimis, Browne, .p. 336. Urtica 4. Leaves ovate, acute, quite entire, with smaller ones ovate, opposite, and in- termixed; flowers dioecious; stems almost simple, ascending. Browne SKTTLK9 IIORTUS JAWAlCi :-?T:' 3 Browne calls this One //V/fr rcclh n nettle with very small leaves; and refers to a- pLiut of Sioane, uhich is the paiietaria. 6. I'ARIETARI.A. WALL. Parielaria joins ex adverso nascentiltus, uriic.e rceem>j'crJ % f!ore.-- Sloane, v. 1, p. 144, t. 93, f. 1. Leaves opposite, lanceolate, quite entire, narrower on one side. Roots numerous, long - , thready ; stem herbaceous, suffrutescent at bottom, from two to eight feet in height, branching very much, erect, angular, four-sided, stiiated; {tranches long, sub-divided, quadrangular, red ;. branchlets filiform, opposite to the leaves, loose, smooth; leaves three- nerved , veined, eiliate at the edge ; leaflets of the ^ame shape, but twice or four-times smaller ; petioles ion;... spreading, red; racemes axillary, terminating, opposite; peduncles longer than the petioles, filiform, coloured, four-sided, erect, smooth. Flowers dioecious . females very small, on panieled ra- cemelets ; seed very small, black, and shining. Native, of iiigli mountains, and flower- ing throughout the year. Sw. 1, reticulata; netted-leaved, Leaves opposite, oblong, acute, petted underneath; stipules- ovate, entire; racemes- panieled ; leaves shorter. 8. Din; iitT'SED. Leaves opposite, ovate, acutei ' hispid; stipules rolled back ; racemes panieled, longer than the leaf"; items procumbent. 9. rufa k;-:d. Entirely hirsute; leaves opposite-oblong, serrate; stipules roundish, perma- nent; racemes terminating ; stem, suffrutescent, brancned. 10. NUDICAULIS. N.vKF.n-SI'AlKED. Leaves sub-terminating, opposite, oHbng-aeuviiina . entire, three-nerved- stem angular, naked below, racemed; flowers dioecious. 11. CILIATA. CILlATE. . Leaves opposite, ovate, eiliate, serrate; Mowers terminating, aggregate, sub- peduncled, monoecious ; stem divaricate; 12. RADICANS. RAD1CANT. Leaves opposite, cuneate-ovate, crenate, shining; flowers axillary, sub-sess;l3j stem and branches radicant. . 13. NUMMULAKIFOLTA. MO' FY-I.EAVED. Nummularia saxatilis minima repens,foliis crcnatis v'lhy's, Jtoribus albis. Sloane, v. 1, p. 208, t. 131, f +. ( Leaves- opposite, orbicular, crenate, hirsute; flowers terminating, clustered, monoecious; stem filiform, simple, creeping. This small repent plant shoots forth hairy roots from its joints. The stalks are small, . Covad, hairy, jointed at every half inch: leaves round, pale -green, rough, a quarter HORTUS JAMA I CEN SI'S. settit.s of an inch in diameter, si.ipt about the edges, on inch-long petioles. The flowers come out in tufts, small, and white. It grows on the sides of rocksj which it coicr*. among the mountains near Hope- River in Liguanea. Sloane. 14. DEPRESS.}. DEFRESSKD. Leaves opposite, roundish, erenate, smooth; flowers terminating, clustered} stem creeping, sub-divided. 15. SRIiULATU. -SERftUI.ATE. .Leaves opposite, lanceolate, serrate, smooth ; peduncles axillary, shorter than the leaves; flqwerin little beads ; stem frutescent, angular. 16. LUCIDA. SHINING. Leaves opposite, semi-pinnate, shining; peduncles apiary, longer than the leaf; flowers.in little heiuls; stem frutescent, angular. ] 7. t USEIFOI.XA. GUNEATE-I.EAYID. Leaves opposite, cuneate, ob-ovate, toothed at the top, the alternate ones larger; racemelets peduncled ; llowers monoecious. Besides the above native species the dioica, or great European .nettle, and the tt raw, iOr small nettle, have been introduced. Sci' Dwarf Elder. NETTLE-TREE. EOEHMERIA. Cl. 21, or. 4 Monoecia tetrandria. Nat. on. Urticte. So named in honour of G. It. Boehmer, professor of anatomy and botany in the uni* Versify of Wittenberg. Gen. char. Male flowers in the same plant with the females, either distinct or mixed: calyx a one-leafed perianth, four-parted to the base; parts lanceolate, acute, somewhat erect, coloured ; no corolla ; no nectary ; stamens four filaments, longer than the calyx, subulate, upright; anthers roundish, ovate; pistil a rudi- ment or none The females have no calyx, but numerous crowded ovate-acumin- ate scales; no corolla; the pistil has an ovate compressed germ between each scale; a filiform, erect, permanent, style ; and a simple pubescent stigma; there is no pericarp ; seed roundish, compressed, margined. This genus, Swartz ob- serves, is intermediate between urtica and parieturia. There are only five species, four of which are indigenous to Jamaica. 1. CAUDATA. TA1LFD. Frutlcosa ; foliis amplissimis, oralis, serratis ; spicisloyigissimis, (e~ nuibus, cxalis propendentibus. Browne, p. 338. Urtica 11. Leaves opposite, ovate-acute, serrate ; racemes very long, pendulous ; flowers dioecious; stem suflfruticose. This grows in the cooler woods of Jamaica, and is furnished with very broad leaves, ~-Urowne, 2. CYLINDRICAL &8VA14 WORT US JAM.UCK\SI,\ 1 2. CYUNPRICA. CYLINDRICAL Urlicet racemosa humilior iners. Sioane, v. 1, p. 124, t. 82, f. 2. Leives opposite, ovate-acuminate, serrate; racemes spiked, axillary, erect, simple. Tloot strong, and deeply fastened in the earth ; stem herbaceous, dividing into several opposite branches. The leaves are opposite, have three longitudinal veins, and are placed on pretty long footstalks ; they do not sting. The flowers are axillary, on inch-long racemes or catkins, winch are not divided. 3. BAMIJXORA. BRANCH-FLOWERED.' Frutescens ; foliis rugosis ova/is, in acumen product is ; ramulis gra+ cilibus. Browne, p. 338. XJrtica 10. Leaves alternate, broad- lanceolate, acuminate, serrate, wrinkled; flowers ag- gregate, axillary and lateral, monoecious distinct; males three-stamened. This is a shrub eight feet in height, with long branches ; leaves sickle-shaped, rug- ged, on very short petioles, hanging forward, placed alternately towards theends of the twigs, very different in size, being two inches and a foot in length on the same twig. Male flowers small, yellowish, numerous, aggregate, on the leafless eld branches; females whitish, on the younger twigs,- to the very ends. Jucquin. 4. HIRTA. HAIRY. Leaves alternate, ovate-acute, serrate," hirsute; flowers monoecious, heaped, axillary, mixed. Nhandiroba SVe .Antidote- Cocoon. Nicaragua, Bastard See BRAZii.KTTOi NICKARS. GUILANDINA.' Cl. 10, OR. 1. Decandria monogynia. Nat. or. Lomcntacex. Gen. char. See Horse-Raddish Tree, p. 385. There are two species of nickaw natives of Jamaica. 1. BONDUC. . Lobus echinatus fructu flavofoliisrotundioribits. Sioane, v. 2, p 40. Iiiermis, seminibusjiavescentibus. Browne, p. 228. Prickly ; pinnas ovate, with solitary prickles on the leaflets. This is a climbing plant. The stem grows at first erect, but afterwards twines about *he neighbouring trees and shrubs. The leaves are about a foot and a half long, each having many pairs of leaflets, which are ovate and entire; the principal mid-rib is armed with short crooked single thorns, placed irregular! ; the staiks are also armed with thorns, which are larger. The flowers are on long axillary spikes; petals equah- Cpucave, yellow; legume "broad, thick, three inches long and two broad, closely arm ! with i * HORTUS JAMAICENSIS, >ickaM with slender spines, opening with two valves, each ifictasing two hard seeds, about the size and shape of children's marbles, of a shining yellow colour, containing a bitter kernel. It grows more frequently in the inland parts of the island. 2. EONDUCEIXA. Lobus cchinntiis /met u : casio folds fhftgioriius. SFoaroe, v. 1, p. 41, Spinosa, Joins bipinnutis ovatis cum acuminc, sanlnibus ciiureis.- Browne, p. 223. Prickly; pinnas oblong-ovate, with double prickles on the leaflets. This differs from the other in havinganuch smaller leaves, set closer together ; and below each pair of leaflets are two short stiff crooked spines, which are opposite; the flowers are of a deeper yellow, and the seeds are ash-coloured. This weakly plant grows in many parts of Jamaica, and spreads a groat way about the root, or rises among the neighbouring bushes if it finds but due support. cThe stalk and branches are very full of thorns that arch backwards; the seeds are grey, and, like the other, used by way of marbles by boys. Browne. Corolla almost regular, with no claws to the petals; legume ovate, thomboidal, swelling in the middle, but flatted at the sides, with spines all over it, stiff, but not pungent, ferruginous, bay-colour on the outside, pale within*; the two valves very sm rib on the inside, without any vestige of a p rtition. Seeds two or three, ovate-globular, very smooth and shining, seeming as if they had very fine, parallel, angular, clefts, but quite entire; of a livid lead colour, with a brown mark at the navel. Gtertnev. These plants make a good fence Grainier says the shell of both species contains a farinaceous nut of admirable use in seminal weaknesses; and that they are also given -powdered to throw out the yaws. Browne al-o observes that the seeds, bark, and root, of both species, are thought to be astringents, and sometimes given in glaets ; and the seeds toasted and powdered given to provoke the menses. Sioane notices that these seeds are often east ashore on the north-west coasts of Ireland and Scotland. The; plant is raised from seeds, which should be some days soaked in water before they are planted, to soften them. Nickers There are two sorts of these trees which, are called nickers, the boys play- ing with the cone or truit as they do with marbles"-: The one hatha yellow cone, the other an ash-coloured one. Its prickles are short and crooloed, as the cockspur-p-ee K ; it hath along spike, full of yellow flowers; the pods or husks are full of rough prickles, like the chesnut, but sharper, and so stiff an to prick the finger if you touch them ; within this rough pod or ease are four or five hard cones, which are called nick- ers, so hard that the teeth cannot crack them. Tiie Indians and negroes make use of them itl venereal cases, and say they purge and carry off the cause, and afterwards bind and strengthen the part They grow also in the Eastern parts of the world ; for the Egyptians, in Alexandria, account them a sort of guard for their children against witch- craft and sorcery, hanging them about their necks as amulets. The fruit, finely pul- verized, and given, half a drachm, hclprth the meagrim, the torture of drawing the Dioutli of one side, as also convulsions, an I falling sickness. Barham, p. 114. See Horse-IIaddishTkee. NIGHTSHADE?, iwsk HOTtTUS JAMAICENSIS. p NIGHTSHADES. SOLANUM. Cl. 5, or. l. Pentandria monogynia. Nat. or. Lurida. Gf.v. char. See Calalu, branched, p. Ml. Besides those species described undet their different English names, the following species ace indigenous to Jamaica. 1. DULCUMARA. SWEET. Scandens, foliis ovatis utrinque acuminutis, fusckulis Jlorum sub-um- beUulatis spatsis. Browne, p. 17 5. Stem unarmed, frutescent, flexuose, upper leaves hastate ; racemes cymed. Root perennial, woody; stem shrubby, roundish, branched, twisted, and climbing to the height of several reet ; leaves alternate, petioled, ovate-lanceolate, quite entire, smooth, soft, veiny; the lower cordate, the upper more or less hastate; flowers in racemes or cyme-shaped panicles, hut not properly in cymes, opposite to a leal' or ter- minating, nodding, purple; anthers large, yellow, or 'lemon -coloured and connate; berries elliptic, scarlet, veryjuicy, bitter, and poisonous; seeds flat, somewhat kid- ney-shaped, of a yellowish colour. This plant is also a native of Europe, where the berries excite purging and vomiting ; where decoction of the whole plant is recom- toeuded in various diseases, as scurvy, rheumatism, inflammations, fevers, &c. 2. VERBASClFOI.imr. MULLEIN-LEAVED. Stem unarmed, shrubby-; leaves ovate-tomentose, quite entire; corymbs bifid, terminating. This is an unarmed tree, above the height of a man, with a trunk as thick as the human arm ; the ends ol the branches, the leaves, peduncles, and calyxes, are covered (with a thick nap ; peduncles terminating, erect, always bifid, with the branches again Litid ; flowers white, inodorous. Jacquin. 3. DIPIIYLI.L'M. TWO-LEAVED. Stem unarmed, shrubby; leaves in pairs, one smaller than the other; flowers in cymes. This is an ever green stinking shrub, two or three feet high, with a trunk the size of a finger, woody, round, and blackish, and brown brandies; the whole unarmed and smooth ; branches and lea\es mostl}- stretched out horizontals. Most of the leaves tvvj together, on short petioles, by the side of each other ; one lanceolate, bluntish, entire, from two to four inches long, the other about an inch, ob-ovate, very blunt, some- times emarginate. Common peduncles very short, lateral, many- flowered, forming a sort of cyme ; the proper peduncles pendulous at the back of the leaves ; flowers small, with a five-toothed calyx ; corolla white, deeply five-parted ; segments lanceolate- acute; berry globular, smooth, succulent, orange-coloured, the size of a chick pea; seeds whitish yellow. Jacquin. 4. JAMAICENSE. JAMAICA. Stem prickly, shrubby ; leaves wedged, wider in the middle, obtuse-angled, tomeutose on both sides; racbises and calyxes piickly ; prickles bent back. Stem a fathom in height, branched, prickly ; branches flexuose, round, foment ose, Vol. II. B prickly. 30 HO'RTUS JAMAICENS1S. nutmeg prickly. Leaves in pairs, alternate, on very short petioles, wcdged.at the hasp, widen- ing towards the upper part, angular, (but the angles so blunt as to be sometimes obli- terated) sharp at the top, entire at the edge, .scarcely rep ml, nerved, toraenfose, an-J somewhat rugged on both sides, whiter beneath, and. the mid-rib or rachis thero prickly; prickles stout, short, reflexcd, pale. Racemes lateral, much-shorter than the-leaves, simple, many- flowered ; flowers pedicelled, sub-cymed; pedicels length of the raceme, crowded in two. rows, filiform, one-flowered, loose, tomentose, prickly; calyx, minute, prickly; corolla small, pale bLue or white, with .the segments reilexed, and tomentose without. Berry roundish, fir.^t green, veined with black, but wholly black when ripe, smooth, having a dot at the top, size of a red currant. Native of Jamaica in waste places. Sie.- 5. HAVANENSE. HAVANNA. Solamim frulicosum bacciferum spinosum, flare ccernleo. . Sloane, .v* 1, p. 236, t. 145, f. 3. Stem unarmed, frutescent; leaves oblong-lanceolate, quite entire, shining; racemes axillary. Stem shrubby, three or four feet high, with upright, round, smooth,, branches ; leave:! alternate, pefioleu, oblong, wedged at the base, with a short blunt tip, entire, nerved, smooth on both sides, pale beneath, thicker; racemes terminating, solitary, containing from four to seven flowers ;. peduncles on -flowered, short; calyx parted halfway; segments oblong, permanent, white at the edge ; corolla biggish, blue, the border half five-cleft and spreading, the segments wide and plaited; filaments very short; anthers converging, yellow, having two pores at the top. Sw. SiTRISTE. DULL. Stem- unarmed, frutescent; leaves lanceolale-oblong, sub- repnnd, smooth ; racemes sub-cymed. This is an upright shrub; eight feet high, and not handsome ; leaves acute, dark green, petioled, alternate, seven or eight inches long; racemes lateral, thick,.an inch and half long, simple, or bifid, waited with the falling off of the pedicels that first tome out ; flowers small, white, forming a sort of cyme; berries globular, of a dirty yellow colour. See Gai.ai.ij, Branched Canker-Berry Egg-Pi,ant Potatoes Tomatos-~ Turkey-Berries. NUTMEG, AMERICAN. ANXONA. l. 13, or. 7, Pohjandria polygyria. Nat. or. Coadnunata: Gen. char. See Alligator-Apple, p. 11. MYR1ST1CA. NUTMEG. This singular tree is said to have been brought from South America, and firstplanted at the Retreat estate, in Clarendon : it is noticed in Long's History, but does not ap- pear to have been much cultivated since his time; there are two fine plant: in the hotani* jiutmisu KORTUS JAMAICEXSIS. u botanic garden, Liguanea, raised by Mr. Wiles ; and in the Hortus Eastensis it lias been classed as a species of annona, with the trivial name myristica, in allusion to the resemblance in taste its seeds have to the nutmeg, Jt h also known by the name of calabash nutmeg. The following are its characters, taken from a careful examination of many of its flowers: Calyx a one-leafed perianth, deeply divided into three trian- gular coloured segments, shorter than the corolla ; somewhat nervous and crispated ; it is perforated by the style; corolla one-petaled, also perforated, and deeply divide! into six unequal segments, three exterior and three interior; the fruit more than double the length of the calyx, of the same shape, when Full grown of a yellow colour, striped with purple, and longer than the interior ones, which are sub-cordate, coiuii- vent, nervous, of the same colour as the others but less undulated ; the stamens have no filaments ; anthers numerous, sessile, forming a ring round the base of the germ as in annona, adhering, but easily separated : the pistil has a turbinated, sulfated, and tri- gonal germ, seated on the apex of the columnar style, which is long, perforating the calyx and corolla, to which it is so slightly attached as easily to slip through, leaving the central hole perfect; stigma sub-globular, bifid, purple, crowning the germ-; pericarp a large berry covered with a hard, thick, leathery, or woody, bark, one celled ; seeds many, nestling. This grows to a large branchy tree, in habit resembling the annonas. The leaves come out alternately on thick short footstalks, they are oblong-oval, quite entire, from six to nine inches long, and about two and a half to three broad, smooth, of a pale green colour above, lighter below. The flowers come out from below the small twigs, which have a leaf on the opposite side, they are pendent on four or five inches long footstalks, which are bracted. Both leaves and twigs have a taste and smell somewhat resembling angelica. The seeds of this plant, which are a good substitute for nutmegs, vegetate easily when fresh, but will not keep long out of the ground. It bears a considerable number of large round pods resembling the calabash, hanging from the branches by a long pedicle. Tlie pods are from four to five inches diameter, and contain a multitude of nuts or kernels, of about one inch in length, and one-third of an inch in thickness, a " packed close in a very singular regularity, so that, after displacing them, it is impossible to restore them to the same order and compactness as before. These kernels, when thoroughly dried, are of a light, reddish, brown, co- lour, impregnated with an aromatic oil, resembling that of the Eastern nutmeg, from which they differ so little in flavour and quality, that they may be used for similar pur- poses in food or medicine; the only perceptible difference to the taste is, that they are less pungent than the East Indian nutmeg. It was a long time before the tree at the Retreat bore fruit ; at the time of its bearing it was about eighteen feet in height. It has since been cultivated by many gentlemen in different parts of the island, and may probably in a few years be adopted into general use, as well as furnish an article of ex- port. I take it to be the same as that found in Guiana. When intended for exporta- tion, it might be advisable to send them in the dry pods entire, or lay the kernels in lime water for a little while, drying them afterwards again in the sun, or a shady place. Long. See Alligator- Apple -Cherimoya Custard- Apple Sour-Sop. B 2 Oas. 12 HORTUS JAMAICENSIS, Ochra Oak of Cappadocia See Wild Tansey, OCHRA. HIBISCUS. Cl. 16, OR. 6. Momtdelphiapolgandria, Nat, OR. Colamnifcra, CJen. char. See, Changeable- Rose, p. 175. ESCULENTUS. ESCULENT. ^Icea maxima, mdlvte rosea folio, fructu decirgsvo, recta, erassiore^ brtviore, csculento. Sloane, v. 1, p. 223, t. 133, f. 3. Ramosus, hirsutus ; joliis lobatis, irregulariter crenatis, Jructu longicri. Browne, p. 2S5. Leaves five-parted, pedate ; inner calyxes bursting at the side. This rises, with a soft herbaceous sia'.k, six feet high, or more, dividing at top into many alternate branches. Toe leaves are also alternate, standing singly on long round panicles from six to eight inches long, having a spelling at bottom, purplish, and hairy at both ends ; they are five-lobed, frequently six inches long and seven or eight broad. The flowers are large, axillary, of a paie sulphur colour, with dark purple bottoms. The capsules, which are an excellent emollient vegetable, are of different siaes and forms in the varieties, and are generally eaten either cooked by themselves, or as an ingredient in soups. It is the chief vegetable in West-India pepper-pots, and renders them very palateable, rich, and nourishing. These capsules are freqcentlv siiced across while green, dried, and sent to Europe, and retain for a great length <;f time, in that state, their rich mucilaginous flavour and quality. As a medicine orhra mav be employed in all cases where emollients and lubricants are indicated In Or. Dancer's Medical Assistant a decoction of the leaves and pods is recommended in the place of linseed tea. They ar^ very cooling, emollient, and of great nourishment; very proper for dis- eases of the breast, and provoke urine, stone, and gravel, having all the virtue of tne Biarsh-mallows. I advised a person that was in a deep consumption, and of a depraved appetite, of a cadav< rous countenance, and a mere skeleton, to have always the dried seed of the wkras by him, that he might not be without them all tiie year round; tha which I ordered him to have beat into a fine dour, separating the husks from it, and so to thicken all his broths or soups with this flour; which afforded hiin so much nourish- ment, taking away his hectic fever, that, in less tnan.tweive months, he was as strong and lusty as ever ue was all his life-time, and gave me many thanks for my advice. - Bar hum, p. 123. See Changeable-Rose Indian Sorrel Mahoe Musk-Ocjira, Ochra, Bastard \'ee Wn.n-OcuRA. OciUU, MU&K <&* MU3K.-Ov.liKA. OIL <*fc HORTUS JAMAICENSIS, %3 OIL-NUT-TREE. RICINTJS. Cl. 21, or. 8. Moaeecia morutdehphia. Nat. or. Trieocea. Gf.TJ. char. Male calyx a one-leafed perianth, five-parted ; segments ovate, con cave; no corolla; stamens very numerous filaments, filiform, branchingly con- nected below into various booties ; anthers twin, roundish. Female calyx a one- leafed, three-parted, perianth; segments ovate, concave, deciduous; no corolla; the pistil has an ovate germ, covered with subulate corpuscles ; styles three, two- parted, from erect spreading, hispid; stigmas simple; the pericarp a roun lish, capsule, three- grooved, prickly all over, three-celled, three-valved; seeds soli- tary, sub-ovate. 1. COMMUNIS. COMMON. Ricinus Amerlcanus fructu racemoso hispido. Sloan e, v. 7, p. 12P. Jffuticosus atsurgens, foliis majoribas ptltato lobatis, lobis serrutis ecu/is. Browne, p. 330. Leaves deeply divided. This tree, which is sometimes called palma ckristi, is of speedy growth, a3 in one- year it arrives p.t its full size, seldom exceeuing from fifteen to twenty feet. Tho rooc is biennial, long, thick, whitish, beset with small fit>res; the trunk is sub-ligneous, with a large pith, round, thick, jointed, channelled, glaucous, of a purplish red co- lour, in some varieties whitish. The leaves grow singly, on very long footstalks, hav- ing a large pith and small hollow; the leaves are peltate, palmate, from eight to twelve - parted; tne segments lanceolate-serrate, spread out in a ring, of different sizes, the three smallest below the footstalk Flowers in terminating racemes, the males nelow, with a five-parted calyx, and about one hundred oblong white anthers, in different bundles, the whole having a globular figure ; the females at the top, the calyx com- monly five- parted, with three red, filiform, bifid, stigmas: the capsule is sub-globu- lar, corticate, educated all over with small spines, tncoccous ; rind herbaceous, thin; the three component parts or cells ovate,- papery, on one side convex, with a dorsal streak, on the other angular; and perforated with a cordate hole below the tip, two- valved. Receptacle columnar, three-cornered, widening above, entering, by a tripie blunt end, the ventral perforations of the cells. Seeds solitary, biggish, ovate, con- vex on one side, very bluntly angular on the ather, smooth, somewhat shining, some- times livid, wiili cloudy spots, sometimes variegated like the abdomen of the spider frith white lines, dots and stains, on a testaceous or brown ground; on the topis a fungou-, thick, white, umbilicus, or navel. When tne bunches begin to turn black, they are gathered, dried in the sun, and the Seeds picked out. Castor oil is obtained irom them either b' expression or by decoc- tion. This oil burns clear and bright in lamps, and is fit for all the purposes of the painter, or for the apothecary in ointments or piasters. As a medicine it purges without & stimulus, and is so mild as to be given to infants soon after birth, to purtre off the meconium. By many physicians it has been deemed a sovereign remedy in bilious, calculous, and nephritic, complaints; but its ta^te is extremeiv nauseous, and, when frequently used, it is apt to relax the tone of the bowels. It is recommende I to be given in clysters ; and Dr. Canvane of B.ith affirms, that when children cannot be made to swallow any medicine, if tuc u*vel and hypochondria be rubbed with tins oil, it will produce 1* HOKTUS JAMAICENSTS." Oli produce one or two physical stools. He adds, that given in small draughts, or by clyster, or by embrocation, it is an excellent and wonderful vermifuge. All oils are noxious to insects, but the castor oil kills and expels them. It is gerierally-given as a purge alter using the cabbage bark some days. In constipation and belly-ache this oil is used with remarkable success. It sits well on the stomach, allays the spasm, and brings about a plentiful evacuation by stool, especially if atthe same time fomentations, or the warm bath, ar.e used Belly-ache is at present less frequent in Jamaica than formerly, owing to several causes : t fie inhabitants, in general, live better, and drink better liquors ; but the excessive drinking of new rum slid makes it frequent amongst : spkhers, sailors, and the lower order of white people. It has been known to happen too lroui visceral obstructions after intermittents, or marsh fevers, in Jamaica The oil will not make soap, and it contains such quantities of a residuum, like gum, as to be unfit lor using on mahogany furniture, or on gun-locks, &c. Mixed with paint it does not dry unless some spirits of turpentine are added to it. if it be spilled upon paper, after a month or two the paper will bear ink nearly as well as if there was no oil upon it. Mr. Hughes, in Ids History of Barbadoes, says that the oil extracted from the berries of the red negro oil bush, is less rank than that of the other varieties, and sometimes Qiadeuseof by negroes in their soups. Geoffrey, speaking of these nuts, says that they purue violently, but, if the skin wherewith they are covered becarefullv taken off, they lose their purgative quality, and maybe eaten with safety. From not knowing this secret, continues he, new .comers into America are often caught by the natives; this ia oer.tai.nJy a mistake, as it is the taking out the small root leaves and not the skin, that renders them inoffensive. The leaves of this plant, from their soft emollient na- ture, are generally used for dressing blisters. The roots in decoction are looked upon as stro g diuretics. Dr. (Jullen ob><. rves that castor oil, when the stomach can be reconciled to it, is one ol the most agreeable purgatives we can employ. It has these advantages, that it com* monly operates in two or three hours, seldom gripes, and is generally moderate in its operation ; it is particularly suited to cases of costiveness, and even of spasmodic colic ; is one ot the. most certain remedies in the dry belly-ache, or colica piclonum ; has been experienced to be useful in various febrile complaints, in bilious colics, nephritic cases, worms and especially the tape-worm. It is not heating nor irritating to the rectum, and is therefore suited to Invmorrhoidal persons. The only inconvenience attending this medicine is, that it is nauseous to those who dislike oil, and that, when the dose is large, it occasions sickness at the stomach. The most effectual means to obviate this, is to take it in a little ardent spirit, rum or brandy, but compound tincture of senna is much better : this, in the proportion of one to three-parts of the oil, inti- mately mixed, bv being shaken together in a phial, makes the oil less nauseous, and therefore sit better on the stomach, i he common dose is a table spoonful, or half an ounce, but many persons require a double quantity. It is remarkable that if this medi- cine be frequently repeated, the dose may be gradually diminished ; insomuch, that persons of a costive habit, who at first required half an ounce, or more, for a dose, have afterwards found two drachms enough, at least to keep the belly regular. The oil-nut plant is much cultivated in Jamaica; it is raised from the nut or seed, grows with a surprising rapidity to the height of fifteen or sixteen feet, and seems to Sourish most in gullies, or near running water, in cool shady spots. The seeds bein? freed o;i, H'ORTUS JAMAICENSlSs ft free] from the husks or pods (which are gathered upon their turning brown, and when beginning to burst open), arc first bruised in a mortar, afterwards tied up in a linen bag, and then thrown into a large pot, with a sufficient quantity of water ' ibout eight gallons tt> one gallon of the seeds), ajid boiled tiil their on is risen to the surfeee; this is carefully skimmeel, strained, and kept for use.* Thus prepared it is entirely free from all acrimony, and will freely stay upon the stomach, when it rejects most other medicines. This oil is consumed n many of the plantation in the boiling and stiH houses, during crop, and much preferable to the filthy stinking lamp-oil imporl id from North America and Britain ; for it affords a clear lively light, emits no disagreea- ble smell, is obtained ..; less than one half the expence, and may be kept many years without growing foetid. When intended for medicinal use, the oil is more frequently cold-drawn, or extracted from tke braised- seeds, by means of a hand-press. But this is thought more acrimonious than what is procured from coction. The cold-drawn. oil at first is perfectly limpid; but, after being kept for some time, acquires a pale tincture, resembling Lisbon wine, probably caused by the membrane which covers tha kernels. It is administered with the greatest success in-the belly-ache, and all obsi mate constipations of the bowels, given from one to even four or five ounces. It is likewise taken, with perfect safety, by infants afflicted- with worms, which it both destroysand sweeps away ; and therefore much superior to calomel or tin powder. Ft is given to new-born children, within nine days, in a dose of one tea-spoonful every morning, mixed with a little molasses, or any other syrup, to purge off the meconium; which purpose it effectually answers, and has saved the lives of many thousand negro children. The retention of this excrement has been fatal to multitudes, by bringing on mortal convulsions, generally known here by the name of jaw-falling. + The oil,, externally used, is excellent in removing cramps, and pains arising from colds, and kills lice in the heads of children. It is but of late that this article has made an article of the Jamaica exportation, and that- only in. very small quantities; it now forms part of the British materia med'ica, but is most usually obtained there from the seeds imported in barrels ; the oil drawn in the West Indies not being encouraged, because it is a manufacture. What is intended fdr exportation should be packed in jars, well stopped with corks or plugs, covered with waxed cloth, and properly tied or wired, orin small tight casks. The oil is not subject to contract rancidity, unless it is made from parched or roasted seeds, which are im- pregnated with an enipyreuma. Long, p. 712. OiliNuts. These are so called from the great quantity of oil got out of them ; and also vulgarly, but very erroneously, called aguus castits, they having no relation to that species ; * One gallon of mils will yield about one quart of oil. Tiie oil seperates sooner if, towards the end of the boiling, a handful of sea salt is thrown into the cauldron, 11 the nuts be kept a few weeks the) 1 yield little or no oil. t Some of the ablest physicians have concurred in preferring the oil obtained from nuts to olive oil, in ver. micular cases ; the reason of which is, that, as the worms have their bodies overspread with extremely minute pipes, which ate necessary to their respiration; and which being plugged up or stopped, they immediately die; so oils are found to answer this effect; and nut-oil much sooner, and with more certainty, than any other ; as its parts are less porous, and therefore better qualified to exclude the air, the want of which de. Stroys them. It is mentioned by some writers, that, in certain parts of Italy, it is a common practice for mothers te give their infants, once or twice a week fasting, pieces of toasted bread dipped in nut-oil ; and that what they use for this purpose is extracted from the beech nut, andseltrom fail3 to clear their bowels of these dangerous animalcules ; the ricinus oil is equally powerful, and might be administered after the same manner. te HOIITUS JAMAICE'NSIS. oil species; but every body in Jamaica call? it agnus castus, or oil -leaves, whiuh they put tQ.their blisters instead of jneHlot, and use no other. >The root, decocted and drank, cures the cholic and swelling of the belly and legs ; and so doth the leaves, boiled with v. iid ginger and ground-ivy, and then fermented with a little sugar or melasses, which wall p urge very strongly. Planters have not .only cured dropsies in negroes with this drink, but also the > aws and venereal complaints;, taking away the gumipous nodes, and pains in the joints. The leaves, applied to the head in fevers, remove pain; a, cataplasm made of the green leas _s, cassada Hour, and a little oil of the nuts, applied to women's breasts, softens and discusses the coagulated milk and hardness; and, if -not to be discussed, it will ripen it, bring it to digestion, and break it. Negroes are troubled with a distemper in their legs, which they call a guinea-worm : The tir^t appearance is a bard swelling, with much pain and inflammation; and some time after .will appear, through the flesh and skin, the head of the worm, as small as a knitting-nee"dle, which they take hold off, and draw it a little, and get it round the quilly part of a small leather; but if they draw it so haul as to break it, many ill acci- dents will attend the pa.-r, and sometimes gangrenes ensue. Now, to ripen and for- ward tin: work, make a poultice as before directed, and lay over it one of the leaves, which "ill soften and bring the worm out, by turning the feather every day, drawing a little at a time, and by degrees the worm uill entirely come out, which sometimes will be several yards long, and not bigger than a thread; sometimes, barely anointing the part with the oil, and laying a leaf upon it, will do. The oil of this nut pur< strongly ; and I knew one, that would boldly give an ounce or an ounce and an half, in vhat they tab the d.-v bedy-ache, which would go through the patient when nothing else would ; outwardly, it is good for cold aches and pains, or cramps and contractions. Its oil will keep without being fetid or stinking, and therefore may be converted to several uses. Bui ham, p. 120. In Mr. Anthony Robin ion's manuscript the following recipes are recommended : For di-:/ belly-ache. " Take nut-oil, half a common spoonful, and a spoonful of rum, mix them together, and set the rum on fire ; after burning for half a minute, ex- tinguish the flame, ;dum ,, p. 67, t. 189, f. 3. Ramulis fiexuosis tenuioribus, jeliis ebovatis eonfertts, ipicis phirimis ttrnnmulibus. Browne, p. L!^l, t. ?3, f. 1. This tree grows to a very considerable height, but not of a proportionate thickness, some having been seen seventy feet high, anil rive in circumference lour feet from the ground. The branches and twigs are divaricate or flexuose, roundish, smooth, an 1 even. The leaves are crowded at the forkings of the twigs ; they are tw > inrhes long and one broad, near the further end, where broadest, on inch-long petioles, ob-ovate, fpiite entire, nerved, veined, smooth, and. the younger ones are hoary underneath, Flowers in spikes, from the axils of the crowded leaves, simple, longer than the leaves, ^preading, many -flowered ; peduncles round, long, hoary ; flowers yellowish. Calyx hoary, without tomentose within ; filaments twice as long as the calyx ; anthers round- ish, yellow ; germ flatted, with ten streaks at the base ; style subulate, hirsute at the base. . This tree is called the black olive ig Jamaica ; but in Antigua, where it is equally common, goes bv the name of French oak. It is a native of the lower swampy lands, or adjoining banks, and grows to a very considerable size. It is frequent about the Ferry, and remarkable for its slender crooked branches, and the tufted disposition of its leaves. On the flo-ver spikes of this tree you may sometimes find one or more fruc- tifications that shoot into a monstrous size, being seldom under three inches in length^ though never above a line and a half in diameter; and something in the form of a bull's horn. It is reckoned an excellent timber tree ; and the bark is greatly esteemed among the tanners. Browne. Barham mixed the bark of this tree with that of the mangrove, and savs he made an excellent restringent styptic water of it. In the French islands it is called grigrwn. OLIVE MANGROVE. AVICENNIA. CL. 14, or. 2. Did-yna.jn.in angiospermia. NaT. or. Personata* This was so named in honour of a famous oriental physician. Gen. char. Calyx a five-parted permanent perianth ; leaflets sub-ovate, obtuse, concave, erect; increased by three scales; corolla moi petalous; tube bell- 6uaped, short ; border bilabiate ; upper lip square, emarginate, flat; to.ver trifid, divisions. 22 HORTUS JAMAICENSIS. OMflS Sivisions ovate, equal, flat; stamens four subulate erect filaments, the two froijt ones rather shorter, bent back to the upper lip ; anthers roundish, twin ; the pistil has an ovate genu; a subulate erect style, the length of the stamens; stigma bifid, acute, the lower division bent down ; pericarp a coriaceous capsule, rhom- boidal, compressed, one-celled, two-valved : seed one, large, the. form of the capsule, constructed of four fleshy folds, germinating. There is only one species, a native of Jamaica. g TOMEJCTOSJ. HAIRY. Mangle laurocerasifoliis flore albo tstrapetalo. Sloane, v., 1, p. 06. Fo! s Lntegris -oblojigis oppositis^ petiolis crassis brevissitttis sub amplexaniibus, fioribus racemosis. Browne, p. 263. Leaves cordate-ovate, tomentose underneath. This tree agrees mostly with the mangrove, rising not above fifteen or sixteen feet high ; i;s trunk is; not so large, having a smooth whitish green bark ; and from the steei are twigs propagating the tree, like the mangrove. The branches at top. 'are jointed towards the ends here and there, where the leaves come out opposite, eiiTery small petioles, -two inches and a halflong,. one inch broad in the middle, smooth, soft, hav- ing one large rib of a dark green colour; the flowers are many at the top of the branches, white, and tetrapetalous. Sloane. It varies with acuminate leaves, more or less hoary underneath. -Sio. This tree istfrequent near the sea, both in the north and south-side of Jamaica; and remarkable on account of its cineritious colour, and the narrow form of its leaves. It grows in a low moist ground, and rises commonly to the height of til teen or eighteen feet Its capsules are compressed, and somewhat roundish, but irregular and obliquely lengthened ; and contain each a compressed foli- -aceous seed, that swells and germinates before it falls. Brvztme. Olive, Wild See Wild Olivb. ONION. ALLIUM. Cl. C, on. 1. Hexandria monogynia. Nat. or. Spathaccce. Oen. chak. See Eschalot, p. 284. ceVa. Scape swelling out below, and longer than the columnar leaves. The common onion, as well as a larger variety, the Portugal or Madeira, thrive very well in Jamaica, when raised from imported seeds; and have a much milder and sweeter taste than those brought from Europe or America. The seeds should be sown in a dry time, when the ground is not moist, but should lie well dug and levelled. Stallions, which are so generally cultivated in Jamaica, are a kind of onion, which never form any bulbs at the roots, and are produced from decayed onions that begin to sprout; but mo>t generally propagated by parting their own roots. The many domestic purposes to which these useful vegetables are applied are too well known to require notice here; their nature is to attenuate thick vis< id juices, consequently a plentiful use of them m cold phlegmatic constitutions must prove beneficial. Many people shun thee \ RANG* HORTUS JAMAICENSI9* 3 them on account of the strong disagreeable smell and taste they communicate to the breath; which may be remedied, by eating a few raw parsley leaves immediately aftec^ which will effectually overcome the scent, and cause them to sit more easy on the stomach. See Eschalot and Oa^uc. ONOBRYCHIS See F'tEN'CII HONEYSUCKl.fr OtuvfiA Sec Indian Fig. ORANGE. CITRUS: Cl; 18, OR. 3. Polyadelphiaicosandria. Nat. OR. Bicorr.tSi GEN. ciiar. See Citron, p. 196. AURANTIUW. ORANGE.- Petioles winged ; leaves acuminate. Of this there are two varieties, whieh grow plentifully in every pnrt of' Jamaica. 1. China Orange. Mai us aurantia sinensis. Sloane, v. 2, p. 181. Fvuctu sphcei rico, punctato, croceo, duici ; petiolis a/atis. Browne, p. i09. This is a middle sized tree, evergreen, with a greenish-brown bark, and prickVy branches, which shoot out upwards into a roundish head ; leaves broad-lanceolate, al- most quite entire, smooth, dark shining green, standing on. winged petioles; pedun- cles many- flowered, terminating. Corolla white; stamens twenty, connected into several parcels. Berry sub-globular, Matted, of a golden colour, shining, odoroofc, three inches in diameter, divided within into about nine cells, filled with a bladdery pulp, having a sweet-acid juice in it ; rind fleshy, of a middling thickness*- covered with a pellicle, which is- somewhat biting and bitter to the taste. This description, from Loureiro, is particularly applicable to the common China orange, of which there are several varieties. The agreeable juice of the orange has been found efficacious in scurvy. When Commodore Anson sailed round the world, his men were sarprisin ;iy recovered from that disorder, by the oranges they found in the island of Tinian. Tins fruit varies much in appearance and flavour in different situations, owing most probably to the- soil; they thrive best in a brick mould soil, and in the Red Hills of St. John's, which seem particularly congenial to all the orange kindt Mr. Long mentions he bas seen fruit from a brick mould so exquisitely sweetj- that when it was ripe, the whole rind was covered by a saccharine farina. There is no doubt that in Jamaica they mi da be brought to the utmost perfection, were proper care taken to improve them by graft- ing or transplanting.- . 2. Seville Orange. Mains aurantia vulgaris major. Sloane, v. 2, p. 179. h'ructu sphcerico, punctato, croceo, acido ; cortice interiors spongioso; petiolis alat is. Browne, p. 303. The Seville orange differs but little in appearance from that of the China, but is nior; 24 HORTUS JAMAICENSI3. raxge moii.' hardy, and the leaves 'are larger and handsomer ; the fruit is also of a more red- dish colour and rougher rind. The taste is likewise very different, and not so agree- able as the other ; but esteemed as far preferable for medical purposes, as a grateful acid liquor, allayi'ngiieat, quenching thirst, and promoting various excretions, and of considerable use in inflammatory disorders. It is also considered as a powerful anti- septic, and of great efficacy in the scurvy. The acid of oranges, by uniting with tin: bile, is said to take off its bitterness ; and hence l)r Culien thinks it "probable that acid fruits taken in, are often useful in obviating the disorders that mightarise from the redundancy of bile, and perhaps from the. acrid quality of it. On the other hand, how- ever, ii the acids are in greater quantity sham can be properly corrected bv the bile present, they seem, by some in ion with that fluid, to acquire a purgative quality- that gives a dii ; rho a and the colic pains that, are ready to accompany the operation of every purgat;\ .."' Not only the juice, but the rind of the Seville orange is of considerable medical efficacy, since, besides its use as a stomachic by itself, or infused with other bitter ingredients, it has been much-celebrated, in intermitting, fevers; and, in testi- mony of its efficacy in the most obstinate agues, we find several authorities cited by professor Murray. It has also been experienced as a powerful remedy iir monorrhagia, and in immoderate uterine evacuations; and, for its good effects in: these disorders, we have not only. the. assertions of foreign physicians, but also those of Drs. Why tt-aud 1 iiton. It gives out its flavour and taste readily to water, and is useful in all flatu- lencies in whatever form it be given; it also sits better on the stomach than most other corroborants. Toe leaves of the orange are not without their virtues, as well as the flowers, and, in particular, have been celebrated in convulsive disorders; and have been succes-fuilv given in the dose of a dra< hm at a time in nervous hysterical cases. The young fruit of the .Seville orange dried, is.also used in medicine, under the name of aunmtia cura-'avevtiu ; they are moderately warm bitter aromatic s, of a sufficiently agreeable flavour. The flowers of the orange and. citron-kind have been in great es- teem as a perfume; they are highly odoriferous, of a somewhat warm and bitter taste. They yield their flavour, by infusion, to rectified spirit, and, in distillation, both to spirit and water. The bitter matter is dissolved in water, and, on evaporating, the de- cociion remains entire in the extract. The distilled water was formerly kept in the shops, but, on account of the great scarcity of the flowers, is now laid aside ; it is called a/ua iiaphte. An oil distilled from these flowers is brought from Italy, under the name ol oleum w essentia neroli. Both the distilled water and oil might be manufactured in greai abundance in this island, and afford a valuable article of export; as they no doubt would be obtained from the flowers of every species of the citrus. The seeds of all the species have a pleasant bitterish taste, and would make very good emulsions, which might be successfully used, when the stomach is weak and languid, and cannot bear stronger bitters. The juice ol the Seville or sweet orange, with common salt, Labat n.entions to be usee as a purge in the French islands; and the guts roasted are amatu- ruting cataplasm. The la.te I)r. M' Vicar Affleck recommended the outer rind of the Seville orange, infused in a pint of water, and used for common drink, in an over- flow ing of the menses, or their appearance in the time of pregnancy. See Citron, Lime, and Shaddock, Trees. Otaiieite Ai ple See Rose Apple. OX-EYE, #s- ey too?. T U S J A ? I A : C E N 3IS. as OX-EYE. EUPTWALMUM. Cl. 1?, ' c~. 2. fyngenesia polygamia mperfua. 