CHRYSOBALANEiE. X. Leucostokon. XL Trilepisium. AMYGDALACE.E. 



481 



pubescent ; leaves oblong, acuminated, shining, narrow at the 



base. ^2 • ^* Native of Cuba. 

 Shining-leayed Hirtella. Shrub or tree. 

 Cult, For culture and propagation see ChrysobdlanuSy p. 478. 



. f Genera which are doubtful whether they belong to the present 

 order. 



X, LEUCO^STOMON (from Xevkoq, leucos^ white, and 



^o^a, stoma^ mouth). Moc. et Sesse, fl. mex. icon, ined. D. C. 

 prod, 2. p. 639. 



Lin. syst. Icosdndria^ Monogynta. Calyx 5-parted; lobes 

 ovate-lanceolate, acute, spreading, coloured, deciduous, the lower 

 part permanent, and bearing a circle of glands above, and sta- 

 mens. Petals wanting. Stamens about 20, inserted in the 

 calycine disk ; filaments very short ; anthers long, erect, 

 fixed by the base. Ovary free, ovate, pubescent, 5-furrowed, 

 ending in an acute filiform style. Fruit unknown. — A shrub, 

 with oval, entire, feather-nerved leaves. Stipulas 2, subulate. 

 Peduncles trifid, 3-flowered. Calyx brownish-purple. 



1 L. TERNiFLORUM (Moc. et Scssc, 1. c) T2 • ^' Native of 

 Mexico. 



Tern-JloTvered Leucostomon. Shrub. 



fugal, as the bark of Cerasus Virginidna is prescribed in the 

 United States, and of the Cerasus Cdpollin in Mexico. They 

 are, however, better known for yielding an abundance of prussic- 

 acid, a deadly principle residing in the leaves and kernels of the 



fruit, in consequence of which some of the species are poisonous 

 to cattle which feed upon them, as for example Cerasus capri* 

 cida, which kills the goats of Nipaul, and the Cerasus Firginidnaf 



which is known in North America to be dangerous. They all 

 of them also yield a gum analogous to Tragacanth. Notwith- 

 standing, however, the poisonous principle that is present in 



them, their fruit is in many cases a favourite food, as that of 

 Amygdalus the almond, Armeniaca the apricot, Persica the 



peach and nectarine, Prunus the plum, and Cerasus the cherry. 

 The principle in which they abound is the basis of laurel-water, 

 which when taken in small doses acts either as a violent purga- 

 tive or as an emetic, and in larger doses is said to destroy the 

 irritability without exciting inflammation; these properties, how- 

 ever, although thus dangerous in the distilled water of the laurel 

 and other similar plants, can scarcely be said to exist in any 



Cult, For culture and propagation see Chrysobdlanus^ p. 478. important quantity in the plants in a state of nature. The leaves 



XI. TRILEPISIUM (from rpfic> treis^ three, and XtTrtc, lepis^ 

 a scale ; in reference to the 3 scales situated in the calycine tube 



o{ Prunus spinbsa^ and Cerasus avium have been employed as a 

 substitute for tea. The bark of Cerasus Cdpollin is used in 



between the stamens and pistil). Pet. Th. gen. mad. no. 74, Mexico against dysentery. The prunes of the shops are chiefly 



D- C. prod. 2. p. 639. 



Lin. syst. Icosdndria^ Monogyma. Calyx thick, 5-cleft, not 

 adhering to the ovary. Petals wanting. Stamens numerous, in- 

 serted by several series in the calyx ; filaments filiform. Caly- 



prepared from those sorts of plums called St. Catharine and green- 

 gage, and in Portugal from a sort that derives its name from the 

 village of Guimaraens. where they are principally dried. They 



cine tube terminating in 3 scales between the stamens and pistil. ^^^^^^'"^ '^ ^^'S^ ^ ^"^"^'^^ of sugar, that brandy is distilled from 



Ovary in the bottom of the calyx, 1 -seeded. Style longer than 



|ne tube, bifid at the apex. Stigmas tomentose. Fruit un- 



"nown — A small tree, with alternate lanceolate leaves, when 



young wrapped round by the stipulas, which are caducous. 



