I 



non fpinofa. Pluk. Aim. 293. tab. 214. f. 4. Dog- 

 wood-tree with oblong oval leaves. 



The firft fort grows plentifully in Jamaica, wlierc it 

 rifes with a ftem to the height of twenty-five feet or 

 more, which is almoft as large as a man's body, 

 covered with a light coloured fmooth bark, and 

 fending out feveral branches at the top vs^ithout orders 

 thefc are garniftied with winged leaves, whofe pinnae 

 or lobes are oval ; there are generally feven in each 

 leaf; thefc are about two inches long, and one and a 

 half broad, placed for the moft part oppofite, and 

 terminated by an odd lobe ; the flowers arc of the but- 

 terfly kind, of a dirty white colour, and are fucceeded 



by oblong pod^, which have four longitudinal wings, 

 and are jointed between the cells which contain the 



feeds. 



The negroes in the Wcfl:-Indies make ufe of the bark 



of this tree to catch fifli, which, if thrown into the 



- water will intoxicate the fifli, and caufe them to rife 



to the furface of the water, and turn upon their backs, 



fo are cafily caught •, but this intoxication is not of 



long continuance, nor has it been known to give any 



bad quality to the fifli. 



'The fecond fort is alfo a native of the Wefl:-Indies ; it 



dificrs from the firfl: in the fliape and confiftence of 



the leaves, which are more oblong, and of a firmer 



texture than thofe of the firfl:, but in other refpeds 



they are very fimilar. 



■ Both forts are eafily propagated by feeds, when they 

 can be obtained frefli from the countries where they 

 naturally grow, for in Europe thcfe plants do rarely 

 flower ; there are plants now in the Chelfea Garden 



' which arc more than twenty years old, and if they had 

 not been two or three times fliortcned, would have 

 been more than twenty-five feet high, yet have not 



. attempted to flower though they are in pcrfedl health. 



The feeds mull be fown upon a good hot-bed in the 



fpring, and when the plants come up and are" fit to 



tranfplant, they fliould be each planted in a fmall 



pot filled with light earth, and plunged into a hot-bed 



of tanners bark, and afterward treated in the fame way 



as hath been direfted for the Erythrina, to which 



- article the reader is defired to turn, to avoid repetition. 



P I S O N I A. Plum. Nov. Gen. 7. tab. 1 1. Lin. Gen. 



' Plant.^984. Fihgrlgo, vulgo. 



:---The Characters are, ^ 



^e male flowers grow upon different plants from the 

 fruit. The male flowers have a fmal\ ereB empalement ^ 

 cut into five acute points. The flowers are funnel-fhapcd^ 

 the tube is fl:>ort \ the brim is expanded^ and cut into five 

 acute parts \ they have five awl-fhaped fiamina which 

 Mre longer than the petals terminated by obtufe funmits. 

 The female flowers have empalemcnts like the male^ and 

 the flowers are of the fame form \ they fit upon the ger- 

 frfm^ which is fituated under the receptacle^ fupporting a 

 cylindrical flyle longer than the petals crowned by five ob- 

 kng fprcading fligmas. The germen afterward turns to 

 an oval capfule having five an^cs and one celly containing 

 one fin 00 thy oblong-^ oval feed, 



I'his genus of plants is ranged in the fifth fe<5lion of 

 Linna:us's twenty-fecond clafs, which includes thofe 

 plants whofe male and female flowers are upon dif- 

 :- fcrent plants", and the female flowers have five fl:igmas 

 or ftyles. : 



We have but one Species at prcfcnt in England, 



V. 



V ' ^ 



> .-» 



. : VIZ. 



I*isoNiA {Aculcata) fpinis axillaribus patcntiflimis. Lin. 



*Sp. Plant. 151 1. Prickly Pifoniay called Fingrigo in the 



- fFefl'lndiesr Pifonia aculeata, fruflu glutinofo & ra- 



ccmofo. Plum. Nov. Gen. 7. Prickly Pifonia with a 



glutinous branching fruit. 



*^The title of this genus was given by Father Plu- 



* mier, in honour of Dr. William Pifo, who pub- 



liftied a Natural Hiftory of Brafil. The name of 



Fingrigo is what the inhabitants of Jamaica know 

 it by. 



