640 



SYSTEMATIC BOTANY. 



properties, and also to give colour and flavour to other medicines. The 

 Sycamine tree of the Bible is supposed to be this plant. The leaves of this 

 species, as well as those of the Morus alba, White Mulberry, and othei-s, are 

 in common use as food for silk-worms. The roots of both M. nigra and 

 M. alba are said to be cathartic and anthelmintic. 



Natural Order 213.— 

 ArtocarpacbjE. — The 

 Bread -Fruit Order {fig. 

 1010). — Character. — 

 Trees or shrubs with 

 a milky juice. Leaves 

 alternate {fig. 1010), 

 simple, with large convo- 

 lute stipules. Flowers uni- 

 sexual, in dense heads {fig. 

 1010). Male flowers {fig. 

 1010, b) achlamydeous, 

 or with a 2 — 4-lobed, or 

 2 — 4-sepaled calyx. Sta- 

 mens opposite the lobes of 

 the calyx, or to the sepals. 

 Female flowers arranged 

 over a fleshy receptacle of 

 varying shape {fig. 1010, 

 a, c). Cahjx inferior, tubu- 

 lar, 2 — 4-cleft, or entire. 

 Oy«r^ superior, 1 -celled. Fruit commonly a sorosis. Seed erect 

 or pendulous, with little or no albumen ; embryo straight, with 

 a superior radicle. 



Distribution, ^'c. — Exclusively tropical plants. Examples of 

 the Genera : — Antiaris, Artocarpus, Phytocrene. There are 

 about 60 species. 



Properties and Uses. — The milky juice contains caoutchouc or 

 India Kubber. This juice is in some cases poisonous, while in 

 others it forms a nutritious beverage. Some yield valuable 

 timber. The fruits of some are edible, and the seeds generally 

 of plants of this order are wholesome. 



Antiaris.— A. toxicaria is the celebrated Ant.y'ar or Upas poison tree of 

 Java, but most of the stories related concerning it are fabulous. The milky 

 juice is the poisonous product. This poison owes its activity to a peculiar 

 principle named by Pelletier and Caventou antiarin. Antiaris (Lepurandra) 

 saccidora, a native of the East Indies, has a very tough inner bark, which is 

 used for cordage, matting, &c. Sacks also are made from it as follows : — 

 " A branch is cut corresponding to the length and diameter of the sack 

 wanted. It is soaked a little, and then beaten with clubs until the liber 

 separates from the wood. This done, the sack formed of the bark is turned 

 inside out, and pulled down till the wood is sawed off, ^^■ith the exception of 

 a small piece left to form the bottom of the sack." These sacks are com- 

 monly used to carry rice, &c. The seeds have a very bitter taste. 



Ai'tocay-pus.— The fruit of A. incisa is the important bread-fruit of the 

 Moluccas and islands of the Pacific. It supplies the place of corn to the 

 natives of those regions It is also used to some extent in the West Indies, 



Fig. 1010, Branch of the Bread-fruit Tree 

 (Artocarpus incisa). a,c. Heads of pistillate 

 flowers, b. Head of stamiuate flowers. 



