OXALIDEZ. I. Averruoa. 
juice of this is not so pleasant as that of 4. Bilimba, that the 
fruit is rather larger, and is used for the same purposes, and 
that it is a very beautiful tree. In Bengal the tree is called 
Camruc and Camrunga; in Malabar, Tamara-tonga ; the Bra- 
mins and Portuguese call it Carambolas. 
Carambola Averrhoa. Clt.1793. Tree 14 to 20 feet. 
2 A. Bir1'mai (Lin. spec. 613.) 
` calyxes pubescent ; limb of petals 
oval-oblong; stamens 10; fruit 
obtuse-angled ; seeds without aril. 
k. S. Native of Goa and many 
other parts of the East Indies, 
both within and without the Gan- 
ges, and is now cultivated in many 
parts of South America.—Cav. 
diss. 7. t. 219.—Rumph. amb. 1. 
p. 115. t. 35.—Rheed. mal. 3. p. 
5l. t.45 and 46. This is a small 
tree, with a few recli ning branches. 
The leaves have from 5-10-pairs 
of ovate-lanceolate, entire, smooth 
FIG, 121. 
KR 
leaflets on short stalks. The WW c 
flowers are reddish-purple, dis- Auf d 
posed in racemes, rising from 
the trunk. The fruit is oblong, somewhat resembling a small 
cucumber, with a thin, smooth, green rind, filled with a grate- 
ful acid juice, and the substance and seeds not unlike that of 
a cucumber. A syrup is made of the juice and a conserve of 
the flowers, which are esteemed excellent in fevers and bilious 
disorders, The tree is called Bilimbi in Malabar. 
Bilimbi or Cucumber-tree. Fl. May, July. Clt.1791. Tree 
8 to 15 feet. 
_ Cult. These are very pretty trees, and will thrive well in a 
light sandy loam. Ripe cuttings will strike root freely in sand 
under a hand-glass, in heat. 
II. BIOOPHYTUM (from foc, bios, life, and gurov, phyton, 
a plant; the leaves of B. sensitivum are sensitive to the touch). 
„C. prod. 1. p. 689. , 
Lin. syst, Decandria, Pentagynia. Calyx of 5 sepals. Sta- 
mens 10, free, the 5 outer ones are smaller than the inner 5, 
alternating with each other. Stigmas 5, emarginately-bifid and ca- 
pitate. Capsules ovate, globose, somewhat pentagonal.—Annual 
or suffruticose herbs, with a naked stem, bearing at the apex, a 
fascicled whorl of abruptly-pinnate leaves; leaflets many, oppo- 
Site. Peduncles many-flowered, umbellate. St. Hilaire does 
not consider this genus distinct from the following ; indeed there 
8 no character yet discovered that would separate them, but 
the peculiar habit of the plants is sufficient. 
- SENSITivum (D.C. prod. 1. p. 690.) almost stemless ; 
peduncles thick, bearing many flowers at the apex, about equal 
in length to the leaves; leaflets 14 pairs, oblong, obtuse, mucro- 
hate. ©. S. Native of the East Indies and China, in gardens 
ond meadows. O'’xalis sensitiva, Lin. spec. 622. Jacq. oxal. no. 
l. t. 78. f£. 4.—Gare. in phil. trans. 1730. p. 379. t. 2.— 
Rumph, amb. 5. p. 301. t, 104. £. 2.—Rheed. mal. 9. p. 33. t. 
9. The leaves of this plant contract on the slightest touch, like 
those of Mimòsa pudica. It is a beautiful plant, with umbels of 
smal] yellow flowers. Stigmas emarginately bifid. 
foot Biophytum. Fl. May, July. Clt. 1824. Pl. 4 to 
2 toot, ` f 
2 B. DENDROÌDES (D. C. prod. 1. p. 690.) stem woody, sim- 
pie, leafy at the apex; petioles of leaves with a fascicle of long 
a between each pair of leaflets ; leaflets of 12 pairs, oblong, 
 g edual-sided, acute, ciliated, outer ones largest; peduncles 1- 
owered. K.S. Native of New Granada between Guaduas 
VOL. I.—part, VIIL 
free, or joined together at the base. 
II. Biornytum. II. Oxanis. 
and Quebrada de la Carbonera. O’xalis dendroides, H. B. et 
Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 5. p. 250. Flowers violaceous. Cells 
of ovary containing only one seed. 