The male plants difi"er fo much in appearance from 



. the female, that thofe who have not feen them rife 



from the fame feeds, , would fuppofe they were 



P I s 



diflcrent fpecies, I fliall therefore give fiiort dcfcrin- 

 tions of each. "^" 



■ 



l^he male plants have fl;alks as thick as a man's arm 

 which rife ten or twelve fcec liigh •, the bark is of a 

 dark brown colour, and frnooth^ thc-fe fend out ma- 

 ny branches by pairs oppoiite, which 



pairs oppoiite, wuicn are much 

 llrongcr than thoic of the female-, fo do not han-r 

 about fo loofe. They are garniflied with obverl^'' 

 oval, fl:iff leaves, an inch and a half lona, and an 

 inch and a quarter broad, fianding oppofite on fhorr 

 foot-fl:alks. From the fide of the branches come our 

 fliort curfons orfpurs, like thofe of the Fear-t^ee hav 

 ing each two pair of fmall leaves at bottom, afidVroni 

 the top comes out the foot-fl:alk of the flowers which is 

 flender, about half an inch long, dividingac the top into 

 three •, each of thefe fullain a Imall corymbus of herba- 

 ceous yellow flowers, each having fivcUamina flandine; 

 out beyond the petal, terminated by obtufe fummits 

 The ftalks of the fcn^ale plants are not fo iirong as 

 thofe of the male, fo require fupport. Thefe rife 

 eighteen or twenty feet high, fending out fldnder weak 

 branches' oppofite, which are armed with fliort, flrono- 

 hooked fpines, and garniflied v/ith fmall oval IcaveT 

 about an inch and three quarters broad j thefe fland 

 oppofite on the larger branches, but on the fmallcr 

 they are alternate, and have fliort foot-flalks. The 

 flowers are produced in fmall bunches at the eryl of 

 the branches, fitting upon the germen ; they arc 

 fliaped like thofe of the male, but have no fl:amina • 

 in the center is fituated a cylindrical flyle, crowned 

 by five fpreading fl:igmas. The germen afterward 

 turns to a channelled, five-cornered, glunnous cnp- 

 fule, armed with fmall crooked fpines, each contain- 

 ing one oblong, oval, fmooth feed. 

 Thefe plants are very common in the favannas, and 

 other low places in the ifland of Jamaica, as alfo in 

 feveraf other iflands in the Weft-Indies, where it is 



trbubleforrie to whoever pafles throuo-H' the 

 places of their growth, fattening themfcl\^es by their 

 ftrong crooked thorns to the clothes of theperforis; 

 and their feeds being glutinous and burrj^ alfo faftcn 

 themfelves to whatever touches them ; fo that the 

 wings of the ground-doves and other birds, are often 

 fo loaded with the feeds, as to prevent their flying, 

 by which means they become an eafy prey. ' : ' : 

 In Europe this plant is prcfervcd in the gardchFof. 

 fome curious perfons for variety ; it is propagated by 

 feeds, which fliould be fown in pots filled with light 

 rich earth, and plunged into a hot-bed of" tanners 

 bark •, and when the plants come up, they fliould 

 be tranfplantcd into fcparate pots, ancl plunged into 

 the hot-bed again, where they may remain till Mi- 

 chaelmas, when they fliould be removed into the 

 flove, and plunged into the bark-bed, and treated in 

 the fame manner as hath been direfted for feveral ten- 

 der plants of the farr^e country ; obfcrving in hoc 

 weather "to give them plenty of water, but in'win^ter 

 they (hould have it more fparingly. They are too 

 tender to thrive in the open air of this country at any 

 feafon of the year, wherefore they fhould be conftantly 

 kept in the ftove. They retain their leaves mojlpart . 

 of the year in England. * ■''' ' "•* \-- 



PI STAC I A. Lin. Gen. Plant. 9S2. Terebinthus. 

 TouHi. Inft:. R. H. ^ygl tab. 345. LentifcuS. Tourn. 



IhfV. R. H, 580. Turpcntine-trce, Piftachia-nut, and 



Maftick-trce. ' " '"{ 



The Characters are, . . ,' 



The male and female fiowers grow upon feparate trees ; 

 the male flowers are difpofed in loofe fparfcd katkins^ mv- 



very 



if^ fmall fcales with one flower ; thcfe have fmdlfi"^^' 

 pointed cmpalcmcntSy but no petals ; they havt five [mall 

 ftaminay terminated by cval/four-cornered^ erc5l fummits. 

 The female fiowers have finall trifj empalenients^ hut no 

 petals V they have each a large oval germen^ fupporting 

 three reflexed ftyles^ crowned by thick prickly ftignids. The 

 gern^n afterward turns to a d^y lerry or nut^ inclofing cin 

 cval fmooth feed. 

 This genus of plants is ranged in the third feitionof 



Linnxus's tw^pnty-fecond clafs, which includes tv.^^t 



plants 



