Malvales.] 



STERCULIACE^.. 



361 



forest trees, with huge buttresses projecting from tlieir colossal tioinks. A few of the 

 HeUctercaj are remote from the latitudes usually assigned Ijy nature for the habitation of 

 StercuUads, extendhig as far to the southward as Tasmannia and New Zealand. 



Sterculiads, like the Orders most nearly related to them, arc chiefly remarkable for 

 the abundance of mucilage they contam. The seeds of Sterculia tomentosa, acuminata, 

 the true Kola spoken of by African travellers, when chewed or sucked, render the flavour 

 of water, even if half putrid, agi-eeable. Those of the Chicha, Sterculia Chicha, and 

 lasiantha, are eaten as nuts by the BraziHans. So are those of Sterculia nobilis in Asia. 

 The Gum Tragacanth of Sierra Leone is produced by S. Tragacautha. S. urens in 

 Coromandel fields a gum which is exceedingly hke Tragacanth, and has been imported 

 as such mto England. The pod of S. foetida is, according to Horsfield, employed in 

 gonorrhoea in Java ; the leaves are considered repellent and aperient ; a decoction of 

 the fi-uit is mucilaginous and astringent. The bark of a species of Sterculia is employed 

 in the Moluccas as an emmenagogue ; and the seeds of all that genus are filled with an 

 oil, which may be expressed and used for lamps. There is a slight acridity in the seeds 

 of Stercuha. It is said that the seeds of Pterygota alata are narcotic. 



Bombax and its allied genera are more remarkable for their noble aspect than for 

 theii' utility. They are, however, not without mtex'est. The seeds of many are enveloped 

 in long hairs, like those of the true Cotton : it is found, however, that this wool cannot 

 be manufactm'ed, in consequence of no adliesion existmg between the hairs. The woolly 

 coat of the seeds of the Arvore de Paina (Chorisia speciosa), and several species of 

 Eriodendron and Bombax, is employed in different countries for stuffing cushions, and 

 for similar domestic pui'poses. Bombax pentandrum, the Cotton Tree of India, yields a 

 gum, wliich is given in conjunction with spices in certain stages of bowel complaints. 

 The bark of such trees is, however, reported to be emetic ; this is more especially the 

 case with Sahualias and the American species of Bombax. The honey of the flowers of 

 Salmalia malabarica is said to be purgative and diuretic. One of the largest trees in 

 the world is the Adansonia, or Baobab Tree, the trunk of which has been found with a 

 diameter of 30 feet ; but its height is not in proportion. It is emollient and mucilagi- 

 nous in all its parts. The leaves di'ied and reduced to powder constitute Lalo, a favour- 

 ite article with the Africans, which they mix daily with their food, for the pm'pose of 

 diminishing the excessive perspii'ation to which they are subject in those climates ; and 

 even Em'opeaus find it serviceable m cases of diarrhoea, fevers, and other maladies. 

 The fiTiit is, perhaps, the most useful part of the tree. Its pulp is slightly acid and 

 agreeable, and frequently eaten ; while the juice is expressed from it, mixed \\'itli sugar, 

 and constitutes a di^ink which is valued as a specific in putrid and pestilential fevers. 

 The di'ied pulp is mixed with water, and administered, in Eg}q5t, in dysentery. It is 

 chiefly composed of gum, like Gum Senegal, a sugary matter, starch, and an acid which 

 appears to be the malic. The fi'uit of the Durian (Durio zibethmus), is considered one of 

 the most delicious productions of natm-e ; it is indeed foetid, and therefore disagreeable 

 to those who are unaccustomed to it, but it universally becomes in the end a favoui'ite 

 article of the dessert ; it is found m the islands of the Indian Archipelago, where it 

 is cultivated extensively. Ochroma Lagopus, a West Indian tree, is used for many 

 purposes. Its light wood is used instead of cork, its bark is antisyphilitic, the woolly 

 lining of its fruit is appUed to various pm^poses, and its wounded trunk discharges abun- 

 dance of gum. The Handplant of Mexico, or Manita, (Cheu'ostemon platanoides), has 

 no petals, but a large angular calyx, resembling a leather cup, from the centre of which 

 rises up a column, bearing 5 narrow curved anthers with a c\irved style in the middle ; 

 these have considerable resemblance to a hand fmniished with long claws. Helicteres 

 Sacarolha, called by the latter name only in Brazil, is used against venereal disorders : 

 a decoction of the root is administered. It is supposed that its effects depend upon its 

 mucilaginous properties. Myrodia angustifolia is said by Martius to have similar 

 quaUties. 



GENERA. 



I. BoMBACE.E.— Leaves 

 palmate or digitate. 

 Flowers perfect. 



Adausonia, Linn. 



Baobab, P. Alpin. 



Ophdus, Lour. 

 Pachira, Aubl. 



Carolinea, Linn. f. 

 Chorisia, //. B. K. 

 Eriotheca, /Sc/to«. etEndl. 

 Eriodendi-on, DC. 



Campylanthcra ,Schott. 



Gossamjnnus, Rumph. 



Enone,iichoU et Endl. 



Bombax, Linn. 



Ceiba, Mart, et Zucc. 

 SalmaWa, Schott. et Endl. 

 Cavanillesia, Ruiz et Pav. 



Pourretia, Willd. 

 Durio, Rumph. 

 Ochroma, Swartz. 

 Cheirostemon , Humb. 



Cheiranthodendron , 

 Lavrad. 

 Neesia, Blum. 



Esenbeckia, Blum. 



Coti/lephom, Meisn. 



? Montezuma, Mof, et 



Sess. 

 ? Hampea, Schlecht. 



ILH ELicTERE^.— Leaves 

 simple. Flowers per- 

 fect. 



Plagianthus, Forst. 

 Asterotrichion, A'^. 



Blcpharanthemum, Kl. 

 Iloheria, A. Cunningh. 

 Myrodia, Schreb. 



? Lexarza, Llav. 



Quararibia, Aubl. 



Gcrberia, Scop. 

 Matisia, Humb. et Bonpl. 

 Methorium, Hchott. 

 Helicteres, Linn. 



Orthocarptea, DC. 



Spirocarjxea, DC. 



Isora, Schott. et Endl. 



Alicteres, Neck. 



Orthothicium, Schott. 

 ITngeria, Schott. et Endl. 

 Reevesia, Lindl. 