'Nat. or. Comp^slta, 'Gen. chah: Common calyx imbricate; corolla compound, radiated; hermaphro- dite stamens five, anthers tubular; fire pistil 1 has an ovate erni, filiform style; stigma tuiekisli, undivided: female g-Tiu aru/vpital, sic f liforni, stigmas twa; there is lib pericarp, the calyx unchaaged: seeds of- the hermaphrodite solitary, oblong, 'Crowned with a gashed manit'ol I edge ; of the females, solitary, compressed, with each edge cutting, crowned ?l;ks the others; receptacle chaffy, coovex. Gut* species is a native of Jamaica. FRITTESCENS. BHRUBBy. Chrysanthemum frutieosityninaritimum, foliis gJmcis bblnngis, /fore lutfo. Sleane,< v. I, p. 260 Sub-frutkosuwi inaritimumimxiniait, Joiiis (nHoTigis, Jloribus sohlurus ad divaricationes ramorum. Browne, p. 'i'10. Leaves opposite, lanceolate; petioles two- toothed ; stem shrubby. This plant grows near the sea-side, and seldom rises above four feet high, in a tufted form. Stem whitish, the-size of the little finger; branches towards the top, opposite, on which the leaves grow in opposite tufis; they are of unequal sizes, some narrow and long, others broad, the longest about an inch long, they are soft and hoary, hav- ing a whitish down, and ending in a scarcely discernible prickle. The flowers are pro- duced at the ends of the branches in large heads, on the outside of which are many whitish small leaves, inclosing the flowers, which are many, close set together, of a yellow colour. Shane. Browne calls it samp/tire, or the sea-side ox-eye. He notice* three other species ot'.buptJiahuuin, one of which belongs to the genus silphium. OX-EYE, CREEPING. SILPHIUM. Cl. 19, OR. 4. Syngenesia polygamia ncccssaria. Nat. or. Compositt?. Gen. CHAR. Common calyx erect, patent, squarrose ; corolla compound, radiate; corollets hermaphrodite in the disk, many ; females in the ray, fewer : there is no pericarp, calyx unchanged ; seed down, margined, two-homed ; receptacle chaffy j chaffs linear. TRILOBATU.Nf. THREE-I.OBED. Chrysanthemum palustrc, repens, minus, odoratum, folio scabro tri- lobato. Sloane, v. 1, p. 262, t. 155, f. 1. Hirsutum, foliis tri- lobis, ad basim angustioribus, oppositis; Jloribus solitaries alaribus. Browne, p. 321. Leaves opposite, sessile, wedge-form. Stem jointed, creeping along the ground, at each joint many hairy fibres of a black- ish- brown colour, with opposite leaves, rough, notched, and smelling aroruatically. YW..U, D fa The *6 HORTUS JAMAICENSIS? feH -Th : I vith. chen'il leaves ; fruit larger than a pigeon's egg ; tue perica black, and reJ, and so full of oil as to run out on being very slight'y press* I ', with longitudinal interrupted whitish streaks. Jacquin. Sloane describes a head of this tree brought to him from Guinea, as follows : "Roundish, about a foot and a half long, and onein diameter. The mlikearqpe, two inches m diameter, compose i of'Strong brown fibres. From eve v part of the s'te issued crooked prickly petioles, about six inches long. Between the pti :kles lay tho fruit, much less, but in shape and celonr resembtiig a ches'nut; each nut was sur- rounded by two or three brown scales, and covered with a pulp full )(' oil, of a i affi 1 1 colour, and -smelling like violets ; each nut had a fibrous hilus. Under the oilv pulp lay a hard brown shell, covered over with fibres, and about the size of a filberd, i:i- closing a white, hard, lignose, kernel. Of the leaves are made mats ; and wine is got from a hole cut in -the top. The oil tinges water of a \cllow colour, and soap may be- made of it." The palm-tree, from which the oil and wine are got. It i-; from the fruit that thev get oil ; when they are thorough ripe, there is, between the outward s\in and the stone, a yellow pulpy sweet substance^ tins pulp turns to a thick oil, like butter, as it grows old, and of a reddish-yellow colour ; i.lso, the inward kernel turns to oil in the same manner. It is an excellent suppling oil ; the traders for slaves, when they expose them for sale, shave them "Very close, and then anoint their bodies, limbs, and joints, with it, which makes them look smooth, sleek, and young. From the body of the tree by tapping, and the branches before they have fruit, they get a liquor which is called palm-wine, and so strong as will inebriate or cause drunkenness. liar hum, p. 130. This tree is not so frequent in Jamaica as it deserves, being chiefly cultivated bv the negroes only. The nu is are covered with an oily pulp; wdien they are roasted, they taste very much like the outside fat of roasted mutton. The oil is obtained by boiling the nuts in water, when- the oleaginous particles rise to the surface, and are skimmed off. and strained for use. The negroes are fond of this oil, which sometimes makes it an ingredient in their food ; but they oftener apply it by way of embrocation, for strains, or to discuss rheu- matic aches, for which purpose it is very efficacious. Long, p. 740. PALMETO-ROYAL, or THATCH, TREE. THRINAX. Cl. 6, OR. 1. llerandria monogynia. NaT. OR. Palmte. Gen. CHAR. -Calyx Spathe universal, compound ; spadix simple, branched, imbri- cate with proper spathes, in decussated spikes; perianth minute, six-toothed; no corolla ; stamens six filaments, short, filiform, inserted into the base of the germ; anthers large, erect, bifid at the base and lop ; the pistil has a half-infe- rior ovate germ, surrounded by the calyx ; style thickish, short ; stigma widish, compressed, retuse, emarginate; the pericarp a one-celled naked berry ; seed a single kernel, covered with a bony shell. There is only one species, which is a native of Jamaica. D 2 FARVlfLOIU. *8 HORTUS J AM AT C EN SIS: p.u.mktO PARVIFLORA. SMA1 L-FLOWF.RED. PzhtiS Brasiliensis primifera folio plicatili sen flabetiiformi caudire- Cijujmmato. Sloane, v. 2, p. 121. Palmacea, foliis Jlabellifovmi^ bus cum appcndu'iila ad i:num, petiolisie-nuior:bus jlailibus com- pressis. Browne, p, 19Q. Trunk from ten to twenty feet high, swelling at the base, unarmed, about six inches in diameter, of a clay colour. Fronds-terminating, palmate, plaited, from one to two- feet long, or more, with .here and there prickles ; divisions lanceolate, aerved, and marked with lines, rigid, almost equal : stipes.tanger tuan the leaves, round- Hatted, smooth, flexile, unarmed. Spadix terminating, almost upright, two or three feet long; panicle branched; branches alternate, sub-divided, spreading : branchlets or spikes decussated, opposite, or in threes ; flowers pedicelled, opposite, or in threes, placed on the tachis, small, hermaphrodite; berry roundish, the size of a 'small pea, almost 'priceless; kernel white within, red in the middle. It grows in most of the honey-comb rocks in the island. Pal 'mclo- Royal '.This tree covers whole fields in many parts of the island : it grows Loth in the rocky lulls, and low moist piains near the sea, but seems to thrive best in the former. It shoots by a simple stalk, and rises generally from four or five, to ten or fourteen,- feet in height. It is always furnished with leaves of the form of a fan, sus- tained by slender compressed footstalks, and bears a great abundance of small berries, which serve to feed both the birds and beasts of firewood, when tiny are in season. The. trunk seldom exceeds four or five inches in-diameters it is called the iEaUhpole, ?md i> much used for piles in wharfs, and other buildings made in the sea ; for it has been observed to stand the water very well, and is never corroded or touched by the worms. The footstalks of the leaves are very tjugh, and serve {when split and paved) to make baskets, bowstrings, ropes, and a tliousand other conveniencies, whore- strength and. toughness is required. The leaves are called thatch, and are dailv used as such, and found to stand the weather for many years. lirounc. PALMETO, SMALLER. CHAM,ROPS. CL. 23, OR. 2. Polygamia dioccia. Nat. or. Palnitr. This generic name is derived from two Greek ..orJs signifying low shrub. >fn. chak Hermaphrodite calyx universal snathe compressed, bifid; spadix branching ; proper perianth tripartite, very small ; corolla tripartite ; petals ovate, coriaceous, erect, acute, inflected at the tip; stamens six filaments, subulate- compressed, scares cohering at the base ; anthers linear, twLn,-growing to the in- terior side of the filaments ; the pistiUius three .roundish germs ; stvles as many... distinct, permanent; stigmas acute; the. pericarp three drupes, globose, unilo- cular; seeds solitary, globose Male on a distinct plant, flowering in the same manner cal) x anu corolla as in t ( ie hermaphrodite; stamens, a gibbous recep- tacle, ending. in six. -filaments, not m irked bj perforations j the rest as in the her- maphrodite. . One specie* u a native of Jamaica, BPMIMfr Pamc HOBTTJS JAMAICENSI'S. 3 lil'MILIS. HUMBLE. pulma ir>i spinosa humilisfrvctu racemoso pruniformi, minima phi Sloane, v. 2, p. IIS. Acaulis, fotiis fiabelliformi- bus maxim petiolii nitidis rotundis y spiv-is br&vioribuspartialibus. Browne, p. 2jU. Leaves fan- 1 -!! ped, very large ; stipes smooth. This plant is very frequ i > lamaica, particularly about the Crescent, and is often nsed forth.au-.., though not s good as the other leaves commonly employed for that purpose. I h . io talks are exa tly like.so many joints of well grown walking canes, both in shape and si se ; but they soon v. ther an I shrivel up. The berries are sweet, and much fed upon by birds; Si o me fhis is known by slie name oifan-palm. The spadix-is amentaceo aotl in. ricated. The 'flowers are- sessile, ranged in a special or Icr round the i le rising iroui each squama, which squama is semi- circular, carnose, and pi i tin . f a small Aoscule or depression : In some of the floscules I observed tw -s ; no pri per perianth is tripbyllous, made up of three subtriquetrous concave col ired 1 ..\ s, shorter than the corolla, which consists of three orate. petals, placed alu nate with feLe leaves oi the cup. The germ is com- pressed and su Urigoua , rising ivith a narrow base, ;;iid widening to the top, on which are placed six snort subulated filaments ; the anthers iarge, erect, sagittatcd; there is CoMyie, the stigma is trigonal, the top oi the germ is- excavated. A, Rubinsou. PANIC GRASS. - PANICUM. Cl: 3, or. 2. Triandi ia digynia. Nat. or. Gramin.r. Genvchar. Calyx a two-flowered, two-valved glume; valves sub-ovate, nerved; the- outer valve a little lower, very small ; one floret hermaphrodite, the other neuter or male : corolla of the hermaphrodite a two-valved glume ; the outer valve (in the bosom of the smaller calycine valve) flatfish, nerved ; the inner membra- naceous, flat, with the edges bent in ; often small, or very small ; nectary two- leaved, very small, gibbous; in tbe neuter florets none ; stamens three capillary filaments; anthers oblong; the neuter florets have no stamens ; the pistil, in the hermaphrodites, has a roundish germ, two capillary styles ; stigmas feathered, in the neuters none; there is no pericarp ; the corolla adheres to the seed wthout' opening; seed one, covered, roundish, flattish on one side. Twenty-one species- ot this numerous genus have been found in Jamaica. The folio-wing species are spiked": 1. SETOSUM. BRISTLY. Spikes compound ; spikelets panicle-fascicled ; bristles mixed with the florets and very long ; peduncles almost smooth. Height from two to four feet; culm simple, erect, round, smooth, leafy ; leaves half a foot long, lanceolate, flat, e.itire, pubescent ; sheaths embracing the culm, villose at the neck ; spike terminating, compound, a foot long, composedof panicle- fascicled racemes, bajf an inch in length j rachis flexuose, bristly; spikelets two to four^, 60 IIORTU3 JAMAICENSIS, fc*N*C faiui\ clustered, pedicelled, tmequal, mixed with bristles, green ; bristles several times as long as the florets, from one to three, inserted into the base, fle.Miose, ap- pearing hispid when magnified, serrate. Pedicels very short and smooth; inner.v Ive of the calyx larger, ovate, acute, keeled; coralline valves of the hermaphrodite equal, whitish ; outer ovate, acute, somewhat keeled, concave, the other flat, included. Filaments very minute. Corolline valves of i..e male barren ; outer large, ovate, acute, concave ; inner minute, flat. Seed ovate, inclosed in the corolline giuriies 61 the her- maphrodites ; the smaller florets mixed with the others are commonly empty ; it ap- proaches near to P. Italkum, but in that tiie spikelets are glomerate, on hirsute pe- dicels. ,5V. 2, COLONUSf. Granicn pafiiceum minimum hum i stratum, spira dii'isa mittica, folii$ varicgatis. Sloane, v. J, p. 107, t. Gi, t. 3. Spikes alternate, directed one way, awnless, ovate, rugged; rachis roundish. Roots thready, annual; culms a span high, round, ascending, reddish, jointed, with a leaf at every joint ; leaves even, broad, ferruginous spotted, which spots vanish when they are dry. -Spike simple, directed one way, with a round weak rachis; spike- lets alternate, very man v, suo-sessile, directed oneway, ovate, or somewhat oblong, without any bundles of hairs. -Florets somewhat streaked ; anthers purple; pistils white, turning purple. It grows in the-savannas about Spanish Town. 3. BRIZOIDF.S. BR1ZA-LIKE. Spikes alternate, sessile, directed one way ; two of the calycine valves much shorter than the corolla, and retuse, the third the same length with the corolla. Culm from one to three feet high, simple, round, wen; leaves broadish, not long, acute, erect, rugged at the edge, striated, sheathing at the base ; the neck beardless ; rachis terminating, almost a foot long, simple, linear. Spikes five or six, alternate, sessile, pressed to the rachis, directed one way ; florets sub-sessile, approximating, in two rows on the same side, ovate, whitish. Two valves of the calyx equal, ovate, blunt, awnless; the third very small, roundish; valves of the corolla smaller, oblong; etignias purple; seed fastened to the corolla, roundish &8). 4. P1LOSUM. HAIRY. Spikes panicled, alternate, directed one way ; spikelets rn pairs, one smaller, acuminate, even ; rachis compressed, hairy ; culm divaricate, jointed. Culm three or four feet high, branched, compressed, even; joints villose, large; leaves lanceolate, acute, even, rugged at the edge. Sheaths approximating, com- pressed, villose at the base ; peduncles from the sheathing internodes, compressed, short. Spikes rigid ; rachis linear, compressed, hairy; hairs long, thin, spreading; spikelets pedicelled, alternate, sharpish, somewhat cempressed, striated. Outer caly- cine valve minute; inner ovate, nerved, concave; valves of the corolla ovate, very tender; anthers purplish ; stigmas whitish ; seed oblong, compressed a little, small; glume of the neuter corolla two-valved; outer valve larger, concave; inner very mi- nute, flat; filaments none. Native of Jamaica in woody mountainous pastures. Sw. 6. FASCICni^Tl'S, Van]* IhTORTUS JAMAICENSIS: H 5. FASCICUI.ATUM. FASCICLED. Spikes panicled, alternate, erect, sub-fastigiate ; spikelets directed one way, roundish. Height two or three feet; culm jointed, erect, round, leafy, smooth; leaves a foot long, rounded at the base, broad-lanceolate, acute, streaked longitudinally, rough at the edge ; sheath ; long, striated, smooth, sub-villo.se at the edge and neck. Spikes terminating, half a foot-long, sub- verticillate ; racfiis sub-rlexuose, stiff, rough. - Florets roundish or ovate, small, brown; pedicels sub-binorous, the upper ones one- flowered, capillary, somewhat hirsute. Outer vaive of the calyx one-third the size o the other; inner ovate, concave, marked with iongituciinal lines, appearing netted when magnified, fen ugin -us brown. Valves ot tiie hermaphrodite corolla ovate, whit- ish, one smaller inciuuk-d ; stigmas whitish ; male corolla empty ; outer valve like the inner valve of the calyx-; inner smaller, whitish, ovate, Native of Jamaica- in low grassy places. Sw. 6. UNEARE, L1NF.AR, Crainen dactylon, panicula longa, spin's plurimis gracilioribus et Ivngis. Sloane, v. 1, p. 113, t. 70, f. 3. Spikes digitate, in fours, or thereabouts, linear ; floret* solitary, directed one way, awnless. Culms a foot and a half long, even, branched ; spikes divided into many spikelets towards the top, which are linear, straight, narrow ; flowers alternate below ; outer scale of the calyx shorter, spreading, adhering to the rachis. Native of Jamaica ia most savannas. The following species are panicled. 7. NEMOROSUM. WOOD. Panicle simple ; branches distant, erect ; florets remote, scattered, ovate, acu- minate ; culm decumbent, jointed ; sheaths and neck hairy. Height from one to two feet ; roots and radicles very long, filiform i culm creeping at the base, ascending, somewhat branched, rooting at the joints, round, striated, pubescent or smooth, loose. Branches, from the sheaths of the leaves, somewhat hir- sute. Leaves distich, obliquely elliptic at the base, unequal on the sides, terminated by a lanceolate point, quite entire, sontewhat waved, very thin, and very finely streaked, smooth underneath, hairy above. Sheaths at the joints short, open in front, striated^ hirsute, hairy at the neck ; knots rather large,.- villose with white hairs. Panicles small, erect, with terminating and axillary peduncles ; branches short, few-flo.vered ; florets pedicelled, small, green. The two valves. of the -calyx are oblong, nearly equal, a iedatthe tip; the two valves of the corolla, in the hermaphrodite flower, are oblong, b.unt, whitish, one of them smaller and included. Anthers pale; styles rather long; stigmas feathered, whitish. In the male flower the outer vaive is ovate, acute, concave, and includes the inner, which is smaller, ovate-acute, and more tender; anthers pur- ple. Sw. 8. ACUMINATUM. ACUMINATE. Panicles simple, shorter than the leaves; branches capillary, diffused; spikelets remote, ob-ovate ; culm decumbent, jointed, branched ; leaves lanceolate- subulate, erect;, sheaths villose. Height S3 KOT.TUS JAM A I C EX SIS. -% Height^a span; culm creeping, but, in a fertile soil, erect, round, forrrcntose; Israneliiets ascending, short, abput an inch in length, leafy, sheathe:!, joi.iteJ, to- montbse-hirsute ; leaves half-embracing, short, broad-lanceolate, entire, acuminate, fl '. < tre qejy hirsute at the e3ge, soft ; deaths small, roughPhaired, with the hgule hirsute. Panicles si all, very shut ; racemelet&'simple; florets sin;';, ovate, obtuse, on short waived pedicels; Inner calycine valve ovate, concave, striated, rough-haired - ; < ter miiuue. Valves of the hermaphrodite corolla ovate; filaments the length of the glumes; anthers purple; stigmas nlloo, dark purple, short; seed oblong, shining. In the ma !e or neuter floret, the outer valve is like the inner calyeihe valve, ovate, sir ated ; the inner is very small, flat, whitish. Native of. Jamaica in sandy fields in the mountains. 5'asc, 9. P.ICF.N'S. STIFF-PANICLED. Panicle simple, rigid, spreading; culm branched, decumbent;* leaves hori- zontal, rugged. Culm a foot high and, more, decumbent, creeping a little, branched, jointed, sheathed, round, striated, smoodi ; sheaths at the base ot.the branches elongated, em- bracing, striated, smooth; branchiets ascending, filiform, strict,' sub-divided, she, the d, leafy, round. Leaves half-embracing, lanceolate, broadish, an inch long, acuminate, rigid, striated, somewhat rugged to the touch ;- panicle small, oblong, composed of racemelets, which are alternate, distant^ sub-divided, capillary) short, rugged; flo- rets remote, ovate, minute; valves of the calyx almost erjual, ovate, obtuse, concave, rigid, streaked with purple. Glumes of -the corolla,- hi the hermaphrodite florets, a little less than those of the calyx, 'more .slender, whitish; filaments short; anthers ovate, longisli, bifid, vertical, whitish yellow. ! Styles longer than the glumes ; stigmas villose, long, recurved, whitish; seed roundish, shining, very minute. In the neuter floret, die outer valve of the corolla is ovate and striated, the same size with the inner glume of the calyx; the inner valve is tender, lessy whitish. This grass is distin- guished by its rigidity ; it.giows in high mountains, with cpludu zeugitcs (see moun- tain reed grass.) &g>. 1. FUSCtJM. BROWN. Panicle simple; branches erect ; florets directed oneway in pairs, one on -a shorter pedicel ; culm erect, sub- divided; leaves broad -lanceolate. Height from one to two feet ; culm jointed, round, pubescent; leaves retuse, tmd obi, que at the base, entire, smooth, striated, three or four inches long ; sheaths long, with a contracted Iigule, appearing somewhat hirsute when magnified. Panicles pe- duncled, an inch and more in length ; peduncles long, filiform ; florets brownish green, ovate ; pedicels now and then two-flowered ; outer valve of the calyx less, inner ovate; valves of the corolla ovate-obtuse, whitish; anthers whitish ; seed ovate, in- closed in the glumes. Outer valve of the corolla in the male or neuter flower very like the inner \ul\e of the calyx; inner small, ovate, flat, more tender, whitish. Sw. f 1 . LAXUM. LOOSE. Panicle simple, nodding ; branches capillary ; spikelets approximating, alter* nate, pressed close ; culms simple, filiform, flaccid ; leaves linear-lanceolate. Height from two to four feet ; culm sub-divided, compressed a little, striated, even ; Wives Wiated, even, spreading ; sheaths close, even. Branches oi" the panicle sub- divided, AKfc TIORTDS JAMAICENSIS. S3 divided, spreading, almost upright, flexuose; florets very minute, pedicelled, pressed close, approximating, ovate, bright green. Outer valve of the calyx less by half; inner a little larger ; all ovate-acute, concave, striated, bluntly keeled at the edge, appearing ciliate when magnified. Valves of the corolla in the hermaphrodite floret equal, less than the calycine glumes, ovate, concave. Filaments very short, anthers yellowish; stigmas blood-red; seed roundish, shining, extremely small. In the neuter" floret the outer valve resembles that of the calyx. Native of Jamaica in dry woods, flowering at the end of the year. Sw. 12. FfcAVESCENS. YELLOW. Panicle simple, erect, stiff; branches snb-fasti^iate, the lowest opposite; spikelets approximating, directed one way; pedicels two-flowered. Height three or four feet ; culm simple, erect, round, at top compressed and pu- bescent ; leaves long, wide, flat, entire, striated, spreading, even; sheaths close, somewhat rough-haired-; branches of the panicle simple, alternate, spreading, the lowest somewhat compressed, even. Florets pressed to the racbis, ovate, blunt, smooth, yeliow; pedicels equal ; outer valve of the calyx only one-third the size of the inner one ; both ovate, obtuse, concave, striated, pellucid; valves of the herma- phrodite corolla ovate, concave. Filaments short; anthers small, purple; stigmas villose, blood-red, seed oblong, shining, yellow. Outer valve of the outer floret concave, ovate, striated; inner flat, more tender, whitish. This species is singular in the colour, being constantly yellow, which, is not the case in the rest: it occurs, but rarely, in dry places in tiie southern parts of Jamaica. Sw. 13. DIFFUSUM. DIFFUSED. Cranttn miliacemn majus, pankula minus sparsa, locust is minimis. Sioane, v. 1, p. 114, t. 72, f. I. Parvcle somewhat simple, capillary, spreading; spikelets distant; culm decum- bent, simple.; leaves linear, hairy at the neck. Culm afoot, sometimes two, in height, ascending, filiform, round, leafv, smooth; leaves long, sharp, erect; sheaths striated, villose at the neck and throat ; knots pur- ple; branches of the panicle alternate, flexuose, somewhat rigid. Florets rather dis- a it, pedicelled, ovate, acute, smooth; outer less by half than the other. Glumes of the hermaphrodite corolla equal, less than the calyx, pellucid, whitish; anthers purple; stigmas villose, blood-red; seeds roundish, yellow, shining. In the male fl >ret outer valve ovate, acute, smooth; inner minute, flat, whitish; filaments one to . Unec, minute, barren; common in dry paces. 14. OKYZOIDES. RICE-I.'KE. Panicle almost simple ; branches erect ; florets somewhat remote, ovate-acute; culm erect, undivided; leaves broad- lanceolate, rounded at the base; sheaths even. Culm three or four feet high, round, leafy, smooth ; leaves a span long, entire, longitudinally striated, smooth; sheaths more contracted; panicle a foot long; branches alternate, stiffer, angular, sub-flexuose, smooth; spikelets large, smooth, pedicelled, commonly in pairs, one shorter than the other. Outer valve of the calyx .larger but shorter, wide, acute, slightly keeled; inner a little longer, ovate, keeled, UQU II. striated. 5V IIOILTUS JAMAICENSIS; PAKI* striate;L Corolla pale, outer valve ovate, acute, including the inner, which is smaller and flattisb ; anthers pale, seeming barren ; style bifid ; stigmas longer, pale purple; valve of the male fcorolle.t -larger, acute, green; inner a little less, ovate, acute, whitish ; anthers purple; seel in the hermaphrodite floret inclosed in the valves, which are hardened, yellow, and shining. It is distinguished by the spikelets being much larger tnan in any of the species.. Native of Jamaica, ia mountain woods, in the. southern parts. Ja'. 15. FALLEN*. TALE. Panicle compound, ovate; branches clustered, erect; spikelets ovate, subu* late; culm. sub-divided, jointed ; leaves ovate-lanceolate; sheaths cjdiate on the neck and at the edge. Culm from one to two feet high, round, leafy, sub-divided at the joints, grooved, striate i ; knots larger, approximating, brown ; leaves oblique at the base, acuminate,! slightly keeled, entire, longitudinally striated, smooth ; sheaths rather large, often ventricose, striated. Peduncles from the upper sheaths, filiform, long, very loose; branches of the panicle clustered in form of a thyrse ; spikelets pedicelled, approxi- mating, erect, pale green,, smaller; inner valve of the calyx ovate- lanceolate, acu- minate; outer three times smaller, ovate, acute. Valves of the corolla in the herma- phrodite florets. minute, ovate, shining, whitish,., hardish, one a little less, the other included ;. filaments very minute, anthers purple ; style bifid, stigmas purple; seetl oblong, whitish, shining. In the male or neuter floret, the valves of the corolla almost equal, lanceolate; outer greener ; inner more tender, involved in the outer. Native of Jamaica among other grass in woods. S'ztt. 16. LANATUM. WOOLLY. Panicle compound, erect, smooth; spikelets ovate; culm branched; leaves ovate-lanceolate, pubescent; sheaths- Ian uginose, hirsute. Culm a fathom in height at most, round, pubescent ; branches divaricating, leafy, hirsute; leaves acuminate, half a foot long, spreading, striated, lanuginose-hirsute, soft ; six-aths open in front, very hirsute ; knots larger. Panicles half a foot-long, with spreading, flexuose, smooth, branches; spikelets smooth, larger, remote, on capil-i lary pedicels. Outer valve of the calyx less by half, ovate, obtuse, villose at top ; inner larger, ovate, striated, concave, slightly keeled, villose at the top. Valves of the corolla in the hermaphrodite floret ovate, paler ; anthers purple ; seed inclosed by the yellow indurated valves of the corolla, ovate on one side, flat on the other. In the corolla of the male, or neuter floret, the outer valve is larger, concave, ovate, acute^ smooth, keeled; inner flat, less, more tender. ore. 17. ARUNDINACEUM. REEDY. Panicle compound, spreading; branches and branchlets stiff, capillary; spike- lets roundish ; culm sub-divided, jointed ; leaves broad-lanceolate, acuminate, rigid. Culm a fathom in height, erect, round, leafy, smooth. Leaves ovate at the base, erect, longitudinally nerved, striated, smooth ; sheaths close, with the neck contractej and villose, striated, long ; knots small, with a black ring. Panicle erect, dense ^ branched.-; I "mi lies and branchlets capillary, strict; spikelets small, numerous, pedi- celled, pale green. Valves of the calyx almost equal, convex, ovate, striated, green ; kkw rortus jamaicens'isk s? euter ciliate at top, even when ripe, villose; the other smooth. Valves of the corolla v.i the hermaphrodite floret ovate, yellow, shining ; anthi rs whitish ; stigmas very mi- kute, viiiose, whitish; seed white, shining; in the male, valves less, ovate, yellow;, one less than the other ; filaments two or tiiree, with very minute anthers. Native of Juuiuica in the high mountains near Coldspring, iii St. Andrew's parish. i'w. 18. GLUTMNOSUM. GLUTINOUS. Grainen miliaceum, sylvatkum, maximum, semine albo. Sloane, v. I, p 114, t 71, f. 3. Silvestris ramosa tenuis panicula laxa. Browne, p. 138. Panicle compound, spreading ; branches flexuosc ; spikelets pedicelled, distant, glutinous; culm erect, simple; leaves broader. Culm three or four feet high, hollow, smooth, ieafy; leaves broad-lanceolate, an inch in breadth, more than a foot in length, acuminate, erect, rounded at the base, hairy, ciliate at the edge, marked with lines, smooth, somewhat rugged underneath ; i faths long, close, smooth, contr :d al the neck ; ligule villose. Panicle almost a { it long, erect; branches in a sort of -whorl, scattered, villose at the base, spreading, sub-divided, son. what rigid; the last capillary; spikelets roundish, larger, shining, on flexuose capillary pedicels. Valves of the calyx equal, ovate, blunt, smooth, glu- tinous; valves of the-corolla in the bermaplrrodite floret smaller, whitish; filaments capillary, whitish; anthers purple; stigmas hairy, purple; seed roundish, bardish, w.i.te, shining. Outer valve of the corolla in the neuti r floret, ovate, obtuse, smooth ; in ler smaller, and more tender. Native ol Jamaica in the southern part:-, in the woods qf the highest ni iiintaitis. It is called ginger {trass, on account of the width of the leaves. Thegr at clamminess of. the spikelets, whence its trivial name, is peculiar to this species. >:;'. 1J; iwne calls it the large millet reed. He says it is common in the woods, rising b- its slender branching stalks six or seven feet, and generally supported by neighbouring hushes : . it is a hearty and agreeable fodder for all kinds of cattle. "19. TRICHOIDRS. HAIR-LIKE. Gramen miliaceum riiidefoHis lot is bi evibtts, panicula capp'Uacca, semine a. bo. Sloane, v. 1, p. 113, t. 72, f. 3. Sylvaticus minor, panicula sparsa, jvliis brevioribus lanccolato-o-jatis. Browne, p. , ooG. Panicle very much branched, spreading; branches and branchlets sub-divided, capillar',* ; culm declined, jointed ; leaves ovate-lanceolate, very smooth. Culm one or two fe^t high, sometimes rooting, sub-divided at the base, loose, round, smooth, leafy; knots approximating, smooth; leaves acute, rounded, and oblique at the base, entire, spreading, striated; sheaths close, longitudinally striated, ciliate; ligule open, hairy. Panicles erect, often from the bosom of the upper leaf, as from a spathe ; branches in alternate clusters, multifariously sub-divided, spreading very much, so fine that toe extreme ones are scarcely visible; spikelets distinct, pedi- celled, very minute, oolong, green. Outer valve of the calyx very small ; inner ovate, scarcely sharp, striated a little. Valves of the corolla, in the hermaphrodite floret, equal, ovate; anthers whitish; stigmas feathered, pale; seed oblong, shining, very minute. Outer valve of the corolla, in the male or neuter floret, ovate-acute; inner auiuute, white, flattioh. This is Linneus' species brevij'olium, triehoides .is more des- 2 criptive 33 HORTUS JAMAICENSIS. mAt* criptive of the panicle in this species. Browne calls this smaller wood-grass, very com- mon in the woods of Jamaica, agreeing with Guinea grass in Use arrangement and formation of the flowers. The stalk and leaves are excellent fodder for all sorts of. cattle, and the seeds feed the smaller sorts of birds. 20. DIVARICATUM. DIVARICATE. Panicles short, awnless ; culm very much branched,,and extremely divaricating}, peaicels two-flowered, one shorter. See Scotch Grass. PAPAW TREE. CARICA. Cl. 22, or. 9. Dioecia decandria (polygamic!.-) , Nat. or. Tricocae. Gen. char. Male calyx scarce manifest; it has, however, five very short sharp teeth ; corolla monopetalous, funnel-form ; tube slender, very long, gradually slenderer downwards; border five-parted, divisions lanceolate-linear, obtuse, obliquely and spirally revolwte ; the stamens are ten filaments, in the top of the tube of the corolla; the five alternate ones inferior; anthers oblong, fixed to the filaments on the inner side. The female, or rather hermaphrodite calyx a very small five-toothed perianth, permanent; teeth ovate-acute, spreading; corolla five-parted, parts lanceolate, sharp, erect, below the middle, but reflected and twisted above ; stamens ten filaments, five alternate, shorter, subulate, all united by a membrane at the base ; anthers ovate, erect, two-vatved, fertile ; germ ovate, ito style ; stigmas three or five, broad, flat, expanding, multifid ; segments very short, blunt ; the pericarp a very large berry, anguh.ted with three or five fur- rows, unilocular, fleshy ; seeds numerous, ovate, green, very smooth, tunjeatedj nestling in the middle of the berry. There are two species, both natives of Jamaica. 1. PAPAYA. PAPAW. Papaya major, flore et fructu majoriinis pediculis curtis insidentibus. S-ioane, v. 2, p. 164. Fronde comosa, Joliis ycltato lobatis, lobis varie sinuatis, Browne, p. 360. Lobes of the leaves sinuated. This tree rises with a thick soft herbaceous stem, to the height of eighteen or twenty feet, naked till within two or three feet of the top, and having marks of the fallen leaves most part of its length. The leaves come out on every side, upon very long; footstalks. Those which are situated undermost are almost horizontal, but those on the top are erect ; these leaves in full grown plants are very large, and divided into many lobes deeply sinuated The stems of the plant, and also the footstalks of the leaves,, are hollow. The flowers of the male plant are produced from between the leaves, on the upper part of the plant. They have footstalks near two feet long ; at the end of which the flowers stand in loose clusters, each having a seperate short footstalk : these eie of a pure white, and have an agreeable odour : they are sometimes, but not often, succeeded papa* HOltTUS JAMAICEN^IS 7 succeeded by small fruit'* The flowers of the,icrna!e papaya also come out from be- tween the leaves, towards the upper part of the plant, upon very short footstalks, sit- ting, close to the stem : they are large and bell shaped, composed of six petals, and are commonly yellow ; when these fall away, the germen swells to a large fleshy fruit, of the size oi a small melon. These fruits arc of different for ns : some angular, and compress 'I at both ends; others oval, or globular; and some pyramidal. The fruit, as well as the whole plant, abounds with a milky acrid juice, which is esteemed good for the ringworm ; the stem and footstalks arc- hollow in the middle; and of so Boft a substance that the stroke of an axe would cm tnrough the body. The leaves are used b) negroes for washing oznaburg clothes. The fruit, when ripe, has a pleasant juicy flavour, and frequently eaten like musk melons, t A'hii h it is inferior in flavour, w th pepper, sugar, and salt. In a green state they'mak* a ;ood pickle >)r preserve. It is easily propagated by seeds aim laser-, and aln ws wild in Jamaica. The se ds have a sharp biting taste, much like that of n ustard, and ate said to bring away worms in children. 1 lie tree lives but a Few year-, and never shoots into branches un- less broken. Water impregnated wtth the miiky juice makes ail sons of meat washed in it tender, but eight or ten minute s steeping will make it so sot; that ii will drop to pieces from the spil before it is roasted, or turn to rags in boilirrg. If the meat be rubbed with the juice, it is said Lo have the i ne effect, and for these pi rposes the juice of the wild papaw, the prosoposa, has been found much mor< powerful than the other. Mr. Antho.n Robinson observes, that having one daj eat heartily at dinner, he took as a desert, by way of curiosity, one oi the wild papaws, and, in the space of an hour, the sensation of fuliness was entirely go ic which he imputed to the quick : iges- tion caused by the dissolvent nature of this fruit, lie was Informed that the Spaniards used the papaya as a cure for dry belly-ache, by eating the seeds and all the pulpy p 1 1, and supposed die cure was effected by its power in dissolving- the tuick viscous juice, which lines the inside of the bowels in that disorder. The male and female trees may be propagated by layers. They grow wild in most parts of tne island. Tne long mango papaw makes a pickle little interior to the F^st India mango. The rounder fruit, when ripe, is boiled and eaten with a y ki'id of fleali meat, and is looked upon as perfectly wholesome ; but eaten raw it contains an acrid juice, very injurious to the intestines ; and so penetrating is this fluid in. the green unriptWruit, that, boiled with the hardest salt meat, it will render it perfectly soft and tender, t It is said to cause the like effect on hogs, wiio, if fed with it for any considerable time, are subject to have their guts excoriated with its acrimony. The green fruit, thoroughly boiled, squeezed, and dulcified, with a little sugar and lemon juice, is frequent!) used as a substitute for apples in sauce and tarts, and re- sembles them so exactly in tast as scarcely to be distinguished. The negroes are possessed with an opinion of the good or bad qualities of particular trees, when planted near any habitation, as to the effects their neighbourhood may oc- casion to the inhabitants. This opinion seems to be well founded ; for as trees, (espe- cially in this climate) have a very extensive atmosphere, and diffuse a fragrant or disa- greeable There have been instances of male anJ female flowers produced on one plant. Dr. Hill mentions having Been this in Loi-f! Pctres stoTe in England. Dr. Mart} n notices that there is frequently small fn; t en the male trees, and the .teas from the female fruit of lives, that had'no male trees in the stove with them, grew a? weil as any other. < To tkUact the corrosive juice they should tie soaned for some time in salt and water. S3 KORTUS JAMAI CENSUS. t.nsVF.v greeable odour to a great distance around them, so it is highly probable, that these effi u via are impregnated with some of the more essential properties of the treefrom \vhich they arc respired ; and thus may have a consequence to health, similar to the breath of a diseased person, or the vapour of a perfumed substance. There may also be salutary or noxious qualities in the atmosphere of some, when the particles are so subtle as not to be distinguished by the olfactory sense. The smeil of-the-manchioTvefel fruit has something in it which induces a -sensation <;!' faintness amtlanyour. The scent emitted from the oppoponax wood, and roots fresh cut, is exquisitely cadaverous arid loathsome. The secret agency of tii :se effluvia of trees and plants may ha^e a more powerful influence upon human health than many are aware of The negroes suppose that the papaw tree^ are very conducive to render the air healthv, and therefore plant theim near their houses. The blossoms-are extremely odoriferous, and the trunks so succulent, and growth-so qui; k, that they possibly assist to drain the soil where they are plaited of superfhiou;; moisture. 'These properties, exclusive of any other, may serve to correct tlie air in certain situalions. The full grown papaws, as well as the plantain trees, seem to be good natural conductors of lightning, from the redundancy of aqueous sap which thej oontatn Long. 2. FROSOPOSA. DWARF. Papaya minor, Jiort et fructu minoribtis ped'eulis curl's (et lengis) insuicntibus. Sloane, v. 2, p. 16c. Sylveshtis minoK, lobis miuus divisis, caule spinis inermikus opposite. Brovuie, p. 3l0. Lobes of the leaves entire. This differs from the other, in being mueh^snraller in every respect, seldom rising above four or five-feet hjgh, and growing wild in many parts of Jamaica. !t likewise differs in having a branching stem, the lobes or divisions of the leaves entire, and the fruit being of a globose form, seldom more than three h ches in diameter, ami termin- ating in a small short prominence. It is marked at both ends with divers shoii leep furrows; its colour a pale ye'llow both within and without ; the taste sweet, with a grateful bitterness intermixed. The seeds are rugged, and of a deep purple colour, in form like those of the common papaw, enveloped in a viscous juice, and inclosed in a thin transparent membrane, the pulpy part is very thin ; they are endued with a pep- perine taste ; and the fruit has much the same qualities as the other. Papaw Wei-d See Beluy-Ache Weed. Parrot Gum See Gum Tree. Parrot Weed See Celandine. Tarrot Wood Sec Cloven Berries. PARSLEY. APIUM. Gl. 5, OR. 2. Pentandria digj/n'a. NaT. O'i. Umhellafa. t)F,N. CHAR. Calyx universal umbel of fewer rays ; partial of more : corolla uni. versal ensiform ; Hoscules almost all fertile ; proper petals roundish-; stamens sim- ple filaments, witli roundish anthers ; pistil, genu inferior, styles reflex, stigmas obtuse; no pericarp; fruit ovate, striated, splitting in two; seeds two, ovate, .striated PASsrcM noHTUS .TAMAICENSIS. $9 striated on one side, plane on the other. There are two species, natives of Europe, both of which have been introduced, and have thriven well in Jamaica. 1. PETROSELINUM. PARSLEY. Stem-leaflets linear; invalucels minute. The stems- of parsley or smallage are round, smooth, striated. Usually there is onr: leaflet at the origin of the universal umbel, and an involucre of six t'o eight foliof s, fine almost as hairs, at the partial umbel. Flowers pale yellow, regular; petals small* long, narrow, acuminate, in flex ; seed- short, turgid. There are several varieties, hut the curled is thought the best. The roots and seeds of the petroselinum are used in medicine. The root of parsley is thought to-be aperient, and, in this intention, is sometimes made an ingredient i:i apozems and diet-drink : if liberally used, it is apt to-occasion flatulencies ; and thus, by distending the viscera, producing a contrary effect to that i iten led by it : the ta^ce of this root is so uewhat sweetish, with a light degree of warmth and aromatic It ivour. The seeds are warmer and more aromatic, and are an ingredient in the electuary of lMybcrnes. The roots of smallage are also in the number if apt ri nt roots, a I have been sometimes prescribed as an ingredient in aperient a lozems and diet drinks, but are at present disregarded. The seeds of the plant are m > ler ,itei\ aromati , . n were formerly used as carminatives ; in whifch intention they are loubtless capable o ioing service, though che other warm seeds, -which -the shops are furnished with, are pre- ferred. Besides its medicinal virtues, parsley is reckoned an effectual cure for the tot in sheep, provided they are fed with it for two or three hours each time, twice a week. Hares and rabbits are very fond of this herb. 2. GRATBOtENS. STRONG-SCENTETV' Celery has a smooth shining stem, deeply furrowed ; leaves alternate, radical, pin- nated, ternate ; piunas tnfid, gash -serrate, shining, smooth; upper leaves ternate, sub-sessile. Umbel sub-sessile or peduncled, with about fifteen unequal rays at each axilla, supported by a trifid leaf: universal involucre often wanting. l corollas snniii, white ; seeds very small. This plant has much the same virtues as the other. PASSION FLOWERS. PASSIFLORA. Cr.. 20, OR; 4. Gynandria- pentandria.* Nat. or. Cucurbitacctc-. Sen. chah. See Bud-Hoof, p. 123. The following species are indigenous to Ja- maica, as well as tho->e referred to under English names. Swartz cla^sto this"genu< monaudpkta ptutanaria. With undivided leaves* 1. LAURIFOLIA. LAURfcL- LEAVED. Foliis ovatis, petiolis biglandulis, bacca molli ovata. Browne, p. 327'. Leaves ovate, quite entire; petioles bigiandular ; involucres toothed. Stem suffrutescent, with very divaricating filiform branches; leaves a little emar- einate at the base, nerved^, and Very smooth, on short petioles, -compressed a little, having -49 HORTUS JAMAICENSI3. Passio* baring two glands under the base of the leaf; tendrils very long ; peduncles ihe length of tiie petioles. The three leaflets of the involucre are roundish, concave, with blunt glandular toothlets about the edge, and pale : the five leaflets of the calyx are broad- lauceolate, slightly membranaceous at the edge, horned with a point or awn, smooth, variegated on the inside with blood-red dots. Petals five, the length of the calyx, narrower, acuminate, with blood-red dots scattered over them. Crown triple, the outer rays half the length of the petals ; the middle longer than the petals, with toothed points; the inner shorter near the column, all variegated with red and violet : column cylindrical, straight; filaments variegated; germ jeilow; styles variegated; stigmas bifid, black above ; fruit ovate, watery. f>':e. Browne calk .ihisekoney-suekk,, sculti- Vated in many parts of America, for the sake of its fruit ; it climbs and spreads like the granadilla, and is made into arbours. The fruit is very delicate, and much esteemed j it is about the size of a hen's egg, full of a very agreeable gelatinous pulp, in which the seeds are lodged. 2. JNGl'STIFOLIA. NARROW-!. 1 ? AVP.D. Leaves sub-cordate, lanceolate, entire; petioles bi^landular; flowers solitary. The following havertjVBrlohed leaves.. 3 RLBRA. RED. Leaves cordate ; lobes acuminate, sub-tomentose upderneath ; stem villose. Stem herbaceous, twining, round, grooved, hirsute, red ; lobes of the leaves en. re, nerved, somewhat hispid, soft; petioles round, re', villose without glands ; tendrils sub-axillary. Flowers alternate,, nodding, on solitary one-flowered peduncles; calyx ovate at the base ; leaflets membranaceous at the edge, white within, grv.vnv.iiln villose; petals whitish, or pale flesh colour ; crown triple; outer rays the length of the petals, multifid, pale red; middle one-leafed, very short, plaited; inner a fleshy white rim ; germ small, villote, green; fruit spherical, marked with six lines, scarlet when ripe, hirsute; pulp whitish; seeds black, tubeicled, shining, covered with a puipy aril. Sw. 4. PERFOLIATE. PK-RFOLIATE. Flos pass 'onis perjoliulus she perie/j/meni perfoliate f< tin. Sloar.c, v. J, p. 230, t 142, f. 3, 4. Foliis trilobis ; crwOus oblongisobtusis, intermedia fere obsolete et setula terminate. Browne, P. 10, p. 328. Leaves oblong, transverse, embracing, petioled, dotted underneath ; crown simple, many- parted. Stem herbaceous, climbing and twining, three-cornered, sub-divided, striated, pubescent; leaves cordate-ovate, entire, besides the two lobes having a third between them extremely obscure, a very small bristle ; they are nerved, smooth on both sides, glaucous underneath and pubescent; the younger ones very thin; at the base the leaves are lobate-cordate, embracing, with the lobes lying over each other, so that the stem is as it were perfoliate ; lateral lobes emarginate, with a very short bristle ; pe- tioles very short, curved inwards, round, without glands; stipules awl-shaped, bent down, at the base of the petiole. Tendrils supra-axillary, very long ; peduncles ax- illary, solitary, shorter than the leaves. Flowers middle-sized, scarlet; calyx bell- shaped, growing to the corolla ; segments erect, liuear, of the same colour with the corolla. 2.**sioi HO TIT US JAMAICAN STB. 4! corolla. -Petals between the segments of the calyx, and double their length, lanoeo- JaU', from erect spreading. Nectary single, many- parted ; segments erect, linear, fleshy, green, with blunt scarlet tips ; column long; germ ovate; berry roundish. < Native of Jamaica in dry hedges near the coast, on the southern side of the island, flowering in the middle of summer. SV. Sloane says the fool , talks are of a purplish ^colour; the leaves alternate; flowers purple. Browne calk-it the larger passion flower fcith two-harikcd leaves. 