f* 



259 FAMILY HERBAL. 



feet highj and on the upper part is covered with 

 ^ sort of mealy powder, of a blnisb colour. The 

 leaves are large, and Tery beautifiil. They are 

 somewhat like those of the vinie, but they are di- 

 vided deeply into seven or more parts, which are 

 also sharply serrated at the edges, and they stand 

 vipoii loDg ^ot stalks, which are not inserted at 

 the edge, but in the middle of the leaf. The flow- 

 ers are small ; they grow in bundles toward the 

 top of the plant. The seeds grow, upon the trunk 

 of the plant in different places : three are contain- 

 ed in husks, and they have over them severally 



a hard shelL 



'j he kernels of these seeds are the part used, but 

 they are very little regarded at present. There 

 used to be three or four kinds of them kept by 

 the druggists, .under different names, but nobody 

 now rainds them : they are very violent in their 

 operation, which is both upwards and downwards^ 



and have been given in dropsies and rheumatisms. 



Tlie Oily Palm Teee. Palma oleosa. 



A VERY beautiful tree, native of Africa and 

 America. It grows moderately high. The trunk 

 is naked all the way to the top, where the leaves 

 grow in vast quantities : they are long and nar- 

 row, and the foot stalks on which they stand are 

 prickly. The flowers are small and mossy. The 

 fruit is of the bigness of a plum, oblong'' and 

 flattishj and is covered over with a tough and 

 fibrous coat. From this fruit the natives express 

 what they call palm oil: it is a substance of the 

 consistence of butter^ and of a pleasant, though 

 very little taste. 



This oil is [the only produce of the tree used ; 

 They eat it upon the ;spot, but we apply it exter* 



