Chapter 8

377. SALVADORA PERSICA.--This is supposed to be the plant that produced the mustard seed spoken of in the Scriptures.

378. SANDORICUM INDICUM.--A tropical tree, sometimes called the Indian sandal tree, which produces a fruit like an apple, of agreeable acid flavor. The root of the tree has some medicinal value.

379. SANSEVIERA GUINEENSIS.--Called the African bowstring hemp, from the fibers of the leaves being used for bowstrings.

380. SANTALUM ALBUM.--This tree yields the true sandalwood of India. This fragrant wood is in two colors, procured from the same tree; the yellow-colored wood is from the heart and the white-colored from the exterior, the latter not so fragrant. The Chinese manufacture it into musical instruments, small cabinets, boxes, and similar articles, which are insect proof. From shavings of the wood an essential oil is distilled, which is used in perfumery.

381. SAPINDUS SAPONARIA.--The soapberry tree. The fruit of this plant is about the size of a large gooseberry, the outer covering or shell of which contains a saponaceous principle in sufficient abundance to produce a lather with water and is used as a substitute for soap. The seeds are hard, black, and round, and are used for making rosaries and necklaces, and at one time were covered for buttons. Oil is also extracted from the seeds and is known as soap oil.

382. SAPIUM INDICUM.--A widely distributed Asiatic tree which yields an acrid, milky juice, which, as also the leaves of the plant, furnishes a kind of dye. The fruit in its green state is acid, and is eaten as a condiment in Borneo.

383. SAPOTA ACHRAS.--The fruit of this plant is known in the West Indies as the sapodilla plum. It is highly esteemed by the inhabitants; the bark of the tree is astringent and febrifugal; the seeds are aperient and diuretic.

384. SAPOTA MULLERI.--The bully or balata tree of British Guiana, which furnishes a gum somewhat intermediate between India rubber and gutta-percha, being nearly as elastic as the first without the brittleness and friability of the latter, and requiring a high temperature to melt or soften it.

385. SCHINUS MOLLE.--The root of this plant is used medicinally and the resin that exudes from the tree is employed to astringe the gums. The leaves are so filled with resinous fluid that when they are immersed in water it is expelled with such violence as to have the appearance of spontaneous motion in consequence of the recoil. The fruits are of the size of pepper corns and are warm to the taste. The pulp surrounding the seeds is made into a kind of beverage by the Mexican Indians. The plant is sometimes called Mexican pepper.

386. SCHOTIA SPECIOSA.--A small tree of South Africa called Boerboom at the Cape of Good Hope. The seeds or beans are cooked and eaten as food. The bark is used for tanning purposes and as an astringent in medicine.

387. SEAFORTHIA ELEGANS.--This palm is a native of the northern part of Australia, where it is utilized by the natives. The seeds have a granular fibrous rind, and are spotted and marked like a nutmeg.

388. SELAGINELLA LEPIDOPHYLLA.--This species of club moss is found in southern California, and has remarkable hygrometric qualities. Its natural growth is in circular roseate form, and fully expanded when the air is moist, but rolling up like a ball when it becomes dry. It remains green and acts in this peculiar manner for a long time after being gathered. Of late years numbers have been distributed throughout the country under the names of "Rose of Jericho" and "Resurrection Plant." This is, however, quite distinct from the true Rose of Jericho, _Anastatica hierochuntica_, a native of the Mediterranean region, from Syria to Algeria. This plant, when growing and in flower, has branches spread rigidly, but when the seed ripens the leaves wither, and the whole plant becomes dry, each little branch curling inward until the plant appears like a small ball; it soon becomes loosened from the soil, and is carried by the winds over the dry plains, and is often blown into the sea, where it at once expands. It retains this property of expanding when moistened for at least ten years.

389. SEMECARPUS ANACARDIUM.--The marking nut tree of India. The thick, fleshy receptacle bearing the fruit is of a yellow color when ripe, and is roasted and eaten. The unripe fruit is employed in making a kind of ink. The hard shell of the fruit is permeated by a corrosive juice, which is used on external bruises and for destroying warts. The juice, when mixed with quick-lime, is used to mark cotton or linen with an indelible mark. When dry it forms a dark varnish, and among other purposes it is employed, mixed with pitch and tar, in the calking of ships. The seeds, called Malacca beans, or marsh nuts, are eaten, and are said to stimulate the mental powers, and especially the memory; and finally they furnish an oil used in painting.

390. SERISSA F[OE]TIDA.--A cinchonaceous shrub, having strong astringent properties. The roots are employed in cases of diarrhea, also in ophthalmia and certain forms of ulcers. It is a native of Japan and China.

391. SHOREA ROBUSTA.--This tree produces the Saul wood of India, which has a very high reputation, and is extensively employed for all engineering purposes where great strength and toughness are requisite. It is stronger and much heavier than teak. An oil is obtained from the seeds, and a resin similar to Dammar resin is likewise obtained from the tree.

