FAMILY imilBAL. 121 



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The Dragon's Blood Tree. Sanguis draconis 



arbor. 



A VERY beautiful tree, native of the Canaries^ 

 and some other places. It is of the palra kind, and 



of them, T 



13 na- 



ked all the way to the top, and there stand on its 

 summit a great quantity of leaves, long, narrow, 

 and pointed at the eads ; of a bluish green colour, 

 and not unlike the leaves of our flags. The fruit 

 is round, and is of the bigness of a v^^alnut with 

 the green rind upon it. 



The dragon's blood is a red friable resin. Our 

 druggists keep it : the best is in small lumps ; there 

 h an inferior kind in cakes or masses. It is pro- 

 cured by cutting the trunk of this tree in the great 

 heats. There arc alsi) two other kinds of palm, 

 that afford the same resin. It is a very excellent 

 astringent. It is useful in purgings and iu the 

 overflowing of the menses, in spitting of blood, and 

 all other occasions of that kind. It maybegivea 



P 



Drop WORT. Filipendula. 



A VERY pretty wild plant, with tufts of whitish 

 flowers, and leaves finely divided. It grows two 

 ftei high. The stalk is round, striated, upright, 

 firm, and branched. The leaves are large and 

 divided into a great number of firm segments, they 

 rise principally from the root, and stand on slender 

 foot-stalks. There are few leaves on the stalks, and 

 they are small. The flowers are little, but they 

 stand in great tufts at the tops of the branches : they 

 arc white on the inside, and often reddish on the 

 outside. The seeds are flattish and grow several 

 together. The root is composed of a great uuiaber 



ft 



