MOXOCHLAMYDE,^. 639 



juice, ieares -witli large sti- Fig. ]00S. 



pules. Flowers unisexual, in 

 heads, spikes, or catkins. 

 Male flowers with a 3 — 4- 

 partite calyx {fig. 1008), or 

 uchlamydeous. Sta/7iens3—i, 

 perigynous {fig. 1008), and 

 opposite the segments of the 

 calyx. Female flowers with 

 3 — 5 sepals. Ovary supe- 

 rior, I — 2-celled. Fruit a so- _,. ,^^„ ^, , ^ ^ .^ ^, , ,, , 



• f r «w.\ Ftg.iom. il.-ile flower of the Black Mul- 



rosis {fig. 710), or syconus herry (Moras nigra). F/ff. 1009. Ver- 



(fiq. 380). ISeed solitary, E'*''*' section of the ovary iu tlae female 



J 1 /£ -,rM^n\ I " flower of the same, 



pendulous {fig. 1009) ; embryo 



hooked {fig, 1009), in fleshy albumen, and with a superior 



radicle. 



Distrihdion, ^-c. — They are natives of both hemispheres, and 

 occxir both in temperate and tropical climates. Examples of the 

 Genera : — Morus, Ficus, Dorstenia. There are over 200 species. 



Properties and Uses. — The milky juice of some species pos- 

 sesses acrid and poisonous properties, while in others it is bland, 

 and may be taken as a beverage. From the milky juice of some, 

 caoutchouc is obtained. The inner bark of other species supplies 

 fibres. Some possess stimulant, sudorific, tonic, and astringent 

 properties. Many yield edible fruits, while the seeds generally 

 of the plants of this order are wholesome. 



Broussonetia papyrifera, the Paper Mulberry, is so named from its inner 

 bark being used in China, Japan, kc, for the manufacture of a kind of 

 paper. The Otaheitans, &ic., also make a kind of cloth fi-om it. 



Dorstenia. — The rhizomes and roots of several si^ecies of this genus have 

 been supposed to be antidotes to the bites of venomous reptiles ; those of 

 D. Contrayerva and D. braziliensis have been employed in Britain for their 

 stimulant, tonic, and diaphoretic properties. 



Ficus. — F. Carica yields the -neU-known fruit named the Fig. Figs are 

 nutritive, emoUient. demulcent, and laxative, and are frequently employed 

 in medicine. The Fig tree is the Teenah of the Bible. F. oppositir'olia and 

 F. polycarpa, natives of the East Indies, are said to possess emetic pro- 

 perties. /'. elastica, a native of India, yields an inferior kind of India 

 Rubber. It is known in commerce as Assam India Rubber. It is rarely or 

 ever used in this country. Various other species yield a similar substance. 

 The juii-e of F. ioxicaria and F. dcemona is a very powerful poison. F. 

 Sycoinoj-i/s (Siuoinonts antiquoru7n), the Sycamore Fig, is said by some 

 authors to have yielded the wood jfrom which mummy-cases were made. 

 (See Cordia Myxa, p. 594.) Richard states that the Abyssinians eat the 

 inner bark of /'. panifica. 



Madura.— The wood of M. tinctoria, a native of the "West Indies and South 

 America, is of a golden-yeUow colour, and is much employed in this country 

 and elsewhere as a dyeing agent. It is known as Fustic or Old Fustic, to 

 distinguish it from Young Fustic, already noticed. (See Rhus.) The fruit 

 is edible. M. auranliaca supplies the fruit called Osage Orange, the juice of 

 which is used by the native tribes in some districts of America as a yellow 

 war paint. 



Morus. — The fruit of Morus nigra is our common Mulberry. Mulberries 

 are employed medicinally for their refrigerant and slightly laxative 