5. NORMALtS. NORMAN. y&iS passi'onis, folii media facinia quasi abscissa, /fore minore, carmrp, Sloane, v. l, p. 129. Foliis trildbis ,- cruribus angustis oblongis, intermedia fere obsolete. Browne, p. 328. Leaves emarginate at the base ; lobes linear, blunt, divaricate, the middle one obsolete, mucronate. This has slender angular stalks, rising twenty feet high, to which it fixes itself by its clavicles. The flowers andtendtils come out from the same joints. The leaves are oi* ;a pale green colour. The flower is red, and the stamens grow all on one side. This plant has been supposed to be the coanenepffli of 'Hernandez, but this seems doubtful aj the figure.in that author wants the intermediate lobe altogether. The fruit is oval,- iaving six red lines upon it, containing black seeds, inclosed in a mucilaginous pulp. 6. LUNATA. CRESCENT. Leaves dotted, at the base slightly cordate, and having two glands; outer rays of the nectary club-shaped, compressed, obtuse. Stems several, sometimes thirty feet high. Lobe* of the leaves remote, elongated, entire, obtuse, terminated by a small bristle, sijpilar to one placed between them in .the middle of the leaf, each marked by a series of nectariferous dots between the larger" *eins. Petioles short, roundish, slightly downy, without glands. . Tendrils axillary/ simple, very long, smooth. Flowers axillary, two'together, drooping; on peduncles twice as long as the petioles. Bractes three, -small, setaceous, below -the joint, at a little distance from each other. Corolla flatfish at the base, deeply divided into te segments, whitish and smooth; segments oblong, ovate~J obtUs"e';'the five outermost (calyx) thickest, externally green ; the innermost (corolla) narrower and shorter. External crown of the nectary consisting of about thirty yellow rays, a line shorter than the corolla; middle, of greenish capillary rays, much shorter; innermost a single, green, plaited, truncated, membrane, closely covering the cell where the honey juice is lodged ; genitals as long as the corolla, smooth ; -column cylindrical, thickish, white ^ germ oval, slightly triangular. Smith. 7. CAPSULARIS. CAPSULAR-LIKE* Leaves cordate, oblong, petioled. Stalks slender, rising twenty feet when supported, and dividing into many weak tranches. Leaves four inches long and three broad, ending in their points in two horns, in some more acute than mothers, several of them appearing as if cut a little hollow at the top ; they have threQ longitudinal veins, which join, at the base. of the leaf to-the'for>tstalk ; but the two Outer-'diverge towards the borders of the leaf in the middle, drawing in again at the top; they are of a deep green on the upper 'side, but SfOL..n. I V $ale At H-ORTUS JAMAICENSrS. passio^ psle underneath, and stand on short footstalks. Peduncles very slender, an inch ar.d- a half long, purplish; flowers, when expanded, not more than an inch and a half in diaiptter, of a soft red colour, with little scent ; fruit small, oval, when ripe purple. The folio-sing have (hree-lobed leaves. . 8. ROTUNDIFOLIA. ROUND-LEAFED, Leaves roundish, threelobed only at top, dotted underneath ; nectary simple.- Stem suffrutescent at bottom, sub-divided, angu-lur, - grooved ; leaves semi-ovate, three-nerved, veined, smooth on both sides, marked behind longitudinally with pel- lucid dots ; lobes terminated by very small bristles,, the middle one a iittle larger than the- others; pet4otes short, without glands. Tendrils filiform, very long. Stipules two, opposite, awl-shaped, Peduncles axillary, filiform, an inch long ; flowers nod- ding, pale-green, rather large. Galycine segments ovate, acute, erect, concave, forming a goblet at the base ; petals semi-lanceolate, acute, erect, pale green ; crown simple ; the segments awl-shaped', erect; converging, having tawny glands at the tip ; column longer than the corolla, round ; filaments awl-shaped, dilated; germ roundish. Berry egg-shaped. It is distinguished from tlie other species by its rounded leaves, slightly tnree-lobed at top only. It grew in coppices in the southern parts of Jamaica,, flowering at the beginning ol the year. Szi\ Jacquin observes that the glandular dots On tiie lower side of the leaf are six or seven in a longitudinal row along the inner side- of the two lateral nerves ; that the stipules are acuminate, shining, embracing, and resembling buii's horns ; that the peduncles are the same length with the leaves ; that the flowers are middle-sized and void of scent ; that there is a three-leaved involucre ; the leaflets ovate, concave, small, firm, shining, smooth, yellowish, with a tinge of green ; that the petals are wiiite, and twice as long as the calyx ; the nectary muitifid . and yellow; that the berry is roundish, small, and juiceless ; and that in most of the leaves the middle lobe is scarcely to be observed. lie says it is very common in t!d vsoods about Carthagena, in New Spain. 9. OBLONGATA. OBLONG. Leaves elliptic, sab-trilobate in front, dotted underneath ; lobes sharpish, trie middle one shorter. Sw . 10. LUTEA. YELLOW. Flos passicnis minor, folio in tres lacinias von serratas prcfuv.dius di- xiso, fore lutco. Sloane, v I, p. 230. Foliis trincixiis nitidis, ad.' apices latioribus, subttilobis i lobis aquclibiis. Browne, p. 32< f. 7. Leaves cordate, smooth ; lobes ovate ; petioles without glands. Root creeping, stems many, round, green, and tough, growing three or four feet. "" .eaves alternate, on short petioles, divided deeply into three sections, of a smooth lark-green shining colour. Peduncles from the axils of the leaves, slender, an inch. *eng ; flowers dirty yellow. It grows on rocky banks and sides of hill*, 11; FARVIFLORA. SMALL-FLOWERED. Leaves smooth ; lobes ovate, entire, the middle one more prodacod \ petiole* biglanduldx ; svem hcrtaceout^-nSV. . l2<*tDruUtf gmtVit KORTUS JAMAIS ENS IS, *% 12. MINIMA. DWARF. Folds ?n'tidis trilobis, medio angustq longiori, qua-ndoqua aurith, fructu baccato minor i nitido. Browuc, p. lii Leaves smooth ; lobes lanceolate, quite entire, the muldle.one more produced; petioles biglandular; stem even, suberous at bottom. Stem twining, simple, becoming .corky at the base with age, round, smooth. Leaves sub-peltate, sub-cordate ; lateral lobes almost horizontal ; all acute, nerved, smooth on both sides; petioles short, round, reflex, smooth; glands two, opposite, small, sessile, concave, brown, in. the middle of the petioles. Stipules two, opposite, awl-shaped, by the side of the petioles ; tendrils long, between the petioles. Pedun- cles axillary, solitary, longer than the petioles,' loose, one-flowered; flowers small, whitish ; calyx none, except the flattish base of the corolla; petals five, lanceolate, reflex at the tips; nectary fourfold ; inmost a membranaceous rim, entire, brown at the base of the column; inner one-leafed, plaited, crenate, dusky purple ; outer ciliated, with capillary erect hairs, black, with yellow tips ; outmost with cilias twice as long as the others, reflex, very dark purple, yellow from the middle to the tip; column longer than the corolla ; germ roundish; berry small, blue, egg-shaped. It is nearly allied to the following species, suberosa, but ditfers in the lobes of the leaves being narrow and divaricated ; the stem herbaceous, becoming like cork when ld, and -the flowers smaller. Sih 13. SUBEROSA. GNAWED. Leaves sub-peltate ; lobes ovate-entire ; petioles biglandular ; stem suberose. This rises to the height of twenty feet by a weak stalk, which, as it grows old, has a iJiick fungous bark like that of the cork-tree, which cracks and splits. The -smaller branches are covered with a smooth bark ; leaves smooth, on very short petioles ; the middle lobe much longer than the lateral ones, so that the whole leaf is halbert-shaped. The flowers are small, of a greenish yellow colour ; fruit egg-shaped, dark purple when ripe. 14. INCARNATA. TLESH-COLOURED. Toliis subhastatis, petiolis biglandulis, stylo longiori, fructu subkir- suto rubdlo. Browne, p. 3^8. P. 9. Leaves serrate, equal; petioles biglandular. Root perennial ; stalks annual, slender, rising four or five feet high. At each joint one leaf, on a short footstalk, having mostly three oblong lobes, but the two sides are sometimes divided part of their length into two narrow segments, and thus becoming five-lobed ; they are thin, of a light green, and slightly serrate. The flowers are pro- duced from the joints of the stalk, at the footstalks of the leaves, on long slender pe- duncles, in succession as the stalks advance in height. Calycine leaflets oblong, blunt, pale-green ; petals white, with a double circle of purple rays, the rays of the lower circle longest, the flowers have an agreeable scent, but are of short duration. Fruit as large as a middling apple, changing to a pale orange colour when ripe, inclosing many oblong, rough, seeds, lying in a sweetish pulp. F3 - TH HOUTUS JAMAIC2NSIS.. W& The following has multijid leaves. 15. CCERULEA. BLUE. Flos passionis major pentaphyllus. Sloane, v. 1, p. 239.. Foliis quiii quf lob is profunda dwisis, lohis eblo?:gis.' Browne, p. 328. Leaves palmate, quite entire. This grows to a considerable height, rising, when properly supported, 'tc the height of thirty or forty feet, having stems as thiek as a man's arm, covered with a purplish bark, but not woody. The leaves are on half inch long petioles, at each joint, com. posed of five smooth entire lobes, the middle one the longest, almost four inches long and one broad in the middle, the others gradually shorter, and the two outer lobes are frequently divided on their outer .side into two smaller ones. Their footstalks are near ttyo inches long, and have two embracing stipules at their base ;. and from the same point issues a long tendril. The flowers come out at .the same joint with the leaves, . on peduncles almost three-inches long. The outer cover or involucre is composed of three concave ovate leaves, of a paler green than the proper leaves of the plant, and sire little more than half the length of the. calyx ; the leaflets of which are oblong, blunt, pale green ; the petals are nearly of the same shape and size, and stand alter- nately between them. Column about an inch long ; germ cval ; styles purplish, near sin inch long; rays of the crown- in two circles ; the inner, which is the shortest, in* dines towards the column ; the outer, which is !>ear. half the length of the petal*, spreads open flat upon them, and is purple at bottom, but t.iue on the outsiJe. ITie fjpwer.s have a faint scent, and continue but one day : fruit egg-shaped, the siee and shape of the Mogul plum, and, when ripe, of the same yeflow colour, inclosing u sweetish disagreeable pulp, in which are lodged oblong seeds, Sec. Bcll-Hoof Gr.anadu.la Love in a Mist Water Lemon*. PEA, ENGLISH.'. PISUM. Cl. 17, Or. 4. Diaddphia decandria. Nat. or. Papilionacest equal fitaments, fchorter than the corolla, bending in under the back of the tube, with the rudiment of. a fifth; anthers.two-lobed ; the pistil has a germ placed on a fleshy ring,~ roui.dish ; style simple ; stigma two-lobed ; the pericarp is a large berry, sub- pedicelled, globular, or oblong, two-celled ; seeds numerous, oblong, angular^, pastling. There are two species, both nativerof Jamaica. I. JAROBA. . . Cucurbit i/cre arbor /ertc, rhamniftKie spinosa, ftliii tfongis confer~- 46 HORTUS JAMAICENSI-S. ^Hujcak tim ncsccntibus. Sloane, v. 2, p. 175. Scandcns, faliis inferiors- bus phinuto-tcrnatis, supcrioYibus geminatis claxiicula intcrjjositis. Browne, p. 267. Lower leaves temate, upper geminate ; tendrils interpVtiulary, terminating ; stem scandent. This climbing plant is frequent in many parts of the island, but seems most common between St. Elizabeth's and Westmorland. It rises with great ease to the top of the tallest trees in the woods, and then spreads a great way over the limbs of the neigh- bouring trees, or bends again towards the ground. It is generally-more luxuriant to- wards the top ; and, as this part requires a greater support, nature has supplied it, in a peculiar manner, with tendrils ; for the leaves, which are always three oivevery com- mon footstalk, towards the root, are never more than two at the top ; but the extremity of the common stalk, which generally holds the third leaf in the lower-branches, shoots here into a long winding tendril, by which it holds and sucks to every twig or branch it meets. Browne, it l-. ejdled pear-withe, as the fruit, when it-is- ripe, has a- sweetish bitter taste, and has some stoney stasia in it, like a pear. 2. PARASITICUM. PARA&iTICAL. Crcscentia ? 5. Scandens, sarmcntis crassioribus, folii$-iiizjcid.hu$ ovatis nitidis oppositis. Browne, p. 266. Leaves ovate, coriaceous ; stem scandent, shrubby, rooting. This weakly plant sustains itself generally by the help of the neighbouring trees, or is found spreading upon the ground, where it does not meet with support. Its stem is .moderately thick, and stretches frequently about seven or eight feet from the root. The leaves are thick, oval, -and shining, and tire fruit round and smooth. It is found about Port-Antonio, near the Cascade in St. Ann's, arid in many parts of the moun- tains, especially between Sixteen-Mile-Walk and Luidas. rBrawne. The flowers are of a very deep purple colour, and arise in a binate order from the alee .of the leaves, which fade where they grow ; these leaves are large and thick. It flourishes in February and March. The stem is as thick as a man's arm, and emits roots in the manner of ivy it climbs rocks and trees to the height of fifty or sixty feet. The leaves are a little bit- terish in taste. PELICAN FLOWER, or POISON HOGWEED. ARISTOLOCIIIA. Cl. 20, OR. 5, Gynandria hcxandric. Nat. r. Sarmcntace mtiQuth and throat, .and is extremely diuretic. In large doses it brings down the cata-i -menia, and causes abortion. As a diuretic, it maybe mixed with Rhenish wine. It also makes good vinegar and wine. This plant is commonly used for making fences^, its leaves being very formidable to cattle, by the thick arched prickles on their edges. These leaves, stripped of their pulp, soaked in water, and beaten with a wnoden mallet, yield a strong silky thread, winch makes good ropes ; and, from iti fineness* is generally used for making- lasaes to #Up s : It t.s also manufactured int IfMRtyoaTH TlOrtTUS JAMA IC EN SIS. 4Q featfimocks, an 1 has also been made into good hnen cloth. Were due attention pai ] such valuable objects in Jamaica, the fibres of penguin might be obtained in great idmnaance from the most barren lands. 2. BRACTgATA. BRACTED. Leaves serrate, spiny; brades ovate-lanceolate; scape elongated j vacerae- compressed ; rae< males sub-divide .1 ; flowers peduncled. This species was found in Jamaica by Swartz. The bractes are membranaceous^ very entire, scarlet. See Pine Apple Silk Grass: Penny - Ro y ai. Sec M int. PENNYWORTH, WATER, HYDROCOTYLE, Ci 5, QR. 2. P.entandria monogynia. Nat. or. I7mbel!a/ mill. The leaves and tender shoots of this plant are frequently used in discuiietit bath* and fomentation.--, and sometimes pounded and applied with success to foid ulcers ;. the root is warm, and may-be successfully administered as a resolutive, sudorific, or dia- phoretic ; but it must answer best in a diluted state, such as in infusions or light de- coctions ; which, however, may oe varied in degrees of strength, as occasion requires. I do not know of any deobstruent of this nature that answers better in dropsies, or. lighter obstructions from alenturor incrtion. Browne.' As a cure lor uicers, the following observations oiv this plant are by an ano- lrymous writer in the Columbian Magazine, for the year 1798 : " Take the leaves and boil them ; v hi n boiled, beat them into a salve, which spread on one of the leaves as you would a plaster on a bit of rag ; but remember first to clean well the ulcer; the water that the leaves were boiled in will answer as a bath for that purpose; then lay on your poultice; continuing the bathing and dressing daily, and a perfect cure will he effected in a short time : He also states that be knew a negro in Spanish Town, whose face, neck, breast, and shoulders, were much ulcerated, and the large orifices of the ulcers were filled up with tli3 above described poultice ; and that he saw her in about twelve months after with the ulcers perfectly healed, and a fine child in her arms ; when she said the cure was entirely effected by this poultice. The same writer observes that the stem and leaves are made use of by the negroes as a sub- stitute for black pepper, and indeed, when dried and beaten tine, it has a delightful flavour, resembling very much that of the black pepper; the bark of the tree is hotter than the leaves. The root boiled into a decoction is excellent for rheumatic complaints ; and will give ease in the gout." The leaves and fruit are also said to be good for the belly-ache ; and the bath of them excellent in all sorts of swellings : the decoction of the root, leaves, and fruit, is con- sidered as a good stomachic. The wood is made use of to strike fire, by turning a hard - piece of wood, pointed, rapidly in a hole made in it. 2. ADUNCUM. HOOKED. Piper longum folio nervoso pallide viridi, humilius. Sloane, v..l, p. 135, t. 87, f. 2. Fiutescens diffusum flexile, foliis ovalis venis plurimis oblique arcuatis refertis. Browne, p. 122. Leaves oblong-oval e, acuminate, unequal at the base, veined ; spikes solitary, axillary, uncinate. Stems several, shrubby, round, knobbed at the joints, smooth, an inch and more in thickness, branched; ash-coloured, upright, eight feet high ; branchlets green, the 2 thickest H0RTU3 JAM AI GENS IS. j-fppe* i -\ ? . oi a quill, shredding very much. Leaves alternate, on short petiole*, in a uble .row, a little shorter at the inner base, deep, green above; ragged backwards, i " .,<' " I when examined! .. -li is; Underneath' pale green, villdsebntrfot' nigged, (\u\h end) .. netted with numerous wins, many-nerved, if the principal veinsbecon- red.as in rves ; rh ey are about half a foot in length, and have little taste or smeil. Stipule lanceolate, acute, converging, smooth, striated, caducous. Peduncles alter- nate, Opposite to a leaf, solitary, erect, round, somewhat \ iilu.se, half an inch lone;. Spikes solitary, slender, yellowish, two or three inches in length, -towards the origin at the branches bowed, so closel) covered, with minute fructifications, that it is scarcely possible to detect their structure even with a mi roscope. Jacgmii. tiloane observes that the stems are hollow ; that the leaves have scarcely any footstalks ; that the spikes have anaromatic biting taste, are about four inches Utng, ancj resemble a rat's tail, 1 eing generally crooked. He calls it Spanish < '' er. it is frequent in the lowlands of Jamaica. Pisd says the root is aromatic, and in taste, colour, and. smell, resembles ,.er, nd, when fresh, not inferior to it He recommends the decoction and fomes- tatioiV of the leaves and roots for colics, and pains of the limbs. 3. R0T0NDIPOLIUM. ROUNB-LEArBD. Piper longum minimum, herbqtieum, , rattaidijvlium.-*- Kine, v.), p. 1J7. Saui'iiius o. Minimus ripens Jvliis orbicu- latis tutneniibucS, Browne, p. lIQI. Herbaceous, leaves roundish, flat, fleshy ; .stem filiform,- creeping. Stems herbaceous, very lone', s ib-.di ided, round, succulent, throwing out short capillary fibres on all sides From the sterns, .'.eaves petioled ; the lower orhiculate, entire; small, smooth, somewhat succaleat, pubescent at the edge, with red spots I low ; the upper or terminating ones somewhat oblong, .smooth on both sides ; spikes terminating, shortly ped round, solitary, small. Sn\ This plant grows tn close pfoist woods, ci he mossy trunks of trees, and 'stones covered with moss; into which penetrate the fibrils produce. I at its joints, at every one of which grows a. leaf on inch long red pedicels. The spikes have brown spots on them, and the whole plant is succulent. 4 DJSTAC J.YON. TftTN- SPIKED. 'Piper longum humilius frucfit e siunmitufe caulis protlewnte. Slonne, v. l, p. I3<5. Bepens Joliis crassis subrotundis glabris, spicisler- inir.tt/ibus. Browne, p. 204. Leaves ovate-acuminate; spikes conjugate ; stem rooting. Sunt from two to three feet high, climbing, sub-divided, compressed a little, smooth, marked with rufous spots, succulent, Leaves entire, very smooth, notflesKy, three- nerved, paler underneath ; petioles very long, inserted by little sheaths into the stem. Peduncles terminating or axillary, two-parted; spikes upright, linear; stamens and pistils inserted spirally into the spike. S':e. It is a native of rocky grounds in the mountains, and described as follows bv Barham : "This has a creeping jointed root ; the stalks arc round ami green, jointed, Rising seldom above a foot high ; the leaves ire thick, succulent, smooth, and of a dark green colour, having some visible veins ou ihje -upper surface like those of the water-plantain, and sometimes notched at the upper end of the leaf. At the top of the s' Ik Cjwn#s out a slender four- inch spike jtUllSj * ifn* IIOHTUS J A M .\ I C E N S I S. ft julus, oxb'gula, lifceihose ef, 'ossum, ac some of thf loi ; peppers, of a sweet II. aad harp to the taste like them, and withal some\ ... pLini l-i"! smells very gratefully: It i- 1/ it in the fourth degree, and dry i i third lc strengthens the heart, heats till jives a sweet 1jt< . and thick humours; resists poison, the iliac passion, and cholic ; i ; he! the tmnenja or mouses in women, helps birth, expels the dead child, opens obstructions, atfll cures pains from cold; it takes away the cold lit of an ague." 5. V!. !H.. II. LATUM. VEHTICILtATED. Saunirus 8. Erettus minor jfoliis orb ailatis vertkiHatis lumentibus, cisterminalihis. Browne, p. 204. 'Leaves' in whorls, four together, elliptic, blunt, three-nerved. Browne calls it the smaller erect saut'urus, with rtoun I vi rtii Hated leaves. l\ upright, about a finger's length, tender; leaves-threes four, or five, together*, suc- culent, quite entire, petioled; spikes simple, several times longer than the lekves. 6. MAcuoravi.t.u.v!. Fruteseens mwus,-/6liis ainpHombus nitidis ox/atis ad basem mi nva'.i-er eti ilongiori equali. Browne, p. 122. Leaves elliptic-ovate, acuminate,- smooth, unequal at the base, veined; pe- tioles appendicied ; spikes axillary, solitary. This is a large shrub, two fathoms in height ; stem round, striated; brandies almost erect, smooth; leaves "alternate, large, bluntly acuminate, oblique at the base, bavin;; ten or twelve nerves transversely oblique, quite entire. Petioles -short, broadish, channelled, membranaceous with a leafy margin, appendicled at the base of tli'e leaf; spikes pedicelied, long, erect, opposite to the leaves ; flowers very close, not distinct. Filaments four to six, very short, or else the anthers sessile, twin, round the germ; styles none ; stigmas three, sessile. The stem and branches are le^s brittle than in the other species, it grows in shady places, on rocky or gravelly hills. 7. VERRUCOSUS. WARTED. Piper longum arboreum folds Ifttissimis. Sloane, v. I,, p. 135, t, 88, f. i. Arborescent, leaves oblong-acuminate, obliquely many-nerved, veined, smooth; coriaceous ; stem and branches warted. This is a tree, the trunk of which is from fifteen to twenty feet in heighth, upright, with the bark much waited ; brandies simple, terminating, leafy, round, with white warts; leaves ovate, acuminate, blunt, alternate, veined, the margin rolled in; the ' largest from one to two feet in length ; petioles short, channelled, with the margins at the base of the leaf membranaceous, waited. Spikes pedicelied, half a foot long, op- posite to the leaf, upright ; flowers in a spiral, the males and females in a manner dis- tinct; germs between the upper and lower circuit of stamens; anthers two, Ovate, placed obliquely ; stigmas three* sessile* It is known by its habit, its warted stem and branches, and its large coriaceous leaves. Native of Jamaica, on calcareous rocks- ia tke interior. Sw. i. QUADRIFOLIUM, tk ft OR TITS JAMAICENSTS, r.FPF.R 8. QUADRJFO; !L'M. LEAVES IN FOURS-. Leaves In fom-s, we Ige-form, o'o-ovate, emarginate, sub-ssssile; stern erect. Stem half a foot high, herbaceous, sub-divided, stiff, even, thick. Leaves on short petioles, pb-cordate, a little concave, thiekish, very smooth. Spikes terminating, peduneled, solitary, an inch. long-, round,, whitish, tbickish ; peduncles short ; flowers crowded; no calyx or'coroila, oo-iv a scale ; filaments two., very short-; anthers globu Jar, thin; gerra ovate, no style, stigma oblique, villose. Native of lofty mountains. Sw, 9. DISCOLOR. DISCOLOURED-. Leaves broad-ovate, five-nerved, very smooth,, discoloured on the hinder part;' spikes more hi:--, florets more remote. This is a shrub, a fa hom in height, with alternate, erect, sab-divided, jointed, round, smooth, branches. Leav< i alternate, broadrcordate, or ovate, with a blunt joiat,. entire, tbickish,. reined, whitish, or very pale green, underneath, j shining, %\\o c>f the five nerws are marginal; joints swelling; petioles channelled^ short. Spikes pcdicelled, so. nary, opposite to the petiolej shorter than the leaves, slender. Peduncles longer than tiie petioles, round, smooth. There is no calyx, but an oblong scale, within which are two very short evan cent filaments, and two ob-ovate whitish anthers; germ oblong, within the scale ; style short, tbickish ^ stigmas three, small, petite; berry minute, oblongtsh. It is distinct from atnalago in its wide very smooth leaves, Looser spikes, and more remote flowers. Native of high mountains, flowering in autumn. It varies with leaves attenuated at the base, and blunt, ovate, oblique. - > Szi\ 10. CT.NICCI.A.TUM. J01NTEB; Leaves oblong-pcuniinate, oblique, many- nerved,! smooth; stem and branches i tted. A shrub two f thorn 1 , in height, or more ; stem sub-divided towards the top, round,, smooth; branches and branchlets long, ro ! 'ike, round, smooth, very brittle.; joints swelling ; leaves alternate, halfa foot long and more, attenuated but blunt at the top, jrounded and unequal at the base, entire j petioles short, channelled, smooth. Spikes solitary, opposite to the leaves, long, pedicelled ; flowers Spiral as in verrucosum. Stem, though often thick, \vt so weak as to require support from other shrubs. It is distinguished from macrophyllttjn\ which it resembles very much, by its jointed habit, brittleness, &c. from verrucosum by its joints, thinner leaves, ana even stern and branches. Native oi Jamaica, .in stony woods. Sw. H.HtSPlDUM. HIsPID. Leaves ovate-acuminate, el.lique, hirsute, wrinkled ; nerres alternate, veined; spikes erect. This is a shrub a fathom in height, upright, round, hirsute, hispid ; branches pa- tulous, flexuose, jointed, round, hirsute ; joints hirsute and hispid. Leaves alternate, many-nerved, hirsute, hispid; nerves alternate, raised on the back of the leaf; pe- tioles short, round, not channelled. Spikes pedicelled, opposite to the leaves, soli- tary, two inches long, cylindrical, thick, brown ; peduncles thick, round, hispid, shorter than the petioles; flowers aggregate ; no calyx ; but small round ciliate scafes, by the sides oi which are two very short fuMaents j anthr extremely minute, roundish, t*lDf Pepteb H'ORTUS JAMAICENSI9. $5 twi rou in; germ ovato ; styles none; stigmas three, reflex, very small; berry sessile, unaisb, very small. It differs from scabrum bv its remarks)! i liir'sute am! hispid habit. Su>. To avoid confounding this plant widi the species hispidulum, Swartz changed the name from hispidum, which he first gave it, to hirsutum. Ii grows in the cooler mountains, and Bowers in autumn. 12. NITHDUM. SHINING. Leaves lanceolate-ovate, oblique at the base, smooth, shining. This grows about five or six feet high, very much bfancfied, with a smooth round trunk ; branches and branchlels always joirfted at the insertion of the leaves, brittle. - Leaves alternate, oblique at the base on the outerside, veined, dark green, from two to three inches long; petioles very shorty round. Spikes peduneled, shortish, round, upright, very even, whitish. Peduncles opposite to the leaves, short ; 'lowers very much crowded. Native of mountain woods, flowering in spring. Sw. 13. ALPINUM. ALPINE. Herbaceous, stem erect, nearly simple ; leaves ovate, roundish, acute, vein'c' underneath ; spikes axillary. This is an herbaceous plant, with filiform, descending, simple roots ; stem about a foot high, round, succulent, smooth. Leaves rather large, entire, nerved, smooth on both sides, paler underneath, tfaickish ; petioles longish, compressed, smooth, widening at the base. Spikes solitary, the length of the leaves, round, tliick, with the flowers close. No calyx, but lanceolate-acute scales; filaments two, very short, at the base of the pistil ; anthers very small, whitish; germ oblong, acuminate; style simple; stigma acute. It is distinct from obtusifoHum t which has a creeping stem: It grows on the highest mountains, and flowers in February and March. Su>. 14 IIISPIDULUM. SHAGGY. Herbaceous, almost upright ; leaves roundish, petioled, very thin, rough- haired above. Herbaceous, small, and bright green ; roots small, capillary, divided, whitish. < Stem two or three inches high, jointed, diffused, round, striated, smooth, pellucid, succulent, brittle ; branchlets diffused, opposite to the leaves. Leaves alternate, emarginate at the base, entire, veined, green above, arid somewhat hispid with pale pellucid bristles thinly scattered over them, dotted, beneath very smooth, paler, very tender ; petioles short. Spikes minute, pedicelled, opposite to the leaves, solitary ; flowers very minute, naked, distant; calyx none, but scales scarcely visible at the base of the germ; filaments two, by the side of the germ, at its base, very 'minute, patu- lous, horizontal, in a manner club-shaped ; anthers roundish, whitish.; germ oblong, >tiispid ; style thick, short; stigma blunt, brown. Fruit pedicelled, the size of a small pin's head, roundish, black, somewhat hirsute-hispid. Its taste is bitter, but not aromatic. It grows in moist woods in the Blue Mountains, is an annual plant, and flowers in the spring. 5V. 1 5. TENELLUM. TENDER. Herbaceous, simple, decumbent ; leaves distich, ovate, veinless, ciliate at the edge ; spike ascending, Hoot jp fJORTUS JAMAlCEK.ffS.- K#n Rqftt small, anBUftl... simple, fdamentese ; stem tbrce or four inches brgi-i, very seldom divided, jointed., round, scarcely striated', sonteSwdiat hirsute*: haying very minute red dots on it, a id a scattered shagginess among .the petioles, grooved, brittle. Leaves small] on very short petioles, alternate^ attenuated towards the t-;\ blunt, entire, veiniess, nerveless, bristly-ciiiat* on the upper surlV.cc towards the ^"ge, somewhat succulent, smooth, pale.underneath. Spike' terminating, filiform, simple; fio' ers v rj minute; calyx none, but a ro mulish little scale covering the perm; by the sides of which are two filaments, the length of the germ, uprigftt ; anthersround- idi, twin, white; germ Oblong, attenuated at the base; st\!e none; stigma vilto e, oblique; berry on $ pedicel three times as lang as the germ, containing one seed*; uhen ripe it is the size of a small pin's Lead, o! h colour and aromatic flavour. I ath e off Jamaica i r i t!ic coo! mountains oti trunl s of trees) especially such as are r jtteri, hanging dox-A among the moss, and flowering in summer Szt). 16. AMPL1XIC.4T LE. STEM- EMBttACJNG. Sub-herbaTeoUS, leaves lanceo'ate-ovate, embracing, nerved, fleshy; stem erect, simple. This-is a sub-herbaceons plant; stem unos simple, a foot high, hardish, slightly fiexpose, angular, compressed, grooved, smooth, rigid; leaves alternate, narrower 1 ow, blunt at the tip, quite entire, tljickish, brightgreen. Peduncles, sub- terming attng, axillary, solitary, erect; on very long, nearly upright round spikes, sometimes-. Conjugate; flowers very mirjute. Itiseasi di ;uished by the leaves embracing the stem. Native of Jamaica on rotten trees, and among the remains of those which have fallen. -fc'. 17. I " I'M. SMOOTH. Herbaceous, leaves o.Vate-'acuminate; stem declined, rooting, very much branched. Stems vary long, crowded, procurolient or declining, rooting, leafy, roundish, even; leaves alternate, quite entire, (he, ih ; . '.kish, even; imrves five, distinct at the back of the leaf; petioles shortish, channelled, red at the base. Spikes filiform, nearly upright, sometimes hooked, terminating, or lateral, opposite to the petic4e& peduiicled, solitary or conjugate. The colour of the whole plant is pale green; it is nearly allied in acuminatum, but differs in having a weak stein, very much branched, somewhat cr< id ro'omrg ; the leaves . les*, and not so thick ^ spikes smaller, shorter. The P. < of*Swartz is a variety of this. IS. SI pPENi. SLCPhNT. Herbaceous, leaves roundish-acute, flat, discoloured ; sicra creeping. Stem puts forth capillary fibres on every side, is filiform, sub-divided, angular, smooth, leafy; leaves alternate, roundish, but greater in width than length, retyseas it were at the base, blunt, with a. very short point, half an inch in breadth, entire, flat, somewhat succulent, veiniess, smo&th 6'n both sides, paler underneath ; peti . shorter than the leaves, spreading, round, smooth. Spikes peduncled, round, half an inch in length, upright; peduncles av.llnry, longer than the leaves, round, smooth, solitary; flowers so minute as not to be distinguished by the naked eye, seperated by ovate scales; filaments scarcely any; anthers two, by the side of the gei n; germ ovate-acute; style none; stigmas three; fruit very minute, ovate-acute, # ssile. It b. e. KEPPjni H O RT US J A M .' I C I : N I S. 57 may !: ''i anguished ffjm rolundifolium by the leaves not being orbiculate of'ovate, the stem not divaricate, but more simple and thicker ; tbe leaves underneath paler and -thicker, broad-ovate at the base, with a very short point. ' Native of rocky w\ -among moss. Sw. 19. cordifouum. heart-leaved. Herbaceous, leaves ob-cordate, peiio'Icd, pi tiro-convex, fleshy ; stem creeping. Stem filiform, climbing,- rooting, divaricate, round, succulent; leaves alten entire, smooth; petioles longish, reflex. Spikes on the lateral branches pedicelled, opposite to t!te leaves, filiform, an inch long, solitary ; peduncles- shorter than it ..spikes; flowers very minute, whitish. The whole-plaivt has a sharp taste. It is very distinct from the others. in the leaves, and grows in old woods on decaying trees. 20. KIOMMULABH OJ il'.M. Herbaceous; leaves orbiculate, concavo-convex ;**tftem filiform, creeping, rooting. Fter.is two or three feet long, sub-divided, roundish, very smooth, soft; ! petioled, alternate, small, shining, somewhat sui :i ! nt, \ :r minli i v hairy on the ^entire margin. SpiU< > peduncled, terminating, short ; pedun ireely longer th'.ii! the leaves, upright; flowerslvardly discernible, whitish. It resembles rotu; f pliu)n, but differs in liai in < a filiform divaricating stem, and orbicular concavo-coi.veK leaves. i It grows on g;d trees Sw. 2 1.- FILIFORM E. ' FILIFORM. Herbaceous,. leaves linear, blunt, the uppermost in Whorls; stem filiform, creeping. Hoots capillary, stem creeping far and wide; four-cornered, smooth, striated, and spotted; branch 3 short, ascending^ filiform, loose, nearly upright, four-sided, spot- ted, smooth ; leaves .small, tbe lower-ones opposite, decussated, in fours at top, linear- oblong, entire, underneath paler and Spotted with pale red, smooth on both sides; petioles shortish -'Spikes terminating, pedur.cied ; peduncles upright, solitary, ter- .minating, the length of the leaves, round, smooth; calyx none, but ; roundish scale ; ."filaments tw >, very short, at the sides of the scale; anthers twin; germ oblong, co- vered with the scale ; style none; stigma villose; berry oblong, minute. Native of . Jamaica among moss at the roots of trees, on the high mountains. Sw. 22. STELLATUM. STARRY. Leaves in whorls three, four, or five, together, oblong, acuminate, three- nerved. This is an herbaceous plant, a foot high, or more ; root simple, filamentose, whitish ; -stem round, leafy, pubescent, sometimes ferruginous. -Leaves four or five on a petiole, entire, smooth, paler underneath, scarcely succulent ; the upper leaves are commonly three, the lower four, seldom five, bpikes terminating, long, four or five, conjugate, filifoun, loose ; flowers very minute, green ; no calyx, but an ovate smooth scale co- vering the germ ; at the base of which are two very short filaments ; anthers roundish^ twin ; germ ovate ; no style ; stigma oblique, villose ; berry sessile, oblong. Sw. 23. RETICOLATUM. NETTED. Leaves cordate, seven-nerved, netted. r foL. II. H Ttas 3#, BORTUS JAMAICENSIS. rnmR This is a shruba fathom in height ami more ; stem round, upright, smooth ; branches somewhat jointed. Leaves alternate, large, cordate-rounded, acuminate, nine-nerved, smooth; petioles smooth, striated, sheathing. Spikes lone, peduncle;!, opposite to die leaves, round, upright; peduncles shorter than the petioles; stamens end pist- s inserted spirally into the spike ; filaments scarcely aBA',; anthers two, sub-sessile, open- ing transversely at the top ; germs tinder the anthers; styles three, thiekish j^ stigma blunt. Su: 24. IT! I UK! I. CM.. BEAUTIFUL. Leaves in fours, sub-sessile, obi mg, nerveless, quite entire; stem round^. spikes terminal!:' This species is said to have been found in Jamaica by Thomas CJarkj.M.D. 25. SCABRUW; RUGGED. Leaves broad-ovate, acuminate, oblrque; wrinkled, rugged; spikes erect. Tins is a shrub live or six feet high; stem upright, round, somewhat rugged; branches spreading, rugged. Leaves alternate, many-nerved, veined; nerves rigid, on the lower surface more raised ; petioles short, round. Peduncles opposite to the* leaves, shorter th n the petioles, thick, roun I, rugged, solitary. Spikes two inches long, cylindrical; flewer-s-crowded ; calyx none, but a minute roundish scale, at the sides of which are two very short filaments; anthers very minute, roundish, twin; germ ovate; styles none; stigmas three, recurved, permanent. It differs fron* aduncum, which it resembles, verv much, in having wider leaves, brownish green not paler, and upright not hooked spikes. Native of Jamaica in the mountains 01 the mi I tgmperate part, Su\. See Colt's- 1'eoT. PEPPER-GRASS. LEPIDIUM. Cl. 15, OR. 1. Tetradynamia siliarfosa. Nat. or. Slliquos/e. This generic name is derived from a Greek word signifying a scale. Gen. char. Calyx a four-leaved perianth, leaflets ovate, concave, deciduous \ corolla four-petaled, cross-shaped ; petals ob-ovate, tuice the length of the calyx, with narrow claws ; stamens six awl-shaped filaments, length of the calyx, tl.c two Opposite ones shorter; anthers simple; the pistil has a heart-shaped germ, a simple style, the length of the stamens, and an obtuse stigma; the pericarp a heart-shaped silicic, emargmate, compressed, sharp oii the margin, two-celled ; valves navicular, keeled, opposite the lanceolate dissepiment ; see Is some, ovate- acumiriate, narrower at the base, nodding. One species is a native of Jamaica; the sativuffl, or garden cress, has also been introduced. 1. VIRGINICUM, VIRGINIAN, Jl'cris humilior annua Virginiaxia ramosior. Sloane, v. 1, p. 195, t. 123, f. 3. Erectum ramosum, foliis inferioribus oblongis pinna- iijidc lobatis, supcrioribus \angustii serrdtis. Browne, p. 272. Flowers . TCRP-cTuM HORTUS JAMAICEMS19. fe . . only two) stan. rjs an I fou - ; stem Ii ianceolate-Kbear, serrati . , white, i I if tb, h:Y of them being foot ! , with three ( t the beginning oval, h aiTinch broad, indented a out the ed , i and ahull . , ! .ut it uiil. ; the branches also come dul mil :id their ends flowers, small, white, four-petaied, on i part of inch in length. , emargh . ling one . each ceil. Sloane. It grows wild in , ,.:; in ' rupporters, ! I the plant has a hot pie taste, h L t ci is good ; . plant. 2. SATIVUM. COM I I - ; leaves- oblong, multifid. Tlrisisthi , sot ;. whi h thrives well in Ja- nded to, particular.) fond -i it, and it ! > ' -i that fatal disorder thi ms it has been found vei > this valuable anii weH as mint and pennv- i ell disceveced that a certain cause of the rot in she whi< ii had \, , ...- attention Of such :ss pens in low or s tionsin this i.slaiid. Perhaps the sowing ^r' peppi md garden en ly through such pastures, mi, counteract the bad quahties of the grass after on.; or by.;. ... .. in some spot, u> which the sheep may h \e ready access. ^Ko English frame. TERDICIU.M. >.~L. 19, OR. 2. Syngenesia polygamic, svperflua. Nat. or.. Compositor-. ... char. Common calyx oblong, imbricate: compound corolla imbricate, raved ; corollets bilabiate ; there is no pericarp, the calyx unchanged ; seeds solitary, ob- ovate; down capillary, sessile, very copious, the length of the calyx, fastigiate; receptacle naked. One species is a native of Jamaica. radiai.f. :j:atf.. Frutescensjfoliis nitidis aiatis daitatis'jue,Jloriius cojnosis. Browr.e^ p. 312, t. 33, f. I. Trix Flowers sub-radiate, outer calyx four-leaved ; stem shrubby. This plant agrees with this genus in its bilabiate capsules, but differs in its whole habit. Br>wne calls it the shrubby Iritis, a little shrub very common in the savannas about Kingston, seldom rising above four or five feet. The common receptacles are disposed at the extremities of the branches, and the outer divisions of the flowers grow gradually smaller, and curl more downwards as they approach the centre, which the whole something the appearance of a radiated flower at the first appearance. . II 2 PERIWINKLE, oe- HORTUS JAM-AICENSI3. pnat. PERIWINKLE. VINCA. Cr.. 5, OR.l. P^nlandriamonog-ynia. Nat. Oii.ContortS, 2ycrfc!ANTH33 HO TIT US JAM AT CENSUS. 1- IITPEniCOIDT9. HYPERICUM- LIKE. Frvtfcosum minus, sttprMdecompositunf; ramutts gtatilibus mar'gim Mat is ; Joins * linearibus, sessilibus, basi bigUnululis. Browne,- p. 309. ESates oblong ; branches ancipitnl. This is an elegant little shrub, common- in the cooler mountains of Kew I igtianea, rising about three feet, very full of leaves and branches. The filaments dd not seem to be joined at the bottom. Browne* The branches aTe dicbotomotis, the twigs Com-.' pressed and ancipital. Leaves opposite, sub-sessile, lanceolate', obtuse, entire, very finely perforated, smooth; at their base ace very small glands. Flowers terminating,.. peduncled, solitary, yellow ; two leaflets of the calyx are four times as big as the two others, and inclose them ; they are-heart-shaped, brunt, and smooth; corolla cruei- form; petals the size of the larger leaves of the calyx spreading; filaments distinct,, upright, surrounding the germ, the length of e petals ; germ oblong, sharp, com- pressed; styles two, very short; stigmas blunt. Capsule compressed, covered -witlr "*he shrivelled calyx. Su\ Pet esia See Rondeletku JVb English Name. . PHYLLANTHUS. Cl. 21, OR. 3. Monoecia iriandriat Nat. or. Tiicoccar. This generic name is derived from two Greek words signifying leaf and a flower, flie flower-growing out of the leaf Gen. char. Male calyx six-parted, bell-shaped; no corolla; filaments three, anthers twin. Female calyx as in the male ; no corolla; nectary a rim of twelve angles, surrounding . e germ ; the istil has khhI lish germ, three bifid styles, and blunt stigmas ; the pericarp a . ui lish capsule, three u.-ooved, three-celled; cells J>i valve; seeds solitary, roundish. One species is a native of Jamaica. NUTANS. NODDtKG. fficirli fructu glabro, arbor, julifera, lactescens folio myrtino.- Sioai. , v , t f 58, f. 2. Shrnbbv, leaves lternate, oval, glaucous underneath; racemes terminating, leaf), nodding. TKis has gray coloured sn z\\ rents, which send up a trunk the bigness of a man's leg, tttenty feet high, covered with a graj bark on the outside, on the inside red and milky. Tff twigs afterrain abound in flowers, after whica f'oilow leaves, two inches long and onebioad, of a dark green sinning colour. The twigs have here and there a small green' triangular fruit, on short nedicels, which afterwards enlarges, and contain* three " jtattidish *eeds in three celisi Shane. Sec Sea-Side Laukei* \m n out us jAmaicunsis. pm&fi PHYSICSKUfc sTATROPILA.' C'l. Si, or. 9. Monoecia monaddphia. Nat. or. Tricctae. Ges. chjr. iVe Cassada, /;. 16 1. l.-cyiiCAS. Ji.'ci)ius,.faisJ'rlio, f?oie pentapelalo viridi, Jrwctu'ievi pYndfilo-^ Sloane, v. , , p. 1k7. Assurgfis, f.cus JvUq, dove fccrbactv.~ Browne, p. 38. Leaves cordate, angular. Stem from seven to cu;ht feet high, surTrutesceiit, round, smooth, and branched?; leaves five-angled, the.angles at the base rounded, there a ute; flowers in termin-" ating cymes ; peduncles alternate, upright, many-flowered ; flowers almost aggregate^ on very short pedicels. Mates copious ; females sessile, fewer, solitary in tiiejiiiddie bf the cyme. In il>e males the calyx is five-leaved, with ovate convex leaflets ^ c** rolla five- parted to the base, pale yellow; filaments ten to fourteen, connected from the base. to. the, middle.; anthers .oblong, upright ; .glands five, at the base of the fila- ments. Theifemalos have the calyx and corolla as in the- male; the latter green and larger ; germ roundish, bluntly three-cornered ; style three- parted above the middle, v;ia bifid tips..;, stigmas blunt. SV. Capsule oblong, obtusely three cornered, large, when ope wrinkled and rugged cu the outside; the rind thick -and coriaceous; the three grains or cells papery, whitish, two-valved ; receptacle central, columnar, slender, thickened at to] > into a flatted fungous head; seeds solitary, large, ovate- oblong, convex on one side, on the other very obscurely angular, insomuch that they are almost cylindric, produced at the tip into a hollow dagger point, on which there fS a white fungous umbilicus ; they are black with minute chinks, and rough to the touch. Gartner. The physic-nut tree is very common in all the sugar colonies, but dies -after a few years. The leaves are much used in resolutive baths and fomentations, and the deeds sometimes as a purgative; hut they operate very violently, ami are there- fore but little used. Browne. The nuts contain an almond-like kernel, divided into two parts, between which lie two milk-white thin membranaceous leaves, easily separ- able from each other, and are perfect in every part, having the stalk middle riband veins very visible. Grainger says the Spaniards name these nuts-aveilanos, or purga- tives. By roasting they are supposed to lose part of their virulenry, and this is also destroyed by taking out the little leaves between the lobes, but this Hughes says is an error, in sweetness and agreeableness of flavour these nuts exceed an almond, but three or four of them will operate briskly both up and down ; and the oil prepared from them, in the same manner as from the oil nut, is recommended in dropsy ; the dose a table-spoonful. A decoction of the leaves, Br. 'Wright informs us, is often used wisfc advantage in spasmodic belly-ache, attended with vomiting, -its easier on the. stom&h than any thing else, and seldom fails to bring on a discharge by stool. The leaves, pounded and boiled in hoys-lard, applied warm on hard swellings, are a good resol- vent. The following remarkable i ase, which shews the great virtues of the juice of this plant, has been communicated to the compiler by a gentleman of great respecta- bility (Oliver llcring, Esq.) of the parish of Westmorland : . " i was attacked by the piles, I believe in consequence of taking aloes with calomel, and suffered for several weeks incredible torments. The sphincter and rectum were violently rarest H-ORTUS J^MAICENSIS 5 . 