Tree-like Biophytum. Shrub 5 to 1 foot. 
3 B. mimosoipss (St. Hil. fl. bras. 1. p. 107. t. 2J. under 
O’xalis,) stem shrubby, hardly branched at the apex ; leaves 
corymbose, abruptly-pinnate ; leaflets linear, obliquely-truncate 
both at the apex and the base, puberulous, veinless above ; pe- 
duncles shorter than the leaves, villous, very much thickened at 
the apex, bracteate, 3-4-flowered ; pistils much longer than the 
stamens; cells of ovary 4-seeded. h.S. Native of Brazil in 
the province of Rio Janeiro. Flowers white, resembling those 
of Stellaria Holóstea. Filaments rather monadelphous at the 
base. Stigmas laciniately-jagged, capitate. 
Mimosa-like Biophytum. F]. Nov. Shrub 4 foot. 
4 B. ca’stra; stem shrubby, umbellately branched; leaves 
abruptly-pinnate, of many pairs of leaflets, smoothish ; leaflets 
adnate, somewhat rhomboid; fascicles of flowers subsessile, 
bracteate ; stamens exceeding the styles in length. h.S. Na- 
tive of Brazil. O’xalis cásta, Zucc. in act. acad. monach. 9. t. 6. 
Chaste Biophytum. Shrub 4 foot. 
5 B. po'RMIENS ; stem suffruticose, simple ; leaves abruptly- 
pinnate, with many pairs of pubescent, nearly sessile leaflets, 
which are angular at the base, oblong, obtuse ; pedicels aggre- 
gate, 1-flowered, rising from the bracteas. h}. S. Native of 
Brazil. O’xalis dórmiens, Zucc. in act. acad. monach. 9. t. 5. 
Dormant Biophytum. Shrub 4 foot. 
6 B. so'myīans ; stem shrubby, simple; leaves abruptly-pin- 
nate, with about 6 pairs of leaflets, outer ones largest, obovate- 
oblong, obtuse, lower ones rather cordate, acute; heads of 
flowers on long peduncles, bracteate; styles exceeding the sta- 
mens in length. h.S. Native of Brazil. O’xalis sémnians, 
Mart. mss. Zucc. in act. acad. monach. 9. t. 4. 
Sleeping Biophytum. Shrub 4 foot. 
Cult. These singular and beautiful little plants will thrive 
best in a mixture of loam and peat. The seeds of the first 
species should be sown in spring on a hot-bed, and after the 
plants are of sufficient size, they should be separated and planted 
singly in pots shaded until the plants have taken fresh root, they 
may then be removed to the stove. The rest of the species, 
being suffruticose plants, may be either increased by cuttings or 
seeds. 
III. O’XALIS (from o€ve, oxys, acid; the leaves have arr 
acid taste). Lin. gen. no. 582, D. C. prod. 1. p. 690. O'xys, 
Tourn. inst. t. 19. 
Lin. syst. Decdndria, Pentagynia. Sepals 5, (f. 122. a.) 
Petals 5. (f. 122. b.) 
Stamens 10, (f. 122. c. c.) with the filaments connected together 
a little way at the base, 5 of which are exterior, and are shorter 
than the other 5. Styles 5, usually crowned by pencil-like, 
(f. 122. d.) rarely capitate, or bifid stigmas. Capsules penta- 
gonal, oblong, or cylindrical.—Permanent, caulescent, stipitate, 
or stemless herbs. Leaves various, but never abruptly-pinnate, 
full of an acid juice. Flowers of various hues. 
. Hedysarotdee (plants with the habit of Hedysarum). 
DC. pod i p. 690. pedicles bifid, or bifidly-umbelliferous, 
with one flower in the fork, bearing the other flowers on the inside 
of the divisions, mith usually petinated bracteas ; flowers secund, 
intermixed with the bracteas. Stems leafy, usually suffruticose. 
Leaves trifoliate ; leaflets ovate, lanceolate, or rhomboid, rarely 
obcordate, with the middle one on a long stalk. Cells of ovary 1- 
5-seeded.—Species natives of South America. 
1 O. PENTA'NTHA (Jacq. ox. no. 1, t. 1.) stem erect, branched, 
leafy ; peduncles umbelliferous, about the length of the leaves ; 
