CO HOTITUS JAMAICENSIS. Iastaf* 







bristles inserted into tlic divisions of the petals, and longer than thom, upright and 

 purple ; ncctarv goblet shaped, smaller than the pctab, inclosing the pi:til, tive-corn- 

 ered and fivc-ioothed; iilamonts inserted into the base of the nectary, and of tlio same 

 length with it, trifid from tiie middle, lying ur.der the arched petais ; anlheps three 

 detiex simole : ijerm ovate, rouuii at the end, echinate when viewed throiiah a niayni- 

 tying g ass ; style the length of the stamens ; -stigma five-cleft ; fruit iiaro, rugged all 

 over with tubercles, the rind perforated like a sieve ; seetls ovate, unequal. The 

 decoction of the inner bark is gelatinous, like that of the elm in Europe, and is deemed 

 a cure for the leprosy ; Swartz mentions it asheing celebrated for its eiScacy in curing, 

 the coco bay or elephantiasis, or joint evil. 



From the sinnlitude (,>f this tree to the elm, it is Called by the Frencli Orme d'Anio- 

 rique, and Bois d'Ormc. It is a native of Jamaica, and peculiar to the lowlands, form- 

 ing a very agreeable shade for cattle, and frequently supplies them with food in dry 

 weathvr, when all the herbage of the field is burned up, or exhausted ; horses as well 

 as cattle being observed to feed very greedily both upon the fruit and foliage of the 

 tree. On this account it is planted in many pastures, and the birds or rats propagate 

 it in all tiie suri'ounding hedges, by carrying its seeds among them. The leaves it is 

 thought would answer for feeding silkworms. The seeds are very mucilaginous, and 

 not disagreeable to the taste. The fruit is first green, but turns black and hard in its 

 ripe state. A litde before it ripens, it has a pleasant sweet taste, and is frequently 

 eaten by the negroes, either raw, or boiied as a green in their broths. The wood is 

 light, and so easily wrought, that it is often used by coach and chaise makers for their 

 side pieces. It splits freely, and is said also to make good staves for sugar hogsheads. 

 Sloane observes, that earth taken from imder these trees raises naseberry seeds liie best 

 of any. 



To make a good bird lime, take of tiie inner bark of young bastard cedar, fill a blad- 

 der tlierewith, and bar3" ic in a warm dunghill until it rots, then take and beat it well 

 in a mortar. 



Bastard cedar, as it is here so called ; for what reason I know not, beisg in r.o res- 

 pect like cedar. Its leaves are in the shape of English hazel ; its fruit like the mid- 

 berry, first green, and when ripe black and hard, which sheep and cattle delight to 

 eat, and will make them fat. I take this tree to he of the nudberrv kind, more than of 

 the cedar : tiie flowers are like tiie line or lindal tree, yellowish, and veiw odoriferous* 

 emeliing like our May or hawthorn flowers. Barham, p. 17. r 



BASTARD CHERRY. EHRETIA. 



Cl. 5. OR. 1. Pentandria monogynia. Nat. or. Asperifvlioe, 

 So named after the ingenious artist and botanist G. D. Ehrct. 



Cen. CHAR. Caiyx a one-leafed, bell-shaped, perianthium, half five-cleft, obtuse, 

 small, permanent ; corolla one-petalled, tube longer than the calyx, border five- 

 cleft ; stamina subuiate filaments, length of the corolla ; anthers roundish, incum- 

 bent; the pistillum lias a roundisli germ, filiform style, obtuse emarginated stig- 

 ma; the pericarpium a roundish one-celled berry, having four seeds, convex on 

 ne side, and cornered on the oth.er, 



TIMIFOLIj^ 