6* violently swelled and indurated, the latter apparent for some inches upwards, and there waa a considerable" discharge of pus. My- medical friends apprehended Umt I had -i fistula, and were considering of the usual operation, hut gave me some time tq decide on submitting to it. In this interval 1 used an ointment made of the milk of thephysic - nut shrub, mixed with half its quantity of melted hogs-lard, and applied in ward I v. as i \v as it could be pressed. In live days all the swelling and induration were reduced, and in a wr ek I was perfectly free from pain. This remedy was told by an old Cbro- mantee woman to her mistress, who is my neighbour- afl '. bj hei* communicated to me. It is very astringent, and gives an ugly stain to linen. I have since heard that this juice, which is acquired by cutting or breaking the branch of the shrub, is com- monly used by negroes in dispelling tumours. In mercy to suiFta'cro in the same wav this ought to be published." i. MULTinra. mcltifid: v Asmrgens, Joliis digitalis, lacutiis angustis pinnatifidis. Browne* p 3-tS. Leaves many-patted, ever.; stipules bristle-shaped, multilid, This grows generally to the height of five, six, or seven feet, with a very smooth sU'firutesccnt stem, and spreading brandies. Stipules bristle-shaped, multifi I, at the baSe of the .branches and petioles. Leaves alternate, sub- peltate, multifid ; the divi- sions pinnate, with the odd leaf longer, smooth, but whitish underneath. Peduncles terminating, very long, round, thick, very smooth, sub-divided ; pedicels coloured, in corymbs ; (lowers small, red. Malcs-v-ery numerous ; females solitary, sub-sessile; in the former the calyx five-cleft, coloured ;, petals fivo, ovate-entire; nectary live- parted, surrounding the stamens ; .filaments eight, red, united at the base; anthers" ovate, yellow.: In the latter the calyx is five-parted, coloured; corolla five- petaled, petals ovate, red ; germ three-cornered, green ; styles three, shorter, red, bifid at top; stigmas blunt ; capsule large, oblong, growing yellow as it ripens; seeds soli- tary, round. \v>. This plant is now very common, and, having been first introduced into the French islands from the continent, is known by the name of French physic-nut. From its bunches of beautiful red flowers it is a very ornamental plant. The seeds are purgative, but operate so violently that it is dangerous to make use of them ; though, formerly the Spaniards administered scarcely any other medicine. The whole plant, Swartz observes, distils a tenacious watery liquor. Physic-Nuts. Some call them iyle-berrns of India. They purge strongly upwards and downwards, given from three to live ; -they may be candied over, and given un- known to nice palates ; if the inward film he taken out, they will work more gently The best way of preparing them is, firstto torrify them ; then take off the outward skin and inward film, that is, the sprout or punctum saiiens ; then bruise them in a mortar, and steep them in Madeira wine ; and they will purge well all gross humours. They afford great quantities of oil, which may be got by boiling or expression, and which purges strongly ; this oil they use or burn in their lamps in Brasil. If you rub the stomach with the oil, it will purge and kill worms; it cures the itch, and deterges ulcers. There are three or four sorts of these trees ; but one, in particular, differs very n^eh from the rest, whose leaves are more divided, and have a very beautiful scarte't HORTUS JA.MAICENSIS. i.'Giar: scarlet flower '. These never grow so high as the other sorts: tfceyare called French physic-nuts, and their purging quality is more strong than any of the other sorts. jiurham, p. 1*1. 3 DIVARICA.TA. DIVARICATE. Leaves ovate-acuminate, entire, very smooth ; racemes divaricating. -Sic. Fr. p. 98. This species oijalropha was r J s; as also two other erotic species of this genus, the (aburn'u a and ID si us. PIGEON-WOOD. GUETTARDA. Cl. 21, oh. 6. Monoecia be-xandria, Nat. or. Trieocca. So named by i irmeus in honour of J. E. Guetcard, member of the Academy of Scie;uo:> at Pans, and author of a book on plants, 1717. Gem. char. Calyx a onc-leafel cylindric perianth; cacalla o>ie-petaled, funnef- . '. four to six filament*; with linear anthers ; the pistil a fili- form style. Female pistil has a roundish inferior germ, a filiform style, and sub- :tigma; the pericarp a dry.drupe ; seed a lobel-nnt. Tvvaspecies are na- tives of J (...aica. 1. SPECIOSA. BEAUTIFUL. Arbor, forte prunifera, folio subratundo gTribro, venis purpur.eis. Sloane, v. _, p. 131, t. 221, f. 2. Arboreseens,fotiis smrotundis siibtus a '..'i.v/;, s; cisjit nan bigemim's, substentaculislongis ala- ribus insidentibuf. Browne, p. 205, t. 2X>, f. 1. "Leaves sob-cordate, ovate, obtuse with a point, silky underneath ; flowers with six or seven stamen <. This tree has the habit of hernandia. The leaves are very large, naked, quite en- tire, with alternate, veins : the petioles are much shorter than the leaves, and com- pressed. The peduncle is opposite to the petiole, but on the upper branches there are two opposite peduncles; they all terminate in a very short dichotomons cyme. The male flowers are sessile, alternate, from the upper side only of tho cyme ; calyxes somewhat tomentose, scarcely apparently two-lobed ; tube of the corolla tomentose; lobes of the border oval oblong, one-third only the length of the tube ; no germ ; style shorter by half than the tube; stigma cylindric-headad, obtuse. The females . flowers are like the males, but have a germ succeeded by a drupe, containing six large woody seels, connected together.-; Linneus. This small tree grows plentifully in Sixteen-Mile- Walk, and may be always seen in the small wood behind the church; the bark ;s smooth, and the leaves large an d roundish ; it seldom rises above eight or ten feet in height, or exceeds three or four inches in diameter, and the disposition of the flowers is very remarkable, as well ar, the texture and form of the leaves. I have not seen any of the fruit in a perfect state. Browne. Dr. Browne named this plant Jutlesia, . after the Kev. Dr. Hales, author of the Vegetable Statics. The fruit of this plant is a moist drupe, unilocular, and of an obscure purple colour, when ripe; it encloses a ligneous quadrilocular nut, containing one seed in eacli cell, and is ripe in October and November. The tree is known by the name of pigeon-wood, and is saui jo be a very hard wood, beautifully grained. In the young plants, the leaves aro Vol. II. I ptirp! ~U 66 HORTUS JAMAICENSIS. FWft*T* purplish above and more so beneath, their veins finely tinged with the same- colour. ^ J. Robinson. There is another pig ton-it ood, better known by that name, and notice^ ill the following article, whose genus is perhaps still undetermined. # 2. ELLIPTICA. ELLIPT.C. Leaves elliptic, pubescent ; fio.wers wijji four stamens. 5a?,- 1'IGEON OR ZEBRA WOOD:- Genus UnJcnoun: Gl. 5, OR. I. PenUindria monogynia. Gen. CHAIt. Calyx a perianth, very small, monophyllous, campanulate, quinquefid, pregnant with the germ, and permanent; corolla monqpetalous, and funnel- shaped ; the tube slender, pentagonal, and four times the length of the cup ; the limb is quinquefid, the lacinia linear, channelled or furrowed on their iuside, re- volute, and one-third longer than the tube; there are five small glam's, one placed at each divarication of the lacinia? ; the stamina consist of five cqual.decli- nated filaments, arising from the base of the tube, equalling the laciniae in length; anthers very long, slender, and vermiform ; trie style is filiform, undulated, and equal in length to the corolla ; the fruit is an oblong ovate capsule, bivalved, and splitting open from the top to the base, coronated with the lacinite of the cup ; the seeds are many, small, round, compressed, and decorated with a ibliaceous margin. Fvliis ob-orato cbloigis, spiciffis alaribus ; ligno durisshno^ ex sub- luteo etfusco variegato. Browne, p. 368. Browne places this tree among those whose characters he had not been able to obtain. It is a shrubby tree, generally found in the mountains, rising sixteen or eighteen feet high, but seldom exceeds four inches in diameter. The wood is bard, of a close even. grain, bears a good polish, and is beautifully striped and clouded. It is used by car- penters for fineering. PIIUENTA. MYRTUS. Cr.. 12, or. l. Icosandria monogynia. Nat. or.. Ilcxperidtei - GEN. CHAR. See Baybcrrv, p. 75. PIMENTA. ._ Myrtus arborca aromatica foliis lawunis. Sloane, v. 2, p.,76, t. If"T, f. 1. Foliis oblongo emits, racemis tenninalibus el lateralibus. Browne, p. 247. Flowers trichotomous-panicleu ; leaves oblong-lanceolate. The pimenta, pimento, Jamaica pepper, or allspice-tree, grows about thirty feet in height and two in circumference ; the branches near the top are much divided und thi'-l ly beset with leaves, which, by their fontinual verdure, always gives the tree a beautiful rwexTA II OUT US JAMAICENSIS, &r beautiful appearanoe ; the bark is very smooth externally, and of a gfc-v colour; the reaves vary in shape and in size, but arc commonly about tour inches 1o:)g, veined-, pointed, elliptical, and of a deep shining green colour ; the flowers are proJuced in bunches or panicles, and stand upon subdividing or trichotomous stalks, which usually terminate the branches ; the calyx is cut cito four roundish segments ; the petals are also lour, white, small, reflex, oval, and placed opposite to each other between tho segments of the calyx ; the filaments are numerous, longer than the petals, spreading, of a greenish white colour, and rise from the calyx and upper part of the germen ; the afltheroe are roundish, and of a pale yellow colour ; the style is smooth, simple, and erect ; the stigma is obtuse ; the germen becomes a round succulent berry, containing two kidney- shaped flattish seeds. This tree is a native of Spain and the West India islands. It flowers in June, July, and August. The pitnenta trees prow spontaneously, and in great abundance, in many parts of: Jamaica, hut more- particularly op hilly situations near the sea, on tne northern sides uf that islaod ; where they fcrm the most delicious groves that can possibly be ima- gined; lilling the air with fragrance, an J giving reality, though in a very distant part of the globe, to cur great poet's description of those balmy gales, which c'onvey to the delighted voyager " Saboean odours from the spicy shore " OfAraby the blest. " Cheat'd with the grateful smell, old Ocean smiles." This tree is purely a child of nature, and seems to mock all the labours of man, ifi his endeavours to extend or improve its growth ; not one attempt in fifty to propagate ttie young plants, or to raise them from the seeds, in parts of the country where it is not found growing spontaneously, having succeeded." The usual method of forming a new pimenta plantation (in Jamaica it is called a walk) is nothing more than to ap- propriate a piece of woodland, in the neighbourhood of a plantation already existing, or in a country where the scattered trees are found in a native state, the woods of which being fallen, the trees are suffered to remain on the ground, till they become rotten and perish. In the course of twelve months after the first season, abundance of youn- pimenta plants will be found growing vigorously in all parts of the land, being-, with- out doubt, produced from ripe berries scattered there by the birds, while the fallen trees,, etc. afford them both shelter and shade. At the end of two years, it will be proper to give4.be land a thorough cleansing, leaving such only of the pimenta trees as have a good appearance, which will then soon form such groves as those I have described, and, except perhaps for the first four or five years, require very little at- tention afterwards t Soon after the trees are in blossom, the berries become fit for gathering, the fruit not being suffered to ripen 0{t the tree, as the pulp in that state, being moist and I 2 glutinous, * Birds eagerly devour tlie ripe seeds, and, muting them, propagate thesa trees in all parts of the wood:. It is thought that the seeds passing through them undergo some fermentation, which fits them better for vegetation tlian those gathered immediately from the tree. Long says he believes this to be tlie feet, for the ripe berries will take with more'ceituinty after being laid together some days to sweat. Miller mentions a circumstance of their being kept in a heap for two years, and, having fermented, grew in great abundance with the first rains after they were sown. t It seems particularly fond of a white marly or chalky soil, having a shallow sitrraca of mould, and of the teeky lands, which can scarcely be put to any other use; but it requires refreshing showers in its ihfaut state, antd therefore is-traiaed with difficulty in the most southern hills near the coast. 6$ IIORTUS JAMA ICF.N SIS. IfMENTA glutinous, is difficult to cure 3 and, when dry, becomes black an J tasteless. It is im- possible, however, to prevent some of the ripe berries from mixing with ilie rest; but, if the proportion of them be great, the price of the commodity is considerably injured. It is gathered by the hand ;* one labourer on the tree, employed in gathering the small branches, will give employment to three below (who are generally women and children) in picking the berries ; and an industrious picker-will fill a hag of seventy pounds a day. It is then spread on a terrace, and exposed to the sun for about seven days, in the course cf which it loses its green colour, and becoi cs of a reddish brown, and when perfectly thy it is fit for market. The returns from a piperita walk in a favourable season are prodigious. A single- tree has been known to yield one hundred and fifty pounds of the raw fruit, or otic 1 1 tin Ired weight of the dried spice; there being commonly a loss in weight of one- third in curing; but this, like many other of the minor productions, is exceedingly uncer-* tain, and perhaps a very plenteous crop occurs but once in five years. Its annual ex- port from Jamaica 'he only one of our colonies which produces pimenta] is about six thousand bags of one hundred and twelve pounds each. Edwards. Some of these trees are observed to bear no fruit, which has led several persons ta- conjecture that there are male and female trees; but Dr. Browne refutes this notion ; asserts they are hermaphroditical, and supposes, that if those called males were lopped ami broken like the rest, for one or two ) ears, they would produce equally well.f As there is so great an af&nity between this and the true clave, it has been proposed SS worthy of trial, if the fruit, When first formed, or the flowers picked off the tree, and dried, might not answer the same purpose as the Asiatic ; at least it might answer as a good succedaneam for that s;>icc, and deserves the experiment, as being the growth of our own colony. A walk once formed is attended with little or no labour, or ore, till the time of gathering, and this is performed with vcrv few hands ; nor is tl : la id useless for other purposes; for under the trees is genei I pasturage foi cattle, horses, or sheep. The more odoriferous and smaller the berries arej the better * ounted at market. The leaves and bark are fid 1 of aromatic inflamma I i cles, for which reason the growers are extremely cautious not' to'suffer any fire to be made near the walks. Pimenta is deservedly esteemed the most temperate, mild, and nocent, of all the- cotnmon spices, and fit to come into more general u>f, irfstead i I the eastern com- modities of this kind, which it far surpasses, by promoting di ti in, attenuating UMigh humours, moderatel} warming and fortifying the stOm: tr, i pelling wind, and doing other friendly offices to the bowels'. A*de< i tion ol ,\ , used by way of fomentation, has relieved in rheumatic aches and pains of the bom Long. Pimenta berries are chiefly imported into Britain from Jamaica j whence the name- Jamaka Ity tw istincr rift' the small twir containing bunch I !' UH fniit. win b is U beaten off, when flic leaves coil a little, t>_\ small sticks. The berries are t!.o:ight sufiicienti; i % '.,,i the seels in tlinn rattle. t Browne says he co:ild never observe a distinct male or female t iwef o . j. Swartz assert 1 : it i- polygainon ', having barren and fertile ll iwers, eitb) I together or ua ;. v! rm I ;. lat ihe calyx, which i- called the fruit, or is inferior, i- present in most of the species, .- to form a distinct geritis, rather performing the office ol a bracte; and that the berry is cunno.jiy oue-seeded, though its&me- ^uues appears to be thri e-sceded. r.i.KE HGRTUS J AM A I C EN ST S. <*) Jamaica pepper. Itis*also< l-spice, from its taste apd' flavour being supposed to resemble those of many different ?i)ice-s mixed together. This spice, which was first exported for dietetic uses, has been long" employed i:i the shops as a succedaneum to the mure costly oriental arorhatics : it is rcroderStely warm, of an agreeable flavour, somewhat resembling' that of a mixture of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmegs. Distilled with water it yields an elegant essential oil, so ponderous as to smk in the water, in taste moderately pungent, in smell and flavour approaching to the oil of cloves and nutmegs. To rectified spirit ifimparts, by maceration or digestion, the whole of its virtue; in distillation it give., ever very little tj this menstruum, nearly all its active itftttter remaining concentrated in the inspissated extract. Pimenta can scarcely be considered as a medicine ; it is, however, an agreeable aromatic, and, on this account, is not unfrequently employed with different chugs, requiring such a grateful adjunct. Both the Pharmacopoeias direct an aqueous and spirituous distillation to be made from tiiese berries, and the Edinburgh College order also the oleum essentials p : pcii* Jamaicenm, , See Bayberuy Myrtle Silver-Tree'. PivrtRNCLL Air Broomwelb and Dwarf Pimperneix. I'i.XDARS Act Ground-N UTS. PINE-APPLE. DROMELIA. CL. 6, ok. 1. Hexdndria menogynia. Nat. or. Corenaria, GcSt CHAR. See Penguin, vol. 1, p. is. a Sana, Leaves ciliate-spiny, mucronate ; spike comose. * Tbis is an herbaceous plant, with leaves somewhat resembling those of the aloe, but -rot so thick or succulent, for the most part serrate on their edges, and armed with prickles. The fruit resembles in shape the ccwie of some species of the pine-tree, vhence the name has beei> derived. There are several varieties of this well knoun, elegant, and delicious fruit ; all of which thrive well in Jamaica. Some of the3e have been obtained irom seeds, which, it is thought, if sown more frequently, would pro- duce still mere varieties. The principal known are 1, queen pine; 2, sugar-loaf; 3, king ; 4, smooth ; 5, geen ; 6, black Antigua or Ripley ; 7, Granada ; 8, bog- walk ; 9, smooth long narrow-leafed ; 10, Mohtserrat; II, Surinam: but it is im- possible to enumerate all, as- new varieties may arise everyday. They are all propa- gated by planting the crowns or suckers, which latter come more quickly to maturity, iind are therefore generally preferred. The suckers-or crown should be left to dry for a few days ; the crowns especially, for if planted before the bottom is hard and healed over, they are apt to rot : if the' suckers be drawn carefully, they will have a hard skin over the lower part, and need not lie so long ; they should be divested of their lower leaves so high as to allow depth for their planting, but should be thoroughly dried and liealed before put in the ground, as they often perish by rotting when this is not observed. Tbe fo H Out us jam-aice-n-sis. tlan^sjj The pine thrives best in a brick mould and warm situation. Some persons cultivate them on the top of small ridges or banksj raised about eighteen inches, and disposed in straight rows ; they grow most luxuriantly when they>are thus associated together, like the penguiu, andthe sinkers from them are stronger and finer than when the planes pre separated at a distance from each other, and their roots-are likewise kept cooler and moister. '1 hey are subject, especially in a very dry season, to be attacked with a small white insect, which, if not destroyed, will overspread the leaves quite to the root, stop the growth of the plants, and consume their juice. This is suspected to be the same which frequently does such mischief, in long droughts, to the cane-pieces, and is called the blast. In order to kill.them, it has been recommended to steep the fresh leaves and stems of tobacco, for twelve hours in water, and sprinkle all tire plants every day with this water, by means of the common garden pot, till the insects disap- pear; the water so impregnated is sail to kill these animalcules, without doing the smallest injury to the plants. Some use a sponge ; but this is too laborious and dila- tory a method, where the plants are numerous, and all or most of them affected. P< rhaps a strong decoction of the tobacco leaves, used when perfectly cool, might be found stid more effectual ; the experiment might likewise be practised on cane-pieces, by means of a water engine, with a rose head fixed on the discharging pipe. I'he fermented juice -of the sweeter sorts of pine has been made into -a very pleasant wine, and is sometimes mixed in the cisterns that contain the liquor for rum, in order to communicate a more agreeable zest. They are a profitable commodity in this island, either for sale in the towns, or to the shipping; and some of the fruit is exported l>y way of present, preserved in syrup, as they form a very elegant appearance, with their crowns, at a desert. Long, p. 793. Dr. Wright says pines have a detersive quality, and are better fitted to cleanse the mouth and gums than any gargle whatever. See Penguin and Sh.k Grass. Pitcairnia See Scarlet Pjtcairnu. PLANTAIN, ENGLISH. PLANTAGO. Cl. 4, or. 1. Telrandria monogynia. Nat. or. Plantagines. Gen. char. Calyx a four-cleft perianth, erect,- very short, permanent; corolla one-petaled,, permanent, border four-cleft, reflex; stamens four long capillary filaments, with oblong anthers ; the pistil has an ovate germ, a filiform style, and simple stigmas ; the pericarp an ovate two-celled capsule, cut transversely ; seeds several or solitary, oblong. MAJOR. GREATER. F.lantttgp. Sloane, v. 1, p. 199. Foliis lalioribus subrotundis quinauc nerxiis ad margincm appendicuiatis. Browne, p. 145. Leaves ovate, smoothish, shorter than the petiole ; scape round ; spike having the florets imbricate ; seeds very many. The root i* the thickness of the thumb, prxmorsc, or stumped, laying stronghold of yiiANTAIW HORTUS JAMAICEXSIS. 71 of the earth by its fibres, which strike deeply, and are whitish : leaves petiolcd, seven to wine ribbed, somewhat hairy when young, about a hand in length, often remotely toothed about the edge. Petioles long, convex r.n the under side, concave above, each forming a kind of sheath at its bake ; scapes upright, pubescent, longer than the leaves. Spikes cylindrical, very long, linear, composed o'f many closely imbricate ilowers, under cadi of which is a lanceolate concave bracte; Divisions of the calyx ovate, concave, blunt, smooth, nearly equal ; anthers purple, two-celled, each cell terminating at bottom in a point; style villose. Capsule superior, covered with the shrivelled corolla, papery; seeds few. Browne observes that "this plant, whether introduced here originally, or a native, is very common in most parts of the island, especially in the cooler mountains*} it is indeed found in many places where we have no reason to think it had ever been cultivated by the human species, but birds might probably have done tire work. Every part of the plant is considered as a gentle su astringent; the seeds are frequently used in vulnerary waters and mixtures; ami the leaves often applied with success to sores and wounds." The seeds afford food for birds, and cattle eat the leaves* For an [Hemorrhage of blood, lake as much English plantain leaf as when squeezed will fill a table spoon with the juice, which is to-be drank, and the dose repeated at intervals as wanted. This simple application lias never been found to fail. The juice of this plant is a good eye-water. Inwardly used, the leaves have been found beneficial in pthisical complaints, spitting of blood, and fluxes-. The seeds, however, seem better adapted to relieve pulmonary complaints, being more mucilaginous. The roots have also been recommended for the cure of tertian internments. An "ounee or two of the expressed juice, or the like quantity of strong infusion, may be given for a dose ; in agues the dose should be double, and taken at the commencement of the fit. Plantain is said to be a cure for the bite of the rattle-snake, but probably witlriittle foundation, although it is one of the. principal ingredients in the remedy of the negro Cesar, who, for the discovery,, received m considerable reward from the assembly of South Carolina. . PEANTAIN-TREE. MUSA. CK 23, OR. 1. Polygamia monoecia. Nat. or. ScitamineV, obscure' v three or six-sided, gibbons qii one si e, ohe-celled, hollow in. the iniddle; seeds very maiVy, nestling, sub-globular^ wrinkjed-tubercled, excavated at the base,, or only rudiments. Males on the same s] a ii :, fcbove the hermaphrodite powers, seperated by spathes : Calyx, corolla, and nectary, as in the hermaphrodites; the stamens have filaments as in the hermaphrodites, equal, erect; anther; the same, o:i the filament pipped within the nectary, most trequently very smajl or none; the pistil has a get ti as in the hermaphrodite, but I. <~; style and stigma ti:.' -ai t , but less, and id -re obscure ; pericatp abortive, Two species are cul- tivated in Jamai, a. 1. PARATUSIACA. PAffABISE. Mum, caudice viridi, frit 'u I \gioi:e, falcatn, anguloso. Sloarre-, x. 2, p I l. .fpadicc nutanti, frjifttt triquet.ro obtongo wiajori. Bro ;i , p. 363. Spadix nodding ; male flowers permanent. Root a perennial, roundish, soli I, watery, bujb, d i ' y i the out-dde, white within. Stem s;>lt, fifteen or twenty feet high, v , si aight, quite pimple, round* smooth, fungous, watery, lamellatcd ; the Ian ;n ilntaed, f?aph ending in lof." chart t nel led embracing petioles, imbric; .-base. The lower part of -the stem is the thickest, in 'j,-'">1 soil often a foot in di muter, diminishing gradually to the top, where the leaves come out on every side; these are often eight feet long, and from two to three feet broad, with a strong fleshy mid-i;ib, and a great number of transverse veps running from the mid-rib to the borders, i The leaves are thin and tender, so thaj they are generally torn by the wind ; for as they are large it has great power against them : these Itfaves come out !nm the cc ntre of the stalk, and are, closely rolled up at their first appearance, like a perpendicuh r spike, but gradually expand, and turn backward. As these leave; come up thus rolled, their advance upward is so quick, that their growth may almost be discerned by the naked eye ; and if a tine line is drawn across, level with the top of the leaf, in an hour's time the leaf-will be an inch above it. When the plant is grown to its .full height, the spikes of flowers .will appear in the centre, which is often near tour feet jr. length, and nods on one side. The flowers come out in bunches ; those in the lower part of the spike being the largest ; the others diminish in their si;-..' upward. Each of these Lunches is .covered with a spathe or sheath of n purple colour, which drops off. when the dowers open. The upper part of the spike is made up of male or barren flowers, which are not succeeded by fiuit, but fall off with their covers. The fruit or 'plantains are about a foot loner, and two to three inches diameter; it is at .first green, but when ripe of a pale yellow colour. The skin is tough ; and within is a soft pulp of a luscious sweet flavour. The spike; of fruit arc often so large as to weigh upwards of fori y pounds. The fruit is generally cut before it is ripe. Tl.e green skin is pulled 'ill', and the heart is roasted in a clear fire for a few minutes, and frequently turned ; it is then scraped and served up as bread. This tree is culti- vated on a very extensive scale in Jamaica, and forms a principal part of the food of the negroes ; to whom it is, cither roasted or boiled, a palateable and strengthening food. Plantains will also fatten horses, cattle, swine, dogs, fowls, and other domestic: animals. The. PUvtain tfOHTUS JfAMATCEN-tT* 73 The young leaves, before they clisci< mselves, are most I) ihuu4 fe.'.t. and employed as dressings for blisters, than whi ' ! noni i be more mi iper.- Tlie water from the soft trunk lS-aStringerit, anil employed by some tp check diarrlm-as. This, as well as the banana tree, hath the name oimu-a, and they are so alike, that, unless person;, are well acquainted with them they would hot know one from the otbcjj . at sight; but the fruit differs; they being much longer and larger thai> the banana. Tire fruit of this tree is the best of all the Indian food for negroes, -and makes them tha most able to perform their labour, and therefore must he of great nourishment. Roasted before they are ripe, they eat like bread ; they are eaten boiled or roasted, and. one roasted that is ripe, and battered, eats very delicious. If you thrust a knife into the body of one of these trees, there will come o:it a great quantity of clear water, \\ bich is very rough and restnogent, stopping all sorts of fluxes : 1 have advised persons subject to spit bioud to drink. Irequentiy of this water, wht< h cured them.' Jiarham, p. 147. This is cultivated in every inland settlement, or wherever the soil and seasons are propitious to k, with great care, as the fruit supplies a principal part of sustenance to the inhabitants, black ami white. It thrives best in a cool, rich, and moist, soil, arid is commonly planted in regular walks or avenues. It is propagated by the suckei , which spring up from the roots, set at the distance of six, eight, ten, or twelve feet. apart, and the latter more commonly, as the root throws up every year a number of young sprouts,, and consequently require a considerable space to be allowed for their ex tension. When the bunch, or cluster,, of fruit is gathered, the stem gradually decays ; to prevent, therefore, the young stickers from being injured, the stem is always cut down close to the ground when the fruit is wanted, in order to assist the growth of the new plants. The fruit is generally used when it is full grown ; but, before^t ripens, this is known by the colour, which turns yellow, as soon as it begins to grow ripe. It is peeled, and either roasted in embers, or boiled ; and thus served up at table, instead of other bread. Many white persons, alter being accustomed to it- for some time, prefer it to bread, especially when young and tender. The negroes commonly boil it in their messes of salt-lish, beef, or pork, broth, and find it a very strengthening wholesome food. When the fruit is ripe, it becomes lusciously sweet; it may then be made use of for tarts, or sliced and fried in butter. The Spaniards dry and preserve it as a sweet meat ; and, perhaps, it is wholesomer than many other sorts of confectionary that are more in vogue. The ripe fruit and maize together are the best food for hogs put up to fatten ; and give their flesh and fat a most exquisite flavour and firmness. The leaves are dried, and made into mats, and stuffing for matrasses, pads, &c Browne 3( Long. The juice which flows from the skin of the green plantain, when cut, forms a good cement for broken china, or other earthen ware. Instance* have occurred of the plan- tain-tree bearing two bunches at a time, which is, however, very rare and remarkable. One is mentioned in the Columbian Magazine for 1799, communicated by Mr. Robert Napier, as the production of a tree, in Southfield, his own plantation ; one bunch was Vol. II K nearly 34' HO JIT US JAItfAICiENSIS; pfcANTSHB nearly ripe, from lb c same stem, and closely joining the other, which' was shooting; out. He mentions haying been forty-seven years in Jamaica, and never saw the like. There is a variety known by the name of maiden plantain; the common kind being- palled /torse plantain, which differs from it in being of a smaller and more delicate growth, and having red streaks on the stem ; as also in smaller but much more clus- tered and numerous fruit ; the maiden plantain bunch growing more like that of the* banana, containing often from eighty to an hundred plantains, and weighing often - < ightj pounds, whereas the. bunch of the common plantain seldom contains more than twenty. These t/ecs bear fruit fit for use in from nine to twelve months after the suckers are planted, according to soil and seasons : the hor^e plantain takes three months to fill from tlie time it first shoots, and the maiden plantain four; the latter is . 'he most delicate fud. 2. SAPIENTUM. WISE. Iilitsa, caitdice macuJaij, 'fructu, recta, rohindo, hrcx-'cre, odorafo... Sloane, v. 2, p. 147. Spadice nutanti, fructu breiiore oblongo. Browne, p. 363. Spadix nodding ; male flowers deciduous. The bana.na-tr.ee so much resembles the plantain, as bar iiy to be distinguished at first sight, but has its stem irregularly marked with black cr dark purple spots, which the other has not. The bunches of fruit are more compact, and the fruit more numer- ous, shorter, and. rounder; than that of the plantain. The-fruit has also a thinner skin,. and the pulp is sober, and of a more luscious agreeable taste when ripe, which may be eaten either raw, fried, or boile.i, and makes excellent fritters. It is a delicate food vlicf ripe, and roasted with the skin on. A banana or plantain drink is made by mixing either of them, when ripe, with water, untij it is pretty well mixed with the fruit; then let i- stand twelve hours and :' rain.- The plants of tins genus, now so generally cultivated iri tbe.West Indies rcre, it is thought, originally brought frcrflV Guitiea, and. imported -into these-islan a he Oanaries. When the natives of the West Indit (saj ' bat] undertake a voyage, they make 4 provision of a paste of banana ; which, in cast of need, serves them for nourishment and drink: for this purpose they take ripe bananas-; and, having squeezed them through a hue sieve, from the solid fruit into si) all leases,, which are dried in the sun or in hot ashes, after being previou \ wrapped up-in the leaves of Indian flowering reed. When they would make use of this-] iste they dissolve it in- water, which is very easilvdone; and t lie liquor, thereby rendered thick', has an agreeable acid taste im- . parted to it, which makes it both refreshing and nourishing. This is very common, and its frtrit so well known as to need no description. The - Spaniards have a conceit, thaVif you cut tins or the plantain-thwart-er crossways, there appears a cross in the middle of the fruit, and therefore they will not cnt any, hut break them. The Franciscans dedicate litis fruit to the i uses, and therefore call it r >,;. The Portuguese call them ficm derta, others /V,/- martabana; in Guinea bananas Lodovicys llornanus, and.Brocard,.who wuote a description of the ; J .oly I.and, called, them; Adum^^s apples, suppi '.. "' lo be/the fruit that-Eve,took and wave 1s Adam, which is err meous ; hut it -.> very probable, that their leaves might be- the fur-leaves they sewed together, to lude ttheir nakedness ; nay, one leaf alone was or is- iUtluicjit to uo that, being' very. brpacl a;. i Jong; 1 knpw bouc like it. Theyare a- svhoiesonic ttOUTCJS JA'WAICENlflfl The fruit of these two species may be regarded among the great.?..! blessing- I < towed tipon the inhabitants of tliwdmniie. Three doz en plantains are ail i "icient rs serve one man for ;. week, in lien of other bread, an I will support hiai much Ik tt< r. The greet* leaves of both species are an excellent .'; : . le 1 for horses or cattle, as wsll as the -stems ; and, as thei-r juice, is ;orut '. i restringent, preserve thea') from scowei-J i 1 1 _r too much after grazing .good hemp from the fibres of the different plants bf this genus; and rewards of two -hundred pounds have been paid, under an order of the assembly, for the best specimens .produced of this hemp in each county of* Jamaica. This is, however, no newdisco- very, for the Indians have been m the habit, since the first discovery of the New World, and no doubt long before, of making cloth from these fibres. The celebrated circum- navigator, Dampier, notices the process, more than a century ago, as follows : " They take the body of the tree, clear it of its outward bark and leaves, cuti't into four quarters, which, put into the sun, the moisture exhales; they -then take hold of the threads at -the ends, and draw them out ; they are as big as brown thread : of this they make cloth in Mindanao, called saggr,;, which is stubborn when new, "wears out soon, and when wet it is slimy." The natives of the Phillipine islands give the*na'nie of abaca to thc^. vegetable fibres of : a species of the plantain, of which they make their cordage; and of which they have considerable manufactories. The following is an account of the means made use of for obtaining this hemp, as laid before the committee of the house of assembly, by Dr Stewart West, who gained the premium for the best specimen produced in the county of Surry : MANUFACTURE OF HEMP FROM THE PLANTAIN-TREE. " In order to fulfil the intentions of the honourable house of assembly, I proposed to myself to fiudout the most simple and expeditious process possible for manufacftir- K. 2 ing frS HORTU.S JAMA1CENSIS. plantain rig hemp from the plantain-tree, that the general adoption of it might not be pre- vented by complex machinery, or tedious and difficult manipulations. ' I have now to give the result of my inquiries, and have to describe such a simple and easy process, as will enable any person to set on foot a manufacture of hemp, with- out milch trouble or expence. The instrument I have employed is so simple, that a carpenter may make it in half an hour, and the whole process is so expeditious, that the hemp may be rendered fit for sale in a few hours after the trees are cut down : I mean the undressed hemp ; for to dress it with a heckle, unless it were likewise spun and wove in the country, would be quite foreign to the purpose. The process of heck- ling is by no means so simple as it appears to be ; and I can truly affirm that if aperson, not bred to the business, aitempt to heckle flax and hemp, he will convert the greater part of it into tow ; besides, different modes of dressing are necessary, according to the manufacture to which the hemp is to be applied. That part of the process, therefore, can be executed better, and to much greater advantage, in Britain. But if the instru- ment be in good order, and proper attention be paid to the manufacture, the hemp v. ill be rendered so clean as, in a great measure, to supersede the use of the heckle, especially for cordage. " Though the filaments of the plantain-tree are naturally large, yet they are divisi- ble, and may therefore, by dressing, be adapted to the manufacture of the finest fabrics, perhaps, to which {lax and cotton can be applied. The division of the filaments, how- ever, would be prejudicial in the manufacture of cordage; for, it appears, from an experiment, of Count Ruin ford, that the agglutination, of the fibres greatly increases their strength. DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING THE CRAMP. " Take a plank, six feet long, one foot wide, and two inches thick, set one end iwc*- feet deep in the ground, and apply a brace before to keep it steady; cut a notch on the top, six inches deep, and eight inches wide ; notch the two uprights, half an inch wide, to admit the jaws, which must be made of hard-wood, the lower one twelve, the tipper twenty, inches long ; the lower is fixed, the upper is moveable on a pin atone end, and has a weight suspended at the other, which may be increased or diminished at pleasure. The uptight, in which the upper jaw turns on the pin, may have a mor- tice, five inches long, in place of a notch, and two inches may be cut off from the other upright. The jaws are half an inch thick, and two inches wide, brought to an edge where they meet, which must be slightly serrated. If the jaws are made of steel, a. quarter of an inch in thickness will be sufficient. TROCESS FOR PREPARING THE HEMP. " I. Cut the plantain stems into lengths of four feet. " 2. Separate the coats of which the stems are composed, and split the outer coatsi into ribbons about an inch and a half wide. " ?,. Separate the internal parts of the ribbons with a wooden knife, then " l. Draw them through the cramp till the filaments are clean. *' 5. Hang them to dry in the sun as soon as- possible. " When the hemp is thoroughly dry, let it be plaited into pellets, of about half a pound, and lied up into bundles of twenty pounds each." from experiments tneioaJJie hemp made from the plantain-tree fibre, which wa manufactured PLUME' IIORTUS JAMAICENSIS. 77 manufactured into rope at his majesty's dockyard, Port-Royal, the following results were obtanied : c-a't. qrs lbs. King's nine thread inch rope, broke by the weight of. 6 1 14 Dr. West's specimen ~ 6 2 Specimen from the parish of St. Andrew 6 1 Ditto Portland 4 2 Ditto St. George 3 2 The above specimens were made of the same size as the king's rope. It appears also from several experiments that the inside fibres are stronger than the outside, but spun together have a good average strength. This hemp incorporates freely with tar, and its goodness greatly depends in completely evaporating the sap ; otherwise the least fermentation greatly impairs its strength : it cannot, therefore, be too thoroughly dried.before it is packed for use or exportation. Plum, Cocco See Coccq Plum. Plum, Damson See Damson Plum. Plum, Hog See Spanish Plum. Plum, Maiden See Maiden Plum. Plum, Spanish See Spanish Plum. PLUME-TREE. . Genus Doubtful. Cl. S, OR. 1. Octandriamonogynid. Gen*, char. The calyx is an entire bell-shaped perianthium, lightly cut into four or five obtuse dents on its margins ; the corolla monopetalous, campanulate, twice the lenoth of the perianthium ; the tube very short ; limb cut into four or five lanceolate segments, nearly the length of the tube, and sometimes patent ; the nectarium, or stamen, is cylindrical, supporting eight sagittated erect antherse on its margins, with as many intermediate upright subulated segments; the nec- tarium is somewhat shorter than the corolla; the germen is semi-globose and hairy, having the style short, the stigma capitated and undivided; the pericarpium is a globose capsule, splitting into three valves, and dividing into as many capsules, containing one or two seeds in each. Plumea foribus albes centibus, spicatis axillaribus, pinnatis lokis al- ternatis. The" plume-tree is very common in Clarendon mountains, and grows to the height of fifty or sixty feet, with a straight stem, which is commonly hollow at the heart, and about a foot and a half in diameter. It blossoms in November ; the flowers are very small, and of a whitish green. The leaves grow alternately on the middle-rib ; they. re-fa deep green, compact, substance. The wood is red. Pockwood See Lignum- Vit*,. POISON ' ffi HORTU-S JAMAIC'ENSr* wj;t>r^ POl ON BERRIES or BASTARD JASMINE. OESTRUM. Cl. 5, or. 1. Pentandrid manngynia. Nat. .OR.^-rl.urida. Gen./CKar. Calyx a one-leaTe'd perhmtb, tub'ular, columnar, obtuse, very short; mouth five-cleft, erect, obscure; corolla motiopetalous, funnel-form; tube cy- liudric, fen long, nder; throat 'roundish'; border 'flat, plaited, five-cleft; cli- xis in ovate, equal'; the. stamens ftve filaments, filiform, attached longitudinally to the tube, emitting a toathlet inwards at the middle; anthers roundish, quadwrn- ilar, within the throat; thes-pi^til has a eyii'ndric, ovate, germ, the length pf the calyx; style filiform, length. of the stamens; stigmas thickish, obtuse, scarcely omarginate; the pericarp .an ovate berry' , unilocular, ohlopg ; seeds very many, j iii lish. y Two species,are natives of Jamaica. " 1. VESPERT1TU.M. EVENrVtt. Jasyninumlmrinisfoliis,jlorepaUi(lelutep,j[ruktu'ci ej . jujfiiio, venenata. Sloane, v. 2, p. 96, t. 204, f. 2. Ffutuosiim, Juliis bbloyigo-ovutis, Jloribus fascictdatis -pedimcubiti* Bi ivibus. Browne, p. 173. , Filaments toothless ; tube filiform,; peduncles- -t. . This has an ash-coloured bark, and rises seven or eight feet hfgh ; branches alter- nate, leafy, mariy-flowered, Leaves alternate) on short footstalks, spreading, elliptic, oblong, a little pointed, entire, veined, of a dark green colour, paler underneath, shining. Peduncles axillary, on the upper part of -the branches, in a sort of corymb, erect, shorter than the footstalks, many-flowered, flowers pale yellow ; berry blackish blue or deep purple, about the size or an English currant, containing in a blue pulp, j> great; many flat seeds of the sanrfe dolour. .This plant is very common in all the low- lands qf Jamaica ; the flowers emit a disagreeable odour, and the berries are reckoned very poisonous ; nightingales, are said to feed upon them. 2. HIRTUM. HAtRY. Flowers sub-spiked, axillary ; leaves sub-cordate, ovate-acute, underneath^ with the branchlets rough with hairs. i'-j.\ Poison Hogmeat See Pelican Flower. POKEWEED or MOUNTAIN CALALUE. PHYTOLACCA. Cl. 10, or. 5. Deamdria decagynia. Nat. or. Miscellanea. This generic name is derived -frorn a Greek word signifying a plant, and lacea, a-sort .of dye. Gen. CHAK.- There is no calyx unless the corolla may be called so ; corolla five roundish petals, concave, spreading, bent in at top, permanent; stamens eight, ten, or twenty, filaments, awl-shaped, the length of the corolla ; anthers roundish, lateral; the pistil has an orbiculate germ, depressed, divided externally by swell - I togs, pe*BW*n* irORTUS JAMAICENSIS. ings, ending in eight or ten very short, spreading, reflex, styles ; the pericarp an orbiculate depressed berry, marked with ten longitudinal grooves, umbilicated with the pistils, and having'as many cells ; seeds solitary, Kidney-form, smooth. Two species arc natives of Jamaica. 1. DECANDRA. TEtf-STAMKNKD. Solanum racemosum America?! urn. Sloane, v. !, pi 199. Assurgens ramosa, spicis Hunan longis.simis, sustentaculis trigonis. Browne, p. 232. Flowers ten-stamened, ten-styled.- This plant is also known by the na ne of Surinam ot'jufcclio calalue, red-~a'eed> and $x-glove. It is very common in Jamaica, and has a thick fleshy, perennial, root, di- vided into several parts, as large as middling parsnips. From this rise many purplish, herbaceous, stalks, about an inch thick and six or seven feet long, which break into many branches, irregularly set- with large oval, sharp-pointed leaves, supported on short footstalks.- These at first are of a fresh green colour, but as they grow old they turn reddish. At the joints and divisions of the branches come forth long bunches of small blueisb -coloured flowers, consisting of five concave petals each, surrounding ten stamina and ten styles. These are succeeded by round depressed berries, having ten cells, each- of which contains a single smooth seed. The Portuguese had formerly a- trick of mixing the juice of the berries with their red wines, in order to give them a deeper colour ; but as it was. found to : base I ' flavour, and to make the wine delete- rious, the matter was represented to his Portuguese Majesty, who or Jewed all the stems to -be cut down- ;/earry before* they produced flowers, thereby to prevent any further adulteration. ^-The same practice was common in France '.ill it was prohibited by an edict or Louis XVI. and his predecessor, on pain of death. It is indigenous ta this island, and found in all the cooler hills and mountains, where jt grows very Luxuriantly. Jt rises generally to the height of four or five feet, divided towards the top.. vlt is called either red or white, from the colour of the (lower-stalks, f )r all the branches terminate in Long and slender spikes of those colours. The leaves and tender shoots are frequently used for greens. The inspissated juice has been thought a specific, or at least a very powerful remedy, in open cancers, applied in form of a plaister. Browne. salt and lime-iiuce in warm water; and a dreiien ol Hour ot brimstone in gruel, sweet, ened with meiasses, may be given at the same time to assist the discharge. The poul- tice iias been found no less effectual in healing sores on the human body.