392. SIDA PULCHELLA.--A plant of the mallow family; the bark contains fibrous tissues available for the manufacture of cordage. The root of _S. acuta_ is esteemed by the Hindoos as a medicine, and particularly as a remedy for snake bites. The light wood of these species is used to make rocket sticks.

393. SIMABA CEDRON.--A native of New Grenada, where it attains the size of a small tree, and bears a large fruit containing one seed; this seed, which looks like a blanched almond, is known in commerce as the cedron. As a remedy for snake bites it has been known from time immemorial in New Grenada. It is mentioned in the books of the seventeenth century. Recently it has obtained a reputation as a febrifuge, but its value as an antidote to the bites of snakes and scorpions is universally believed, and the inhabitants carry a seed with them in all their journeyings; if they happen to be bitten by any venomous reptile they scrape about two grains of the seed in brandy or water and apply it to the wound, at the same time taking a like dose internally. This neutralizes the most dangerous poisons.

394. SIMARUBA OFFICINALIS.--This tree yields the drug known as Simaruba bark, which is, strictly speaking, the rind of the root. It is a bitter tonic. It is known in the West Indies as the mountain damson.

395. SIPHONIA ELASTICA.--The South American rubber plant, from which a great portion of the caoutchouc of commerce is obtained. There are several species of siphonia which, equally with the above, furnish the India rubber exported from Para. The caoutchouc exists in the tree in the form of a thin, white milk, which exudes from incisions made in the trunk, and is poured over molds, which were formerly shaped like jars, bottles, or shoes, hence often called bottle rubber. As it dries, the coatings of milky juice are repeated until the required thickness is obtained, and the clay mold removed. It belongs to the extensive family _Euphorbiaceae_.

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

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

398. STRELITZIA REGINAE.--A plant of the Musa or banana family. The flowers are very beautiful for the genus. It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope. The seeds are gathered and eaten by the Kaffirs.

399. STRYCHNOS NUX-VOMICA.--This is a native of the Coromandel coast and Cochin-China. It bears an orange-like fruit, containing seeds that have an intensely bitter taste, owing to the presence of two most energetic poisons, _strychnine_ and _brucine_. The pulp surrounding the seeds is said to be harmless, and greedily eaten by birds. The wood of the plant is hard and bitter, and possesses similar properties to the seeds, but in a less degree. It is used in India in intermittent fevers and in cases of snake bites. _S. tiente_ is a Java shrub, the juice of which is used in poisoning arrows. _S. toxifera_ yields a frightful poison called Ourari or Wourari, employed by the natives of Guiana. This is considered to be the most potent sedative in nature. Several species of _Strychnos_ are considered infallible remedies for snake bites; hence are known as snakewood. _S. pseudo-quina_, a native of Brazil, yields Colpache bark, which is much used in that country in cases of fever, and is considered equal to quinine in value. It does not contain strychnine, and its fruits are edible. _S. potatorum_ furnishes seeds known in India as clearing-nuts, on account of their use in clearing muddy water. St. Ignatius beans are supposed to be yielded by a species of Strychnos, from the quantity of strychnine contained in the seeds.

400. SWIETENIA MAHAGONI.--This South American plant furnishes the timber known in commerce as mahogany. The bark is considered a febrifuge, and the seeds prepared with oil were used by the ancient Aztecs as a cosmetic. The timber is well known, and much used in the manufacture of furniture.

401. TACCA PINNATIFIDA.--This is sometimes called South Sea arrowroot. The tubers contain a great amount of starch, which is obtained by rasping them and macerating four or five days in water, when the fecula separates in the same manner as sago. It is largely used as an article of diet throughout the tropics, and is a favorite ingredient for puddings and cakes.

402. TAMARINDUS INDICA.--The tamarind tree. There are two varieties of this species. The East Indian variety has long pods, with six to twelve seeds. The variety cultivated in the West Indies has shorter pods, containing one to four seeds. Tamarinds owe their grateful acidity to the presence of citric, tartaric, and other vegetable acids. The pulp mixed with salt is used for a liniment by the Creoles of the Mauritius. Every part of the plant has had medicinal virtues ascribed to it. Fish pickled with tamarinds are considered a great delicacy. It is said that the acid moisture exhaled by the leaves injures the cloth of tents that remain under them for any length of time. It is also considered unsafe to sleep under the trees.

403. TANGHINIA VENENIFERA.--This plant is a native of Madagascar, and of the family _Apocynaceae_. Formerly, when the custom of trial by ordeal was more prevalent than now, the seeds of this plant were in great repute, and unlimited confidence was placed in the poisonous seeds as a detector of guilt. The seeds were pounded, and a small piece swallowed by each person to be tried; those in whom it caused vomiting were allowed to escape, but when it was retained in the stomach, it would quickly prove fatal, and their guilt was thus held to be proven.

