Urticales.] 



MORACEiE. 



267 



hemispheres, often constituting vast forests, in the case of the various species of Fie 

 which in all hot countries have generally very thick trunks, with extremely strong 

 boughs, and a prodigious crown. Travellers say, that the colossal wild Fiff-trees are 

 among the most grateful presents of Nature to hot countries : the shade of their magni- 

 ficent head refreshing the traveller when he reposes under their incredibly wide-spread- 

 ing brfinches and dark green shining foliage. In India, two of the species have histo- 

 rical celebrity. Of these the Banyan-tree, so remarkable for its vast rooting branches is 

 Ficus indica ; the Fippul or sacred Fig of the same country, readily known by its 

 rootless branches, and its heai't-shaped leaves ^^^th long attenuated points, is Ficus 

 religiosa. Blume also relates, that a Ficus microcarpa, which he planted before the 

 door of his house in Java, had in seven years covered a space of above 60 (square ?) feet 

 with its dense shade. And he describes a sacred specimen of enormous statm*e, gro\^ing 

 in the same island, at a place called Batu-Tulies, from whose huge branches he gathered 

 as many as 34 species of parasites and epiphytes, which were not, however, half what 

 might have been collected. The genus Ficus, indeed, is one of those wliich travellers 

 describe as most conducing to the pecuharities of a tropical scene. ISIr. Hinds (Ann. N. 

 H. XV. 100) points out the complex appearance of the main stem of many species ; their 

 immense horizontal branches, then" proportionate lowness, and the vast number of smaller 

 stems in every stage of development, some just protruding from the horizontal limbs, 

 others hangmg midway between the leafy canopy and earth, displaying on each thick 

 rounded extremity an enormous spongiole, while many reach the soil, and having 

 attained strength and size act as columns to sustain the whole structure. " The tropi- 

 cal forest abounds with these in every variety of growth and apparent distortion." 



Caoutchouc is furnished by many of this Order in great abvmdance ; all the India 

 Rubber of continental India is obtained from Ficus elastica ; in Java, other species 

 yield this substance of excellent quality, as do F. Radula, elliptica, and prinoides in 

 America. Their milky fluid is in some instances bland, and actually employed as a 

 beverage ; for of the different plants which have been occasionally brought to Etirope 

 under the name of Cow-trees, most are Figs. One of these has been figm'ed by M. De 

 Candolle, under the name of Ficus Saussm-eana, {Mem. de laSoc. Phys. de Geneve)', and 

 others have been described by M. Desvaux, Ann. Sc. 18. 309. The juice is, however, in 

 many cases excessively acrid ; that of Ficus septica is emetic, and of F. toxicaria and 

 Dsemona, a virulent poison ; indeed the milky juice of the cultivated Fig itself possesses 

 considerable acridity, causing a burning sensation in the throat when chewed. In some 

 species the juice assumes a resinous character, when discharged from parts attacked 



by Cocci, as is the case ^^^th F. indica, benghalen- 

 sis, and Tsjela, which form a sort of gum-lac in 

 the East Indies. Notwithstanding the prevalence 

 of an acrid secretion, the fruit of many species ap- 

 pears to decompose it and convert it into sugar, 

 or some other substance ; hence we have the eat- 

 able Fig of the shops from the acrid Ficus Carica, 

 and a fruit of inferior quality, but still eatable, 

 from F. religiosa, Benjamina, pumila, auricu- 

 lata, Rumphii, benghalensis, aspera, Granatum, 

 and the Egj-ptian Sycomonis, whose imper- 

 ishable wood is said to have been used in the 

 construction of the cases in which the mummies are inclosed. 

 On the other hand the common Mulberry, Morus nigra, has 

 an agreeable sub-acid succulent fmit, for the sake of which 

 it was long since introduced from Persia ; and that of the 

 White Mulberry, and other species, both Asiatic and American, 

 is eatable though not esteemed ; but these fruits are not en- 

 tirely harmless, causing diaiThoea if mdulged in too freely, and 

 their roots are both cathartic and anthelmintic, thus indicat- 

 ing the presence in then' system of the acrid secretions of the 

 Order. There is also a Brazilian Ficus anthelmintica. The 

 Mulberries contain mannite and succinic acid, according to the 

 chemists. Among other uses of less extensive application are 

 the following: — Dorstenia conti'ayerva,brasiliensis, opifera,and 

 others, have bitterish roots, and a remarkable overpowering 

 odour, Avith a little pungency. They are supposed to be anti- 

 dotes to the bites of venomous animals, and certainly possess 

 Fig. CLXXXI. stimulant, sudorific, and tonic quahties ; but they lose them by 

 keeping, and soon become inert ; they are also emetic, and are 



Fig. CLXXXI,— Dorstenia contrayerva. 