* This plant is the same as the -, red ^ weed or poke of Virginia and New England, from which the Indians prepare, a red dye for staining their baskets, skins, and several other manu- factures. Some -In Mr. A. Robinson's MSS. a case is related of the cii'-e of afarcied mu!e ; bv the -pokewced. It ]&i biTeri tor several years full of fistulas and running ulcers al. over liis bedy and legs. "The roots of both Hie redU and green sort were taken, just before the blossom appeared, pounded very fine, which-was applied to the - '.ilceis-, .after being washed. In a short time the mule was so-.tnd, and the hair grew on the: parts tUai UaJ }>*< 6re, The same application kills izi destroys vermin iu-sorss in two dressings. .-f? * K-OTITUS JAAIAICENSIS. polypod* Seme elver-; there are said to gather the roots and make a fine red tint of them ; hit . incline rather to think they make use of the flower, berries, and stalk, for this pur- pose/, as they are all of a beautiful red ; whereas the roots are very white. When the juice of the berries is put upon paper, or the like, it strikes it with a high purple colour, which is as fine .as any in the world,, but requires something to fix it, and pre- vent its fading. A spoonful or two of the juice of the fresh root purges strongly, when it is dry it Jo.- es this quality. The \ omit* tender leaves have very little of it ; but those which are old, large, and thick, are said to operate violently ; nevertheless, I have known them boiled and eaten", in order to open the body in th'e dry belly -;.che, and with great ad- Vantage and safety. Long, p. 771. An ounce of the dried root, infused in a pint of wine, and ^iven to the quantity of two spoonfuls, operates kindly as an emetic, and is preferable to met qthgrs,-as it hardly altera the taste of the wine. The roots are applied to the nd reet in ardent levers. Farriers give a decoction of them to drench cattle, and apply them in form of poultice for discussing tumours. Poultry are fond of the berried, but, if eaten in large quantities, they give the flesh a disagreeable flavour. Cutler, Mem. Anur. v. l. Negroes use the seeds for washing coarse linen; they are very bitter, and impart that taste to birds which feed on them. 2. OCTANDRA. EJGIIT-STAMENED. Erecta, simplex out vix divisa ; foliis integris, sustentaculis spicarufu rotuhdatis. Browne, p. 232. Flowers eight-stamened, eight-styled. This is the stature of the foregoing species, but the leaves are whiter ; it is known by the name of Spanish calalue. It seldom.continues longer than two years, and (lowers and seeds plentifully the first year. . The stem is herbaceous, dividing at top into two or three branches ; leaves ovate-lanceolate, six inches long, and almost three broad, having a strong mid- rib and transverse veins; pedicels an inch and a half long. The peduncles come out from the side of the branches, opposite to the leaves, are seven or eight inches long, two inches naked, the remainder has sessile flowers, white, with a blush of purple in the middle, cut into five segments almost to the bottom, and having from eight to fourteen stamens, and ten styles; berries flat, with ten deep furrows; cells the same number, with one or two smooth seeds in each. Browne says " It is a native of Jamaica, and cultivated in most kitchen gardens. It is a palateable whole- some green : the tender stalks are frequently served up for young sperages, and prove an agreeable succedaneum. It shoots spontaneously in every fertile spot in the island.'* POLYPODY, or. MALE FERN". POLYPODIUM. Cl. 24, OR. 1Cryptogamia filices. NaT. or. Filices. This generic name is derived from two Greek words signifying many-footed, the roots having many tubercles. Gen, polypody BORTUS JAMAICEN.^IS. Si Gen. Char. Capsules distributed in roundish dots, on the back or lower :i 'ace of the frond. Of this very numerous genus forty- two species have been 1 ! in Jamaica. With fronds undivided. 1. J.YCOPODIOIDES. LYCOPODIUM-I.IKE. Phyllitis minor scandens foliis angust is. Sloane, v. 1, p. 73. S dens, caule tereti hirsuto, foliis m h ws lameolutis, capsu'iit linear/bus. Browne, p. VI. Pol. 6. Fronds lanceolate, quite entire, smooth; fructifications solitary ; sho ts naked. Stems many, very long, slender and compressed,- fixing- themselves to trees like ivy, and putting out many branches, some very long, others shdr . covered ail ovef with little narrow acute ferruginous scales, interspersed with abundance of small filaments. Fronds alternate, four inches long, and seven or eight lines wide towards the lowei part; they are gradually narrowed towards thetip, which is blunt, and the edges are waved ; they are membranous, and the upper surface is smooth and of a bright green ; the fructifications are hoary, and in one row on each side of the mid-rib. Plumier. Sloane says the stalk is compressed, and not so big as a hen's quill ; and that it mounts fort}- feet. Browne calls it the climbing polj/podiuni, with a slender hairy staik, very common in the inland open parts of Jamaica, and frequent in Sixteen-Mile- Walk. 2. ANGUSTIFOLHJM. narrow- leaved. Fronds linear-lanceolate, very long, acuminate, rigid, with a convex margin; fructifications scattered ; shoot creeping. S'w. 3. GRAMINEUM. GRASS-UKE. Fronds acuminate, quite entire, smooth; fructifications solitary; shoot naked. Sw. 4. MARGINELLUM. MARGINED. "Fronds wedge-shaped, linear, blunt, margined, smooth; fructifications solitary, crowded ; shoot very short, naked. S'w. 5. REPENS. CREEPING. Fronds lanceolate, acuminate, smooth, entire ; fructifications scattered ; shoot creeping. &'w. G. PILOSELLOIDF.S, PILOSELLA-L'KE. Phyllitidi scandenti, affmis minor, folio cfdsso ohlongiori. Sloane, v. 1, p. 7% t. 28, f. 3. Simpler repens, foliis minoribus ovatis, capsulis sparsis. Browne, p. 97. Pol. 5. Fronds lanceolate, quite entire, rough-haired ; the barren ones ovate ; fructifi- cations solitary. The small creeping polypodium, with oval leaves, is very rare in Jamaica ; I found it in the mountains of St. Faith's, near the side of the river. It creeps along the ground, and casts its small pval leaves on both sides, in an alternate order ; these seldom exceed an inch and a quarter in length, and lie commonly close upon the ground or rocks. Browne. Vol. II. h 7. phylmtidis, 03 H,ORTUS JAMAIrNSr&s wtnoja 7. PtlYtLITiT>I. Phyllitis arbor thus innasccns, folio nan sinuate femuori vcrinntis-. put- veruleyitis waculis overset parte punctata Sloane, v. !, p. 72. Acaule foliis oblongis s implicit' us, capsulis sar&libus. Browne, p, 96. Pol. I. Fronds lanceolate, smooth, quite entire; fructifications seaUered. Hoot the thickness of a finder, five or six inches long, Mack on the outside, having many fibres. Fronds sis or seven, from two to three feet in length, acute at the end, narrower at the base, widening gradually, smooth, bright green on the upper surface; ._ waved at the edge. Plumicr. The simple polypodium, without a trunk, is very common in the woods of Jamaica^ tine leaves are thin and delicate. Browne. It grows on the trunks of old taees. With pinnatifid fronds and coadunafe lobes. 8. SCOLOPENDROIDES. SCOLOPENDR A-LIKE. > Minus acaule, fronde in/erne partita, superne lobata capsulis linea- libus. Browne, p. 97; Pol. 4. Segments rather obtuse, the lowermost remote.. The small simple lobe-leafed poly pod iurrps leaves, .rise together from a fibrous root,' and seldom tow above five or six inches in height; the foliage is divided into small distinct parts towards the bottom-, but as the plant rises these are confounded together, .ml it becomes a lobed margin.on each side of the stalk or rib. It thrives best in dry rocky places. Brownie, This is the incisum of Swartz. 0. PENDULUM. PLNDULUS. Fronds pinnatifid, sub-sessile, smooth, pendulous; lobes oblong, bluntisii. Sw* 10. TUICHOM AM'iBES. TRICHOMANES-IJEE. Fronds pinnatifid, somewhat hairy ; lobes semi-ovate, obtuse. 11. MYOSUROIDES. MYOSURUS-UKE. Fronds pinnatifid, smooth ; lobes united into a lanceolate top, fructiferous, the: lower, ones remote. , 12. PECTINATUM. COMB. Frond- pinnate, lanceolate ; loots approximating, ensiform, parrallel, acute> horizontal ; root naked . $iv. 13. AUl fcUM.. GOLDEN^ Fronds pinnatifid, smooth, and. even ; pi nnas oblong, distant, the lowest patu- lous, the terminating one very largt ; fructifications in rows. Hoot as thick as the thumb, and St metiines a tool long, round, much branched, knobby, and fleshy, green within, but witliodt covered witlj. very small golden scales, with holes in the middle ot the knots, occasioned b) fallen leaves. Fronds about a foot long, cut into seven or eight veiy deep eguients, an incn wide, ami .nree or tour indies long, remote ana acuminate ; underneath is a double row of goit en dots along the nerves oi the segments. It ^rovvs on trunks of large trees. Plumier. With PCLVfCDY II OUT US JAMAICENSIS. 83 With trifoliate fronds ; peduncle with three leaflets. 14. TRIFOLiATtfJM. THREE-LEAVED. Iftmionilidi affiuisfllix major trift pinnis Jul time* atis. Sloane, v. I, p. 85, t. \'2, Tryphillum simp-! . . foliis mtt~ jwibus margine quasi laceratis, caj>sulis spewsis. Browne, p. 9.7. Pol. 7. Fronds ternate, sinuate-Iobed, the middle one larger. Root four inches long, made up of round black scales, fibrous. Stem two feet high, mossy at foot, smooth, and reddish brown at top; divided into three broacl leaves, two opposite, and one at top, which is largest, being ten inches long, and four broad near the base; variously sinuated on the edges, of a yellowish green colour, and thin. The undermost pair of pinnae have ears. It grew on a shady hill on the banks of the Uia Cobre.- Sloane. The large simple polypodium, with three lacerated leaves, rises com- monly, to the height of twenty- four or thirty inches; its leaves are very large in pro- portion, and appear as if they had. been torn at the margin. It grows in the more sandy inland mountains, ami is frequent in the woods of St. Mary's. Browne. 'Villi pinnate fronds. 15. MUIMCATL'M. THORNY. Trichomancs majus tot urn afbitm pinnis aeuleatis trapezii fgiira. Sloane, v. 1, p. 81, t. 36, f. I, 2. Fronds pinnate ; pinnas fulcate- lanceolate, sub-serrate, eared upwards, at bot- tom and in front spiny; stipe scaly. This has many long filaments and fibres for its roots, of a dark brown colour, having towards the top, where the root is Tound and solid, ferruginous hairs. Fronds from six inches to a foot and a half in length; pinnas set alternately as thick as they can stand from the very root, each of an irregular figure like a trapezium, having very small prickles at the corners, and a scarcely discernible mid-rib, on each side of which is a row of seeds in small ferruginous spots. It grew in crannies of racks on the road to Sixteen-Mile-Walk. 16. SEMI-CORDATUM. -HALF-HEART-LEAVED. Frond pinnate; pinnas parallel, lanceolate, very smooth, obliquely cordate at the base ; the lower lobe more gibbous ; fructifications in four rows. Sw. 17. SAGITTATUM. ARROW-LEAVED. Frond pinnate; pinnas lanceolate, blunt, entire, having a to&thlet on each side at the base, the lower one mutilated, triangular, minute. Sw. 18. EXALTATUM. LOFTY. Lonchitis altissima, pinnulis utrinque, sen ex vfroque latere auricu* latis. Sloane, v. 1, p. 77, t. 31. Simplex foliis lanceolatis integris basi inequalihus sub-auriti-s ; peticlis brevissimis, capsulis sparsis. Browne, p. 99. Pol. 14. -Fronds pinnate; pinnas ensiform, entire, gibbous at the lower base inwards, -at the upper base upwards. L 2 This S t fiORTUS J A M A I C E N S T3, polypody This fern seldom rises above two fee ; and a half or three feet in height ; the stipe is very simple, and the pinnas pointed and em re ; they aie connected by very short toot- stalks, atul'project backwards on each side of them. Brou ne. The pinnas are about an inch in length and half as broad; fructifications io-'tvvo rows of ferruginous dots, one or. . b side of the mid rib Shane.. 19. RIIIZQPHYLLUM. BOOTINO- LEAVED. Fronds pinnate, decumbent, tailed at the tip, the fruiting ones rooting; pin- uas ovate-deltoid, 9-w . 20. OBLITE&ATIM. OBL1TER ATF.D. Frond pinnate; pinnas alternate, broad -lanceolate, attenuated, crcnatc;. notches at the tip and base obliterated on both sid^s. Sw. 21. CREN.VI'UM. NOTCHED. Frond pinnate; pinnas oblong -lanceolate,, crenate, smooth; fructifications in double rows. 22. SIMILE. SIMILAR. Lonchitis altissirua, pinnulis raris non laciniatis. Sloane, v. 1, p. 77, t. 32, Fronds pinnate ; pinnas lanceolate, quite entire, distant, the upper ones smaller, dots in rows. This was about five feet high ; stipe a foot and. a half long, roundish, dark broivn, or blackish. Pmnas about two inches long, and three-quarters of an inch broad at the base, roundish and blunt at the end, not at all laciniated; On each side of the mid-rib many ferruginous round spots of fructification ; there was about half an inch space be- tween the pinnas, which were alternate. I found it on Mount Diablo. Sloane. 23. DISSIMILE. DISSIMILAR. Simpler, foliis lanceolatis integris Uistinctis tota basi afiixis. supremo sub-hitstato, capsulis sohtariis. Browne, p. 100. Pol. 23. Fronds pinnate ; pinnas lanceolate, sub-pubescent, confluent, the lower ones distinct, dots scattered. Browne calls tins the simple poll/ podium,, with distinct leaves. 21. REPTANS. CLIMBING. Loncliitis asplenii facie pinnulis variis. Sloane, v. 1, p. 76, t. 2i>, and t 30, f. 1. Divisions somewhat hearted,', ovate, obtuse, crenate, slightly auricled at the base; frond creeping, rooting at top. The face of this plant, and difference of the pinnules, make it difficult to assign it a right place, for almost every stipe has different pinnules. It is sometimes a foot and a half lone:, stem green an 1 somewhat hoary. Some of the pinnules are oblong and somewhat ami. ulated on both upper and under side, and towards the point are rounder leaves: on other twigs the leaves are joined close to one another, after the manner of asj'Unium. Sometimes the leaves are oblong, and eared above and below, and disjoined without . :-v;.ow HOETUS JAMA JC ENS - without nycol sioh'iip to the top ; at other times t! ulatcd li towai - . >p grow weak, ti iling and touching the ground tak bo i any plani u ti this, \n ler var leave i ire serrated, and take root when they touch the ground. Sloane. 2 . SF.KRA. SAW-LEAVED. Filiv nun ran . > cul raris brevioribus pinnuhs crebris Lin*. breaibus non oculeatis. Sioane, v. I, j>. 90, r. iS, f. 2. Frond bi-pmnatind ; pinuas linear, very long, attenuated, serrate; serrature* semi-ovate, acuie, striated. 26. TETRAGONlfM. SCMTARE-STALKEiy; Fronds bi-pinnatifid.; pinnas lanceolate-acuminate, opposite, distant, hori- zontal; segments ovate, bluntish; stipe'iour-corrtered. 27. DELTOIDEUM, DELTOID. Frond bi-pinnatifid ; lower pinnas abbreviated, entire, oblong, deltoid, reflex, 28. CICUT.UUUM. CICUTA. Minus triphyllum, foliis prcfunde dnisis, lobis oblongis, sublobata crenatis. Browne, p. 7. Pol. 8. Fronds ternute; leaflets bi-pinnate, laciniate at the base, bluntly gash-serrate, acuminate, the lowest more gibbous, These plants rise three or four together, from a tufted fibrous root, and seldom ex - :eed eight or ten inches in height; their foliage is divided very deep, and each lobe is again deeply crenated in the margin. Browne. 29. INVISUM. Filix non ramesd major, surculis crebris, pjmnulis lev gin, angustis, Sloane, v. 1, p. 90, t. 50, f. 1, and t. 51. Fronds pinnate, smooth; leaflets linear, very long, pointed, serrate-pinnate ; pinnas lanceolate, falcate, acute, connate at the base. This rises two feet high ; leaflets about an inch distant, sometimes opposite, some- times alternate, about seven inches long, and an inch br )ad at the base ; the pinnule; are about half an inch long, joined to each other at the mid-rib, having defective ends, It grew in inland woods. With bi-pinnate or sub-pinnate fronds. 30. COKIACEUM. LEATHERY. Fronds coriaceous, below tri- pi nnatifid, above bi-pi:inated; pinnas and pinnules acuminate. Sw. 31. PATENS. SPREADING. FUdx non ramosa minor, surculis crebris, pinmtlis brevissimis, angustis. Sloane, v. 1, p. 91, t. 5'-', f. 1. Frond bi-pinnatifid, somewhat villose underneath; pinnts linear-lanceolate, elongated} pinnules oolong, acute ? entire, the lowest longer. &c> HORTUS 'J AM A IC EN 3)3. POLYPODY N ' mTvch more than afoot high.* the twigs" three inches long and half an inch broad; the pinnii.es are a quarter of an inch long,- and joined together almost to the end, with ferruginous dots on the hack, and of a yellowish green colour on the upper- side. It grew ou the banks of the Rio Cobre. Sloane. 32. -HIKTUM. ROUGH-HAIRY. " Frond at bottom tri-pinnatiful, towards the top bi-pinnatifid ; segment; ovate, blunt, almost entire ; stipe and branches rottgh-haired. Sw. 33. PUBESCFNS. PUBESCENT. Minus sub-hirsutum et simpliciter pinnatum, ffrliis distinctis sub- ovatis crenatis, capsulk sparsis. Browne, p. 101. .Frond, bi-pinnate, hairy; pinnas lanceolate-ovate, somewhat ga-shed, acute, the outer confluent. This seldom rises above eight or ten inches, and is not common in Jamaica; it spreads into a branched foliage above the middle ; these are simple, and furnished with oval, alternate, and jagged, leaves; both the foliage and branches of the plant are adorned with fine down. Browne. 3 k DICIIOTOMt->r. DICIIOTOMOU3. Filix fcmina, seuramosa major, dichotomy pitmulis lonchitidis, sci't long is, angustis, non dent at is. Sloane, v. I, p. 102. Dichotomous ; fronds pinnate, pinnas linear-lanceolate, quite entire, hori- zontal, glaucous underneath. This grows seven or eight feet high; stems as thick as a finger, smooth, shining, roundish, of a reddish colour, always divided into two branches, standing opposite, and they again into two others, which are for the most part three inches long, and made up of many inch-long pinnas, joined at bottom to. one another, by a narrow mem- brane running along the mid-rib, thence grow ing very narrow, and ending bluntly, leaving an empty space between them ; they are of a grass green colour above, paler below. At every one of the larger divisions of the stem stand twigs with pinna?, as in the tops of the branches. Sloane. Priekhj, -u-ith scattered spines, or arborescent. '35. ARBOREUM. TREE. Arboreum maximum, fronde tenuiori, caudicc durissbno. Browne, p. 104. Pol. 4.1. Fronds bi-pinnate, serrate ; trunk arboreous, unarmed. Fcm-tree. This plant rises by a considerable simple, hard, and ligneous, trunk, to the height of tweuty or twenty-five feet ; it is, like the other ferns and palms, fur- nished only with ribs, which fall off gradually as it rises, while the new shoots spring up from the top : it resembles the palm tribe both in the form and structure of its trunk also, being very hard immediately under the bark, but loose, soft, and fibrous, in the middle. It holds for many years, bears all the inclemency of the weather with ease, and is frequently used for posts in hogsties and other inclosures, where the smaller aims are not at hand. Bro-wnS. The trunk is sometimes armed with spitiules ; the fronds Egg &OB9 irOU T U S J A M A I C E !- S i S: Sands seven or eight feet long, on roundish unarmed tipe ; the leaflets lanceolate, errate, smooth, bright green ; and the .fructifications ii orbicular, rufous, scatteed, ng been successfully employed as such both internally and externally in gargles, in diarrhoeas, fitc. The dose in substance is from half a drachm te a drachm ; in infusion < tion to half enounce. Woodville. U an ; ingent, thorii I if the fruit, boiled in water, with cinnamon; port- wine.and guava jelly to be added ; is recommended in Dancer's Me- dical Assistant. A conserve may be made of the flowers or pulp with sugar. The rind should be. dried after the heart is taken out; foi if dried without -scooping it always tastes musty. Sloane says, that the leaves beaten with oil ofroses, applied to the head, cores its aching ; that the powder of the fruit, dried in an oven, in a closed pot, cures . fluxes ; and tliat'tbe rind, with galls, or instead of them, makes good ink. The pome- .granate-tree thrives remarkably well m Jamaica; fruit have been found upon them weighing a pound and a half. 2. NANA. BWARF. F) ulicosa humilior, ramulis gracilibus pater.iibus. Browne, p. 239. Leaves linear ; stem shrubby. This seldom vises more than five or six feet high. The flowers are much smaller than those of the common sort ; the leaves are shorter and narrower ; the fruit is not larger than a nutmeg, and nas little flavour. It is an ornamental plant, as it continues flower- ing great part of the year. Both these plants are propagated from layers. POMPION, CUCURBITA. Cl. 21, or. 10. Monoecia syngenesia, Nat. or. Cucurbit ace a. -Gen. char. See Gourd, vol. 1, p. 332. PEPO. Leaves lobed ; fruits glassy. Stems thick, angular, extremely hispid, climbing by means of bifid tendrils, or spreading to a great distance, so that a single plant, if properly encouraged, will over- spread twenty roods of ground. Leaves cordate, large, roundish, angular, toothed, wrinkled, hairy on both sides, on long, alternate, thick, flexuose, hirsute, petioles. Flowers vellow, lateral, solitarv, on peduncles resembling the petioles, but shorter; teeth of the calyx large, gshed, waved, reflex. Fruit roundish, ovate-globular, pale Vol. II. M greea 90. EORTUS JAM.AICENSfS, ponis green on the outside, and commonly hispid, with bristly hairs, witbin4ijfringss$ongyflesh, divided in the middle into three primary cells, each of which is double, and these arc sub-divided into the proper c< lis of the seeds, which are very numerous, horizontal, elliptic, of a coaipres., I lens shape, whitish, encircled' with a rounded tumid margin, and within that with a raised line : it has four coats, the outmost very thin and trans- parent; the next leathery, brittle, and white ; the third somewhat fleshy and green; and the inmost membranaceous and cob-webbed: albwnen none; embtio elliptic, >\ hite ; seed-k ares fleshy, slightly convex. oit-tbe outsjde, flat within, veiny wrinkled. - Gartner i Therfruit varies in form and size ; two hundred and sixty of them, on an average the size of half a peck, have been produced from a single plant in New Eng- land. The pompion, in several of its varieties, thrives well in Jamaica, and is culti- vated in most negro provision grounds, as an article of food they are -very fond of. It is uncertain whence it was introduced, -hut most probably from America. If gathered when not much bigger than a hen or goose egg, and properly seasoned with butter, vinegar, &c. they make a- tolerable good sauce for butcher's meat, and may also be used in soups. In England, when they are grown to maturity, a hole is made on one side, through which the pulp and seeds are scooped out, daaid the latter being picked out, the pulp is mixed with sliced apples, milk, sugar, and grated nutmeg; the whole is then returned into the shell, and baked in an oven, which goes by the name of: pumpkin pj/e. They grow to a large size in Jamaica ; Mr. A. Robinson mentions that he saw one which weighed forty-si.v pounds. Barham observes, that too much of them cause surfeits and levers. An infusion or decoction of the seeds is a powerful diuretic. -.SVe.GotRD Squash Water-Melon. POND-WEED. POTAMEGETON. Cl. 4, or. 3. Tttrandria tetragynia. Nat. or. Inundatie. i This generic name is derived from Greek words signifying near a river; these plants growing in or near water. Gen. char. No calyx ; corolla four roundish petals, obtuse, concave, erect, clawed, deciduous; stamens four filaments; anthers twin, short ; the pistil has four ovate- acuminate germs, no st\Je, obtuse stigma; there is no pericarp; seeds four, ona- celled, roundish. One species has been found in Jamaica- LUCENS. SHINING. Potamogelon aquis immerswm folio pclhiriJo, lata, ollongo, acuto.~ Sloane, v. 1, p. 141. Aquaticum foliis oblongis, Jloribus spicatis. Browne, p. 150. This aquatic plant is very common in those little rivulets about the Ferry ; the nar- rowness of its leaves proceed* probably from its long, continuance under water.- See Duckweed. Pope's-TIeads See Melon Thistle. Poponax See Cashaw. Poppy See Yellow-Thistle* Wo portlanwa HOItTUS JAMAICT.NSIS. 91 No English Nqvie. TOttTI ANDIA. Cl. 5, or. \:~Paitandria mdnogynta. NaT. on. Ilubacefc. This was so named by Dr. -P. Browne after tiu Dutchess of Portland, who was a'grea*' lover of botany, and well acquainted with English plants. Gen. char. Calyx a five-leaved perianth, superior; leaflets olAong, lanceolate, permanent ; corolla one-petaled ; tube long, funnel forni-veiuricose; border shorter than the tube, five-parted, acute'-; stamens five awl-shaped declined fila- ments, almost the length of the corolla, from the bottom of the tube; anthers linear, erect, very long ; the pistil has a five-cornered, roundish, inferior, germ ; style simple, the length ojf "the stamens ; stigma oblong, obtuse; the pericarp a 1 ob-ovate capsule, five-streaked, live-cornered, retuse, two-celled, two-valved, opening at the top ; partition contrary ; seeds very many, roundish, compressed, imbricate. Two species are natives of Jamaica. 1. GRANDIFLORA. GREAT-TLO'vVERE'i). Foliis majoribus nitidis ovalis-oppositis, Jiuribus amplissiihis. 'Browne, p. 164, t. 11. Flowers pentandrous ; leaves lanceolate-elliptic. Stem shrubby, upright, branched, knotty, with a smooth bark, cracking longitudi- 'nally; branches opposite, spreading, round, scarcely divided, leafy, covered with smooth greeti bark; buds- gummy. Leaves opposite, spreading, somewhat lengthened! at the point, equal at the base, entire, very smooth, paler beneath, marke I with al- ternate veins, projecting on both sides; footstalks very short, thick, round below, but flat tish above ; stipules between the leaves connate, triangular, pointed, very smooth, pale, closely pressed to the branch. Flowers axillary, mostly solitary, between the stipules, ptduncled, a little nodding, very large, white, beautiful, most fragrant at night, in the bud yellowish, tipped with red ; peduncles shortish, round, smooth; no bractes. Calycine leaflets ovate, pointed, a little curved backwards, keeled at the base, reddish towards the top. Tube of the corolla with live sharp downy angles, in- flated at the top; limb in five nearly equal somewhat triangular segments, margins spreading, at length revolute; filaments on the germ, scarcely so long as the tube, downy p.t the base ; anthers very long, vertical, straight; germ smooth ; style a little longer than the stamens, declined, spiral, angular; stigma at length trifid ; segments revolute. ''Smith. Capsule sub-turbinate, crowned with the leaflets of the calyx, spreading very much, coriaceous, unequally five-cornered, ribbed at the corners; par- tition thin. Seeds elliptical thickish, fiat on both sides, having raised dots scattered ' over them, rufescent, horizontal, with an umbilicus before they are fully ripe, fleshy, white, of a sharp pointed pyramidal form, fastened to the partition. Gartner. Browne, who gives an excellent figure of this plant, observes that it grows chiefly at the foot of the mountains, thriving luxuriantly among rocks, shooting generally to the height of eight or nine feet, but seldom exceeding two or three inches in diameter, covered with a thick furrowed bark. This plant has frequently flowered in the English gardens. Dr. Wright says the external bark has no taste. The inner is very thin and of a dark brown colour, and bitter astringent taste, and possessing virtues similar to the Jesuit's bark. Infused in spirits of wine, with a little orange peel, he recommends it as an excellent stomachic tincture. M 2 2. COCCINEA, 52 HORTUS JAMAJCENSIS. potatoes 2. COCCIXEA. SCARLET. Flowers pentandrous ; leaves ovate coriaceous. This is a shrub two or three feet in height, erect, branched; branches and oratichlets rpund, smooth. Leaves opposite, ovate, or sub-oval, scarcely. acuminate, quite en-- tire, nerved, smooth, shining, underneath veined, paler, somewhat wrinkled, with a convex margin, three inches long and two inches wide; peiioles short, thick, from round Batted a little, smooth; stipules interposed between the leaves, broad-ovate, acuminate, pressed to the stem. Flowers axillary, solitary, scarlet, on peduncles a little longer than the petioles, angular, smooth, coloured; calycine leaflets acute, co- loured; corolla club-funnel-form, three inches long ; tube five-cornered, at top ven- tricose ; border five-cleft, segments ovate-acute, erect. Filaments the length of the tube, erect, equal; anthers longitudinal, 'very long, spiral, yellow; germ oblong, five-cornered, smooth; capsule roundish, crowned with the calycine leatlets, sruooth, coloured. It differs from the first species in having the loaves nearly roundish or oval, coriaceous, veined underneath ; the corollas smaller by half, and of a full scarlet co- lour; the capsules roundish. Native of Jamaica, in the western parts, on precipices tpf the mountains, but not common. It flowers there in June and July. Sw. Port-Morant Tobacco See Turkey Berries.. POTATOES. solanum: Ci.. 5, or. l. Pentandria monopynia. Xat. or. Lurid*. Gen*, ciiau. See Calalue, branched, vol. 1, p. 141. tuberosum. tuberous. Stem unarmed, herbaceous; leaves pinnate, quite entire; peduncles sub- divided. The common potatoes, it is generally thought, came originally from North America, where they were not reckoned good for food. Tin \ wen- first, we are told, introduced into Ireland in the year 1565, and from thence into England, by a vessel wrecked on the western coast, called North Mcols, in Lancashire, a place and soil even now fa- mous for producing this vegetable in great perfection. It was forty years after their introduction, however, before iheywere much cultivated about London; and then they were considered as rarities, without anv conception of the utility that might arise from bringing them into common use. At this time they were distinguished from the Spanish by the name of Virginian potatoes, or battatas, which is the Indian name of the Spanish sort. At a meeting of the Royal Society, March isth, 1G62-3, a letter was read from Mr. Buckland, a Somerset gentleman, recommending the planting of potatoes in all parts of the kingdom, to prevent famine. This was referred to a com- mittee; and, in consequence of their report, Mr. Buckland had the thanks of the society, such members as had land were entreated to plant them, and Mr. Evelyn was desired to mention the proposals at the close of his SylVa. In Jamaica the potatoe degenerates. It grows waxy, and acquires in time a more saccharin* taste than thosejmported from Europe or America. It is not therefore much cultivated, jpothos- H OUT US JAMAICENSIS. 93- cultivated, although, in favourable situations, very good potatoes have been produced from foreign plants. See Calalu Cankerbeury Egg- Plant Night-Shades Tomatos Turkey- BeIIIULS. Potatoe, Sweet See Sweet- Potatoe, A'e English Name. POTIJOS. Ci 4, or. 1. Tetrandria monogynia. Nat. or. Piperita. Gen. char. Calyx a globular spathe, one-leafed, gaping on one side; spadix quite- simple, thickened, covered all over with little fructifications ; there is no perianth ; - the corolla has four wedge-shaped, oblong, erect, petals ; stamens four widish erect filaments, narrower than the petals, and of the same length; anthers very small, twin; the pistil has a- parallelo-piped, truncate, germ; no style ; stigma simple; the pericarp aggregate berries, roundish, two-celled; seed single, roundish. One species is a native of Jamaica. YILACEA, VIOLET. Parasiticum minus, foliis ovatis punctatrs glabris, spica brevi. Browne, p. 333. Arum 13. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, entire, nerved, dotted. This is a sub-parasitical plant, with thick, long, filiform, simple, smooth, whitish, roots ; stems several, heaped, two or three feet long, rooting, simple, thickish, roun I, stiff, knobbed, sheathed, leafy, smooth. Sheaths at the knobs of the stem, or at the insertion of the petioles, surrounding the stem, of a netted contexture, ferruginous. Leaves scattered, alternate, acuminate, convex, dotted but not perforated, membra- naceous; petioles thickish, middling, round, channelled above, smooth, sheathing at the base. Scapes from the bosom of and scarce longer than the petioles, erect, round, smooth, solitary, three-cornered. Spathe ovate, concave, entire, shorter by half than the spadix, spreading; spadix half an inch long, cylindrical, green. What Lin- neus calls the corolla consists of four triangular valves, retuse at the tip, not to be dis- tinguished but in the berry- bearing spadix. Filaments four, like petals, membrana- ceous, whitish, permanent, within the valves, closing up the germ, concealed so that the anthers appear to sit on the stigma ; anthers twin, with one-valved lobes ; germ roundish; stigma bifid; berry rolled up in the valves at the base, pellucid, violet-co- loured, four-seeded-; seeds oblong, remotely disposed in a square, white. Native of Jamaica, in the highest mountains, at the roots and on the trunks of trees. Szoi Browne observed it in the woods about St. Ann's Bay, the stem of which was slender and shagged, and adorned with a few oval leaves ; it stuck pretty close to the trunk of iiueh trees as it grew upon, but seldom ran above two or three feet. Puigkly-Petar See Indian -Fig. PRICKLY Pi ILORTUS JAMAICENS-I4 UMaSS^r/ PRICKLY- POLE. COCOS. Cl. 25,Palvue Monoccia hexandria. Nat. or. Palmar. Gen. char. See Cocoa-Nut,, vol. \,p. GGS. CUINEENSIS. GUINEA. J*ahna spmosa minor caddOcegTacili, frudtu pnnufcrnn, minima, rtibrc. Sloane, v. 2, p. 121. J'itiius ivjcrnc vaginantibus, cakdice tcreki aculeatissintOyfructuminori. Browne; p. 343. The whole spiny.; spines bristle-shaped ; fronds distant ;-root creeping. Root knotty, round, thicker irthan tlie .trunk,' short, horizontally bent in directly below 1 he surface, creeping, and presently putting out another trunk, so as to make a thicket, whilst it fixes, ksejt firmly in the soil by slender fibrous roots. Trunk erecr, armed with very numerous prickles, and furnished with some semi-lacerate withering stipes, The bark is brownish. Leaves sub-frondose, few, clasping at the'base and pinnate; rib prickly ; leaflets. en sj form,. acuminate, shining, flat, very slightly folded Back at the base, .secrate-priekly, unarmed, or with a-fe-w prickles only on both sides, commonly alternate, sometimes opposite, inconstant in number. Spathes axillary, solitary, spreading, permanent a long time after the ripeniRg of the fruits, so that two or three withered leaves are frequently seen below the frond, with a gpathe and spadix in then axils. ["'lowers with a veiy slight tinge of yellow, and without scent. Jacguin. Calyx sometimes three- leaved; leaflets lanceolate-acuminate,- many times smaller than the petals; corolla triquetrous, frequently .three-parted almost to the base, like a three-petaled corolla. Sw. Fruits dark purple, the size of a common cherry, con- taining an acid juice, of which the Americans make a sort of wine; they are eatable but not pleasant. Jacguin. Thirty or forty of these grow always together, having each a swelling at bottom, rnade up of interwoven or matted thongs ; the stem is forty feet high and only four or five inches in diameter, thick beset with long prickles : the leaves grow like those of the cocoa-nut, but are longer in proportion, greener, and thick beset with prickles. The fruit is bigger than the largest pea; having a red skin, covering a sweet .pulp, which. incloses a hard white kernel. Negroes travelling very carefully avoid places where they grow, because of tire many prickles that fall from them. Shane. This .slender tree is very common in the inland woods of Jamaica, and supplies the wild hogs with abundance of food, when its berries are in season. 'It is seldom above four and a half inches in diameter, though it generally rises to the height of twelve or fifteen feet ; but both the leaves and flowers are disposed like those of the cabbage-tree. The outward part of the trunk is extremely hard and elastic, and looks much like whalebone ; it is very fit for bows and rammers. Broxvnc. The fruit of this tree is said to be ex- cellent in broth, and pigeons feed upon it. Barbam says, " It is with this prickly palm that the Indians arm their arrows, being as hard as iron : The arrow itself is the llag of a sugar or wild cane, that grows out of the middle and top of the cane, being light, straight, nd smooth as a dragon-blood cane. Of this they take about four or five feet, and, at the end, they put a small sharp spike, of about a foot long, of this prickly palm, in which they make nicks to lay their poison in, and beard it to hinder .' being d*awn out from the wounded part." See Cocoa-Nut and Macaw. FRICKLY pbckly* ffORTUS JAMAICENSIS. W PRICKLY-YELLOW WOOD. \ XANTHOXYLUM. Cl. j, on. 5. Penfandria penhigyma. Nat. or. This generic name is derived from two Greek words signifying yellow and wood. Gen. char. Calyx a one-leafed perianth, small, five-parted, scarcely obversable ; corolla one-petaled, cut almost to the base- into five oblong-ovate, spreading, snail-shaped, segments; stamens five erect spreading' filament:;, with roundish anthers; the pistil has a depressed germ, style scarcely any, stigmas five, erect, oblong, in a circular position ; the pericarp a gibbous five- lobed capsule, divided beyond the middle ; lobes sub-ovate, with one distinct cell in each ; seeds ovate- angular, solitary.; Browne, CI.AVA-HERCUU3. HERCULES-CLUB. Eronijmo cffinis arbor spinosa, folio alato, fructu sicco pentagonn et pentacocco, ligno Jtavo santali odore. Stoane, v. 2, p. 2S, t. 172.. ' Faliis oblongo ovutis el leviter crenatis, floribus racCmosis,- Caudicc fptnosa, ligno sub-croceo. Browne, p. 189. This tree is frequent in Jamaica, and grows to a very considerable size ; it branches pretty much towards the top, and rises frequently to the height of twenty or thirty feet, or better ; it is looked upon by many as a dye-wood, but is generally used in buildings, being a good timber-tree. Browne. It lias a grey whitish coloured bark, having many short thick spines or prickles, on stem and branches, growing to' a 'large size as the tree increases in bulk, so as to become protuberances terminating in spines. Leaves in pairs or without order, composed of four, five, six, or more, pairs of lanceolate leaflets, sometimes opposite, sometimes not ; they are about two'and a half inches long, and about an inch broad near the base, of a dark grass green colour above, paler below, on very short footstalks or none, without an odd one on the leaves that have alternate leaf- lets ; but those with oppposite leaflets have an odd one : multitudes of both kinds are to be found on the same tree. At the end of the branches come the peduncle, branch- ing out and forming a loose panicle, fdoane observes that the greater spurs or prickles - on the trunk, when beaten off, smell not unpleasantly, something like yellow Sanders. The bark is somewhat aromatic. . Two spoonfuls of the expressed juice of the young roots, give ease in dry-belly-ache, relieve spasmodic symptom*, epilepsy, &c. Iniusionof the roots a collyriunr. Dan- cer's Med. Asst. p. 3yo. . i7eVnc iti >ned anti-spasmodic virtue the xanthoxvlum loses by being dried and powdered a CQtic qualities being dissipated with the moisture of the plant.' " The decoction of the roots has succeeded admirably in throwing out the small pox (and has been long usi d by uie negroes in the yaws), when such determination. to thg- sujrfac.e was thought requisite." Prickxy-Withe See Indian-Fic. PRIMROSE-WILLOW. JUSSIEUA. Cl.10, or. L Decandria monogynia. Nat. or. Calycanthema^ This was so named in honour of Antoine de Jussieu, demonstrator of plants in the rojal garden at Paris. Gen. CHAR. Calyx a five-cleft perianth, superior, small; leaflets ovate, acute, permanent.; corolla five-petals, roundish, spieading, sessile; stamens ten fili- form filaments, very short, with roundish anthers ; the pistil has an oblong inf&r rior germ"; a filiform style ; and a headed stigma, flat, marked with five streaks ; . pericarp an oblong, crowned, fire-celled, capsule, gaping at the corners ; seeds very many> disposed in rows. This differs from Oenothera in the sessile permanent, calyx, having no tube: hence o,'n. octovalvis and hirta belong to this genus, making five species natives of Jamaica. 1. RF.PENS. CREEPIX':. Lysimachia lutea non papposa erecta, minor, fiore hdeo pentapctale,. t'rudtu carypphyllbide. Sloane, v. l, p. 201, t. 128, f. ", 3. y/i rbacea , epens. Browne, p. 203. Creeping; flowers live-petaled, ten-stamencd ; leaves ovate-oblong. Roots simple, filiform, short; stem branching, creeping; branches long, sub-di- 'i.i I. divaricating, somewhat succulent, round, smooth. Leaves on short petiole-, ten I, i|l, blunt, spreading, entire, vvvy smooth, whin smaller ones in the axils; peduncles short, one-flowered, round, tliickish, smooth; two very minute scales at the base of the germ ; flowers yellow, small; calyx five- parted ; segments lanceolate, the length of the petals; petals sub-sessile, ovate, blunt, veined; germ attenuated at the base, style thick, stigma convex ; capsule thickisb, opening longi- tudinally ; seeds disposed longitudinally in five rows, angular, compressed. Native of Jamaica in moist watery places, flowering in spri.ig. .SV. It rises ten inches; stem *re.si H ORTUS J A M A1CE N'3.1 & Sfl jivking a fine shew ; it grows among mil 1. Sloane. Browne says it i j freqn ml in.'th 3 lowlands about P Tan tain Garden River. Barham calls it clo\ . and the following species loose strife ; and says the Indianshighly^Pesteem both-, and make poultices of Ine leaves, whichniollify.and dissolv< I kin ol tumours. He also says -they are ex- cellent wound-herbs, stop bleeding inward or outward, ;:'il cure sore-throats, sore eyes, and venereal ulcers. The juice or essence lifting of blood and bloody luxes. A cataplasm or ointment is an excellent balsam ; the distilled water a cosmetic. lirowne observes that all the species of this genus are mild sab-asrihirents and vulne- ruries, which may be very properly administered in infusions upon all occasions where Such medicines are required. 2. OCTOVAI.VIS. . MGHT-STAMSNED. jlssur-gens glabra, folii-s lanceolatis altemis, ztttegerrifnis, JforihtS solitaries alaribus. Browne, p. 208. Upright; flowers four-petaled, eight-stamened, peduncle.!; capsules many- valved ; leaves lanceolate. Branches i I upright, four-cornered, pubescent; leaves acuminate, entire, dotted "underneath at .the edge, nerved, pubescent; on short petioles; leaflets h* the . .. inute. Flowers on short peduncles, large, yellow. Calyx sessile, four- lea acumh ite, pubescent; petals tour, three'times as large as the ts, distant, ovate, or ob-ovaie, blunt, spreading, deciduous; filaments eighv, pi\ i close to the style up to the middle, the length of the pistil, awl-shaped ; anthers ovate, incumbent, two-Valved. Germ roundish-quadrangular, attenuated at the base, a little curved..; style thick; stigma spherical. Capsule pedicelled, long, acuminate at the. base, retuse, four-celled, four or eight-valved ; seeds ve ry man) , Tpundish.j receptacle quadrangular. Native of marshy places. Sw. 3* PUBF.SCE^'S. HAIRY. Lysimachia lutea non papposa erecta major, foliis nirsutis, fritcf^L caryophylloide. Sloane, v. 1, p. 201, t. 127, f. 3. Upright, villose; flowers five-petaled, ten-stamened, sessile. Stem usually brown, strong, four or five feet high, having several hairy, red, an- gular, branches, thick set on every side with long, narrow, hairv, nerved, leaves, several of which cotne out together, some larger, some smaller ; the larger three inches long, and scarcely one broad, light green, downy, and soft like velvet. The flowers are axillary, large, yellow, very open, on peduncles half an inch long. Capsule large,, oblong, with four.or five. corners, containing much small yellowish seed. Sloane. 4. ERECTA. ERECT. Lysimachia lutea non papposa, erecta, foliis gtabris, fructu caryo* phylloide. Sloane, v. 1, p. 37. Upright, smooth; flowers four-petaled, eight- stamened, sessile. Root annual; stem from two to four feet high, herbaceous, very much branched, "four-cornered, smooth, reddish ; branches filiform, quadrangular, erect, sub-divided, -pubescent. Leaves petioled, linear-lanceolate, entire, acuminate, nerved, smooth"; Jietioles very short, red. Flowers abundant, yellow, small ; calyx four-leaved, leaf- ets ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, spreading, striated underneath, smooth ; petals N 3 fourj 100 II CRT US JAMAICENSIS. vsychotm4 four, distinct, ovate, entire, concave-, deciduous ; filaments eight, - shorter than tho petals, upright, contiguous to the pistil ; authers very minute, whitish, commonly glued to the stigma; germ quadrangular, reddish, smooth; style very short, round, thick; stigma spherical ; capsule elongated, quadrangular, retuse, four-celled, four- valved; seeds very minute, roundish, ferruginous. Sw. 5. yiRTA. HIRSUTE. Assitrgeris hirsuta, Jioribus solituriis. Browne, p. 208. Upright, hirsute; flowers four-petaled, eight-atamened.; leaves ovate-acumi- nate, rough-haired underneath. This is a shrubby plant with. a hispid stem ; branches hispid, alternate; leaves ses- sile, marked with parallel veins, i'low ers large, sessile, contained in a large, b*pi<$, four-leaved, cal^x. rmNCiWooD See Spanish Elm. No English Name. PSYC H OTRIA . Cu5, on. 1. Pentandria monogynia, Nat. or. Stcllatee. This was so named from the Greek name of an herb in Dioscorides, so Called froia i>.$ delighting to grow in cold sitilations. Gen char. Calyx a very small perianth, five-toothed, superior, permanent; co- rolla monopetalous, salver or funnel-shaped ; tube long, border short, five-deft; segments sub-ovate, acute ; stamens five capillary filaments, anthers linear, not exceeding the tube ; the pistil has an inferior germ, a filiform style, and bifid stigma, with thukish blunt segments; the pericarp a roundish berry, crowned with the calyx, bilocular; seeds two, hemispherical, on one side convex and fwe- grooved, on the other flat. Twenty -two species of this genus are natives of Jamaica. 1. herbacea. herbaceous. Viol tr folio baccifcra repens fore albo pcntapctaloiie fructu rxibro iri- cocco. Sloane, v. l, p. 243. Heroaceum repent syhaticum foliii subrotuni-o cordalis oppositis, foribus paucioribns alaribus, laciniis corolla crecto-patentioics Browne, p. 161. P. 7. Stem herbaceous, creeping ; leaves cordate-petioled. Stem filiform, round, smooth ; leaves spreading, acute, bluntly serrate, smooth- above and shuiing, below silvery and white; petioles long, roundish, erect, pubes- cent; stipules opposite, ovate, emarginate, white. Peduncles shorter than the pe- tioles, ere.;, fhickUh, round, commonly radical, but sometimes axillary, few. flowered; flowers white ; berry roundish, scarlet, crowned ; seeds hemispherical, oblong, grooved. Native of Jamaica in shady places. Su\ Browne says its characters agree xretty well with coffee ; it is entirely a creeper, shoots by a ver\- slender stalk, and roots almost at any joint. Barham calls it violet, and says, " This herb has a small, round, creeping, Stem, putting forth at its joints many small fibrous ryots, and having small branches at about wymotria nORTCS JAMAICENSIS. VSl ^li'>ut an inch distance from one another, each of which is about an inch and a half long, having roundish leaves standing opposite to one another, on an iuch-l g red- dish foot-stalk, in every thing resembling those of violets, only smaller and rounder. The flowers come out at the tops of the branches ; ihey ate white, and divided Tr> their margins into live sections ; then come several round smooth berries, as big ds an Eng- lish pea, containing, in an orange-coloured pulp, two long brown seeds. It loxes tw grow in shady moist places, by the sides of woods. The berries, or whole plant, boiled in whey, cure fluxes; and, boiled in oil, cure blood-shot eves." b'd:.