CUCURBITACE^— GOURD TRIBE 15 



preserved, and which were considered by botanists to be the Tamarix pyeno- 

 mrpus. The Arabs regard this tree as sacred, because, after the battle of 

 Hillah, the Caliph Ali reposed under its shade. It is thought to be as old 

 as the time of Herodotus, B.C. 440. 



Our Tamarix gallica is a native of most of the countries of southern 

 Europe, of Asia Minor, Tartary, Japan, Barbary, and Arabia, as well as of 

 many parts of Africa; and some other species, as the Eastern Tamarisk 

 {T. orientalis), are also common in these lands. A variety of our Sea-side 

 Tamarisk affords, according to Ehrenberg, the manna of Mount Sinai. This 

 manna, as it is called, because it is supposed to resemble the manna of the 

 Scriptures, drops during the month of June from the branches and twigs 

 beneath the tree, where it coagulates. If left till after sunrise it dissolves, 

 and is lost. The Arabs, therefore, collect it before dawn. It is a sweet and 

 pleasant substance, which the Arabs prize greatly, and pour over their bread 

 as if it were honey. Falling in small quantities, it is a very costly luxury. 

 This manna probably no more resembles the "Bread of Heaven," given in 

 the wilderness, than does the substance called manna in this country, and 

 sold by the druggists for medicinal piu"poses. This is the product of an 

 ash-tree, Ornus europcea. 



Order XXXII. CUCURBITACEiE-GOURD TRIBE. 



Stamens and pistils often in separate flowers, either on the same plant or 

 on different plants ; calyx 5-toothed, connected with the corolla ; corolla 

 often scarcely to be distinguished from the calyx ; stamens 5, more or less 

 united ; anthers twisted ; ovary imperfectly 3-celled ; style short ; stigmas 

 lobed ; fruit more or less succulent ; seeds flat, in a juicy arillus, or skin. 



The Gourd Tribe consists of a large number of important climbing 

 herbaceous plants, having succulent stems and tendrils. In many cases their 

 medicinal properties are very violent, but some plants of the tribe produce 

 valuable fruit. To this order belong the Gourds, the fruits of which are, in 

 Arabia, Egypt, and other countries, converted into bowls and other articles of 

 domestic use ; the Bottle-gourds (Lagenaria) seeming exactly formed for this 

 purpose, being shaped like flasks, and sometimes six feet long ; when young 

 they are used as spoons. The plants are of rapid growth, and the Common 

 Garden Pumpkin increases so rapidly in size, that with its long shoots it 

 will, in a good soil, in one season cover the eighth part of an acre. This is 

 extensively cultivated in some parts of France to use in soups and fricassees. 

 The Vegetable Marrow is often seen on our tables ; the cool and refreshing 

 Melons and Cucumbers in all their varieties afford us valuable edible fruits ; 

 while in hot countries Water Melons are among the most refreshing articles 

 of diet. The Germans eat the fruit of the Squash Gourd, which, from its 

 shape, they term the Elector's Hat ; and Cucumbers in Russia are deemed a 

 most necessary vegetable diet. The Colocynth and Squirting Cucumber furnish 

 poM^erful drugs ; and the plant mentioned in Scripture as the Wild Vine, 

 from which the sons of the prophets gathered gourds for Elisha at Gilgal, 

 is believed to be the Ass, or Wild Cucumber, a plant of this order, which is 

 very bitter. As it resembles the cultivated cucumber it was apparently 



