Myrtales.] 



MYRTACE.E. 



737 



>vine, syinip, &c., are made of it. The Jabuti, Psidium albidum, and Eugenia dysentcrica, 

 Michelii, and brasiliensis, called respectively Ara^a, Pitanga, (Jruniixameira, Canibuy, 

 Uvalha, Pitangueira, &cc., are all spoken of by Martins as excellent dessert fi-uifs. 

 Even the ben-ies of the common Myrtle are esteemed in the Greek. Archipelago, espe- 

 cially a sort with white fx-uit. The Rose Apples of the East, produced by Eugenia malac- 

 censis, aquea, Jambos, and others, are all in esteem in the countries where they gi'ow. 



As a spice, every one is acquainted with Caryophyllus aromaticus, whose oil is a 

 common remedy for toothache, and whose dried flower-buds are the Cloves of the shojis. 

 Those of Calyptranthes aromatica may be advantageously substituted. The Pepper 

 called Allspice or Pimento, is the di-ied fruit of Eugenia acris and Pimento ; all the 

 plant, especially the unripe finiit, abounds in an essential oil, which is a powerful irritant, 

 and is often used to allay toothache. The bruised berries are cai'minative, stimulating 

 the stomach, promoting digestion, and reheWng flatulency. The fruit of Eugenia 

 Caryophyllus is used in the same way in Brazil, and of Myrtus Tabasco in Cumana. 

 Myrtle buds and berries (Myrtus communis) were eaten as spices by the ancients, and 

 are still used in Tuscany instead of pepper. The Tuscans also prepare a sort of M^Ttle 

 wine, which they call j\Iyrtidanum. The distilled water of Myrtle flowers is that very 

 agreeable perfume known in France under the name of Eau d'Auge. The leaves of 

 Sizygium terebinthaceum are used in Madagascar to aromatise baths ; Mr. Cooper 

 found both sides of its leaves covered with very minute glandular hairs, havuig at their 

 apex a knob of brownish matter. — Ann. N. Hist. x. 154. The volatile, gi-een, irritating, 

 or stimulant oil of Cajeputi is distilled from the leaves of Melaleuca Cajcputi, and is 

 well known as a powerful sudorific, and useful external application in chronic rheuma- 

 tism. It is considered carminative, cephalic, and emmenagogue, and is, no doubt, a 

 highly diffusible stimulant, antispasmodic and diaphoretic. It has also the power of 

 dissolving caoutchouc, and possesses a great reputation as a remedy in cholera. 



As simple astringents several deserve notice. A kind of gum Kino is yielded by 

 Eucalyptus resinifera, which is occasionally sold in the medicine bazaars of India. 

 Other species of Eucalyptus yield a large quantity of tannin, which has been even 

 extracted from the trees in New Holland, and sent to the English market. The leaves 

 of the common Myrtle, di'ied in a stove and powdered, have been substituted for the 

 Svunac of Sicily ; those of Eugenia depauperata and variabihs are used as asti'ingents 

 in Brazil. The Pomegranate, Punica Granatum, commonly cultivated in the warmer 

 parts of Europe, and formmg entire woods in Persia, has long been celebrated in 

 medicine ; a decoction of the bark of the root is a powerful anthelmintic ; the 

 flowers are tonic and astringent, as is the bark of the fruit, which is used in leucorrha?a, 

 chronic dysentery, &c. ; the acid juice of the seeds is fomid useful in bilious fevers. 



Some species secrete a sweet manna-like gum. Eucalyptus robusta contains large 

 cavities in its stem, between the annual concentric circles of wood, filled with a most 

 beautiful red or rich vei'milion-colom-ed gum, and E. mannifera, in New Holland, 

 exudes a saccharine mucous substance resembling Manna in action and appearance, 

 but less nauseous. It is not produced by insects, and only appears in the (hy season. 

 Other species yield a similar secretion at ^Moreton Bay and in Van Diemens Land. 

 Mr. Backhouse says it coagulates and drops from the leaves in particles often as large 

 as an ahnond. Eucalyptus Gunnii, when wounded, furnishes the inhabitants of Tas- 

 mannia with a copious supply of a cool, refreshing, shghtly aperient liquid, which 

 ferments and acquu-es the properties of beer. — Looid. Joimi. Bot. 3. 300. The leaves 

 of Glaphyria nitida, called by the Malays the Tree of Long Life (Kayo Umur Panjang), 

 « probably from its mamtaming itself at elevations where the other denizens of the 

 forest have ceased to exist," afford at Bencoolen a substitute for tea ; and it is known 

 to the natives by the name of the Tea Plant ; and various species of Leptospermum and 

 Melaleuca bear the same name in the Australasian colonies. 



The wood of M^-tleblooms is said by De Candolle to be generally white and compact ; 

 but the heavy, hard, dark-brown timber, which furnishes the South Sc.i Islanders with 

 their clubs and other weapons, is said to come from Metrosideros polymorpha, or some 

 allied species. The Aki, or Lignum vitse of New Zealand, the Rata, and the Poluitu Kawa 

 of the same country, are all hard-wooded trees belonging to the genus Metrosideros. 



I. LEPTOSPERMEiE. — 



Capsular. 



Astartea, DC. 

 Tristaiiia,ii. Br. 

 Syncarpia, Taiore. 

 Kamptzia, Nees. 

 Lophostemon, Schott. 

 Lamarchea, Gaudich. 

 Calothamnus, Lahill. 



GENERA. 



Bavdima, Leschen 



BUiiottia, Colla. 

 Beaufortia, R. Br. 

 Schizopleura, Lindl. 



Maiujlesia, Lindl. 

 Conothamnus, Lindl 

 Melaleuca, Linn. 



Cajiiputi, Adans, 

 Eudesmia, Jt. Br. 



Asteromyrtus, Scfiauer. 

 Svmphyomyrtus, Schr. 

 Eucalyptus, Ilerit. 

 Angophora, Cav. 

 Callistemon, R. Br. 



Pentaponaster , KItsh. 

 Metrosideros, R. Br. 



Nani, Adans. 



Agalmanthus, Endl. 



Glaphyranthiis, Endl. 



Kunzca, Heichenb. 

 Eremaea, Lindl. 

 Billiottia, 7?. Br. 



Agonis, DC. 

 Ilypocalynima, F.ndl. 

 Pericahmnia, Endl. 

 Salisia, Lindl. 

 Leptospermum , Forst. 



B 



