<fcl#ni KORTUS JAMAI-CEXSflS . i-/> 



posed pretty thick -at the extremities of the branches, -and sustained by footstalks, that 

 ' , l is, one gland each ; in that, two. This is full of transparent juice, that of 

 ilk, I; >th acrid ; an'tl the flowers, notwithstandingjthey differ in some degree ; agree 

 in ' tion of the style and stigma, as well as in the. disposition of the -anthera?, 



t lough the number of these be not the same in both. In this the fruit is regularly 

 divided into celis ; in that, whose nut or shell is harder, these are not so regular; yet 

 they are longitudinal, adjoining, in a number proportioned to the divisions of the 

 stigma, and generatry both regular and many in the lounger germens; hut some of 

 r/iem abort as the iruit increase 



The seeds, roasted, purge upwards and downwards. I have tasted one of them, and 

 it appeared, at first, to he both mild and pleasant; but it soon began to warm and 

 scald both my palate and throat, which induces me to look upon it as an improper pur- 

 gative; unless it be given/to raise a warmth in-ibe bowels, where they have lost most 

 of-their vigour by a continued flux or diarrhoea} and, even-then, I think the seeds of 

 the argemone a much more eii m' ie medicine. Broitine. 



This tree is cultivated chiefly for ornament, and the fine shade it yield*. It loves & 

 "deep rich soil, and thrives best near water. It rises to the height of thirty-live or forty 

 feet, and expands its branches to such a liistance as sometimes to cast a shade of , sixty 

 feet diameter. But, by reason of the quickness of its vegfctation, its parts are of so 

 loose a texture, that a loud clap of thunder, or a sudden' gust of wind, frequentiy 

 causes the largest Boughs to snap asunder. Nor is its trunk of any use, except for fire- 

 wood. The colour of the wood is whitish ; its bark smooth and brown. 



The fruit is flat and round, disposed regularly into cells, each inclosing a flat seed. 

 When the seeds arc taken eut, the shell, which is very firm, is converted into a box 

 for holding letter sand, whence the name. The seeds, roasted, purge upwards and 

 downwards with great violence : they contain an acrid juice, which scalds the mouth 

 -and throat, and are therefore very properly rejected from the materia medica. The 

 ieaves are often applied with great success to the head in fevers, to mitigate or remove 

 the pain and tension in that part. Long. 



A single seed, or one and a half, is recommended in dry belly-ache ; Hernandez 

 tlirects the seeds to be roasted. The vomiting occasioned by eating these nuts may be 

 checked by giving a strong decoction of columba root. Mr. A. Robinson says he ate a 



kernel of a fresh seed, and, in trie space of five or six minutes, he grew very sick, and 

 was purged and vomited with great violence. He says he had several times eat these 

 kernels before, without being in the least affected, but imagines the difference to have 

 arisen from the seeds he had before eaten being old and dry ; from which it would seem 



*Iiat they only operated when in a green state. 



SantaMaria Leaf Sec Colt'sFo^t. 



SANTA MARIA TREE. CALOPHYLLUM, 



Cl. 13, OR. 1. Polyandria monogynia. Nat. or. 

 This-generic name is derived from two Greek words for a fine leaf. 



S2 'GET. 



