SAP:NDACEA. 619 
the globe. There are no native plants of this order in Europe.” 
The Horsechestnut, now so well known in this country, is ong 
naturalised among us. There are nearly 400 species. 
Properties and Uses.—One of the most prominent characteris- 
tics of the plants of this order is the presence of a saponaceous 
principle, from which its common name is derived. Many are 
poisonous in all their parts ; but it is more frequently the case 
that, while the root, leaves, and branches are dangerous, the 
‘poisonous juice becomes so diffused throughout their succulent 
fruits as to render them innocuous, or, in several instances, 
even valuable articles of dessert. It sometimes happens, as in 
the Litchi and Longan fruits, that while the pericarp is whole- 
some, the seeds are dangerous. Some plants of the order are 
astringent and aromatic; others are diaphoretic, diuretic, and 
aperient ; and some are valuable timber trees. 
JE sculus.—The bark of sculus Hippocastanum, the Horsechestnut, is 
febrifugal. Its young leaves are somewhat aromatic, and Endlicher says 
that they have been used as a substitute for Hops. The seeds have been 
long employed as an excellent food for sheep in Switzerland, and have been 
also recommended as a substitute for Coffee. They contain a saponaceous 
principle like the fruits of certain species of Sapindus. They also contain a 
large quantity of starch, and are much used in France, instead of potatoes 
and cereals, as a source of that substance. In some parts of Holstein also, 
this starch, which is there very carefully prepared, has been used for many 
years for household purposes, being much preferred to that obtained from 
wheat, rice, or potatoes. The seeds are said to yield by expression a fixed 
oil, which has been introduced under the name of Oil of Horsechestnut, as an 
external application in rheumatism, &c. Nothing, however, is known of the 
extraction of the oil from these seeds, and its source from them i is scarcely 
probable. The roots, leaves, and fruits of the Hsculus ohiotensis, the Buck- 
eye or American Horsechestnut, are generally regarded as poisonous, both 
to man and animals. 
Cardiospermum Halicacabum.—The root is described as diuretic, diapho- 
retic, and aperient. Its leaves, when boiled, are eaten as a vegetable in the 
Moluccas. 
Cupama (Blighia) sapida.—The distilled water of the flowers is used by 
negro women as a cosmetic. The succulent slightly acid aril of the seeds 
is eaten, arid much esteemed in the West Indies and elsewhere. The fruit in 
which the seeds are contained is commonly known under the name of the 
Akee-fruit. A decoction of these has been used in diarrhoea. 
Dodonea.—Some of the species of this genus are aromatic. The wood 
of D. dioica is carminative. Others are reputed to be slightly purgative and 
febrifugal. 
N ephelium.—This genus: yields the delicious fruits of China and the 
Indian Archipelago, known under the names of Litchi, Longan, and Rambu- 
tan. Nephelium Litchi produces the Litchi; NV. Longan, the Longan ; and 
N. Rambutan or N. lappaceum, the Rambutan fruit, The Litchi fruits are 
frequently imported into this country; and rarely also, the Longan, it should 
be noticed that the seeds of all these fruits are very bitter, and are probably 
poisonous. 
Paullinia.—The seeds of Paullinia sorbilis, Guarana, are used in Brazil 
in the preparation of a kind of food which is known as Guarana bread, 
Brazilian Cocoa, or simply as Guarana. Guarana is also there used as a 
remedy in many diseases. Guarana bread is prepared by taking the dried 
seeds deprived of their aril, and pounding and kneading them into a mass, 