404. TASMANNIA AROMATICA.--The bark of this plant possesses aromatic qualities, closely resembling Winter's bark. The small black fruits are used as a substitute for pepper.

405. TECTONA GRANDIS.--The teak tree. Teak wood has been extensively employed for shipbuilding in the construction of merchant vessels and ships of war; its great strength and durability, the facility with which it can be worked, and its freedom from injury by fungi, rendering it peculiarly suitable for these purposes. It is a native of the East India Islands, and belongs to the order _Verbenaceae_.

406. TERMINALIA CATAPPA.--The astringent fruits of this tropical plant are employed for tanning and dyeing, and are sometimes met with in commerce under the name of myrobalans, and used by calico printers for the production of a permanent black. The seeds are like almonds in shape and whiteness, but, although palatable, have a peculiar flavor.

407. TETRANTHERA LAURIFOLIA.--This plant is widely dispersed over tropical Asia and the islands of the Eastern Archipelago. Its leaves and young branches abound in a viscid juice, and in Cochin-China the natives bruise and macerate them until this becomes glutinous, when it is used for mixing with plaster, to thicken and render it more adhesive and durable. Its fruits yield a solid fat, used for making candles, although it has a most disagreeable odor.

408. THEA VIRIDIS.--This is the China tea plant, whose native country is undetermined. All kinds and grades of the teas of commerce are made from this species, although probably it has some varieties. Black and green teas are the result of different modes of preparation; very much of the green, however, is artificially colored to suit the foreign trade. The finest teas do not reach this country; they will not bear a sea voyage, and are used only by the wealthy classes in China and Russia. The active principles of the leaves are theine and a volatile oil, to which latter the flavor and odor are due. So far as climate is concerned for the existence of the tea plant in the United States, it will stand in the open air without injury from Virginia southwards. A zero frost will not kill it. But with regard to its production as a profitable crop, the rainfall in no portion of the States is sufficient to warrant any attempt to cultivate the plant for commercial purposes. But this does not prevent its culture as a domestic article, and many hundreds of families thus prepare all the tea they require, from plants it may be from the pleasure ground or lawn, where the plant forms one of the best ornaments.

409. THEOBROMA CACAO.--This plant produces the well-known cacao, or chocolate, and is very extensively cultivated in South America and the West India Islands. The fruit, which is about 8 to 10 inches in length by 3 to 5 in breadth, contains between fifty and a hundred seeds, and from these the cacao is prepared. As an article of food it contains a large amount of nutritive matter, about 50 per cent being fat. It contains a peculiar principle, which is called _theobromine_.

410. THEOPHRASTA JUSSIAEI.--A native of St. Domingo, where it is sometimes called Le petit Coca. The fruit is succulent, and bread is made from the seeds.

411. THESPESIA POPULNEA.--A tropical tree, belonging to the mallow family. The inner bark of the young branches yields a tough fiber, fit for cordage, and used in Demerara for making coffee bags, and the finer pieces of it for cigar envelopes. The wood is considered almost indestructible under water, and its hardness and durability render it valuable for various purposes. The flower buds and unripe fruits yield a viscid yellow juice, useful as a dye, and a thick, deep, red-colored oil is expressed from the seeds.

412. THEVETIA NERIIFOLIA.--This shrubby plant is common in the West Indies and in many parts of Central America. Its bark abounds in a poisonous milky juice, and is said to possess powerful properties. A clear, bright, yellow-colored oil, called Exile oil, is obtained, by expression, from the seeds.

413. THRINAX ARGENTEA.--This beautiful palm is called the Silver Thatch palm of Jamaica, and is said to yield the leaves so extensively used in the manufacture of hats, baskets, and other articles. It is also a native of Panama, where it is called the broom palm, its leaves being there made into brooms.

414. TILLANDSIA ZEBRINA.--A South American plant of the pineapple family; the bottle-like cavity at the base of the leaves will sometimes contain a pint or more of water, and has frequently furnished a grateful drink to thirsty travelers.

415. TINOSPORA CORDIFOLIA.--A climbing plant, so tenacious of life that when the stem is cut across or broken, a rootlet is speedily sent down from above, which continues to grow until it reaches the ground. A bitter principle, _calumbine_, pervades the plant. An extract called galuncha is prepared from it, considered to be a specific for the bites of poisonous insects and for ulcers. The young shoots are used as emetics.

416. TRIPHASIA TRIFOLIATA.--A Chinese shrub, with fruit about the size of hazelnuts, red-skinned, and of an agreeable sweet taste; when green, they have a strong flavor of turpentine, and the pulp is very sticky. They are also preserved whole in sirup, and are sometimes called limeberries.