\am, p. 2Q2, 2. MYRSTIPHYLI.UM. MYRTLE-LEAVED. Myrte folio angusto acuminata, arbor raccmosa bacrifera, fructu sul- cato seu cannulato diphrcno. Sloane, v. 2, p. 102, t. 209, f. 2". Mi/rstipfiylhon minusfruticosum, foliis ovato acuminatis subrigid'> oppositis. Browne, p. 152. Stipules ovate-deciduous; leaves lanceolate-ovate, nervelc-s, shining, rigid; branches directed one way ; racemes compound, terminating. This tree has a. smooth light coloured bark, and a trunk fifteen fct high, having a bard white wood ; branches several, leaves mostly opposite, at the ends of the branches, having scarce any petioles, they are an inch long and half as broad, ovate-acuminate, j-mooth, and equal on the edges. At the ends of the twigs come the peduncles in bunches, having oblong flowers of a pale colour, succeeded by oblong berries, having two flat, oblong, pretty large seeds. Sloane. Browne says it is common about the Ferry, and in the savanna near Hunt's Bay, seldom rising above four or five feet, and easily distinguished by its tufted bushy form and smooth leaves. It differs in habit from the fsychotrias, and Browne made a new genus of it. 3. PEDUNCULATA. PEDUNCLED.- Foliis oralis venosis, floribiis quasi umbdlatis, sustcntaculis longiori- bus. Browne, p. 160. P. 4. Stipules two-toothed ; leaves ovate- lanceolate, somewhat wrinkled ; flowers io a sort of cyme ; common peduncle elongated. This plant differs from all the other species in its sub-eymose inflorescence, and in having the common peduncles elongated. It grows in the interior mountain woods. 4. PUBESCNS. PUBESCENT. Hirsutum foliis ovatis. Browne, p. 161. P: 5. Stipules two-toothed;, leaves lanceolate-ovate, acuminate, pubescent; pani- cles cymed, spreading. Thisisashrub, a fathom high, with the branches sub-divided, round, erect, pubescent. Leaves entire, nerved, pubescent, especially underneath, sometimes sub-tomen- tose, softish, from two to three inches long, on roundish petioles of a middling length ; stipules interposed between the leaves, with awl-shaped short teeth. Panicles ter- minating, erect, the length of the leaves, with spreading sub-fastigiate branchlets, - almost forming a cyme, trichotomous, with a floret in the middle, commonly sessile; common peduncles an inch long, round, pubescent ; bractes linear, opposite, at the sub-divisions of the panicle ; flowers yellowish green ; berry roundish, twin, crowned, - \- .-. 'seent^-, %jQ2 II n 1 I S J A M .\ I C E K S 13. m enema pubescent, .black, with a blue juice ; seeds hemi-spherical, grooved and striated. It fio.ivers the whole year, and is common in Jamaica and other West India islands. Su\ 5. MAHG1NATA. MABGINKB. Fruticosum JJoliis / lumbeis ovalo a cum. nulls, floribus luxe racemosis. Browne, p. 161. P. 6. Stipules entire, acuminate, deciduous; leaves lanceolate- ovate, acute, carti- laginous bristly at the end ; panicle loose. This differs from the others in the leave-;, which are ob-ovate, ^acuminate, cartila- ginous at the edge, and furnished with many minute bristles, nerved and veined, dark green and sfcining above, ''beneath pale and ; iucous, on roundish petioles. it giows in woods in the southern parts or Jamaica, flowering in sp;-ing. Sic. 6. ASUTJCA. ASIAT.C. Fruticuiosum, fuhis amplioribus oralis stipulis rigitlis interpositis, ramulis crassioribus, racemis umbellulatis, suslentacuUs Jernalo~ tcr nulls. Biowne, p 160. P. 2, t. 17, f. 2. Stipules emarginate ; leaves lanceolaU-uvate. This is a native of both East and West Indies, and Gartner asserts that the fruit ItORTUS JAMAIC~NSIS> 303 9. ULIGINOSA. MARSHY. * Frul icosum foliis venosis ovatis oppnsitis, pztiotis sfipulatis, racemis terminalibus, baca's compressis. Browne, p. 160. Stipules connate, acute, coivex ; leaves lanceolate-oblong ; seeds compressed^ crested; stem herbaceous, simple, erect. Roots long-, creeping ; stem two or three feet high, herbaceous, only a little shrubby jfcwards the bottom, thick, round, at the top leafy and smooth, somewhat succulent: Leaves a foot long, acuminate, entire, with arched nerves, shining, pale underneath : petioles long, round, thick. Peduncles the length of the petioles, round, smooth, three-parted at the top ; branchlets shorter than the peduncle, many-flowered at the top; flowers sub-sessile, clustered, small, pale red ; bractes acute, opposite, convex, iit the sub-divisions of the peduncles : berry spherical, scarlet, when dry compressed ; aeeds plano-convex, compressed, crested on the other side. It flowers in spring.- Native of Jamaica, in lowest places on mountains. S'zo. 10. CORY.MBOSA. COYMBED. Stipules two-toothed; leaves lanceolate-ovate, acute, sub-rigid, shining 5 flowers in corymbs'; peduncles and pedicels coloured. This is a shrub a fathom in height ; the branches and branchlets sub-divided, up- right, round, shining ; the latter dark red ; leaves entire, nerved, and veined, very finootn, shining, on short, round, smooth, petioles; stipules small, interposed be- tween the leaves, with the teeth lanceolate. EHowers not in a true corymb, bnt in a panicle approaching nearer to that form than in any of the re- 1, especially when nod- din^' with a load of berries ; branchlets trichotomous, erect, fastigiate; common pe- duncles shorter than the leaves, round, smooth, purple; braeres awl-shaped, co- loured, at the sub-divisions of the panicle; flowers purple; bern roundish, twin,. compressed a little, dark red ; seeds hemi-sphericaJ, striated. It Bowers in summet in the high mountains. Szv. 1 1. HIRSUTA. SHAGGY. Stipules lanceolate, entire, deciduous; haves laneeo'ate-ovate, acute, rough- haired; stem extremely hirsute ; panicle spreading. This differs from the rest of the species in its very remarkable shagginess, and ex- tremely spreading habit. Native of Jamaica, in the southern parts, in old woods. Sw. , 12.ALPINA. ERMINE. Stipules two-toothed ; leaves lanceolate-ovate, membranaceous,. netted- veined ;_ panicles erect ; corollas elongated, diaphanous. This is a shrub from five to ten feet high, with the branches thick, four-cornered,, smooth, almost simple ; leaves acuminate at hoth ends,, sub-ciliate, membranaceous,. somewhat rigid, many-nerved, smooth on both sides ; on round pubescent petioles; stipules interposed between the leaves, connate, membranaceous, truncated in the middle, having on each side a long linear erect, sub-ciliate toothlet. Panicle often shorter than the leaves ; common peduncle an inch long, flatted or angular, smooth, sometimes red; branches decussated, from upright spreading, simplv sub-divided; itb..the pedicels scattered, red, longer. Berry roundish, largish, two-grooved, crowned ^, V& H O TIT U S JAWAICENSI S, ftyTi^cm*. crowned.; ee8s'hem*-sphe.rical, grooved. It (lowers in spring and summer, at 1 is a native of tne Blue Mountains. Sw> 1 5. FOETENS. TETIIX Stipules acuminate, entire, deciduous; leaves lanceolate-ovate, acute, smooth ; panicle spreading very much ; branches reflex, filiform. This differs from the hirsuta in its smoothness, and in having the branches of the panic ie reflex. A peculiar very ietid, sub-acid, odour, proceeds from the branches When broken, and the leaves when bruised. Native of Jamaica, in the southern parte, in mountain woods. -Sw. 14. NERVOSA. NERVED. Stipules oblong, emarginate, deciduous ; leaves ovate-acuminate at both ends, nerved, somewhat waved ; panicles sessile, almost erect. This'has a spreading habit ; leaves ovate and nerved, margins slighth waved, and the stipules large ; it grows in coppices. S:t\ 15. GLABRATA. SMOOTH. Stipules acute, undivided, deciduous ; leaves ovate, very smooth, shining ; flowers paniclcd, erect. This resembles the asiatica so much, that it may be only a variety ; the leaves, how- ever, are perfectly ovate and shining; whereas in that they are lanceolate- ovate and (dark green, not shining. It grows on rocks in the interior of the island. Sw. 16. 1NVOLUCRATA. INVOLUCRED. Stipules two-toothed ; leaves lanceolate-ovate, shining ; racemes terminating corynibed ; pedicels three-flowered ; flowers involucred. This is a shrub from two to three feet in height, with round, knobbed, smooth, branches; leaves on short petioles, acuminate, entire, nerved and veined. Flowers sub-sessile, with a three-leaved involucre, and linear spreading leaflets or bractes, the length of the pedicels. Berry roundish, with a very minute calyx at top, black, ten- grooved; seeds hemi-spherical, grooved. Native of Jamaica and Guiana. in\ 17. PATENS. SPREADING. Stipules two-toothed ; leaves distich, lanceolate-ovate, membranaceous ; branches spreading ; panicles directed one way. This is a singular species, having the branches of the panicle directed all one way. It is a native of the Blue Mountains. Sic: 18. CITRtrOLIA. CITRfS-LEAVED. Stipules ovate, permanent ; leaves elliptic, acuminate, sub-coriaceous ; pani- cles short ; berries oblong, ribbed. The leaves are very like those of the lemon in colour and consistence. It is distinct from the other species in leaves, stipules, and berries.^. Gsertner remarks that niie berries are soft, one-celled, and ted. 19. BBACUIATA. mvchotma II OUT US JAMAICAN SIS. 105 19. BRACHIATA. BRACIUATG. Stipules ovate, bifid; raceme terminating, compound; blanches brachiate ; flowers aggregate, sessile. This shrub is a fathom in height, with upright, four-cornered, even branches. - Leaves oblong, acuminate at both ends, entire, nerved, and veined, smooth, some- what wrinkled, paler underneath, on round petioles, which, together with the nerves, are pubescent underneath ; stipules interposed between die leaves, wide, smooth. JUaceme almost upright; common peauniie round, flatted a little, elongated, pub cent. Branches spreading horizontally, three-parted at the top ; pedicels very short. flowers sessile, three or tour, aggregate, pale ; bractes wide, concave, sharp ; at the base of the branchlets of the raceme, and of the pedicels, and under the flowers, pu- bescent. Berry oblong, crowned, two-grooved, very dark blue; seeds grooved. It flowers in May and June. Native of Jamaica, in high mountains in the southern parts. Sw. 20. LAXA. LOOSE. "Stipules ovate-acute, decjduous; leaves ovate-acuminate; racemes in three-, terminating, trichotomous ; branches and pedicels sub-capillary, loose. Leaves, on very short petioles, from one to two inches in length, entire, smooth, pale, and very minutely dotted underneath, scarcely nerved, veined, on very short petioles; stipules very small, interposed between the leaves, entire, sub-ciliate; ra- cemes two inches long, loose, compound ; berry oblong, a little acuminate at both ends, smooth. Native of Jamaica in coppices on the mountains.- Sis). 1. LAUmrOt.IA. LAUREL-LEAFED. Stipule ~ oYs.te-acuminate, deciduous ; leaves lanceolate-ovate, acute, thickish, smooth ; panicles erect ; berries roundish. This differs from the glabrata in having longer thickish leaves, larger flowers, and roundish berries, it grows in dry coppices. Sw. 22. GRANDB. GREAT. <-Stipules deltoid, revolutn at the edge, awl-shaped at the tip; leaves cunei- torm-ob-ovate ; stem angular. This is suffruticose, and from twelve to sixteen feet in height. Stem upright, sub- lierbaceous, thick, stiff, grooved, smooth,.; with herbaceous, stiff, angular, smooth, branches, and axillary grooved branchlets. Leaves a foot and more in length, and three inches wide, with a short point, quite entire, nerved and veined, smooth, paler underneath, on short, thick, roundish, -petioles; stipules interposed between the leaves, wide, awl-shaped at die tip, smooth. Panicles large, at the ends of the .^branchlets ; common peduncle sometimes longer than the leaves, roundish, upright, striated; branches in threes and fours, in a sort of whorl, stiff, somewhat compressed, margined, thicker towards the base, striated, three or four-parted, again sub-divided at the tip. Fiowers numerous, on short pedicels, somewhat clustered, pale. Berry -ovate, crowned with a very minute. calyx ; seeds plano-convex. It Bowers in April, in mountain coppices, in the interior western parts of Jamaica. Sw. Of this genus Browne enumerates seven species, but describes none of them partt- Vol.1I O oularlyj 106 IIORTUS JAMAICENSIS. ftfrocarpus cutgrly ; he remarks, in general, that they areall very common in Jamaica, growing best in rich shady soil ; that they are for the most part shrubby, and rise generally from six to seven feet : that the leaves are opposite in all, and the footstalks generally supported by stipules ; the flowers are commonly in loose clusters, and terminate the stalks and branches ; and that the seeds in all the species are pretty much like those of coffee. Tnese plants were unknown to Linneus. The corolla differs in form in the species, being tubular, salver, or funnel-shaped ; with the opening in some villose, in others naked. The inflorescence in almost all is raceme-panicled. The berry one or two-celled. No English Name. PTERO CARPUS. Cl. 17, or. 4. Diadelphia, decandria. Nat. or. Papilionaceso drawn from it. Trie flour of rice has lately been found a great corrector of damaged wheat flour, by mixing ten pounds of the latter with one of the former, to be made into bread in manner. This plant thrives extremely well in moist bottoms between 'the mountains, Ft ought only to be cultivated in places where the ground can be flooded with water. The marshy grounds therefore in this island, such as those at the Ferry, in St Andrew's, the east end ot St. Thomas in the East, the lands about Black-Rivi r in St, Elizabeth's, Negril in Westmorland, and other similar parts, appear naturally adapted to this grain, if it should be thought worth while to cultivate it, as an a< m supply of food for the negroes. Long, p. 768. Rice grows as well in America as it doth in Africa and other part?, About twenty years past, I sowed some in a moist parcel of ground in Jamaica; but, happening to plant out of time, it grew very rank, and did not bear. 1 cut it down close to the ground, and gave it to my horses, who eat it as well as Guinea-corn bla ;s. After- wards it .grew up, and, at the usual or proper time, it bore an extraordinary. qnai . v of grain, which was bearded like barley, which with its outward husk is taken off, and then it is quite white. The Spaniards and Portuguese call it arras, of which they make a spirit called arrack ; the Arabians call it arz, and arzi. It is cooling and re- stringent ; an emulsion made of it is good against the strangury from cantharidesj the fee meal or flour takes away the marks of the small-pox. Jfarham, p. 159. RINGWOR33 U8 HOllTUS JA.MA1CENS.IS. wstwoBM RINGWORM SHRUB. CASSIA. Cl. 10, qr. 1. Decandria rrumegyme. Nat. on. Lomentacea. Gen. cha&. See Cane Piece Sensitive, p. 151. AL.ATA. WINGED. l $i!ihan in length; Bowers small, reddish, sessile ..and peduncletl, void of scent ; fruit two-valved, with a partition opposite the valves. Jacquin, who observed it in Jamaica, (lowering in February. 2. WLPSA. HAIRY. Leaves ovate, hairy on both sides ; peduncles axillary, shorter than the leaves, trilid ; flowers lour-stamened. "This is a shrub with round or four-cornered branches, leafv towards the top, and hairy below, even, ash-coloured, often waited with the old deciduous petioles.; leaves op- posite, two or three inches long, the upper or terminating ones clustered, ovate- lanceolate, entire, nerved, hairy, underneath rough-haired or tomentose-hoary ; pe- tioles short, villose ; stipules between the petioles, sub-connate, acuminate, hairy. Peduncles opposite, filiform, hairy, at the top trifid or three-flowered ; the flowers pedicelled ; the lateral pedicels half an inch long, the middle one shorter. Bractes two, awl-shaped at the base of I le Literal pedicels, and two others at the base of the germ, shorter by half than the calyx; calyx four-parted, segments lanceo- late-linear, acute, villose; corolla salver-shaped ; tube sub-cylindrical, thelengthof the calycine segments, wider at top, on the outside villose or somewhat silky ; border- near the aperture crowned with a margined ring, four- parted, with the segments roundish, spreading, convex above, shorter than the tube. ; filaments four, very short, inserted in the tube above the middle ; anthers oblong, linear, included ; germ villose ; style the length of the tube ; segments of the stigma linear, blunt; capsule small, sub- globular, twin, -villose, two-valved, with the partition contrary; seeds numerous, -brown. Sii'. With sub-solitary seeds. 3. THYRSOIDEA. TIIYUSED. T,eavcs oblong, acute, membranaceous, pubescent underneath ; thyrses ax- illary. This is a small tree or shrub, six feet high, branched, upright, even, with an ash- coloured bark; branches simple, almost upright, long, spreading, round, or bluntly four-cornered, smooth ; leaves opposite, decussated, three inches long, entire, nerved and veined, on petioles an inch long, striated, spreading ; stipules between and above the netioies, pressed to the branchlet, wide, ovate, acute, smooth, rigid. Thyrses solitary, opposite, shorter than the leaves, oblong, spreading, on a common petiole, yot-. il, Q -an 123 HORTUS JAMA IC ENS IS.-. roktckutia- sri' uidi in kingtb, angular, striated, smooth; branchlefs opposite, decussated, sub- divided; the: outmost commonly three- flowered; flowers small, dull, whitish yellow * ferruginous; bractes small, awl-shaped, or little leaflets under the ramifications of the thyise; calyx-very, minute, five-toothed. Tube of the corolla elongated, cylindrical, swelling below the border, silky-pubescent on the outside ; border five-parted; seg- ments roundish, convex, distant, patulous, with a small ring contracting and crowning the aperture; filaments five, inserted into the upper part of the tube; anthers very small, ovate, pale, placed in the very aperture; germ roundish ; style awl-shaped, bifid at the top , stigmas simple Capsule roundish, with a groove along the middle, the size of a coriander seed, crowned with the '.cry small calyx, two-celled ;. having two angular rounded striated seeds in each cell. Native of the driest hills of Jamaica, in thewestern part of the island, flowering in May ; the flowers smell very sweet during the night. Sit}, 4. RACE.MOSA. RACEMFD. fflruticosa-, foliis ovatis verticillatim terriatis, stipulis rigidis interpv- sitis, sustentaculisjioram long is ramosis alar ib us.- Browne, p. 143,', t. 2, f. 3. Petesia. Leaves lanceolate-ovate, acuminate, smooth on both sides ; stipules elliptic with a .short point,; racemes axillary, trickotomous patulous. This is a shrub with round spreading branches, covered with an irregular hoary bark ; branchlets four-cornered, compressed a little at the tip, smooth ; leaves decussated, quite entire, scarcely nerved, veined, somewhat membranaceous; petioles longish, four-cornered, smooth ; stipules interpctiolary, opposite, patulous, convex, wide, very minutely villose at the edge. Racemes solitary, opposite, from upright spreading, shorter than the leaves; common peduncle the length of the petioles, compressed; branches decussated, almost horizontal, with sessile, awl-shaped, spreading, bractes, every where at the sub-divisions of the raceme ; flowers pedieelled, distiect, not clus- tere". Calyx small, with five very short upright teeth; corolla small, silky hoary on the outside, pale within; tube short, oblong, equal; border five-parted, segments mate, spreading, pubescent; aperture. naked, five-cornered; filaments from the mid- dle of the tube ; anthers oblong, yellowish, in the apertures of the tube ; germ ovate, smooth ; style simple, upright, the length of the-tube ; stigma thickish, with the apex more acute and undivided ; capsule ovale, crowned with the calyx, smooth, two-celled r" opening by two valves, two-seeded ; seeds convex on one side, flat on the other, joined at the middle, distinct from the partition at the sides. Eesides the ripening seeds there are other very minute embrios within the valves. Native of Jamaica on the mountains. It is allied both to thyrsoidea and laurifvlia, but differs in the leaves, spreading racemes, and flowers. Browne's figure agrees very well with this plant, but, in his specific character, he makes the leaves verticillate-ternate, whereas in his figure they arc opposite; he also speaks of 'the flowers as four-stamened, which they very, jeliiom are Sm. Browne found it near the water fall in Mammee River. 5. I.A'JRirOI.IA. LAUREL- LEAFED. Fruticosa foliis ovatis oppositis, stipulis rigidis intcrpositis, racemfs viinoribus alaribus, cal-ice quinquefidfr. Browne, p. 143, t. 2, f. 2. Leaves lanceolate-oblong, acute, smooth on both sides ; stipules deltoid ; ra- cemes compound-axillary, erect; tube of the flowers very short. This dgxdiletia HO RT US J A M A I C E N S I S 121 This is a shrub- with rottftd, smooth, somewhat striated, branches, join ted as it were With the decidiions petioles, compressed a little at the top ; leaves opposite, throe or four inches long, decussated, afcuminate at both ends, entire-, nerved, and veined, paler underneath^ on petioles an inch long-, roundish, fiat above, smooth ; stipules between the petioles, wide, connate, acuminate, spreading, rigid, smooth, except at the edge, where they are viilose. Racemes often the length of the leaves, opposite ; branches decussated, compressed a little ; pedicels scattered, the last commoiily three- fioworcu- bractes minute, awl-shaped, at the divisions of the raceme. Flowers small, dusky yellow; calyx five-toothed, very small, pubescent; teeth acute, erect, very small ; tube of the corolla very short, scarcely longer than the teeth of the calyx, wider under the border, which is five-parted, with the segments the length of the tube, ob- long, reflex, tomentose above; throat open, with the margin five-cornered, smooth, shining; filaments from the middle of the tube, shorter than the tube; anthers in the throat, oblong, yellow; style tbickish, the length of the tube; stigma above tire border thickened, bifid; capsule globular, scarcely longer than a seed of hemp, smooth, crowned with a very minute calyx, two-celled, two-valved; partition contrary; seeds very many, membranaceous, bat two only ripening, and these hemispherical. It is very like II thyrsoidea, but has the leaves a little narrower, and smooth on both sides, the racemes are erect ; the tube is very short, not four times as long as the calyx, and two seeds only ripen in the capsule. It seems to be "Browne's plant, though Linneus refers that to his petcsia stipularis, which it can hardlj be, because, in that case, the leaves ought to be tomentose underneath, and the flowers thyrsoid. Su: 6. TOMF.NTOSA. TOMENTOSE. \Fruficosa foliis sub-villosis ovatis oppositis, stipiilts seta tcrminatis, racemis alaribus. Browne, p. 144. Teaves ovate-acuminate, tomentose; peduncles three-parted, axillary, short. This shrub is three feet high, upright, branched above, even ; branches and branch- lets opposite, round, upright, somewhat viilose at the top ; leaves on short pubescent petioles, opposite, entire, nerved and veined, rough-haired, dusky green, villose- tomentose underneath, becoming hoary ; stipules between the petioles, ovate, with a short point, pubescent. Peduncles small; several times shorter than the leaves, three- parted, with three-flowered branchlets ; flowers small, whitish or dusky yellow, viilose on the outside ; calyx five-toothed, small; tube of the corolla longer than the calyx, narrow; border five-parted, with ovate-concave segments; aperture crowned with a small ring; anthers within the aperture ; style bifid at the top. Capsule roundish, two-celled, small, the size of coriander seed ; seeds solitary, hemispherical. Native of Jamaica on rocky hills. It differs from thyrsoidea in being smaller, in having the leaves pubescent on both sides, and tomentose underneath, and the racemes, flowers, and fruit, very small. 7. UMBELLULATA. Sl^B-UMBELLED, Leaves lanceolate-ovate, acute, sub-hirsute; peduncles axillary, trichotomous at top ; flowers sub-umbelled. This shrub is two feet high and more, branched, and upright ; branches almost up- right, sub-divided, and compressed a little, even ; branchlets hirsute at the top ; leaves on hirsute petioles of a middling length ; stipules between the petioles, opposite, con- Q. 2 nate, 12i IIORTUS JAMAICENSIS. ronfelltu. Xiate; membranaceous, broad at the base, with a longer and somevrnat <~ !ly point-, iirsute, shrivelling, Peduncles opposite,, solitary, in '.lie axili of the leaves, shorter than the leaves, compressed, hirsute, at tip three- part, fraw- cred; pedicel? forming an umbellet, with four small linear acute leafl I of ^ an involucre, at the base ; segments of the calyx linear, hirsute, perm i L larger than the others dusky yellow, pubescent on the outside ; tube eh : , I n- ing towards the border, which has five roundish convex segments ;.api -.re ero ed with a ring ; : . filaments as in tbyrsoidai.; style bifid at the top; capsule rou: !ssh, crowned with the segments of the calyx, two-celled, two-valvi-.l ; valves bipartite, partition contrary ; seeds very many, but two -ripening in each cell ; these are angul v. . Convex.; the res v are small, Bat, and membranaceous. Native of Jau aica, on rocks near streams, flowering in April. It is distinguished by its shagglness, the size of this flowers, and the intlorescence.-r-6';c. S. 1NCANA. ItOARY. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, underneath hoary-rugged ; peduncles axillary, simple^ three-flowered. Shrub from two to three feet in. height, upright, branched, rugged; branches round, rigid, rugged ; leaves mostly terminating, on round tomentose-hoary petioles, oppo- site, entire, m -ved, netted veined, smooth, somewhat shining, underneath hirsute, . rugged, rigid, somewhat leatherj ; stipule's within the base of the petioles, very shuit, truncate, whitish ciliate at the edge. Flowers snb-umbelled, on very short pedicels, with a two- leaved involucret; leaflets ovate-acute, concave, pubeseent-hoaiy. Calyx five-parted; segments ovate, acute, thick, rigid, silky-hoary withiri aud without; five other little, segments at the base of the germ, and two ovate-acute leaflets at the base of the calyx.; corolla biggish ; tube the lei igth of the calyx and hoary ; border five-parted ; ; segments ovate 5 , convex, rigid, juoary; aperture margiued ; filaments from the middle of the tube; anthers below the. border; germ oblong, tunicate at the top, hirsute; style bifid at the top ; stigma, thi< ker. Capsule Bbjorrg; clothed and crowned with the calyx,, two-celled, truncate at the top, perforated in the centre, Uvo-valved, with the valves bi-partilc ; partition contrary ; seeds very many, small, oblong, membranaceous, two only ripening. This species is very distinct in its habit, flowers, and hoariness. Native of Jamaica in rocky calcareous mountains, but rare. $iv. Sh HIRSBTA. HIRSUTE. . Leaves oblong -acute, hirsute; peduncles axillary, trichotomous, loose; flowers. . hirsute. This shrub is a fathom high, branched and even ; branches sub-divided, round-flatted, loosish, rugged; twigs hirsute. Leaves on short hirsute, rufescent petioles, decus- . sated, in the middle .widish, .acme, entire, nerved and veined, pale underneath ; sti- pules opposite, wide, ovate-lanceolate, long, hirsute; peduncles opposite, solitary, nearly the length of the leaves, filiform, three-parted at top, trifid, hirsute, flowers jsedicelled, vcllowi>h, hirsute on the outside ; leaflets minute, opposite, linear, acute, hirsute, at the sub-divisions of the peduncles. Calyx five-cleft, segments lanceolate, acute, upright, hirsute: corolla salver-shaped ; tube the length of the calycine seg- ments, round, narrower towards the border, hirsute on the outside ; border five-cleft, spreading; segments oblong, blunt, short, incumbent; aperture contracted, scarcely margined; filaments inserted into the middle of the tube ^ anthers oblong, within the lube ; S'.st H OUT US JAVAICF.NSIS. 125 tube; germ ovate, hirsute; style the leffgth of the tube, bifid at the top; sti nas erect, acute. Native ui Jamaica, in mountains in the southern part, flowering in -January. Src. 10. H1RTA. HAIRY. Leaves oblong-acuminate, rough-haired, rigid, nerved underneath ; peduncles axillary, trichotomous, erect. This differs fi >m th< hirsuta in the leaves being rigid' and nerved, the branches and peduncles sttfl i d upright, not loo s: from umbellulata in the leases not being lance- oiate-ovat. , acute j the flowers in umbels, not clustered. Sxu. ROSE. ROSA. Cl. 12, oh. !>. Jcosandria polygynixt. Nat. or. Lenticosie, Jen. char. Calyx a one-leafed perianth, pitcher-shaped, five-cleft, fleshy, con- tract t . at in'; neck; corolla five ob-eordate petals ; stamens very many, capillary, with three cornered anthers; the pistil has numerous germs, styles, and blunt stigmas; there is no pericarp; berry fleshy; seeds numerous, oblong, hispid, fastened to the inner side of the calyx. ROSE. The common rose, both red and white, has been long introduced into Jamaica, where it thrives very well, especially in the cooler mountains-, and, with little care, may be kept constantly in bloom. 'The (lowers are never so large, nor the smell so powerful and fragrant, as its England ; owing to the heat of the climate disclosing them too soon. There are so many species and varieties of this well known and beautiful genus, that it is difficult to distinguish them. The following are enumerated in the Hortus Eastensis : lutea, yellow Austrian; cinnamomca, cinnamon ; ccntifolia, hundred leaved; damascena, damask; gallica, red; muscosa, moss; moschuta, musk; alba, white ; spinojissimn, Scotch ; sempevflonns, China ; and rubigitiosa, sweet brier. ROSE, WILD. BLAKEA. C'f.. 11, OR. I. Dodecandria monegyma. Nat. OR. This was so named by Dr. Patrick Browne from Mr. Martin Blake, of Antigua, a eat promoter of useful knowledge, and a patron of the doctor's Natural History of great promoter Jamaica. Gen. CHAR.' Calyx perianth of the fruit inferior, six-leaved; leaflets ovate, con- cave, expanding, the size of the flower ; perianth of the flow\r snperior; margin quite entire, hexangular, membranaceous-,; corolla six, ovate, expa"ding, ecjual petals; stamens twelve filaments, subulate, erect; anthers triangui r, depressed, concatenated into a ring ; the pistil has an inferior germ, ob-ovate crowned with the margin of the calyx; style subulate, the iengh of the flower; stigma ite; ihe pericarp an ob-ovate capsule, six-celled; Seeds very many. One specie is a aative -of Jamaica. XUKERV&KS 1-6 II OUT US JAMATCENSIS. .-rose TKINERV1A. THREE-NERVED. Fi-uiicosa ; foliis ellipticis, trin-erviis, nitidis ; ftoribus lateral ibits. Browne, p. 323, t. 33. Two cah-cled ; leaves three- nerved. Leaves oblong-ovate, petioJed, quite entire, coriaceous, opposite; the three nerves underneath protuberant, blackish. Flowers opposite, solitary. This vegetable is certainly one of. the most beautiful productions of America. It is but a weakly plant at first, and supports itself for a time by the help of some neighbour- ing shrub or tree ; but it grows.gradually more robust, and, at length, acquires a pretty moderate stem, which divides into a thousand weakly declining branches, well supplied with beautiful rosy blossoms on all sides, that give it a most pleasing appearance in the season. It is chiefly found in oal,r moist, and shady, places, and grows generally to the height of ten or fourteen feet ; but rises always higher when -it remains a climber, in which state it continues sometime. It thrives best on the sides of ponds or rivulets, an tiiose that would choose to have it flourish in their gardens, where it must naturally make a very elegant appearance, ought to supply it with some support while it con- .; young and weakly. It is called Blakea, after Air. Martin Blake, of Antigua, a rgyt at promoter of every sort of useful knowledge, and a gentleman to whose friendship the Natural History of Jamaica chiefly owes its early appearance. Browne's Jamaica. The petaia of the flower have an agreeable acid taste, hence some have called thie ]daiit the sorrel rose. " I have always taken the twelve triangulated bodies, supported by the stamens in this flower, to be anthers ; but having discovered an uncommon appearance upon the upper part of some of these supposed anthers with my naked eye, it induced me to look at it with a hand microscope, when I perceived that the upper part or coat of some .of these, being abraded by some accident, displayed two -small anthers, and that these bodies ought rather to be denominated nectaxeous glands than anthers, on the summit of the other glands that were uot abraded ; I could also plainly perceive the tumid an- thers replete with yellow farina, and on these, as well as the abraded ones, I saw two small holes or punctures on the interior side of each angle of the glands, facing the style, immediately before the inner angle ; and, perceiving a furrow at the hinder part of each gland, with a pir. 1 found I could easily divide each gland into two equal parts, which were connected above, where each division had an hollow or excavated part for Che reception of one anther, which was" recumbent and fixed; the lower part of each, glandular division was hollow, monocapsular, .and empty." A Robinson. ROSE APPLE. EUGENIA. Cl. 12, OR. l.Icosandria monogynia. Nat. or. Ilesperide/e. This was so named after Prince Eugene of Savoy, who was a great promoter of botany. jGen. char. Calyx a one-leafed perianth, superior, elevated in the middle into a sub-villose little ball, four-parted ; divisions oblong, obtuse, concave, permanent ; corolla eottboei.ua IIORTUS JAM'AI CENSI 9. 127 corolla, four petal*, twice as large as the calyx, oblong, obtuse, concave ; stamens very many filaments, inserted into the ball of the calyx, length of the corolla, with small anthers ; the pistil has u turbinate inferior germ ; a simple style, the length of the stamens ; and a simple siigma; the perici.rp a four-cornered drupe, crow tied, one-celled;, seed a roundish smooth uut. JAM30S.- Leaves quite entire ; peduncles brant heJ, terminating. This tree rises twenty or thirty feet high, with handsome spreading branches. Leaves lanceolate, acute, opposite. Flowers mostly terminating, but some come out from, the sides. Fruit round, smooth, crowned with the calyx, of a fine yellow colour when ripe, about two inches in diameter: the rind about a quarter of an inch thick, hollow, containing a roundish nut, which rattles in the fruit when ripe. The rind has a sweetish watery taste, with a flavour like roses, from which the name has been derived ; but is_ not in much esteem as a fruit. This tree is a native of the East Indies, and was intro- duced into Jamaica in the year 1762, by Zachary Bayley, Esq. and is so hardy as to thrive well in almost any soil, multiplying itself so much by scattering its seeds, thai, wherever there is a bearing tree, the surrounding land will be covered with young plants, very troublesome in some situations, as the seeds take root aud grow very speedily. The malacensis, or Otaheite apple ; and the jarnholanu, or jainbolan, both species of this genus, were also brought to Jamaica in his Majesty's ship Providence, in the year 17y3. ROSEMARY. ROSMARINUS. Cl. 2, or. l. Diandriamonogynia. Nat. or. Verlicillata. GEN. char. Calyx a one-leafed perianth ; corolla unequal, with the upper lip two parted; stamens two long filaments, curved, simple, with a tooth; anthers sim- ple; the pistil has a four-cleft germ ; style like the stamens, stigma simple; no pericarp ; calyx containing the seeds, which are four, ovate. OFFICINALIS^ OFFICINAL. Leaves sessile. This well known plant has been long cultivated in Jamaica, but does not thrive so well as some other European plants, though sufficiently to supply enough for common ses. It has a fragrant smell, and a warm puugent bitterish taste, and considered 3 the circulation, dissolve tenacious juices, open obstructions of the excretory glands, arid promote the fluid secretions. The writers on the Materia Medica in general have entertained a very high opinion of the virtues of this plant. Boerhaave is full of its praises; particularly of the essential oil, and the distilled water cohobated or re-dis- tilled several times from fresh parcels of the herb'. After extravagantly commending other waters prepared in this manner, he alls, with regard to that of rue, that the greatest commendations he can bestow upon it fall short of its merit : " What medi- cine (says he) can he more efficacious for promoting sweat and perspiration, for the cure of the hysteric passion and of epilepsies, and for expelling poison ?" Whatever service rue ma he of in the two last cases, it undoubtedly lias its use in the others '. the cohobated wafer, however, is not the most efficacious preparation of it. An extract made of rectified spirit contains in a small compass the whole virtues of the rue ; this menstruum taking up by infusion all the pungency and flavour of the plant, and ele- vating nothing in distillation. With water, its peculiar flavour and warmth arise; the bitterness, and a considerable share of the pungency, remaining behind. " Rue is of excellent use for all illnes-es of the stomach that proceed from cold or moist humours ; a great digester and restorer of appetite ; dispels wind, helps perspi- ration, drives out ill humours, useful in pestilent or contagious airs. The only ill lies in too frequent use, which impairs the natural heat of the stomach, by the greater heat of an herl) very hot and dry; and therefore the juice made up with sugar into small pills, and swallowed only two or three at nights or mornings, and only where there is occasion, is the most innocent way of using it." Sir W. Temple on Health and Long Lije. RUNNING GRASS. PASPALUM. Cl. 3, or. 2. Triandria digynia. Nat. or. Graminte. Gen. char. Calyx a one-flowered two-valved glume, membranaceous; valves equal, orbicular, plano-concave; inner flatter, placed outwardly; corolla two- valved, the size of the calyx ; valves roundish, cartilaginous, outwardly convex, inflex at the base ; stamens three capillary filaments, the length of the glume, with ovate anthers ; the pistil has a roundish germ ; two capillary styles, the length of the flower; stigmas pencil-form, hair)-, coloured; there is no pericarp; glumes permanent, closed, growing to the seed, which is single, roundish, compressed, convex on one side. Seven species of this genus have been found in Jamaica. 1. B1CORNE. TWO-HORNED. Gramen dactylon bicorne repens, foliis lat is brevibus. Sloane, v. I, p. 11 2. Bicorne repens spieis tenuioribus el longioribus. Browne, p. 136. Spikes two, almost erect, one of them sessile; florets oblong, smooth ; culm ascending. The mountain running grass is the most common sort of grass in the midland moun- tains, and grows frequently in the lowlands. It is a little sourish, and not liked by any sort of brutes when green, but, when cut and well cured, it makes excellent hay, and Vol. II. R agrees 130 I1QRTUS JAMAICENSIS.- funning agrees extremely well with all labouring and stabled cattle. This discovery is owing to Mr. Waller), who had frequently tried the expeiiment before I left Jamaica, and has- always found it answer beyond his expectations. He is a gentleman of a very happy turn of thought, and a great promoter of every sort of curious-and useful industry. Browne. 2. DISTiCHUM. TWO-SPIKED; Gramen dactylon bicorne spiels purpura scent ibus inajus. Sloane, v. 1, p. 112, t. 65, f. 3. Spikes two, almost erect, one of them sessile ; florets oblong, smooth ; culm ascending. Culm simple, decumbent towards the root ; leaves lanceolate-acute, flat, short ; sheaths striated, hairy at the base. Spikes almost four-cornered, one shortly pedicelled ; rachis fiat, even; florets approximating, alternate, sub- sessile, ovate, acute. Glumes both of the calyx and corolla equal, ovate, striated ; filaments longer ; anthers very dark blue; stigmas penciled blue. Su\ This has a crooked repent stem, the flower stalk fourteen inches high, with purple blackish stamens. It grows in holes and places where water has stood in the savannas. S!oune. 3. VIRGATUM. ROD-LIKE. Gramen dactylon majus, pannicula longa, spick phtrimis nudis crassis. Sloane, v. 1, p. 112, t. 69, f. 2. Spikelcts panicled alternate, villose at the base ; flowers in pairs. The root is thickly fibrose and perennial, and throws up several annual erect stems,. of about four feet high, and thicker than a quill at the base, round, glossy, and in part covered by the sheaths of the leaves, which are seated at the joints of the stems, and axe smooth on both sides, and hispid in a retroverted direction on the borders, they are about two and a half feet long, with a sheath almost a foot long, and about an inch wide. The spikes are alternate at the top of the stem, very spreading, shortlj- foot-stalked, hairy at their origin, and about four inches long, in number uncertain, from four to twelve. The shaft or mid-rib of the spike is flat, membranaceous, and smooth, green. The flowers are obversely- ovate ; very compressed, and marked on each side by a lon- gitudinal nerve. The glumes of the calyx are villose at their tips on the borders, the anthers are oblong, hastated and incumbent, and of a dingy yellow; the stigmas purp- lish ; the seeds glossy and brownish. Sw. This grows in savannas plentifully. 4. PANICULATUM. PANTCLED. Gramen miliaceum, pamcula viridi, vel purpurea-, Sloane, v. I, p, 115, t. 72, f. 2. Spikes- panicled, vei ticillate aggregate. This is an annual grass, with the panicle as it were in whorls, with very numerous, linear, filiform, very" narrow spikelets, all directed one way ; the (lowers are digested in a double row, a:id are sharpish. Linneus. Culm a foot high, jointed; leaves nine inches long, sheath rough ; panicle three incites long, purple or green. It grows, in clayey moist grounds. Sloan-:. 5. VAGINATUM- RtTWRE iior.TUS jamaicensis. m 5. VA6INATUM. SHEATHED. Spikes two; spikeleis bifario.us, acuminate; culm branched; knee jointed; joints sheathed. This is a foot high ; roots numerous, filiform ; culm creeping, sheathed at the joint- ; sheaths distich, compressed, wile, striated, smooth; leaves lanceolate-linear, acme, spreading, hairy at the nee k of the sheath ; spikes spreading, an inch long, pedicelied ; rachis linear, sub-fiexuose; spikelets ovate, plarto-corivex, on very short pedicels. Calycine glumes equal, ovate, acute, smooth : corolla scarcely smaller; anthers and stigmas purple. It is known by its branching culm, by its sheaths and spikeleis. Native of Jamaica, in pastures where the soil is clay. Ar&. 6. DECUM.BENS. PROSTRATE. Spike single, directed one way, peduncle; very long; spikelets alternate, or- biculate-acuminate, smooth; culm procumbent. This is a proenmbent grass scarcely a foot in length : culm branched, divaricating, round, smooth ; leaves widish, lanceolate, pubescent on both sides, with the edge sub- ctliate; sheaths ;he length of the leaves, even, villose at the neck. Peduncles from the sheaths, solitary, from four to six inches long, loose, one-spiked ; spikes nodding, an inch long; spikelets directed one way, on short pedicels; rachis membranaceous, linear, flat; calycine glumes ovate, smooth; corolline very like them; anthers pale, stigmas long, pencilled. This (Infers from its congeners, in its divaricating diffused culm, and solitary axillary spike, on a long pedicel. Native of Jamaica cm the western side of the island, on the mountains, in a dry sandy soil. Sw, 7. FH.iror.ME. FILIFORM. Spike mostly solitary, linear-one -rowed ; spikelets alternate, ovate-compressed^ culm and leaves filiform. Culm erect, simple, with blackish joints ; leaves half round. Sw+ RUPTURE-WORT, HAIRY. ILLECEBRUM. Cl. 5, or. 1. Pentandria monogynia. Nat. or. lloioracea. Gen. char Calyx a five-leaved perianth, cartilaginous, five-cornered; with co- loured leaflets, which are sharp, with distant points, permanent; corolla none; stamens five capillary filaments, within the calyx, with simple anthers ; the pistil has an ovate germ, snarp, ending in a short bifid style; stigma simple, obtuse; pericarp a roundish capsule, acuminate, both ways five-valved, one-celled, co- vered by the calyx ; seed single, roundish, sharp on both sides, very large. Two species are natives of Jamaica. 1. POLYGONOIDES. POLYGONUM-I.IKE. Amaranthoides humile currassavicum foliis polygoni. Sloane, v. I, p. 141, t. 86, f. 2. Hirsuta repens adnodos altemos florida, foliis ovatis, petiolis marginatis semi-arnplexantibus, Jioribus confertis sessilibus. Browne, p. 184. >i R 2 Stems 132 HORTUS JAMAICENSTS. . rushes Stems creeping, rough-haired; leaves broad-lanceoiate, petioled ; heads or- biculate, naked. Stem round, reddish, hairy all over, dichotomou^, creeping over the earth, in tufts, for some feet ; almost every joint sending fortli roots. Leaves opposite, quite entire, even, hairy underneath, smooth above, veined, acute, ending at the base in petioles the length of the leaf, and somewhat hairy. Flowers axillary, white, and under them a three-leaved braete shorter than the flower ; filaments simple, shorter than the co- rolla ; germ compressed. Tins plant is found creeping in all the savannas about King- ston and Spanish Town. 2. VERMICULATU.J. WORM. jimaranthoides humile currassavicitm Jbliis crpece lucidis, capiiulis' albis. Sloane, v. 1, p. 141. Nepens rufescens, foliis linearibus crassiusculis, capitulis alaribus. Browne, p. 184. Stems creeping, smooth ; leaves sub-cylindric, fleshy ; heads oblong, smooth, terminating. From the root is scattered on every hand a great many trailing branches, about a foot long, round, red, jeinted, smooth, small, and having branches set opposite to one another at every joint. Leaves almost round, green, one-third of an inch long, oppo- site. At the ends of the branches come the flowers, being set in a head close together, each of them being iong, tubulous, yellow within, and white above. It grew near the sea side. Piso says it has somewhat the qualities of samphire, the short branches and leaves, a little boiled, and covered with vinegar, being eaten as a pickle, he says, open obstructions, and excites the appetite. Sloane. Browne calls it the creeping gom- pJirena, common about Rock River, and spreading a great way among the grass, root- ing.at every joint; the whole having a reddish brown cast, and something like purs- lane.* Swartz also places this plant among the gomphrenas, on account of its having commonly two styles, a two or three-leaved calyx, with a nectary and lanugo between the calyx and corolla. RUSHES. SCIRPUS. Cl. 3, or. 1. Triandria monogynia. Nat. or. Calamaria. Gen. char. Calyx spike imbricate all round ; scales ovate, from fiat, bent in, dis- tinguishing the fiawers ; no corolla; stamens three filaments, finally becoming longer, widi oblong anthers ; the pistil has a very small germ ; a filiform long style; three capillary stigmas; no pericarp; seed one, three-sided, acuminate, surrounded with villose hairs, shorter than the calyx, or without any. Seven species have been discovered in Jamaica. With a single spike. 1. M UTAH'S. CIIAXGFD. Cuhno triquetro nudo, spica stricta vblonga, terminali. Browne, p. i-26. S. 4. Culm three-sided, naked; spike cylindrical, terminating. The rushes IIORTUS JAM A K3 EN SIB. 139 The aphyllous scirpus, with a triangular stalk, is frequent in all the sending shallow waters in Jamaica, especially to the east and west of" Kingston ; the stalks are almost hollow, and partitioned by frequent transverse septse. Browne. It resembles the following species \ery much, but the culm is three-sided, softish, and not geniculated. Linneus. 2. GF.NICULATUS. KXFF.