* T. Madagascarie'nsis. Tj . S. Native of Madagascar. 



them when fermented. The kernel of Cerasus Briganttaca yields 

 a fixed oil called Huil des Marmottes, which is used instead of 

 olive or almond oil. The Prunus CocomiUa yields a bark the 

 properties of which are spoken of very highly ; according to 

 Tenore it is a specific for the cure of the dangerous intermittent 



Madagascar Trilepisium. Tree. 



Cm//. For culture and propagation see Chrysobdlanus, p. 478. fevers of Calabria, where it grows. A variety of the Cerasus 



AMYGDALA^CEiE 



-"^i^K A^^AA. AMlUUALAiJtsJt. (plants agreeing in im- 

 portant characters with ^7w^^(7fZ?z/5, the almond).— Amygdalese, j_,,^ IVCIIICI Ul . 



ss. gen. 310. exclusive of some genera. — Drupacese, D. C. fl. liqueur Noyeau, 



avium is used for the preparation in the Vosges and the Black 

 Forest of the liqueur known under the name of Kirschenwaesser. 

 The kernel of Cerasus occidentdlis is used for flavouring the 



Synopsis of the Genera, 



1 Amy'gdalus. Drupe clothed with velvety pubescence (f. 62. 

 c), with a fibrous dry rind, separating irregularly, having the 

 putamen pitted or smooth. 



2 Pe'rsica. Drupe fleshy (f. G3, 6.), glabrous or clothed 



^''- 4, p. 479.-^Rosacese, tribe IL AraygdMese, D. C. prod. 2. p. 



Calyx 5-toothed (f. 62. a, f. 64. a.), deciduous, lined with a 

 'sk, the fifth lobe next the axis. Petals 5 (f. 62. a. f. 63. b.\ 

 P^'jgynous. Stamens about 20 (f. 62. 6. f. 63.6. f. 64. a.)» inserted ^ .«__.. ^_^. __^ ^.. .„. ..^, g.„„.^«o ^. ...,.».« 



roat of the calyx, curved inwards in aestivation. Anthers with velvety down, having the putamen irregularly furrowed (f. 

 fi\r^ f' 1 -celled, bursting lengthwise. Ovary superior, solitary, 63, c). 



8 Armeni'aca. Drupe fleshy, clothed with velvety down, 



having the putamen obtuse at one end, and acute at the other, 



and surrounded by a furrow, the rest smooth, but never rugged. 



4 Pru^nus. Drupe fleshy, quite glabrous, but covered with 



Leaves simple, alternate, usually glan- a kind of grey bloom, having a compressed putamen, which is 



acute at both ends, and slightly furrowed on the margin, the rest 



-<niple, l-celled. Ovula 2, suspended. Style terminal, with a 



on one side, terminating in a reniform stigma. Seed 



^ y solitary, suspended. Embryo straight, with the radicle 



ting towards the hylum, with thick cotyledons. Albumen 



^orie._Xrees or shrubs. 



towards the base. Stipulas simple, mostly glandular. 



Flow 



Ts white or pink. — This order is distinguished from /?o- smooth. 



*^^<c and Pomaces by its fruit being a drupe (f. 63. b. f. 64. 



5 Ce'rasus. Drupe globose (f. 64. J.), fleshy, quite gla- 



j\ -"v^*,<,«; uy jt» II uu ueiiig it III upc \^i. ^*j, u, A. uif. o v^r- itAsiub. x-^rupe giooose ^i. o*. u.y, iiesriy, qu 



' by the presence of Prussic acid, from Leguminosce in brous, containing a smooth flattened putamen (f. 64./.), 



equal petals and stamens, and by the fruit. 



plants contained in this order are astringent and febri- 



6 Polyd6ktia, Drupe kidney-shaped, dry, containing a 1 

 seeded nut. Calyx 6 -par ted. 



3Q 