417. TRISTANIA NERIIFOLIA.--A myrtaceous plant from Australia, called the turpentine tree, owing to its furnishing a fluid resembling that product.

418. URCEOLA ELASTICA.--A plant belonging to the _Apocynaceae_, a native of the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, where its milky juice, collected by making incisions in its soft, thick, rugged bark, or by cutting the trunk into junks, forms one of the kinds of caoutchouc called juitawan, but it is inferior to the South American, chiefly owing to want of care in its preparation, the milky juice being simply coagulated by mixing with salt water, instead of being gradually inspissated in layers on a mold. The fruit contains a pulp which is much eaten by the natives.

419. URENA LOBATA.--A malvaceous plant, possessing mucilaginous properties, for which it is used medicinally. The bark affords an abundance of fiber, resembling jute rather than flax or hemp.

420. UVARIA ODORATISSIMA.--An Indian plant which is supposed to yield the essential oil called Ylang-Ylang, or Alan-gilan. This oil is obtained by distillation from the flowers, and is highly esteemed by perfumers, having an exquisite odor partaking of the jasmine and lilac.

421. VANGUERIA EDULIS.--A cinchonaceous plant, the fruits of which are eaten in Madagascar under the name of Voa-vanga. The leaves are used in medicine.

422. VANILLA PLANIFOLIA.--The vanilla plant, which belongs to the orchid family. The fruit is used by confectioners and others for flavoring creams, liquors, and chocolates. There are several species, but this gives the finest fruit. It is a climbing orchid, and is allowed to climb on trees when cultivated for its fruit. In Mexico, from whence is procured a large portion of the fruit, it is cultivated in certain favorable localities near the Gulf coast, where the climate is warm. Much of the value of the bean depends upon the process of its preparation for the market. In Mexico, where much care is given to this process, the pods are gathered before they are fully ripe and placed in a heap, under protection from the weather, until they begin to shrivel, when they are submitted to a sweating process by wrapping them in blankets inclosed in tight boxes; afterwards they are exposed to the sun. They are then tied into bundles or small bales, which are first wrapped in woolen blankets, then in a coating of banana leaves first sprinkled with water, then placed in an oven heated up to about 140 deg. F. Here they remain for twenty-four to forty-eight hours, according to the size of the pods, the largest requiring the longest time. After this heating they are exposed to the sun daily for fifty or sixty days, until they are thoroughly dried and ready for the market.

423. VATERIA INDICA.--This plant yields a useful gum resin, called Indian copal, piney varnish, white dammar, or gum anine. The resin is procured by cutting a notch in the tree, so that the juice may flow out and become hardened. It is used as a varnish for pictures, carriages, etc. On the Malabar coast it is manufactured into candles, which burn with a clear light and an agreeable fragrance. The Portuguese employ this resin instead of incense. Ornaments are fashioned from it under the name of amber. It is also employed in medicine.

424. WEINMANNIA RACEMOSA.--A New Zealand tree called Towhia by the natives of that country. Its bark is used for tanning purposes, and as a red and brown dye, which give fast colors upon cotton fabrics.

425. WRIGHTIA TINCTORIA.--The leaves of this plant furnish an inferior kind of indigo. The wood is beautifully white, close-grained, and ivory-like, and is much used for making Indian toys.

426. XANTHORRH[OE]A ARBOREA.--The grass gum tree of Australia, also called black boy. This is a liliaceous plant, which produces a long flower-stalk, bearing at the top an immense cylindrical flower-spike, and when the short black stem is denuded of leaves, the plants look very like black men holding spears. The leaves afford good fodder for cattle, and the tender white center is used as a vegetable. A fragrant resin, called acaroid resin, is obtained from it.

427. XIMENIA AMERICANA.--A small tree, found in many warm regions; among others in southern Florida. In Brazil it is called the Native Plum on account of its small yellow fruits, which have a subacid and somewhat astringent aromatic taste. The wood is odoriferous and is used in the West Indies as a substitute for sandalwood.

428. YUCCA AL[OE]FOLIA.--The yucca leaves afford a good fiber, and some southern species are known as _bear's grass_. The root stems also furnish a starchy matter, which has been rendered useful in the manufacture of starch.

429. ZAMIA FURFURACEA.--This plant belongs to the order _Cycadaceae_, and is grown to some extent for the starchy matter contained in the stem, which is collected and used as arrowroot; but it is not the true arrowroot, that being produced by a species of _Maranta_.

430. ZAMIA INTEGRIFOLIA.--The coontie plant of Florida. The large succulent roots afford a quantity of arrowroot, said to be equal to the best of that from Bermuda. The fruit has a coating of an orange-colored pulp, which is said to form a rich edible food. It was from the roots of this plant that the Seminoles of Florida obtained their _white meal_.