-.TOINTFD. Juncus aquaticus geniculates > capitulis equiseti, major. Sloanc, v. 1, p. 121, t. 81, f. 3, and t. 7 5, f. 2. Major rotundus, panicula terminali, spicillis compressis pedv.ncidis tenuioribus et longioribus incidentibus. Browne, p. 127. S. 5. Culm round, naked; spike oblong, terminating. Culms five or six, from two to three feet high, of a fine shining green colour, hollow, with many transverse membranes; geniculated, with no pith. Head oblong, scalv, white. It varies in size, and is found in holes of the lowlands where water has stood. Sloane. Browne calls it the flat panicled bull-rush, and says it is very like the c< >i ti- mon bull- rush. 3. CAPITATTJS. HEADED. Culmo rotundo nudo ; spica stricla oblonga terminali. Browne, p. 126. S. 3. Culm round, naked, bristle-form ; spike sub-globular, terminating. Browne calls this the ap/ijjllous round-shanked scirpus, which, with the first spe; tes, ii ta be found in all shallow standing waters. With round culms and several spikes, 4. LACUSTRIS. LAKE. Juncus Iteiis. Sloane, v. 1, p. 122. Major rotundus, panicula ter- minali, spicillis compressis pedunculis tenuioribus et longioribus in- cidentibus. Browne, p. 127. Culm round, naked; panicle cymed, decompounded, terminating; spikelets ovate. "Roots creeping under water horizontally, thick, and strong : stems straight, four or five feet, or much more, in height, naked, round, smooth, dark green, verv spongy, and full of watery juice within, with several alternate sheathing scales at the base. Panicle decompounded, in a cyme-like form; its branches are very unequal, com- pressed, and fringed towards their extremities : bractes two exterior, lanceolate, acute, sheathing, commonly shorter than the pa-.ide, and many interior ones, which are smaller ; spikes clustered (generally two or three together), ovate, brown, with a shin- ing rusty tinge; glumes concave, keeled, pointed, fringed, sometimes cloven, but with a serrated point in the cleft; stamens not very long ; stigma three-cleft ; seed flat on one side, convex on the other, with five or six short rough bristles at its base. * Smith. This grows commonly about the Ferry, and about the banks of rivers, as well as in lagoons. It is used in England as well as in Jamaica for making bottoms to chairs, 2nd for thatching cottages, being of a soft pliant nature, and destitute of the roughness or cutting edges of many grass-like plants. In hard seasons cattle will eat it. 5. AUTU.MSAI.IS; 134 II O 11 T U S 3 A M A T C E N S I S. . RTfeHls 5. AUTUMN A LIS. Culm ancipital, naked ; umbel decompounded ; spikelets ovate. Leaves radical, grassy, loose, somewhat ragged, often the length of the culms, vrh are a hand high, compressed, keeled a little on one side. Involucre terminating, tu >. k ivecl, like t e leaver, comjiionly longer than the umbel ; which is spreading and un qua). The ; ve generally three spikes. Scales ovate, ferruginous^ with a green keel, scarcely nmcronate. Linntxis. .Culm three-sidtd , panicle naked. 6. FERRUGINEUSJ IRON. Gramen cyperoides majus, spicis ex oblango rotundis, compact is fer- -rugineis. Sloane, -v. 1, p. lis, t. 77, f. 2. Culm three-sided, almost naked ; involucres length of the panicle and cilia; e. " This species varies remarkably from a span to two feet in height ; and is easily dis- tinguished by its unequal ciliate involucre. It grows both in dry and wet situations. 7. SPABICEUS. SPADIX. i Gramen cyperoides majus aquaticum, panicidis plurimis junceis sparsis, spicis ex oblongo rotundis spadiceis. Sloane, v. 1, p. 118, t. 70, f. 2. Culm three-sided, naked ; umbel almost naked ; spikes oblong, sessile, and terminating. Culms two feet high, erect, slender, striated, smooth, convex on one side, flatfish on the other, with the angles rugged backwards ; leaves narrow, smooth, shorter than the culm; umbel terminating, compound: universal one with eight or nine unequal rays, an inch longer or shorter. Universal involucre three or four-leaved, with a leaflet equal to the longer rays, the rest an inch in length, or less, rugged as before, and channelled ; the two opposite exterior ones larger, brown at the base ; partial involucre two or three-leaved. Spikes three on each ray of the partial umbel, oblong, finally cylindrical, sharpish, imbricate, brown, and shining; the middle one sessile; scales oblong, blunt, convex, concave, keeled at the tip ; the keel running out into an ob- scure point, Vahl. SABACA. SAGE. flORTUS JAXWfelCENSIS. J$| Sabaca. See Avocado Pear. Saffron, Bastard See Bastard Saffron. SAGE. SALVIA. Cl. 2, OR. 1. Diandria monogynia. Nat. or. Verticillata. This generic name is derived from the Latin word solvere, on account of its healing qualities. Gen. char. Calyx a one-leafed tubular perianth, with a two-lipped mouth ; corolla one-petaled, unequal; slamens two filaments, very short, fastened" transversely to a pedicel; the pistil has a four- cleft germ, a filiform style, and bifid stigma; there is no pericarp ; calyx slightly converging, having the seeds in its bottom, which are four, and roundish. Two species are indigenousta Jamaica, and the officinalis, or garden sage, has been introduced. 1. OFFICINALIS. officinal. Leaves lanceolate-ovate, crenulate; whorls few-flowered ; calyxes mucronate. The common garden sage is a branching shrub, about two feet in height, and, since its introduction, has thriven well in Jamaica. Sage has a strong fragrant smell, and a warm bitterish aromatic taste; formerly in great repute, but at present considered of but little importance. Van Swieten found. it efficacious in stopping night sweats infused in wine or spirit, and a strong infusion in water has been found equally successful. Van Sivieten also found it projRjr for re- straining the flow of milk in the breasts of women, after they had weaned their children. / -It proves of service in debility of stomach, and has a power of resisting putrefaction, having considerable antiseptic virtues. It is used in sauce for strong meats. 2. OCCIDENTALS. WESTERN. Spicata repens, melissa minor i folio, floribus fasciculatis alternis. Browne, p. 117. Leaves ovate-serrate ; spikes loose; bractes cordate, sub-triflorous. Root fibrous, annual ; stem ascending, branched, a foot high, diffused, knotty, even ; leaves shortly acuminate, hispid above, smooth beneath ; petioles four-cor- nered, red, pubescent; bractes opposite, alternate, awned ; within them two or three small blue flowers. Calyx angular, striated, covered with glandular hairs; style the length of the upper lip ; seeds two, one of which onl}' ripens, and that is ovate, com- pressed, and black. It differs from the other species in loose spikes and remote flowers. Sw. Browne calls it the creeping sweet-scented sage, which he says is found creeping under every hedge and bush in the lowlands, running frequently the length of two or three feet, always rooting at the lower joints; it has a faint smell of balm when first pulled, and may be naturally substituted in the room of that plant, though it is not so strong a cephalic. 3. TENELLA, l* HORTUS JAMAICENSIS. saltwort 3. TENEI.LA. TENDER. Leaves cordate ; stem filiform, creeping.; spikes ascending. This is vn herbaceous annual plant, with long, capillary, creeping, roots-; stem decumbent, four or five inches long, the lower part creeping, sub-divided, ascending, striated, pubescent; leaves small, petfoled, remote, tooth -serrate, nerved, pubescent. Spiki s t . rtninating, riprij ht, > omposed of approximating three or four- flowered whorls ; flowers pediceiied, s'iiali, bluie; I . es ovate, very small, two, three, or four, under the peduncjes. C'alysc gibbous underneath, three-toothed; upper segment shorter, retuse, very minutelj three-toothed; the two anterior ones a little longer, blunt; all hirsute; with glandular, hairs.; glands pellucid, azure. Lower lip of the corolla white in the middle, oluc at uie edge ; the opening with blue lines; seeds two, naked, erect, ovate, compressed, black. It is easily known by its habit and smallness, and flower* all the year. Native of Jamaica, in gravelly and grassy parts of the highest moun- tains. Sw. Sagr, Wild See Wild Sage. Sago See Cabbage-Tree. Salop See Jamaica Salop. SALT-WORT. SALICORNIA. Cl. 1. or. 1. Monandriamonogi/nia. Nat. or. lloloracea. Gen. char. Calyx four-cornered, truncate, ventricose, permanent ; no corolla ; stamen one filament (or two), simple, longer than the calyx ; anther one, oblong, twin, erect ; the pistil has an ovate-oblong germ ; style simple, under the stamen ; stigma bifid ; there is no pericarp ; calyx ventricose, inflated ; seed single. Ons species has been found in Jamaica. herbacea. herbaceous. jfphylla ramosa, ramis in spicas abenntibus longas annulatim areolatas. Browne, p. 112. Joints compressed, emarginate, internodes ob-ccnical ; spikes peduncled, at tenuated towards the top. "Root fibrous, small, annual, or biennial ; stem for the most part upright, sub-di- vided at the base, branched at top ; branches opposite, simple, upright, very succu- lent, leafless, jointed; joints flatted, widening at the end, emarginate: spikes oppo- site, with one at the end larger than the rest, peduncled, round, gradually attenuated towards the top, sharpish, jointed: flowers opposite, near together, mostly three on each side in the clefts of the joint Smith. These plants are also called tnarsh sam- phire and glass-wort, as from their ashes a fossil alkali is obtained, in great request for making soap and glass. Browne says this plant is found in great abundance in the Burrough in St. James's. It grows in the low salina near the sea, and seldom is above eight or eleven inches above the ground ; it has but one stamen to every style. The whole plant abounds with a neutro-muriatic salt. K0 UtttiftJMB HO a l-VJ - - ". ;: . . : ..; . & &t English Nam. : ^MARA. C.L. 4, or. \.~Tetnuidrit; monogyma. Nat. Oil Rhxmni. Gew char. Calyx a very small perianth, four-parted, acute, permanent; corolla four^ovate sessile petals, with 'a longitudinal pit at the base; stamens four i.wi- shaped filaments, itemersed in the pit, long; anthers oblong; the pistil has art ovate germ,, style longer, stigma funnel-form ; pericarp a roundish tine-seeded drupe ; seed -solitary. One species was found in Jamaica by Swartz-. CORIACF.A. CORIACEOUS. v Flowers sessile, conglomerate; leaves lanceolate-ovate, acute, sub- coriaceous. This is a tree with a trunk from twenty to thirty feet in heightb, and upright branches; branchlets alternate, sometimes four-cornered, even; leaves alternate, scattered, quite entire, somewhat rigid, nerved and veined, very smooth, membranaceous, dark green, on short petioles. Flowers lateral and axillary, small, whitish, balls of flowers scattered, approximating ; calyx four leaved, or four-parted at the base ; leaflets ovate, acute, keeled, scarcely half a line in length, a little connate at bottom; petals four, slightly connected at the base, oblorg, sharpish, spreading, three times as long as the caivx ; filaments very short, inserted into the base of the petals ; anthers i.blong, spreading, pressed close to the segments of the corolla, biggish; germ superior, glo- bular, style very short, stigma large, ovate : Berry ? globular, the size of a pepper- corn, one-celled. Some of the trees of this species have male flowers only. Native of Jamaica, in the southern parts, in woods on the mountains. Sw. ' SAMPHIRE OF JAMAICA. EATIS. Cl. 22, or. 4. Dioecia tetrandria. NaT. or. Gen. thar. -Male calyx a pyramidal anient, scales one-flowered, fourfold, rnabri- cate ; no corolla; stamens four filaments, erect, longer than the scales of the ament ; anthers oblong, twin, incumbent. Female on a seperate plant calyx a common fleshy ament, containing some floscules, conglobated into an ovate qua- drangular body ; involucre two-leaved ; no corolla ; the pistil has a quadrangular germ, fastened to the ament; no style; stigma two-lobed, obtuse, villose ; the pericarp, a berry conjoined with the rest, one celled ; seeds four, triangular, acuminate. There is only one species, a native of Jamaica. MAR1T1MA. MARITIME. Kali fr ut i co sum, coniferum, fiore albo. Sloane, V.I, p. 144, Maritima erecta, ramosa ; foliolis succulentis, sub-cj/lindri~ cis. Browne, p. 356. This is a shrub, four feet high, or less, with brittle, ronnd, ash-coloured, stems, much branched, diffused, procumbent ; young branches four-cornered, four-furrowed, green, opposite, and upright. Leaves oblong, thicker above, acute, gradually draw- ing to a point towards the base, fleshy, succulent, flat above, convex beneath, sessile, opposite, scarcely an inch long, numerous. Stigmas white, flowers yellow, or green- YoJ-. II. a S ish v>* Tortus jamaicensis." savdbcx ish yellow. The whole plant is very salt to the taste, ami is buvneJ for barilla at Car- thagenas ItisverycomnTononallthesaltmarsb.es on the south side of Jamaica. It would be very useful in the manufacture of soap and glass, were such things attended to id this island, as well as the salt-wort before described, the sea-side purslane, am:. many other plants. SA^ T D-BOX TREE. HURA: Cl. 21, or. 8. Monoecia monodelphia. Nat. or. Tricocca. Gfv. char Male calyx Ament from the divarication of the branches, oblong-, ('looping, covered with sessile spreading florets, scales oblong; perianth within each scale of the ament, cylindric, two-leaved, truncate^ very short ; coroife none ; stamen a cylindric fiia'.ient, a little longer than the calyx, peltate at the tip, rigid, below the tip twice or thrice verticilled with tubercles ; anthers two, immersed in each tubercle, oval, bifid. Female flower in the same plant Calyx perianth one-leafed, cylindric, furrowed, truncate, quite entire, closely sur- rounding the germ corolla none ; the pistil has a roundish germ within the calyx ; a cylindric long style; stigma large, funnel-shaped, plano-convex, coloured, twelve-cleft, blunt, equal; pericarp woody, orbiruiate or globular-flatted, torose, with twelve furrows, twelve-celled J cells dissilieirt, crescent-shaped, with an elastic dagger point at the end; seeds solitary, compressed, sub-orbjeulate, large. There is only one species, which is a native of Jamaica; CREPITANS. CRACKl.IXC Baru.ce fructus c pluribus nucibus avian's. Sloane, v. 2, p. IU6. . Arboreu'm, rgmulis irregulariter tervatis, foliis cordato crenatis rr,'[eris, petiolis bighmdiilis. Browne, g. 351. This vise-, from a spreading root with a soft woody st^tUY. to the height of thirty or forty feet, dividing into many branches,', which abound with a milky juice, and have scars on their back where the leaves have fallen off. The leaves are sometimes eleven inches long and nine inches broad, heart-shaped, of a beautiful green, indented on their edges, having a prominent mid-rib, with several transverse veins, which are al- ternate; they are upon long footstalks. The male flowers come out from, between the leaves, upon foot-stalks three inches long, and are formed into a close spike or column, 1\ ing over each oihei; like the scales of fish.: the female flowers are situate at a distance from them, and have a long funnel-shaped tube spreading at the top, where it is cut into twelve or thirteen reflected parts. After the flower the germ swellsj and becomes a round compressed ligneous .capsule, having twelve or thirteen deep furrows, each being a distinct cell,, containing one large, round, compressed, seed. When these pods are ripe, they burst with violence, and throw out their seeds to a considerable ;;:. ince. The formation and parts of this tree agree so well, in general, with those of the manchioneal, that I was induced to look upon them as two distinct species of the same genus. The branches are divided alike in both, and the leaves, which stand in the win manner, reflecting a little backwards,from the direction of the-footstalks, are Bjs- posed posed pretty thick -at the extremities of the branches, -and sustained by footstalks, that ' , l is, one gland each ; in that, two. This is full of transparent juice, that of ilk, I; >th acrid ; an'tl the flowers, notwithstandingjthey differ in some degree ; agree in ' tion of the style and stigma, as well as in the. disposition of the -anthera?, t lough the number of these be not the same in both. In this the fruit is regularly divided into celis ; in that, whose nut or shell is harder, these are not so regular; yet they are longitudinal, adjoining, in a number proportioned to the divisions of the stigma, and generatry both regular and many in the lounger germens; hut some of r/iem abort as the iruit increase The seeds, roasted, purge upwards and downwards. I have tasted one of them, and it appeared, at first, to he both mild and pleasant; but it soon began to warm and scald both my palate and throat, which induces me to look upon it as an improper pur- gative; unless it be given/to raise a warmth in-ibe bowels, where they have lost most of-their vigour by a continued flux or diarrhoea} and, even-then, I think the seeds of the argemone a much more eii m' ie medicine. Broitine. This tree is cultivated chiefly for ornament, and the fine shade it yield*. It loves & "deep rich soil, and thrives best near water. It rises to the height of thirty-live or forty feet, and expands its branches to such a liistance as sometimes to cast a shade of , sixty feet diameter. But, by reason of the quickness of its vegfctation, its parts are of so loose a texture, that a loud clap of thunder, or a sudden' gust of wind, frequentiy causes the largest Boughs to snap asunder. Nor is its trunk of any use, except for fire- wood. The colour of the wood is whitish ; its bark smooth and brown. The fruit is flat and round, disposed regularly into cells, each inclosing a flat seed. When the seeds arc taken eut, the shell, which is very firm, is converted into a box for holding letter sand, whence the name. The seeds, roasted, purge upwards and downwards with great violence : they contain an acrid juice, which scalds the mouth -and throat, and are therefore very properly rejected from the materia medica. The ieaves are often applied with great success to the head in fevers, to mitigate or remove the pain and tension in that part. Long. A single seed, or one and a half, is recommended in dry belly-ache ; Hernandez tlirects the seeds to be roasted. The vomiting occasioned by eating these nuts may be checked by giving a strong decoction of columba root. Mr. A. Robinson says he ate a kernel of a fresh seed, and, in trie space of five or six minutes, he grew very sick, and was purged and vomited with great violence. He says he had several times eat these kernels before, without being in the least affected, but imagines the difference to have arisen from the seeds he had before eaten being old and dry ; from which it would seem *Iiat they only operated when in a green state. SantaMaria Leaf Sec Colt'sFo^t. SANTA MARIA TREE. CALOPHYLLUM, Cl. 13, OR. 1. Polyandria monogynia. Nat. or. This-generic name is derived from two Greek words for a fine leaf. S2 'GET. HI HORTUS- JAMAICENS1S. santa Gfk. char. Calyx a two-leaved perianth, leaflets ovate, concave, 'coloured, deci- duous; corolla four (two) oblwng, concave, spreading, petals ; stamens many fiii- - "form short filaments, with erect oblong anthers; the pistil has a roundish germ, a filiform style, the length of the stamens ; stigma headed, obtuse ; pericarp a glo- bular drupe; the seed globular, sub-acuminate, very large. Oue species is a rv.'Uve of Jamaica. CALABA. Mdlipersica mameyte dicta-, folio lovgiore, arbor mszima, cortice^ sulcata, cinereo, awaro. Sloane, v. 2, p. 124. slltissimct, /oliis. oblongis, riitidis$imis } he-rvosis. Browne, p. 372. Leaves ovate, obtuse. This is a lofty and beautiful tree, growing frequently to the height of ninety or one "nihdied feet. The stem is then about two feet in diameter, very straight, and without any foliage, until near the summit, where it throws forth a beautiful and regular pyra- midal foliage. The branches are blunt,, emarginate, firm, on short petioles. The leaves ovate-oblong. Flowers on axillary simple racemes, whitish, and smelling sweet. Fruit greenish, pulpy, involving a hard smooth ash-coloured nut. Many of the corollas have only two petals, and the calyxes two leaves, crossing each other, and having the appearance of a four-leaved corolla. Some of the corollas have four and even five "petals. The wood of the santa maria makes good boards for inside work, but they shrink and swell much with the variations of the weather; it has also been found to make good shingles and staves for ruin puncheons, as it splits freely and works easily. From many experiments lately made, the stives made from this tree, and formed into puncheons,, have been found to contain rum for a length of time ; but it is recommended to char the^puncheons well inside. Sloane notices that this wood was used for the purpose of making staves, in his time, and Dampier relates that the trees were used for masts to ships. It has been observed that near the sea-beech the wood is very apt to be des- troyed by wood-ants or worms, which is not the case in the mountains in the interior. There are thought to be two sorts of it, the one with a whiter bark than the other, but this may be owing tc a difference in age or scil. In the Jamaica Gazette of August 23, J 766, is inserted an account of the Musquito Shore, dated from Great Blue lliver- June 2-3, 1766, from which the following is extracted " The santa maria trees grow here, they are very high, straight, and large. The wood is remarkably hard, and for a considerable time impenetrable to the worm, and. I am told by a gentleman of veracity, who had planked a vessel's bottom with .this wood, that the vessel had afterwards, off the west-end of Bonaco, some severe blows on a rock, but was soon got off: that this timber was ot so good a quality as not to split or crack, bfut the plank seemed much bruised, and to have deep impressions on it by the blows received. It is said, when drv, to be rather lighter than the mahogany manu- factured here. Another good quality ascribed to the santa maria is, that an iron nail will never rust in the wood, of which there grows a sufficient quantity to supplv the British navy with, mere durable plank than oak, or that of any other hitherto in use with Europeans." Bastard mamee or santa maria trees are very tall, and very straight, growing to fifty cr sixty^ some to oigtitv, feet high j they are very tough, and therefore made use of for RMS^PARifcUr HORTUS JAMAICENSIS. i4i for masts of ships, being preferable to any fir trees. I had once a green balsam pre- sented to me, brought from the Spaniards, of a very fine green, clear, and pleasant smell, which they said was the finest balsam in the world for green wounds, but could not tell me from what tree it came. Some time after, a negro brought me of the same sort of balsam, both in cobur and smell, which he got from one ol these trs, and I found it to be an excellent balsam ; for, melt it and pour it into a green or fresh incised wound, and it would heal up in once or twice dressing. This balsam the Spaniards, while it is new and fr-esjh, put into the hollow joints of trumpet-wood, calling it the admirable preen balsam, but conceal its name, and the tree it comes from ; yet it is for some extraordinary use that they call this tree Santa Maria, which makes me think it. is for its baUam. Bar ham, p. 18. SaNTuI.WA SVfllAl.BERT-WF.ED - . Sapota See Mammee-Sapota. Sappadilla See Nasf,berry. SARSAPARILLA. SMILAX. Cl."22, or. 6. Dioecia hexandria. NaT. OR. Sarmeniaccf.- &a. char. See Ciuna^Root, p. ISO. sarsaparilla. Stem prickly, angular; leaves unarmed, ovate, retuse-mucronate, three- nerved. This has the root perennial, branchy, externally brown, internally white; stems of the thickness of a man's finger; they are jointed, triangular, and beset with crooked spines The leaves are alternate, smooth, and shining on the upper side; on the other side are three nerves or costs', with sundry small crooked spines. The flower 1; yellow mixed with red. The fruit isa black berry, containing several brown seeds. * Sarsaparilia delights in low moist grounds and near the banks of rivers. In such places it thrives well in Jamaica. The roots run superficially under the surface of the ground. 7'h- gatherers have only to loosen the soil a little, and to draw out the long fibres with a veooden hook. In this manner they proceed till the whole root is got out, It is then cleared of the mud, dried, and made into bundles. The sensible qualities of sarsaparilia are mucilaginous and farinaceous, with a slight degree of acrimony. The latter, however, is so slight as not to be perceived by many ; and I-am apt to believe its medicinal powers may fairly be ascribed to its demulcent and farinaceous qualities, u. Since the publication of Sir William Fordvce's paper on sarsaparilia in the Medical Observations and Enquiries, vol. I. sarsaparilia has been in more general use than for- merly. The planters in Jamaica supply their estates with great quanties of it ; and its exhibition has been attended with very happy consequences in the yaws and in venerea! affections; as nodes, typhi, and exostosis, pains of the bones, and carious or cancer- ous ulcers. Sir William Fordyce seems to think sarsaparilia a, specific in all stages of lues ; but, from an attentive and careful observation, of its effects in some thousands of cases, I must. 1%; ii out us j .v'iaiceksis. ngKtamMk ^niist rfeclare I coiild place no dependence on sarsarfnrilla But if mercury bad |ormerly been tried, or was used akmg wi v soon effected --- Where the patients had been i din 1 -by pain, ia o'ecpctiohof sarsaparilla, and a/table si i I ' adayj with the greatest success', i:i the raost dep i ' u< , ill-cured yaws, and carious or ilirdisposfid sores or cancers. Wrigh '. This plant is- commonly known bytb'isn an l!a; but >me call it Smihi'x, it ^Jjeingjihougbt to be.of the species- of' the~Chvna rog*. The stalk is long, serpentine* -{',. - I prickly, ctimbi .. a"vhre or com tree or shrub it is near; the flowers are white, I produce a. berry, ound . aH cherries, ^reen at first, an.l, as thej ripen, turn a little, i i, all ripeare black, containing one or two stoney seeds, of .1 . , 1 - . rig a white kernel. Al- though this plant grows in great plenty in B azi ; nd >i 1 :r p; 1 ts oi America, yet it is . not much taken notice of by the native Indians, these of . been found out and improved by the expert physicians of Portugal and Spain. 1 here are two species of it; the stalks are alike, but 1 esyandsl te leaf. The best is that ofH : duras, which hath a stalk, whose outside is very ] ri< . creeping on the hanks in shady woooy places ; the leaves are cor-dated, and 1 . rent length and breadth, of a fresh green on the upper side, the under si ptdc, growing single on the staUks, alternativejy, at from one another, having large ribs in shape and mariner of maldbttthrum, or Indian leaf, at the footstalk -of' each leaf g* n two small long tendrils cr clavicles, by whi< h it ho Ids fast to the plan^ it joins to. Th flower's grow in buncheSj and. are whitish; from thence follow the berries in bunches, first green, then red, and at last black, round, or wrinkled and sh tted like dry cherries, c. one or two .hard. stones, of a whitish yellow colour, with a hard white!; hel, 1 a small almond. The root of- this plant is what is made -use >of, andj it is long and-smooth, when -first-gathered, like a withe, without anj , having a thin skin or bark ; bctweentii.it, and a small wire withe in the middle, lies a white ineally substance when dry, which i- all that is < and of this ptisans or diet drinks are made, to sweeten the blood, andforcwing-vetiereal diseases. The powder of the root is given, from a drachm to two, to cause sweat, h is reckoned a great alkali, u* correct all saline pungent salts in the llnids of the body, an J. by that means cures venereal diseases, helps rheumatism, catarrhs, gouts, and all diseases proceeding from a superaboundmg saline acid in the blood and juices of the body. BarAam, p. 166. To be good, sarsaparilla must be very dry, its filaments Ion;;, easy to cleave; and in cleaving they must not yield any dust : when boiled in water, it must givedt a re :disl< tincture. The method of preparing it by the Spaniards and Indians of South America is as follows : They macerate an ounce of the root in almost four pint.; oi water for twenty-four hours, and boil it away to one half They give of the expressed decoction half a pint twice a day, four hours before their meals, in bed, covered with clothes* where they sweat two hours, mixing a sufficient quantity of the fine powder of the roet j0ritb each dose of the decoction. They purge every tenth day. *AXEIQN. a ^ATWtion HORTUS JAM A I C EN S IS! V*T SATYRION SATYRJUM Cl. 20, or. 2. Gynqndria diandria. Nat. or. Orchideu. Gen. Char. Calyx wandering spathes ; spadik simple ; no perianth: corolla fivo ovate oblong- petals ; three exterior ; two into rior, converging upwards into a hel- met ; nectary one-leafed, annexed to the receptacle by its loner side between the division of the petals ; upper lip erect, very short; lower flat, pendulous, pro- minent behind at the base in a srotiforffi b ig ,- stamens two filaments, very slen-. tier and very short, placed on the pistil; anthers obovate, covered by the two- celled fold of the upper lip of the rvectary-; the pistil has an oblong, twisted, in- ferior, germ; style fastened to, the upper lip pf the nectary, very short-; stigma compressed, obtuse; the pericarp isan oblong, one-celled capsale, three-keeled, three-valved, opening in three parts under the keels, cohering at the top and bottom; seeds numerous, very small, irregular like saw dust. Six species have been found in Jamaica. 1. PLANTAfilNEtnri PLANTAIV. OrchifeJatior latifolvi asphodcli radicc, spica strigosa, Sloane, v. I. p. 2-0, t. 147", i. 2. Bulbs filiform, stem very smooth, leave*- ovate, petioled, sheathing; horn of the nectary thickened; lip two-lobed, middle acuminate. Roots filiform, lung, lomentose; stem a foot high, ascending, nearly erect, round, leafy, verj smooth ; leaves sharp, entire, very smooth, nerved longitudinally, bright green and shining ; sheaths surrounding the stem, cowled, nerved", netted, me* ;i- aceous. Spike many-flowered, (fifty Jwjipright.j, flowers small, white; spathes ovate, half-embracing, membranaceous, acute. It has the flower of an oriuis and the habit of a satyrium. The horn is not testicurate, but elongated, qb-dvates; like abladii. r, and free ; by Jacquin and others called the lower lip ; but the lip is certainly trifid, with tha middle segment acuminate. .Native of moist woods in shady places. Sw. 2. HIRTEIXUM.- ROUGH- HAIRED.. Bulbs filiform, stem hirsute, leaves ovate, three-nerved; petioled, sheathing . nectary horned, lip three-lobed. Spi. 3. ADNATUM. ADHERING. Bulbs in bundles; root-leaves oblong, ou very long petioles, scape sheathed j, nectary horned, adnate, lip bent down, two-lobed, emarginate. Svr. 4. SPIRALS. SPIRAL, Bfltbs in bundles, oblong ; leaves linear,- scape sheathed ; flowers spiraly dl- rected one way ; lip three-lobed, middle iarger, crenulatev- 5. ORCHiOIDES. ORCHIS-LIKE. Aphvllum scapo erecto, simplici subsquamosa spiedto Browne- p 325. S. 7. Bulbs in bundles, oblong; leaves broad laoceojate, sea homed, lip lanceolate-acuminate. i: . in. n '"" amaj-c v.:; -is. - ^av^,.^ Browne calls this the naked satyriu.m, which lie found at the Angel?, on the side of the road i to tne Lieci-lfilli^ where it was in hfcssom arid about twelve or fourteen inches Sigh, but without any leaves; the flowers ofa flesh colour, oblong, andsuccuient. 6. ELATU.M. ' LOFTY. Erection, folds oblongis^' petwlis vagina/is r,rp J rxanirjus, spies. teivn'/iali, nectao qissimis. Browne; p. V 21. S. 2. TJJulbs in birh'dlesj thkrk, tomentose; ioL.i-lcavcs ovate petioied, stem -almost nuked, nectary subtnlobute. SAVANNA. FLOWER. TCHITES. Ce. 5, OR. 1 PcntanJria vionogynia. Nat. Oft. Contorta: 'This tree is so named by Browne from the Greek word for viper, on account of its ^poisonous qualities. Gen. Char. Calyx a five-parted perianth, sharp, small ; corolla ene-petaled, fun- nel form, border five-cleft, flat, spreading very much ; 'nectary of five glands standing round the germ ; stamens Ave filaments, slender, erect, with stiff, ob- long, acuminate, converging anthers ; the pistil has two genus ; style filiform, th length of the stamens ; stigma oblong-headed, two-lobed, attached by a gluten to the anthers; pericarp two follicles, extremely long, one-celled, one-valved; seeds very many, imbricate, crowned with long down. Six species are natives of Ja- maica. I. Sl'B-ERECTA. SOMEWHAT KRF.tT. Jpocymim erectumfr\iticsum,JloTe lutco maximo et speciossissimo. Sloane, v. !, p. 206, t. 1 50, f. 2. Neriutn 2. Sarrnentum foiiis vi//'Jis ovatis venosis. pcdunculis longis ramosis, J/onbusfauce am- pliutis. Browne, p. 180. Peduncles racemed, leaves sub-ovate, obtuse, mucronate. This is a shrubby plant, differing much from its congeners, abounding in milky juice, land growing among the shrubs to ten feet in height, but in savannas only three or four, and sometimes scarcely one; stems scarcely twining, climbing; leaves approaching more or less to an ovate form, either smooth on both sides or scabrous at the back; the peduncles support a few large handsome yellow flowers, hirsute on the outs'ide and in the tube'; the Follicles are slender and brown. Jacquin. The stalk is woody and branched; leaves smooth, opposite, f a shining green on their upper sides, but pale and veined underneath, standing on inch- long footstalks. The flowers are produced at the axils of the leaves on the sides of the branches towards the top, on long woody footstalks, at the ends of which are four or five buds, but seldom more than one flower, the others withering ; they are large, of a bright yellow, and make a tine appearance : the follicles, Sloane observes, are set like bull's horns. It grows in most savannas in Jamaica, whence its name, and all parts of it are of a very poisonous nature ; to which the antidote cocoon and Indian arrow-root have been found to be antidotes. The juice is said to destroy maggots in sores at two pressings. This W. a -side TIGHT US J AM A I C EXSIS Ylfr This tree is about fifteen feet high, lias a trunk as large as one's leg, asmoofh whitfe bark, and leans towards the ground. Its leaves are two ini hes and a half long, and one and three quarters over, from a broad round base, ending in a -nipt point, or serrated about the edges, having several pretty high ribs on its under side, being soft, of a yel- lowish green colour, and downy. At the tops of the branches cotne the flowers, stan !- ing in a rough green calyx, they are white, out of the centre of which conies a long st\ las or string, having a roundi >h hirsute button at the en I, which augments and be- comes its fruit, and consists of tour or live round, small, brown siliquae, ropes, or ra- ther round follicles, hairy, dark brown, coloured, very hard wreathed, or rolled spi- ralis, one by -another, and containing a great quantity of round brown see I, which falls out of the ends of the pods. It grows on the lied Hills every where, on the road to Guanaboa. The leaves are used in decoctions for glysters, with oil and salt, as those of inaliows. Tt has, in the juice of the root, great virtues in the empyema and sromach diseases. The root applied outwardly in measles, whitlows, and other such diseases^ is very good. Stome. Browne says it is frequent in gravelly hilis, and has much the habit of the mallow tribe, from which it is distinguished by the spiral form and connec- tion of its capsular seed-vessels, and the peculiarities of the parts of the flower. It blossoms in March and April. f ea-bean Sec Cat-claw. RF.A-niNPWEF.D See Purging SEA-T.ixmvr.ED, SEASiDE-BALSAM See WlI.D ROSEMARY. Sea-side Beech See Jamaica Bark. SEA-SIDE or BASTARD GERMANDER. STEMODIA. Cl. 14, or. 2. Didijnamu aagiospermia. Nat. OR. Personattv. Gen. char. Calyx a one-leafed, five-parted, erect, perianth, equal, permanent ; corolla one-petalecl, irregular, tube the length of the calyx, border sub-bilabiate, almost upright; upper lip ovate entire, lower three-parted, with the parts round- ed and equal; stamens four almost equal filaments, length of the tube, all bifid ; anthers eight, each placed on an arm of the filaments; the pistil has a bluntish germ, a simple style ihe length of the stamens, stigma bluntish ; the pericarp is an oblong capsule, ovate, two-celled, two-valved, partition contrary ; seeds nu- merous, globular, receptacle sub-cyiindiical. One species is a native of Jamaica. MARITIMA. MARITIME. Scordium marilimuw; fruticosum, procumhens. /lore cerideo. Sloane, v 1, p. 175, t 110, f. 2. Stemodiacra. Maritima odorata ,- foliis tuinoribus, sessilibus, denliculatis, hastalis ; floribus solitariis ala~ ribus. Browne, p. 261, t. 22, f. 2. Leaves opposite, half embracing, flowers sessile, solitary. Root long, round, with lateral horizontal fibres. Stem from one to three feet high, erect, four-cornered, hirsute, sometimes in hedges near the sea-coast in a manner scandent. Branches numerous, shorter, scattered, alternate, opposite, three or four togetner, quadrangular, leafy, hirsute. Leavers small, sessile, ovate -lanceolate, ob- Vol. II. U tuse B 154 HORTUS JAMAICENSIS. sea-side tuse, serrate, thickrsb, hirsute,' with smaller leaves in the axils of the larger. Flowers few, axillary, among the terminating leaves, small, white, or blue ; border of the co- rolla almost equal, four-cleft, upper segment a little wider, almost upright, spreading, einarginate, the "two side ones and,the- lower segment equal, roundish, enure, con- vex; capsule oblong acuminate, seeds roundish minute^ S&, This plant is very, com- mon b> the sea side in. all the southern. parts of Jamaica, and has a pleasant aromatic smell and bitterish. taste, and is probably an excellent stomachic and aperitive. This leaves are pretty thick upon the branches, and slightly beset with down. Browne. Germander, or water germander, called scordium, hath a small fibrous root, and a rough four-squa.re stalk, lying spreading on the ground, three or four feet long, send- ing out leaves two and two of a side, opposite to one another, oolo:i, and without any foot -stalk, jagged about the edges, hoary, of a rank smell, an! somewhat clammy ; the flowers are blue,; and foiir-leuved ; after which come black cornered s< eds. It is a specific or counter-poiscvn against infectious, contagious, or epidemic distempers. It is good against the strangury, and provokes the terms. Yon may take the juice, infu- sion, decoction, or essence, which takes away the gnawing pains of the stomach, sid s, or pit ura. Infused i.) restringent wine, it i> good against fluxes. The powder is given from half a drachm to a drachm, in its distilled water or syrup, to facilitate labour j it opens obstructions and kills worms Barham p. 6't. Sea~Side Grape See Bay-Grape. _ SEA-SIDE LAUREL. XYLOPHYLLA. Cl. 5, or. 3. Triandria fri/ri/ira. Nat. on. Tricocca, Cl. 3, or. 1. Polygamia iiwuaria. Swartz. This generic- name is derived from two Greek words, signifying wood and a leaf. Gex. char Calyx a five or six parted perianth ; no corolla; nectary six glands at the base of the germ, or a rim surrounding the germ ; stamens five very short fila- ments, (Gartner sa^s three to six) ; anthers shorter than the flower, biggish ; tne pistil has a roundish germ ; three short styles-; stigmas jagged or bifid ; the peri- carp is a roundish three-celled capsule ; seeds two in each cell. This genus, of which four species are natives of Jamaica, differs from phyUaulhus only ln^ having the flowers from the notches of the leaf. 1. LATIFOLIA. BROAD-LEAVED. Lonchitidi affihis arbor anomala folio, alalo c pinnarum crniis frttcti- Jero. Sloanc, v. I, p. CO. Foliis latioribus, utrinque ocuminatit apicim versus crenatis, ad.crenasjlvridis. Browne, p. 188 Leaves pinnate, broad- lanceolate, crepate, flowers peduncled, thrcc-stamenetl, monoecious. Stem shrubby, one or two feet high ; branches irregular, roun lish, compressed ; leaves distich, alternate, scarcely petioled, erenate towards the end, smooth on hoih tides, siifhsh. Flowers clustered, pcduncled, polygamous, hermaphrodite and i< - male mixed ; females always terminating, longer, pedicel led ; calyx in hotli sorts si x- puriud, coloured, pcrmaucuu Iruthe hermaphrodites six, very^ou fijameats, uith couoduk sea-side HO'TITU'S JAMAICENSPS 15S roundish depressed anthers ; germ ovate ; style erect*; longer than the stamen-, three- parted ; stigmas reflexed, entire, obtuse, yellow; capsule three-cel[ed, cells tv. >. valved, two-seeded; seeds ovate, flat on one side. In the females, stigmas trifid and rudiments of stamens fastened to the germ. Germ, style, and capsule, as in the others. Native of maritime calcareous pocks. fe')7s. This is remarkable for producing two kinds of branches, the first are round, 1-. in colour, like the trunk ; and flatted ones which are smooth and shining, with margins slightly dente ! ; from which, when the plants are young, about four inches high, c ome tut;) the leaves, one from each dent, sup:)')! ted by very short pedicels'; they arc about tWO-tenth.s of an inch long, rounded form, of a pale green colour, and their sub- nee furnished with a middle rib and alternate veins; as the plant advances, these leaves drop off, and in time the flowers are produced from the crena of the same, of n like foliated branches. 2. AKGUST"JOT-IA. NARROW-LEAVrn. IWiis migustis longioribus levissime crenatis, quandoque confettis. Browne, p. 188. Leaves pinnate, linear-lanceolate, marked with lines, erenate; (lowers pedun- cled, hermaphrodite. This shrub grows much the same size as the other; its leaves come out without any order; the flowers arc produced on the edges, towards the upper part especially, where they are placed very closely, and, with the shining green colour of the leaves, make a very beautiful appearance. It also grows on rocks near the sea. Swartz noti- ces a variety, linearis, with linear leaves, marked with lines and white flowers. 3. ARBUSCULA. LITTLE-TREE. Leaves pinnate, lanceolate-acuminate, sub-crenate, coriaceous; flowers pe- duncled, three-stamened, monoecious, This is a most elegant evergreen plant, with a woody stem, about three feet high', 1 verv simple and upright, and about a fingers thickness ; bark ash-coloured, marked with tubercles from the fallen leaves ; leaTes alternately spreading on the top of the plant, strong, smooth, foot-stalked, and pinnated with five or six leaflets, without art dd one, all lanceolate, serrulated, and coriaceous ; the younger ones often purplish. From the notchihgs of the leaves proceed slender footstalks of half an inch in length, each bearing a single flower, which is small and of a pale sulphur colour. Tacquin. 4. MONTANA. MOUNTAIN. Leaves distich, broad-lanceolate, gasli-crenate, branches ancipital at the top } flowers sessile. Sw. Sea-side Ox-eye. See Ox-eye. SEA-SIDE PLUM-TREE XIMENIA. Cl.8, or. l. Octandria monogynia Nat. or. Aurantia. So named after Ximenes, a Spaniard, author of a work on the Animals and Plants of New Spain, 161 S. U 2 Gr. SSSs HORTUS JAMAICENSIS. sea-sid's Gen. CHAR. Calvx a one-leafed four-cleft perianth, acuminate, very small, per- manent ; corolla four oblong petals, hairy within, below erected into a tube, a- bove rolled back ; the stamens are eight filaments, erect, short ; anthers linear,^ erect, obtuse, length of the corolla ; the pi&til has an oblong germ, a filiform style the length of the stamens, and an ok use stigma ; the pericarp a sub-ovate drupe ; seed a roundish nut. This genus, of which there are. two species natives- of. Jamaica, is nearly allied to the nuliccccus or genip.. 1. AMERICANA. AMERICAN. I.ycium buvi foils rotund lore integro, flore purpurea fefrapetalo, spl- nis va/ldlsslmls ct longls armatum. Sloane, v. 2, p. 103, t. 210, f. 1. Fruticpsa et spinosa, Joins ovutls nitidis conjcrtis,Jlorlbus so- Utariis, Browne, p. 370. Leaves oblong, peduncles many-flowered. This shrub has a smooth trunk and branches, the b'rahchlets spiny,- round, striated ; leaves in alternate clusters, two or three together, ovate, seldom emarginate, entire, nerved, smooth on both sides; petioles roundish, flat above, smooth; spines lateral, erect, at the base of the petioles, longer than them, thickish, awl-shaped. Peduncles. axillary, or from the tubercle of the petioles, shorter than them, bentdovyn, round, from three" to five flowered ; pedicels one-flowered; calyx four-cornered, four-tooth- ed, very small, spreading; petals four, lanceolate, converging at the base, reflexed, hairy within, pale, smooth on the outside ; filaments eight, shorter than the petals ; drupe the size of a small' apple, roundish, yellow when ripe, containing a spherical nut with a white kernel in it. i>:v. This is thought to be Browne's brablhi, which he found near the beech at Port- Antonio, growing to the height of eight or nine feet. He only saw the fruit, which had all the flavour and appearance of the European plum ; die shell was smooth, and the pulp and skin of a pale red colour.; the leaves and foot- stalks of a pale green. 2. INF.RMIS. UNARMED. Amvri.s 3. drbore&cens Jolils ova t Is glabrls, vetustioribas conJertis t . petlolis submarginatis, fiorlbus solitarils. Browne, p. 2oy. Leaves ovate, peduncles one-flowered. This is a shrubby bushy tree, and divided very much towards the top, though not a- bove eight or nine feet in height; the trunk about fourand a half inches diameter, very simple towards the root; the leaves not above an inch in length, of an oval form, and dispersed very thick upon the smaller branches. Tne perianth is five-cleft ; segments of the corolla erecto- patent. It grew nea'r the Rio-Grande, in St. George's Browne. A. Robinson says he found this tree in blossom in February, at Manchioneal-Bav, in the morass ; observing the germ oblong and tetragonal, he cut it transversely and foun 1 four cells. The lower part of the germ punctured. The style quadragonal and the stigma quadrate, flat, and not broader than the apex of the style ; the stamens were eight filaments, of a moderate length, not short, but appeared so by their repand and crooked form. In the spring this tree casts its leaves, and the blossoms and new lea\e-' appear together ; they grow in simple umbels from the bosoms of the leaves, several impels together, each of which is sustained by a short peduncle. The fresh flowers bave a delicate smell like Jasmine. SA*- ^a- weeds- HORT.US JAMAICENSIS: 15?. SEA-SIDE PURSLANE. SESUVIUM. Cl. 12, OR. 3. Icosandria trigynia. Nat. or. Succulents. Gen. CHAR. Calyx a one-leafed bell-shaped five-parted perianth ; segments ovate, acute, coloured within, shrivelling; no corolla; stamens very many filaments, awl-shaped, inserted into the caljx below the segments, and shorter than the calyx, with roundish anthers ; the pistil has an oblong germ, in the bottom of the calyx, three-cornered above ; styles often three capillar}-, erect, length of the stamens ; stigmas simple ; the pericarp an ovate three-celled capsule, cut round; seeds roundish, flattish, having a beak at the margin. There is only one species a native -of Jamaica.. rORTUl-ACASTRU.Nf. Portulacco aizoidesmaritima procitmbens, flore purpurea, filoane, v. 1, p. 20$.-~Repens, foliis oblong is turgidis, Jionbus scssihbus si;i- gularibus ad alas. Browne, p. 241. Root perennial ; stem herbaceous, four or five inches long, decumbent, subdivided, round, succulent. Leaves wedge shaped v . on very short petioles, opposite, obtuse, fleshy, thick, smooth, bright green ; petioles sheathing, embracing, witli.iuembran- aceous-edges. Peduncles solitary, axillary, shorter than the leaves ; flowers green on the outside, white and blood-red within; calyx corolline ; anthers small, blood-red ; germ accuminate; styles three, sometimes, but seldom, four ; seeds black. Swurtz. This plant is very common in all the lowlands about the Ferry, (in marshy grounds near Passage-Fort, Old-Harbour, and on the keys outside of Port-Royal), and frowns in thick beds on every spot of ground that rises above the level of the water. It is very- succulent, and full of a neutro-alkalescent salt, which maybe easily extracted, and- would probably answer all the purposes for which the salts of kali are now used. Browne, S-loane,says it is pickled and eat as English samphire ; and in Dancer's Medical Assistant decoction is recommeuued as a gargle or mouth water. SEA-WEEDS. ALGJE. Cl. 24, OR. 4. Crvptogamia algt?, Of sea-weeds there are a great many to be found on the coasts of Jamaica, and their general uses are for manuring lan there that have been obliged to cut their way through it. A.costasays; it is eaten greedily By goats, and that it is good pickled. He also mentions a seaman much troubled with sand and gross humours, who found relief front eating th.s weed both raw and boiled. 