t 



' 



t 



.r'- 



A 



flng'ing fpines; the flowers are produced in umbels 

 ac the top of the branches, Handing upon long naked 

 foot-ftalks ; they are of a pure white colour, and arc 

 male and female in the fame umbel: the male flowers 

 appear firft, wlncli are compolcdof five petals, forming 

 a ihort cube at bonom, and the ftamina arife the 

 Icn-^th of the tube, joined in a column : the petals 



fpread open flat above, and the ftamina fills the mouth 

 of the tube, fnutting it up : the female flowers are 

 fmaller, but of the fame Ihape, having no fl:amina, 

 but an oval three-cornered gcrmen, which afterwards 

 becomes a caplule with three lobes, each having a 

 diltinct cell, with one feed inclofed. 

 The Hxth forr. vvas difcovered by the late Dr. Houf- 

 toun at La /era Cruz, wliere it is frequently per- 

 mitted Xp grow about the town by way of ornament; 

 this rifes with a fiTong, brittle, ligneous fl:alk, ten or 

 twelve feet high, covered v/ith a gray bark, and di- 

 vides into m.any branches, which are garniihed with 

 leaves, that are divided into parts like thofe of the 

 common Woolfsbane, 

 Hinging fpines like thcfe of th 

 of the branches come out the flowe= -ftalks, which are 

 five or fix inches long, fufl;aining an umbel of white 

 fiov/ers. The male iiowers are of one petal, having 

 a pretty long tube, which is divided at the top into 



The female fiowers expand in form 

 of a Rofe, having the germen in the center, v/hich 

 afterward becomes a globular prickly fruit with three 

 lobes, opening in three cells, each containin 



feed. 



but are armicd with fmall 



Nettle ; at the end 



five fegments. 



g a fingle 



■ — ' ^ — fc ■ 



Thefeventh fort is now very common in mofl: of the 



iflands in the Weft-Indies, but was introduced from 



the continent, firft into the French iflands, andf/om 



. thence it w'as brought into the Britifh iflands, where 



it is titled French Fhyfic Nut, to diftinguifn it from 

 ': the following fort, which is called Phyfic Nut, from 



its purging quality. 

 V This rifes with a foft thick flem eight or ten feet 

 . high, dividing into feveral branches, covered v/ith a 

 • grayilh bark. The leaves come out on every fide 



the branches on flrong foot-flalks, which are feven 



or eight inches long ; they are divided into nine or 

 ■ ten lobes in form of a hand, which are joined at their 



bafe; thefe are kv(^n inches long, and about two 



inches broad, v/ith many jagged points on their bor- 

 ders ftanding dppofite. The xipper fide of the leaves 

 are of a lucid green, but their under fide gray, and 

 a little cottony. The flowers come out upon long 

 foot-ftalks from the end of the branches, formed into 

 an umbel, in which there are male and female flow- 



'. crs, as in the other fpecies ; thefe umbels are large, 

 and the Hov/ers being of a bright fcarlet, they make 

 a fine appearance i and the leaves being very remark- 

 able for dieir beauty, has occafioned the plant being 



.cultivated for ornament in mdfl of the iflands of the 



f s 



-Weft-Indies.- - ■ : ■ " .: ;• • '- - 



> The eighth fort grows naturally in all_the iflands of 



- the Weft-Indies ; this rifes with a ftrong ftalk tv/elve 

 ■ or fourteen feet high, which divides into feveral 



branches; thefe are garnifhed with angular heart- 



- Ihaped leaves, which end in acute points.: -The flow- 

 ers come out in umbels at the end of the branches; 

 they are male and female, of an herbaceous colour, 



^fo make but little appearance; the fe;nale flpwers 

 • are fucceeded by oblong oval capfules with three cellsj 



- i each containine: one oblons; black feed. * t^>? 7- '^ 

 The feeds of the two laft forts have been iifed as a 

 ' purgative by the inhabitants of the Weft-Indies, but 



. they operate fo violently, that now they are feldom 



- t^fed ; three or four of thefe nuts have worked upward 

 and downward near forty times, on a perfon who was 

 Ignorant of their efFedts ; but it is affirmed that this 

 purgative quality is contained in a thin film, fituated 

 in the center of the nut, which, if taken out, the 



- nuts are hamlefs, and may be eaten with lafety. 

 The leaves of the laft fort are ufed in baths and fo- 



, nientadons. ■ ' . 



The ninth fort grows naturally in all the iflands of 

 the Weft-Indies, where it is fometinies called wild 



Caflada, or Caflava, and at others Belly-ach Weed, 

 the leaves of this plant being accounted a good re- 

 medy for the dry belly-ach. This plant rifes with 

 a foft herbaceous ftalk to the height of three or foar 



branches, and the foot-ilalks of the leaves. The 

 ftalk divides n award into two or three branchc 



s 



thefe are garnifl-'.ed with leaves ftanding on very Icn'-^ 

 foot-ftaiks, divided into five lobes wb'ch are cvai, 

 entire, and end in acute points. The flov/crs arcpro- 

 ' duced at the end of the branches, upon fiendcr 

 naked fooc-ftalks, in fm.all umbels; they are fmall, 

 of a dark purple colour, having male and female 

 fiov/ers in the fame umbel; the female fiov/ers are 

 fucceeded by oblong trlcapfuiar veffeis, fmooth, and 

 covered v/ith a dark flvin, when ripe ; in each of the 



celis is lodged one cblcno- brown x^<:d. 



All thefe plants are natives of the w^arm parts of 

 America, fo are too tender to thrive in the open air 

 in England. The firft fort is cultivated in the Weft- 

 Indies for food, where it is propagated by cutting 

 the ftalks into lengths of feven or eight inches, which, 

 wdien planted, put out roots ; the method of doing 

 this having been mentioned in various books, I fl:iall 

 not repeat it here.- 



The other forts are eafily propagated by feeds, which 

 fliould be fown on a good hot-bed in the fpring, and 

 when the plants are fit to remove, they fliould be each 

 tranfplanted into a fmall pot filled with light earth, and 

 then plunged into a frefli hot-bed of tanners bark, 

 carefully foadingthem till they have taken frefli root; ' 

 after v/hich they muft be treated in the fame naanner 

 as other tender plants from hot countries, admitting 

 frefli air to diem daily, in proportion to the warmth of 

 the fcafon ; but as many of the forts have fucculenc 

 ftalks, foms of which have a milky juice, they fiiould 

 have but little water given them, for they are foon 

 defcroyed by v/et. 



The fourth fort is an annual plant, fo if the feeds 

 are fov/n ea^iy in the fping, and the plants are brought 

 forward, they v/iii pcrfeft their feeds the fame year ; 

 but the other forts are perennial, fo do not flower till 



the fecond or third year ; thererore the plants fnould 

 be plunged into the tan-bed in the ftove, where they 

 fliould conftantly remain, giving them a large ftiare of, 

 air in warm w^eather ; but in winter they muft be ten- 

 derly treated, and in thatfeafon muft have'very little 



- w^ater. With this management the plants will continue 

 feveral years, and produce their flowers, and freqyently 

 perfeft their feeds in England.' *' ' 

 I B E R I S. Dillen. Nov. Gen. 6. Lin. Gen. Plant. 721. 



. Thiafpidium, Tourn.Tnft. R. H.'2i4. tab. loi. Sci- 

 atica Crefs. '^ . -. / . . 

 • 'The Characters are, 

 The f-ozver hath an empalement of four cval leaves^ 



. ''ivhich fpread cpen^ are holloived and fall away. It hath 

 four pjiequal petals^ which are ovaly ohtufe^ anl fpread 



^open^ having cblong ercEl tails \ the two outer petals 



are longer than the ether. 



flardna^ the two on the fides being jhorter than the reji^ 

 : terminated by rotindifio fummits. In the center cf )he tube 



is fituated a round compreffed germen^ fupporting a fhcrt 

 ■fingle fiyle^ " crowned by an obtufe ftigma. The germen 



It hath fix awUfhaped ereEt 



I. 



afterzvard becomes a rcundifh compreffed vcJfeU having two 

 cells ^ each containing one oval jced. ,./.'.' 

 This genus of plants is ranged in the firft fedtlon of 

 Linn^eus's fifteenth clafs, intided Tetradynamla Si- 

 liculofa, which includes thofe plants v/hofe flowers 

 have four long and two ffiort ftamina, and the feeds 

 grow in fliort pods. ■ ■ ■ 

 , The Species are, 



Ibe[^is {Scmpcrfcrens) frutefcens, foliis cunciformibus 

 obtufis mtegerrimis. Lin. Hort. Cliff. 330, Shrubby 

 Sciatica Crefs with entire, wedge-pap ed^, bhim leaves ^ 

 commonly called the Tree Candy Tuft. Thiafpidium 

 fruticofum, leucoii folio, femperfiorens. Tourn. Infc. 

 2 14. Shrubby Thiafpidium with a Gilliflcwer leaf always 



fiowering. 



7D 



a. IssRis 