3. ACINAKIUS. BERRIED. . Caule tereti ramoso, foliis linearibus, iapsviis,foliolalis. Browjie, p.*72. Filiform, branched; leaves linear, very entire ; vesicles globular peduncled. This branched fucus, with capillary leaves, is frequently found in the British Channel, and is distinguished from the foregoing, which it resembles very much in the general form, by its simple capillary leaves. Browne. 4. VESICULOSUS. BLADDERY. Linear, forked, entire, with globular, innate and axillary vesicles, cloven at the lips, barren ones flat, fertile one tumid. The flat, divided, and marginated, fucus, with large spungy capsules, is commonly called/;7/>, and frequent in most parts of Europe, but raretin Jamaica. When burnt, it yields that concreted saline mass, ol" which our black or cosfrse glass is chiefly made. Browne. , 5. TRIQUETER. THREE-SIDED. Frond two edged, branched; leaves pelioled, deuticulat; vesiclese immersed, oblong, three-sided. II. ULVA. Gen. cnAR. Frond membranaceous or gelatinous; fructification solitary or clustered, within. SEA-wfeds HORTUS JAMAICEN'SIS. 153 within the substance, or Under the entitle of the whole frond. Three species have been found in Jamaica. ]. PAVONIA. PEACOCK. Membranaceous brevis, lobaiits, circuits, concent 'ricis votatus. Sloane, v. J, p. G2. Fuciis inaritimus gallb pavmis pennas rejerens, Browne, . p. 71. Flat, kidney-form, tapering to diabase^ with transverse arched lines. The membranous ash-coloured dwarf fueus is a small plant which grows very near the* shores in all the hays of Jamaica, it seldom rises above three or four inches, and sticks by a strong ligamentous footstalk to every rock and smaller pebble. Browne. It is sometimes incrusted with a coralline white matter. 2. LACTUCA. LETTK'F. Alga lat if olia prima she muscusmarinus lacfilca fulig-. Sloane, v. 1, p. 62. Fronds many frova the same base, distinct, oblong, ilaf, somewhat undulate, tapering below, dilated a i . rds, lacmi This iscommo Ay thrown up on-all tue shores of the island. There are two sorts of this plant Thejirst sort hath a dark greenish wood) stalk, rising from fibrous root* a!) nit three feet high,, having many small stalks coming out on each side ; and upon each stalk come out eight or nine leaves, v. I houl an m nner of foot-stalk, opposite to olie another, about two inches long, and half ah- inch broad where broadest, which is towards the stalk, and then- goes off taperin r with a sharp point; at the< nd-of me branches come out its flowers, which are pentapetalo ts, and of a yellow colour; after the flowers come small rial slender pods, from lour to six inches long, which, when ripe, grow brown, and open ; their seeds are a Utile biggeg than lentils. It flowers and bears seed all the year. The second sort grpws much like the former in most-respects, only is a little smaller, and the leaves round -instead of -being pointed at the ends. The root is powerful against poison ; the seed, bruised and mixed with vinegar, prevails against ring-worms. Tue whole plant is cooling and cleansing, and therefore good m ulcers; ' steeped as you do indigo, it will afford a blackish-blue muddy substance, which i.s ex- cellent for the galled back of a horse, and other sores. It is called by some, wild indigo. Barham, p. L2& . 3. MONTANA. ' MOUNTAIN*. Flat, coriaceous, terrestrial, sanguineous. Swartz discovered this species, which is- a native of the Blue Mountains, the leaf is kidney-shaped, sessile, zones aggregate,. ielow hoary. III. BYSSUS. Gen. char. Filaments or fibres thin, membranous, woolly, sprinkled externally with grains of fructification. SANGUINE A. SCARLET. Capillary, velvety, perennial, scarlet, attached to the bark of trees. This genus is the last in the scale of vegetation in the class cryptogamia, it appears i the form of threads or meal on the bark of trees or on rotten wood, rocks, damp banks- UO 1I0RTUS JAMAICLNSIS. BBe banks, and walls. One sort' is common on wine-casks, whirh at first is like flakes of snow, but turns yellow, and at last like a mouses skin : in this state it has black groin* a* the Lase, like gunpowder, rots the cask, and is excellent to staunch blood. Ligltfyout. No English Name. SEGURIDACA. Cr,. 17, on. 3. Diadcfphia decandria. Nat. on. PapHtoTuteeae. So named from the Latin word for a bill-hook, srcuri*, which the pod resembles in shape. Gen. char. Calyx a three-leaved perianth, small, deciduous, leaflets ovate, co- loured ; the uppermost respecting I i stan ! ird and two the keel ; corolla papili- onaceous, with the standard two-leaved within the wings ; stamens eight filaments, ' with oblong anthers; the pistil h'as an ovate germ, ending in an awl-shaped style; and a flat widening stigma, toothed at the tip ; the pericarp an ovate legun e, one- celled, one-seeded, ending in a ligulate wing. Two species are natives of Jamaica. 1. SCANDENS. CLIMBING. ScandenSffbliiS'oblongis, spicis lamosts. Browne, p. 2S8. Stems climbing, leaves oblong-ovate. This is a shrubby succulent plant; the younger leafy branchlets arc changed into very strong tendrils; leaves oblong-ovate, obtuse, quite entire, smooth, alternate, petioled; racemes loose, lateral, opposite to the- leaves ; flowers without see: t, red, with the standard acute, the wings oblong and. attenuated at the base, and a wide appendix t the keel. Jacquin. Browne says lie found this plant in the Bed Hills. 2. VIRGATA. TWIGGY Frutirosa, fol'ris subrctundis, vamulis tcmiissimis, spuis laxis termi* ?ialibus. Browne, p. 287. Stem climbing, branches rod-like, leaves roundi.-h. Neither of these plants are common. Browne found this species in the parish of St. James, growing upright, and divided into a number of very delicate spreading brandies. SEDGE. TARF.X. Cl. 21, OR. 3. Montrcia triandria NaT. on. Calamaria. Gen. char. Male anient imbricate, scales one-flewcred; calyx one-leafed; no co* rolla; stamens three, bristle-shaped, with long anthers. Female nectary inflated, three-toothed ; the pistil has a three-sided germ, a short style, and three stigmas; seed single, three-sided. Of this numerous genus Swartz found only one species in Jamaica. fiAMATA, -: no TITUS J AM ATC ENS rs. >tf HAM ATA HOOKED. Spikes simple, androgynous, linear ; male at top ; females awned, awns hooked at .the tip and equaT Sw. Sec Boo-uusii, and, thg following article. SEDGES. CYPERUS. 'Cl. -3, ou. X.-^-Triahdrialmmr/gynic. 1 vat. or Calamaruc. Cr.K. CilAU. Sec Adrue, v. I, p. 8. Ten other species are' natives of Jamaica. The first species has a pound tnbn. 1. MINIMUS SMALL Grcmcn ci/pcroides minimum, spin's plurihis cffmpa'cfis ex oblenge Totundis. ' SI., -v. 1, p. 120, t. 79, f 3. Bratensis minor paniculis conglobctis, spicittis comprcssh dislkke hnbricahs. Browne, p. 127, C. 1. {Mm capillarv, spike single ar.d double, involucre one-leafed. Hoots composed of many capillary brown fibres, whence arise mi.ny smalt narrow leaves, ar. inch long and reddish underneath ; stalks many, simple, triangular, from three to four inches high, with two Or three small short leaves towards the top : above these usually three small rusty Scaly spites or heads, two whereof have'short peduncles, . and the ether none ; they are sufficiently distinguished by their smaline-ss. Shane. The smallest grassy cvperns, or sedge, is common inws in many savannas jn great plenty, as also near the sen, and has a strong but agreeable smell. It grows to the height of two f et or better. The clamminess of the leaves renders it verv remarkable, l> >th they and the stem appearing as if they had be< ; in thin turpentine or I which does not harden or become dry in the hottest weather. C. ELECANS. ELEGANT. Cyverus, panicida marime sparsa, ferruginea cempressa, eleganlfssi- /''. Sloane, v. 1, p. 117, t. 75, f. l. Major umbi cults hixis, spicillis terctibus, culmo Iriquelro. Browne, p. 12 s. C. 4. Cube naked, umbel leafy, peduncles i iliferous, spikes crowded, with sp ading points. Tloot-lenves from two to three feet ; ; stalk two feel and a half 1,', (. with i leaves i ofisafootlon . Panicles ry spar lanv spiki I uncles three or four inches long, some on none, an I otl itei nediate ! i ; !, broad, one-third of an inch in length, made up of two rovi ginous imbricate scales. It a-n ics on De'acree pen, Liguanea. oYi 7. OPORATUS. ( . (' itus, pan ' s viridi- v. l. p 1 16, t. 7 k f. i. and t. 8, f. l. Maxima - 'ens, cuhno rolundtori, paniatta quandoque monstrosa; pressis disticfie catis. Browne, p. US. C. .;. Culm naked, u impound, simply leafy, pedicels spiked in a double i i- . Rootlong, roundish, hs: ,1, reddish on the outside, very odoriferous, crei ig a large t ice rise many leaves with a prominent sharp cutting keel. Stalkstwoon high, with several smaller leav< Isthetop under the panicle, which is very sparse, having* besides some shorter spikes, mS on peduncles, above some whereof are a foot high, earh of the spikes be- long', v i. roundish, pale green : seed oblong, of a pale yellowish colour. ]t prows by river sides, Sloa?iB. The largest foliaceous cyperus grows in all the low- Is. near the Cayman nas, rising five feet or more Ft seeds "but seldom; but, in the . . j.n of these, it bears a large foliated top that is divided an.! subdivided into two or three senna IIORTUS JAMAICENSIS. K^ three series of umbels, each growing gradually smaller as ihey rise towards the summit, where ever, little radius ends in a few leaves. Browne. 8. COMPRESSUS. COMPRESS! 0. Cypems rotundus gramineus fere inodorous, panicula sparsa comprcs- savtridi. Sloane, v. 1, p. 117, t. 7G, f. l. Culm nake 1, universal umbel three-leaved, glumes inucronate, with t!ie sides membranaceous. Culm in a tuft, half a foot high or less, three-sided, naked; leaves from the base of the culm, linear, straight, stiff, even; involucre terminating, thn lea' d; leaflets spreading, linear, keeled. Umbel decojmpound ; spikel . . , pale green, pe- duncles very short, three or four, three-sided, sheathed at the base. Spikes iuibri- : jn two rows ; glumes compressed, keeled, membranaceous at the edge, ovate, a- cute, but not nmcronate; bristles two, whitish, between the sc; . anthers bilk!, style trifid, stigmas reflex ; see.! roundish, three-cornered, ferruginous, and shining. Swjrtz. Sloane says it grew in sandy places about the streets of Spanish-Town, and the Savanna. STRIGOSUS. RIGID. Cy perus rotundas-, panicula sparsa, spicis strigosus ferrugineis, 'isloane, v. 1. p. LI 6, t. 74, f. 2, 3. Culm naked, umbel simple, spikelets linear, very. much. Growded, horizontal. Root round, tuberous, as big as a hazel nut, fibrous, within odoriferous and aroma- tic to smell and taste, co> branes. Leaves soft, triangular, grassy, aljout eighteen inches long; culm the same height, solid, triangular, Laving at top three or tour leaves, and above several long ferruginous spikes, standing sparse on every hand, each being long, round, slender, containing many long, whitish, cor- ner;'. I, seeds, making in all a very elegant head. It grew in marshes by the Rio- Co-- bVe, above the Ferry, towards the fresh water lagoon, plentifully. The powder of it, to the weight ot a crown, taken in white wine, occasions speedy delivery. Sloane. , 10. TENUIS. SLENDER. Culm naked, umbel simple ; spikelets subulate, crowded, horizontal-reflect-, ed; leaves of the involucre linear setaceous. Szo. See Adrue. Self-hfal. See Christmas-pride. Sempervive. See Aloe. Senna, Bastard. See Barbadoes-prhje and Bastard Senna. SENNA TREES. CASSIA. Cl. 10, or. 1. Decandriamonegynia. Nat. or. Lomentacce. Gen. char: See Cane-piece Sensitive, p. 151. Besides the species referred to under their common names, the following are indigenous to Jamaica : X 2 1. VIMINEA. HO R T U S J A M A I C E N S r a Sbnm* 1. VJMINEA. TWIGGY. Somz-rspuria tetrapkylla, siliqkia lata compressn. Sloane, v. 2, p. 49, t. 130, f. 6, 7. Viminea toliis ovato-acwmnatis, h-ijugatis ; mt- mis.laxis alarum's, suiquii brevioribus. compress:;. Browne, p. 223. LCafleti-two pairs, ovate-oblong* acuminate, an oblong gland between the Jow- ;.st ; spines sub-petiole;!, obsolete, three- toothed. Stem shrubby climbing to -the height of 0.1*3 or fifty fee^p striated, sti.T; branches divaricate, iooe, stifflsh, round, striated, Smooth. Leaves b"ij ugous, leaflets pejtioled^., the lower pair spreading, bent down, the end one bent_down perpendicularly, and ap proximating, ail entire, nerved, veined, very smsath. General, petioles thickened ai the base, round, usually directed One way. Between the petioles of the-lower pair u a linear, oblong, erect, browsa, gland. On the adultand old branches there are spines* > Racemes axillary,' siil}', spreading, many- flowered, striated; Sowers large, ci>- pedun- cles longer than them. Leaflets of the calya ovate, reflex, spreading, small, pale green. . Petals unequal) the four upper ones smaller, ovate, with ciaus, the tilth low- er, largish, concave; the three bSftder filaments barren, six smaller shorter,, fertile ; the tenth larger, and bent down below the pistil ; anthers oblong, beaked ; germ pe- dicelled, linear,, longer than the corolla, bent dawn, aud curved back ; style subuiate; . legume short compressed. Native of Jamaica, in the wood* or the higher mountains, hi" the interior cfethe islands S':rartz. .In plants sixteenfeet high, Sfoane says the stera. - of the pla;,twas as thick as one's arm, with a bxQWfl, shining, smooth, bark; he fouttd iuui the red- hills, ciithe read to Guanaboa. . 2. EMARGINATA. ema-roixate. . Cassia minor fruticosa hexaphyUa ienajoliis. uloanc-, v. 2, p 44, t, - lSj f ), 2, i, -J., Arboixucns d'Jfusa, siliquif longh covipressir. Browne, p. 222. Leaflets three cr lour pairt, ovate, almost. en-are, dower:.:.* t-ccme;', hrfgu!ar t stem arboreous. This lsa.::mn!l tree, with a trunk ten or lwelp& fee> high* and subdivided, round, ash-coloured, pubescent, hranchej ; leaves pinnate, scattered, spreading.; coimniv petioles round, . twoJncbes. long, pubescent ; leaflets petiotedyjblunt^ nerved, thiekisfa, tomentose, hoary beneath Rffeemes axillary, solitary, patulous, shorter than the leaves, . many- flowered; fleers terminating, peduncled, yellow; peduncles or.e-ilowered short* Three leaflets of the calyx larger, ovate-oblong, patulous, concave-arched, pubescent on the outside ; petals unequal, four with claws oblong, aluie.t of a sisej but the lower cues ciiiKAvhat smaller; the -upper, petal with -8? claw, larger, irregular, m form of the letter S plated obliqneb-, concave, waved on the edge. Filaments very short, equal, subulate, anthers-the length of the filaments, thick, curved in, fertile; germ pedi- ceiled, subulate, declined ; style rising, sdgnia blunt ; legume flat, broad. It flowers in, spring and the seed rip ns in August. Native of Jamaica hi. dry coppices in tne southern part.-*- S&prJz,, This is known by the name of .senna tree, and is common i# th lowlands ; the. leaves are. cf a p jrgative nature, and sometimes used im>te^d of those i the real senna. 3. OaTUMFGtlA. t)3Tl'SE-LEAVF.T>. Setma minor herbacca p'truwj , liexaphylUi Jolitf ebtusa. -JSloanc, ic, . 2, p. 17, t. ISO, f. A .. Seaftelsg mws i ITORTUS JAIvTAICEN^rSr- |jK Leaflets three pairs- obovare hi tint. Height-frond one to two feet ; stem solitary, straight, round, green; smooth, the < size of the littie fifiger'bekjwj*- brancl*wig*from the very bottom ; lower leaflets large,, smaller, resembling- Italian seima, enlarging toward the end, obtuse, but ending in u- Tory abort point, covered with a fine down, perceptible to the touch rather than the sight; at the base of the petiole a slender stipule on each jkle. Both leaves and stems Lave a strong smell ; the upper part of the stem and branches downy. Flowers exillary, few, small, nodding, pale y el-law.- Uliienias. The leaves have -no oci J- leaflet', pe- tioles uke, nate, spreading, roundish, thickened atuheba'se* channelled in the middle, r-.ven. L> a:k ts sub-sessile, entire; between the lowest pair a m'itra-te yellow, linear gland, on a short petiole. Peduncles solitary, shorter than. the petioles, two- flowered ; pedicels quadrangular, three times as long as the peduncles. Leaflets ofthe calyx ovate, ; two longer, convex, hairy at the edge ; petals cearly equal with claws ; the three up- per ones spreading, the two loner contiguous, rather smaller. The lour upper fila- ments minute, barren, wicbouV anther : ; {'our- middle larger, fertile, two lower bent down; anthers perforate at the top. Germ oolong, acuminate; style subulate, re-- curvecl ; stigrna-sinsple, pubescent ; legume pedicelTed, linear, tour or live inches long, cylindnc-angular, .curved, even, containing from twenty to twenty-four- seeds. J':.-. This plant - common in all tiie savannas about- Kingston, as it is also about Spanish- Town ; and a very troublesome w< ed in the pens in Salt Ponds It flowers in October, sheds its seeds; and dies away. It often grows in thick clusters, and destroys all other ' vegetation in-those spots where it has established itself, and ought to be eradicated- girtih gxe&t care. It shuts up its leaves at night.-. , 4. PILOSE. llymtY. Stffj'ruliCJSi! c recta hirsute, Jioribus singtilawbtij, a'aribus. E;ownr* p 2'2-t, C. 12; Lrrflets four or fiw pairs, with very minute glands, stipules semi-cordate, acu- - m mate, stem stiff,, hauy. Stem from-one to two feet high, herDareous, subdivided, upright, roun;^ hirsute, Teddish ; branches short almost upright. Leaflets opposite sub-sessile, oblong, rounded ' at the tip, sharp, with a very smaii bristle, lixed obliquely to the petiolule, vt ined, a little hirsute on the edge. Common petioles thicker at -the base, round, hirsute; glands extremely mi-cuto, pedicelled, concealed in the hairs under the lowest pumas. btipules opposite,, sessile, sickle-shaped, acuminate, enure, hirsute. Flowers two or three together, -axillary, small, yellow : peduncles filiform, long, one- flowered, smooth, purplish; bractes twe, whitish, under the flowers; calycine leaflets lanceolate, spread- - jng.; petals nearly equal, roundish, with claws, concave, wavd about the edge ; -fila- - jr.ents seven,- two of them minute, barren; anthers linear, white, bearing pollen at - the tip ; gerin oblong-lanceolate, villose, white ; style c\ lindric, thick, redUrved ; stigma^ simple obtuse ; legume sub-cylimirie, linear, pedicelled, pubescent. Native- of -Ja-- T^naica, flowering towards the ead ofthejear. SuaiH. 5. BJFtCRA. TWO-FLOWERFO. Fnit:'cosa, Joliis minoribus obverte oiatis sexjugatis, jbsrifflsr gemina* ttsvel bigemiiwtis, racemis aiaribus* Browne, p. 223, C 6. leaflets six pairs *atner oblong smooth, the lower ones smaller, a suoulate gland V-trtvWii u* lowest, peUiceis ivvu-flv-wercti*- Tiu*. IC6 HORTUS JAMAICKNSIS, bona This is about two feet high. Leaflets oval-oblong, blunt, with a very small bristle- shaped point. Flowers, yellow; pods linear compressed. Browne calls it the flowering shrubby senna. C. SERPENS. SERPENT. Herbacea, tenuissima, procumbens ; floribus singularibus alar, Browne, p. 225, C. 15. Leaflets seven pairs, Mowers pentandrous, stems filiform, prostrate, herbaceous. Stems three or four inches long, simple, somewhat upright, but depressed ut the base, stii , i und, villose. Leaflets from seven to nine pan;, , somewhat sickle shapeJ, sessile, approximating, flat, oblique, terminated by a very short bristle, an i - >u petioles filiform, short, thickened at the base, round, hirsu . th the lowest pair of leaflets are two flat, sessile, roundish, perforated; red glands. \.t the l pair of stipules, opposite, oblique, olate, acuminate, a'mest bristle sh tip. Flowers not axillary, but crowded above the petioles, small, yellow, on very short pedicels. Calyci ts lanceolate, spreading; petals unequal, ovate, obtuse, concave, spreading; filaments very short, anthers linear, fertile ; the three anterior ones bent down, and someuhat larger; germ compressed oblong ; style thickish : i ent; legume flat, compressed, of a broad linear shape, margined, blunt, villose, containing n -Sw. This is an annual plant in dr. , ion i bigger than a middle sized pin, stretching from fourteen to sixteen incl 7. GLAJ '. GIANDULOUS Leaflets many pairs, with many gl, Stem suffruticose, with almost naked bi te, with a pedicelled gla id i each pair; peduncles , double, one-flowered, rter than the leaf. The flowers have six filaments, and two of the anthers are very- Jong; the pods are like those of orobus. Luineus. 8. 1 ! FLEXUOUS. Senna occidentalis siliqaa singularifeliis ha ba ;. 31. v. 2. p. 5 1. Leaflets many pairs, stipules half cordate. Root woody ; stems spread on the ground, four or five inches long, with winded leaves, the pinnze of which are pretty long. The flowers are axillary, pods flat and about half an inch long. It grows in sandy places of th< a near St. Jago do la Vi ga. Sloane. 9. PROCUMBENS. PROCUMBENT. Leaflets many pairs, without glands, stem procumbent. 10. VIRGATA. TWIGGY. Leaflets ten pairs, ovate-lanceolate, villose, a petiolar pedicelled gland, pe- duncles one-flowered, longer than the leaves. Sw. 11. SERICEA. SILKY. Leaflets about four pairs, ovate, hirsute; a subulate gland between the teaflets, peduncles four-flowered, legumes four-cornered. Sw. J 2. LINEATA, SEN3ITIVS II OUT US JAMAICENS'rS. i 12. LINEATA. LINEAR. Leaflets five | i,vhai long, pubescent beneath, equal-j an obsolete gland beneath the lowest ; peduncles one-flowered. 13 SENNA. Senna Ttalica seu foliis obtusis. Sloane, v. 2, p. 47. Leaflets fjur to six pairs, sub-ovate, petioles without gland,. This is the plant which produces the leaves con nonly known in medicine by the name of senna. Swartz found it on the coast of this island, of which, however, it is i i a native, although Ion itroduced, and it is \ ' ,>* is ly a variety. Swartz cle f< v, branch I, i ven, with sub-divided branches ; leaves composed of five, six, pairs of leaflets ; common petioles alternate, round, thickened at the base ; leaflets opposite, oblong, rounded atthetip, where there isavery short bristle, :ous, on very snort petio- lules; stipules at the base of t nutate. !' ter- minating, erect, many-l vers on les, 1 down, p yellow; calyciue leaflets lanceolate ; petals convex, patulous ; three f four middle smaller, three * . of the middle ones small, ofth , styleincu i , gma acute; legume shaped like the stomach, pa li t ) : lower Tiate; ; eight, npres sect Ail the ,. are purgal h : leaves, bruised ail' the skin, are I . >r cutaneo is complaiuts. Tiiis plant, which grew on t le sea, was employed by Dr. Wright as a cathai 'i . See (Cane-piece Sensitive, Cassia tree, Horse-cassia, Ringworm-siiri and S: inking Weed. NSITIVE PLANTS. MIMOSA. Cfc-. 23, or. 1. Polj/gamia moneccia. NaT. or. Lome ceur compressed roundish seeds. Martyn. The smallest creeping s ivitive ii frequent in many of die pasturesin Jamaica, especially those situated at the 'jo.tsof the mountains in Sixteen-mile-walk and St Thomas in the East It grows in fcedsj i63 HORTUS JAMAICENSIS. jtssmvE feeds, and creeps by very delicate stalks along the ground; but these seldom exceed three or four inches long. It is very sensitive, and contracts its leaves on the slightest touch, or ever, sudden puff of wind. Sioanerelates that a puffof breath makes an im- pression on it, and that he wrote his name oa a bed of it with the point of a stick, aiwl ft remained visible for seme time. 2. CWEEAdA. ASP-COI.OfRED Frutiofsa spinis aduneis undique armaia ; eortice cinercj. foliis minu- , its pi?niatis, spicis globosis. Browne, p. 252. M. 5. "Prickly, leaves conjugate pinnate, pinnas equal, prickles curved inwards. Thefmgrigo or-thorny mimosa is a prickly shrub, frequent in most of the sugar co- lonies, especially in Antigua, where the leaves are -frequently used, mixed with corn, for their riding horses, and it is thought to free them from hots and worms. It grows in a tufted form, and seldom rises above five or six feet from the ground, though it spreads a great deal more in its . growth. Browne. .3. PDHCTftTA. SPOTTED. Frutcscens media inermis, siliquis compressis, Jclcaii; tt wnhcllatis, pediincula lenglssimo. Browne, p. 253, M. 8. Unarmed, leaves lipinnate, spil.es erect, flowers ten-stamened,. lower ones castrated. This rises with .upright branching rtalks six or sever, feet higti; wood;.- towards the root, having callous dots irregularly disposed on it. The leaves are four .haired, with a depressed gland between the first pair ; leaflets twenty-paired ; peduncles with two, alternate,- kal i- cords te,bracte:: ; spikes oblong ; all the ilorots ten -statu en ed ;.the lower ones male and castrated ; corolla five-petaled. Browne calls it the larger smooth sen- sitive, and says that it has .been introduced into Jamaica 4. Pr.RNAM-BI.'i ANA. PEWKAWBTTCO. Sitrba mimosa non spinosa, *eu spuria de "PerwmibtiCC. "Sloane, v. 2. p. iS. Unarmed, leaves bipinnate, spikes drooping, five stamened, lower ones cas- trated, stem decumbent. From a straight woody root proceed several branches nine inches long. Leaves com- posed of three or four pinnas. The flowers .are globose, made up of many long white filaments, to; mi-ig altyrether a round head ; pods flat, an i:ich long, and a quarter of an inch broad, with a round protuberance at each seed. It does not feel the touch as -other mimosas, but on holding it for some time its leaver contract. It grows on gravelly groundsill the. savanna, near St. Jago de la Vega, and many other. places. loaae. 5. COMOSA. BRANCiTY. Unarmed, arboreous, leaves bi-pinnat > trijtigous, pmnas {nine or ten-paircJ^ oval r.etu:e at the base, tiowers patiicled, monodtlphous. &i\ 6. MAXGFNSIS. . MANGO. SGpines solitary, short; leaves bi-pinnatc, generally nine-paired ; spikes glo- <.bular ; axillary, solitary. CChis ierpent r: ort us ja:-,iaice:;sis. . i69 This is an oprij+ht tree, twenty foot in height, with horizontal branches. Spines awi-.-i uminate, strong, sub-axillary, five-lined ; leaves , withthecom- ... les two inches long, and a small oblong, blunt, upright, gland, a little above :e ; partial pinnas an inch long ; leaflets oblong, blunt, scarcely three lines in length; spikes globular, . i ry, solitary, turned upw na peduncle an inch in .. ; flowers white, void of scent. Native of Jamaica and other West-India islands ; [ueht in the island of Mango. Jacquin. 7. ASPERATA. ROUGH, Frutesvens, spinvsa et acuclata ; siliquis h'irsuth, Browne, p. 257, M. il. Prickl)', rough-haired, leaves bi-pinnate, with opposite prickles, spine erect bet\ q :'h of the partial ones. This has a shrubby erect stalk about five feet !. ry, and armed with short, broad, strong, thorns, which are white, standing on each side, almost opposite or al- ternate. Leaves five or si-; paired, with a strong mi I Y md i . :en each pai short strong spines, pointing out each u its extremely narrow and very close. Towards the' upper part of the stalk the flowers are produced from the sides, on short i h les; they are coll it6 globular heads, and are of a bright purple colour; the stalks are also terminated by smaller heads of the like dowers. Pods flat, joi about two inches long an I a. quarter of an inch broad, spreading like rays, there being commonly five or six joined together at the base; they separate at each articulation, ing the two side mei or borders standing. Theseeds, which are compressed and square, drop out from the joints of the pods, which are hairy at first; but as they ripen become smooth. The petioles do not fall on being touched, but the leaflets close up. Linneus remarks that the whole plant is rough-haired, except the pinnas ; the it -Lives often fourteen paired, with many paired leaflets ; an upright awl-shaped spine between each pair of partial leaves ; and two stout recurved solitary opposite shorten rickles between each pair ol partial ones. Legume compressed, with stifHsh pale red lairs. Browne calls it the thorned sensitive from Panama, which he sa\s was intro- duced from the main continent. He describes it -as follows-: " It is a shrubby plant, and rises commonly to the height of seven or eight feet, but the smaller branches and. ribs are full of short recufved-thorns ; and eSch rib again emits a number of long and slender prickles, from the interspaces of its foliations, or smallest ribs. The branches of this shrub are moderately thick, but the leaves are small, and very apt to move on every occasion. The pods are compressed and hairy*, and when ripe divide into as many parts as there are seeds, which fall off separately ; these parts are held, in the natural state, between two ribs that run along- the margins of the pod, in the inner grooves of which they move with great ease, when contracted and detached from each other". ee Cacoon, Cashaw, Gum-arabic, Ikga-tree, Nephritic-tree, and Wild Tamarind. -Sensitive, Bastard. See Bastard Sensitive. I SERPENT-ROOT OPHIORHIZA. Cl. 5, or. 1. Pentandria monozynia. Nat. or. Stellate. Vol. II. Y Tfiis 110 H OUT US JAMATCENSIS. Serpent'* This generic name i:- derived from the Greek words for the English name, an East- India species being used against the bite of the ribband snake. Gen. char. Calyx a one-leafed perianth, erect, compressed, five toothed, equal., permanent:; corolla one-petaled, fennel-form, border five-cleft; stamens five fi- lameftts, with oblong anthers; the pistil has a bifid germ, a fiiiform style, and two- stigmas ; the pericarp is a two-lobed capsule, seeds numerous. One species has_ been found in Jamaica. M1TREOLA. MiTRED. Leaves ovate. R oots from the lower joints of the stem in bundles, long, filiform, white; stem her- baceous, a foot high, simple or branched, erect, four-cornered at bottom, towards the. upper part roundish, smooth, loose. Leaves petiole*}, opposite, lanceolate-ovate, a- ouminatc, entire, smooth on both sides ; leaflets in the axils of the larger ones. Pe- duncles terminating, diciiotomous, loose; flowers minute, sessile, directed one way, distinct, white, and a solitary flower in the lurks of the peduncles. Calyx minute, . five-parted, with erect segments; corolla tubular, longer than the calyx ; segments of the border ovale, acute, erect, often bent in ; throat viliose, white; filaments from the middle or the tube ; anthers converging under 'the pile of hairs-above the stigmas ; germ two-parted at the base, oblong ; styles two, stigmas roundish, white, pubescent; capsule at the base bifid, one-.celled, two-vaived, the valves opening at the side within longitudinally ; seeds numerous, inserted into two receptacles fastened to each valve. Flowering in Spring, in wet meadows or the banks of rivers. Swariss. This plant has the appearance of the narrow leaved brooklime. The leaves are of a pale green colour like those of the Barbadoes olive. SERPENT'S or ADDER'S TONGUE. OPHIOGLOShUM. Cl. 24, or. 2. Cryptogamia FHlices. This generic name is formed afthe Greek words for the English one. Gen, CHAR. Capsules numerous, connected by a membrane into a distinct spike, .sab-globular, when ripe opening transversely, without any elastic ring, iieedfr- very many, extremely minute. Three. species are natives of Jamaica. I. RF.TICULATUM. NF.TTFD. Xphatum simplex, folio cordato, Browne, p. 108. From! cordate. The heart-leaved adder's tongue rises commonly to the height of fire or six incites above the root. 2. FAT MATUM. PALMATfe Fronde bheeta pahna-ta, spkatentrali fronde longiori. Browne, p. 108. Piond palmate, with the spike at the base. Br3vne calls this the smaller adder's tongue, with palmated foliage. 3 t scAKOrr . atiADDoes TfORTUS JAMAICENS13 171 3. SCANDF.NS. CLIMBING. Fhyllit'di multifield? affinis, filix scandens, inpinnas tantum dhisa\ oblongas, angustas von crenatas. Sloane, V. 1, p. 88, t. 46, f. 1. tlaindrns, cattle t: reti glabra, foliis petiolutis angustis subscrrulatis, quandoque'nurftis, quandoque digitalis. Browne,/) 100, Pol. 24. Stem flexuose round, fronds conjugate pinnate, leaflets spike-bearing on both sides. This has a round root, its top covered with' blackish bair, having many strong fila- ments. Stem round, smooth, small, shining, reddish brown, turning round trees, on which it rises to a considerable height. At every three or four inches it puts forth leaves, mostly opposite, on inch-long foot-stalks, of a nervous texture, and sometimes [divided into two or more unequal parts. It grew plentifully on Mount-Biablo and a#.ther inland mountain parts. Sloane. Serpent-withe See Contrayfrva. Seven-ear Vine See Indian Cheeper. SHADDOCK. CITRUS. Cl. 18, or 3. iolijadclphiaicosandria. Nat. or. JSicorn ! '"Gen. char. See Citron, p. 136. DECUMAN A. Mains aurantia, Jructu rotundo maximo paiiesccnte hu.ma.num caput excedente. Sloane, v. l, p. 41, t. 12, f. 2, 3. Fructu sphterico ob*. ovato, maxima ; cortice aquali, vesiculate, pallida luieo. Br. p. 309. Petioles winged, leaves obtuse, emarginate. The shaddock was ori regarded by Linncus as only a vajiiety of the orange, from which it principals a: size of the fruit. It grows much the same size 85 the orange tree, and-has much the same appearance in foliage and flowers, which are very sweet scented. The fruit is large and spherical, and from eight to ten inches -in diameter; some trees have fruit with a red, and others with awhile, pul;>, the for- rner'is* o-ene rally considered the best. The rind is -very thick, while, bitter, and fun- gous. ^The pulp of the best kinds has a most delicious sweet-acid tasfe, by many pre- ferred to the orange. There is a yariet \ known by the name of grape-fruit, on account of its resemblance in fi ivour. to the grape; this fruit is not near so large as the shad- dock, which received its name from a captain Shaddock, who first brought the plant from the East-Indies. These i'.u its are generally in perfection, in Jamaica, hi the month tf December. I have seen them much larger than a man's head. The outside skin is of a lemon co- iour, but very smooth, and of a fine scent, exceeding lemon or orange; its rind is Ihick, and full of a volatile essential oil ; next the inside skin is a white substance, as in citrons, and then a juicy pulp appears. Those of the best sort arc of a deep red of 5>urple colour, but those that are whi are very sour, and not good.* They say if Y 2 you This is not always the case, for thewhite are sometimes very juicy and well flavoured. * 173 EiORTUS JAMAICENSIS. sn,.Dnr c% you plant the seed, there is but one in a whole shaddock that will bring forth good aid pleasant fruit; I have seen many of them planted and come to bear, but never saw a 1 one produced from the seed. The best way is to take a stem or a twig, and in- ft or innoculate i,t on a 'good China orange stock, &c. The fruit is cooling and ro- bing, abating drought and heat in fevers. Durham, p. 173. The shaddocks in general are but indifferent fruit, most of them inclining to a white pulp or fresh, and a watery bitterish juice, greatly inferior to the East-India Fruit. Mr. Miller accounts for this, by remarking, that by constantly raising these trees from the .seeds, the fruit degenerates continually; whereas if the inhabitants would only bud or innoculate from the good sort, they might have it in as great plenty as they pleased ; but that they resign tiie whole to nature, seldom giving themselves any further trouble than to put the seels in the ground, and leave them to grow as nature shall incline. This observation of bis is perfectly true; and, perhaps, their practice is not so much the effect of carelessness, as the want of knowing how to perform the innoculation ; for which reason I shall give the method recommended by that ingenious writer, which is very practicable in Jamaica, and where we may hope to see it adopted; since it is surely some satisfaction to possess so favourite a fruit in its most perfect and delicious state, whether for consumption within the island or for exportation. The manner of y performing the inn emulation is as follows : yon must be provided with a sharp penknife,. having a flat haft, (the use of which is to raise the bark of the stock to admit the bud), and some sound mat, which should be soaked in watel to increase its strength, for this purpose various barks used for making ropes will answer equally well, Having taken off the cuttings or young shoots from the trees to be propagate;!, take a smooth part c the stock, five or six inches above the ground, ifdesi -dwarfs, but if for stand- ar Is, they should be budded six feet above the ground ; then, with your penknife, cut . horizontal mark across the rind, and, from the middle of that cut, make a slit down- wards, about two inches in length, s i that it may be in form of a T; but you must be careful not to eul he stock; then cut off the leaf from the bud, leaving the footstalk, and make a cross cut about half an inch below the eye v.'aA slit offthe bu I, with part of-the wood to it, in form oi in et cutcheon. This done, puli off with the, knife : of the wood which was taken with the bud, observing whether the eye.bi the bud b I sfi to it or not, (for all those buds that lose their eyes in stripping should be thrown away, being useless) ; then, having gently raised the bark of the stock, where the Tinci >u was made, with the flat haft of the knife, clear to the wood, thrust the bu 1 therein, observing to place it smooth between the rind and the wood of the stock, rutting off auv part of the rind belonging to the bud which may be too long for the slit m tde in the stock, and, having c saetly fitted the bud to the stock, tii them clos< id, beginning at the lower part of the slit, anjd proceeding to the top. taking care not to hind round the eve of the bud, which should beleft.open When the bu Is have been innoculate I two or three we, ks, those whicti remain piuinp and fresh are joined, and the bandage must be loosened, which, it not d me in time, will pinch the stock, and greatly injure, if not destroy, the buvi. Long, p. 10 . FORBIDDEN FRl'lT. Fructa sph.-erico ovqto minore, cortice 4. Scandent, leaves broad-lanceolate, flowers lateral, panicle raceme d, one stipu- Jar tooth. Stem a fathom in height and more, with smooth loose branches, spreading out hori- zontally; leaves petioled, opposite, oblong, acuminate, nerved, glittering on the up- j>er surface, and smooth; stipules minute, acuminate, within the petioles. Racemes axillary;-' 175 II OUT US JAMAICENSIS IxsSW axillary, opposite to the brainblets, loose, simple, or subdivide], scarcely longer than , the leaves, many-flowered ; flowers. pedui*eled, usually in pairs, directed one way, pale yellow : calyx small ; tube of the corolla ventricose, slightly five-cornered, border five cleft; segments ovate, acute, spreading: filaments short, f'rofti the bottom of tlie co- rolla, villose ; anthers linear, the length of the verifcriose tube ; style thickening toward! the top ; stigmas two, blunt; berry snow-white ; seeds two, oblong acuminate-. This plant is very nearly allied to tbe genus psychojrra ; but it differs not Only in the manner of flowering, which is always in a raceme, but also in the form of the corolla, the berry, and tlie seeds. Sw. This plant grows very common in the lower hills of Jamaica, especiallj' those between Spanish-Town and St. Faith's ; it begins to branch immediately above the root, rises by many shoots and slender tuigs, from four to seven or eight feet, sometimes more; but,, when so luxuriant, it requires 1 1 be supported by some of the neighbouring shrubs, without which it would not be able to stand. The flower-spikes are very slender and numerous towards the top of the branches, and shcot from them as uell as from the ahe of the upper leaves, or lesser branches ; the berries-are of a snowy colour, and loose texture, very numerous, and of a round but somewhat compresseS figure, each contain- ing two compressed seeds. The root of the plant has much the same bitter acrid taste with the seneka, snake root, and has been a long time used as a strong resolutive and attenuant in those colonies. I have known it administered with great success in obstinate rheumatisms, and oid vene- real taints ; nor is it entirely useless even in Jthe*jr/H>/a ventosa monly called bone- ache. I have frequently observed very stubborn complaints ea sometimes removed by the continued use of this, and a '^w mercurial alterants ; but it is best used in ciecoc- tious, which may be made either stronger or weaker, or impi ed with other ii clients, as occasion, requires. The smaller the plant grows, the more sharp and biting the root is, and consequently the better B Browne also mentions a variety of this sprues, which he calls the climbing snOwberr ry, scandals tormatis temiissimis i t n$is. This grew to a considerable height among trees, and threw down some of its slender twigs again to the ground ; the leaves very like the foregoing. Swartz also observed this plant, and says Hie leaves are smal- ler, sub-convex, somewhat rigid, and glittering ; the racemes short and simple ; the corollas a little larger, pale-coloured, but purple at the corners. SNOW-DROP-TREE. CIIIONAMTHUS. Cl. 2. or. 1. Diandria mono^ynia. Nat. or. Sepiariee. This generic name is derived from the Greek words for snow and a flower. ,-Cen. char. Calyx a one-leafed four-parted perianth; corolla quadrifid, monope- talous, funnel-form, with the divisions very long; stamens two short filaments with co.idate anthers ; the pistil has an ovate germ, a simple style, and an obtuse .stioma; the pericarp a round drupe, one-celled; seed a striated nut. Swartz ;found one species of this gee. us in Jamaica. INCRASSATA 1NCRASSATED. Panicles axilla^, trichotomous; all the flowers distinct ; anthers obtuse. This Soapberr? HORTUS JAMAICENSI9. 17? Tliis grows from five to six feet high; leaves opposite, glabrous, pointed ; petafc> white, concave, ending in a thread ; calyx glabrous. SOAP-BERRY TREE. SAPINDUS. Cl. 8, or. 1. Octandriamonogynia. Nat. or. Trihilata, en. cbau. See Licca Tree, v. 1, page 443. SAP0NAR1A. SOAPBERRY. Prunifera racemosa, folio alata, costa media membranulis atrinquc. eitantibus donatu, fractu saponario. Sloane, v. 2, p. 131. Folds oblongis, xix pctiolatis, per cobtum ample alatam dispositis. Browne, p. 206. Unarmed, leaves pinnate, leaflets lanceolate, rachis winged. Mr. Anthony Robinson, after examining, he says, two forenoons with a microscope, describes the characters of this plant as follow, differing considerably from the general characters of the genus : The calyx is a perianth, consisting of five subovate, concave, and deciduous, green little leaves, placed scale-fashion, two of which are exterior and less than the interior ones ; corolla five lanceolate petals, equal, with fimbriated mar- gins, longer than the cup ; nectarium eight flat glands, of a triangular make, placed vertically, and forming a salver ; the germ trilobous, extremely small, and placed in the centre of^be nectarium ; the style short and simple ; stamens eight equal subula- ted filaments, hairy, longer than the petals, and placed round the nectarium ; an- thers five, didymous, and prolific, the other stamens bearing three barred triangnlar glands. It blossoms in the latter end of the year. This rises with a woody stem from twenty to thirty feet high, about the thickness of the human thigh, covered with an ash-coloured bark, sending out branches towards the top, garnished with winged leaves, composed of three, four, or five, pairs of spear- shaped leaflets, which are from three to four inches long, and an inch and a quarter broad in the middle, drawing to a point at both ends. The midrib has a membrana- ceous or leafy border running on each side from one pair of the leaflets to the other, which is broadest in the middle between the leaflets; they are of a pale green colour, and pretty stiff. The flowers are produced in loose spikes at the ends of the branches, small and white, making no gieat appearance.; they are succeeded by oval berries, as large as middling cherries, sometimes single, sometimes two, three, or four, are joined together ; they have a saponaceous skin or cover, inclosing a very smooth roundish nut of the same form, and shining black when ripe. This tree is common in all the south side hills in Jamaica. Browne says " the seed-vessels of this plant are very detersive and acrid ; they lather freely in water, and are frequently used instead of soap ; for a few of them will cleanse more linen than sixtj times their weight of that composition; but they are rather too sharp and observed to corrode or burn linen in time, and the water in which the tops or leaves have been steeped or boiled is observed to have the same quality in some degree. The seeds are round and hard, take a fine polish, and are frequently made into buttons. The whole plant, especially the seed capsules, be- 7ng pounded, and steeped in ponds, rivulets, or creeks, are observed to intoxicate and lill fish." The seeds pounded and infused for some time in proof spirit, the mixture is Vol. II. Z used 1*8 HORTUS JAMAICENSIS. sounder is often used as an embrocation for the removal of rheumatic pains ; if thus bruised and steeped in water, for poultry to drink, they are said to prevent them from having the yaws. In Lewis's Materia Medica, it is said, " that this fruit is a medicine of singular and spe- cific virtue in chlorosis, and that a tincture or extract is preferable to the berry in sub- stance, whence it may be presumed, that the soapy matter is dissoluble in spirit. Its. medicinal virtues were first published bv M'arloe, in a letter to Mr. Boyle." They are so called because thecistus or skins that inclose these berries lather in water^ a. : scour like soap. When the hollow cistus or membrane is taken away, there ap- pears a round, smooth, black berry, of which formerly they made buttons in England. This tree very much resembles the common English ashen-tree in bigness, colour of bark, and shape of the leaf ; but much differing in the fruit, which is a black round berry, of the rigness of a marble, contained in a skin looking and feeling like a dried bladder, very tough, and- which doth not stick close to the berry, but seems to have fc" space or hollowness all round, which is so tough that you can hardly with your fingers separate one from the ether. These skins, soaked in water, and rubbed with your- hands, will lather and wash, or scour, as well as any soap, and have no smell. The mood is no lasting timber. I have been told, that the ashes of this tree will spoil a- great quantity of other ashes for scouring or making potash; which seems strange,.. tlu re being such a soapy or scouring quality in the fruit of it. Barnam, p. \~i. The sapindus edulis, or Litchi Plurri w;is introduced into Jamaica in,177-i. HtX LlLVA TltEE. No English Ndmej SOLAXDRA, Cl. 5. or. 1. Pentandria monojfynia. Nat. or. This was so named in honour of D. C- Solander, a Swede, and disciple of Linnet^ who accompauyed Sir Joseph Banks round the world. Gen. char. Calyx a one- leafed perianth, large, angular, permanent, three or five- cleft.; segments lanceolate, erect: corolla one-petalud, funiiel-Ioi.n, very large, tube bell-shaped, ventneose, a Ut tie shorter than the calyx ; border rive-clertj segments -roundish, waved, patulous: stamens five filiform ri. anient*, length of the tube, ascending at the top ; anthers oblong, versatile: the pistil has a supe- rior oval germ, a fiitforni style, longer than the stamens, bent in ; stigma obtuse, bifid, segments ovate; the pericarp an oval berry, conical at top, smooth, f^ur- ceiled ; seeds very numerous, oblong, nestling. Tin re is only one species. CRANDIFLORA. GREAT-FLOW KKtD.