392 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS 



SAL 



species are shrubs or small trees, and have a 

 geographical range extending from central 

 Africa, Abyssinia and Egypt through south- 

 western Asia to India and Ceylon. " The iden- 

 tification of plants mentioned in the Bible is 

 a task of great difficulty, and in almost all 

 instances the results of the most learned 

 investigations, whether by biblical commen- 

 tators or by botanists, is unsatisfactory and 

 open to doubt. In our English version of the 

 Bible the names of plants have been made to 

 agree with those now in use, and the obvious 

 inference among the unlearned is that the 

 plants are the same. The researches of 

 botanists, however, have shown that the 

 Tares, the Aloes, the Hyssop, and other Scrip- 

 tural plants differ widely from those so called 

 at the present day ; and some writers have 

 therefore thought it probable that the same 

 is the case with the Mustard spoken of in the 

 Gospels, the seed of which St. Matthew says 

 is the least of all seeds ; but when it is grown 

 it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh 

 a tree, so that the birds of the air come and 

 lodge in the branches thereof. It is obvious 

 that this description does not agree with the 

 common Mustard' (Sinapis) as seen in this 

 country, and consequently the assertion that 

 the Scriptural plant belonged to a totally 

 different genus has been readily believed. 

 During their travel in the Holy Land, Captains 

 Irby and Mangles met with a small tree (ascer- 

 tained by Professor Don to be a Salvadora) 

 with a small, pungent. Mustard-like fruit, and 

 they thought it might probably be the tree 

 referred to by Christ. This supposition was 

 afterwards strengthened by Dr. Boyle, who 

 found that the trees in question bore the same 

 Arabic name (Khardal) as the common Mus- 

 tard, and that it was commonly regarded in 

 Syria as the Mustard-tree of Scripture, though 

 it is to be observed that the Sinapis grows 

 to a much greater size in Syria than with us, 

 and is frequently seen as high as twelve or 

 fifteen feet, so that the birds might easily 

 lodge in its branches. The species of Salva- 

 dora growing in Syria is said by both Don and 

 Koyle to be S. Persica, but that is a plant of 

 small size, not a tree. S. indica, however, a 

 common Indian and Cingalese species, grows 

 to a considerable height, and is probably the 

 one meant." — Treas. of Botany. 



Salvadora'ceae. A small natural order of dwarf 

 trees or shrubs, natives mostly of Western 

 Asia, Africa, and the Mascarene Islands, very 

 closely allied to Oleacew. Only three genera, 

 Salvadora, Monetia and Dobera, have as yet 

 been i-eferred to this order. 



Sa'lvia. Sage. From salvo, to save ; in allusion 

 to the healing qualities of the Sage. Nat. 

 Ord. Labiatce. 



This extensive genus is composed of hand- 

 some flowering plants, some of which are 

 hardy and herbaceous, while others are ten- 

 der and assume a half shrubby character. 

 They are particularly useful for filling large 

 beds in the flower garden through the sum- 

 mer, where such kinds as S. patens, blue ; S. 

 splendens, scarlet, and S. fulgens, red, are very 

 showy. S. splendens is a native of Mexico, 

 introduced in 1822, and is one of the best for 

 garden decoration. Of S. splendens, within 

 the past few years we have had many singu- 

 lar and beautiful varieties, one being pure 



SAM 



white, another scarlet and white striped, and 

 still later a distinct crimson color. There 

 are also several beautiful species that at one 

 time were grown in the green-house for 

 the sake of their flowers in winter, but are not 

 much valued now for that purpose. <S. offici- 

 nalis is the common Garden Sage. There is 

 a very pretty variegated variety of this, 

 grown in the border as an ornamental plant. 

 The hardy perennial species are few compared 

 with the large number of half-hardy species 

 in cultivation. One of the handsomest of 

 these is S. pratensis, a British species, with 

 flowers of rich blue color. There are also 

 white and red varieties. <S. sylvestris is a still 

 handsomer species, with long spikes of very 

 showj' deep purple flowers. The well-known 

 S. Sclarea, and the variety S. S. bracteata, 

 nuiUe noble plants in a mixed border, and so 

 does <S'. Forskohlei, a species similar in habit 

 and color of flowers to the preceding. S. 

 Mans, introduced from Cashmere in 1830, has 

 flowers of a beautiful blue color, and is the 

 finest of all. It is. however, rarely .seen in 

 cultivation. The Silvery Clary {S. argentea) is 

 also an excellent border plant. It has silvery 

 leaves from six to twelve inches long, very 

 showy and ornamental. The various species 

 are propagated by seeds, cuttings or division. 



Salvi'iiia. Named in honor of Antonio Maria 

 Salvini, a Greek professor at Florence. Nat. 

 Ord. MarsiliaceoB. 



S. natans, probably the only species, is a 

 hardy aquatic plant found floating on still 

 water (like the Lemna) in many parts of the 

 Northern Hemisphere and in tropical and 

 South America. "This pretty little floating 

 aquatic, which, like Azolla, is suitable for a 

 stove, green-house, or in-door aquarium, is 

 easily managed in summer time, simply requir- 

 ing to be let alone, and liave its water changed, 

 if necessary ; but in the winter it is often lost 

 through a want of knowledge of its life his- 

 tory. The mature plant floats on the water, 

 and has no true roots, though the row of 

 divided leaves on the under side of the stem 

 look like roots at first sight, and assume their 

 functions. Among these the spore capsules 

 are developed, and from them the plant must 

 be grown annually, as the old plants die in 

 the winter. The best way to preserve the 

 spores is to half fill a broad pan with sandy 

 loam, and then fill up with water; when the 

 water has cleared, place a number of plants 

 upon it and stand the pan in a cold green- 

 house. In the winter the plants will all die, 

 but the spores will remain in the loam, which 

 must not be allowed to become dry, and the 

 next spring they will reproduce the plant." — • 

 N. E. Brown. 



Sa'mara. A wing-fruit or key, as the Maple, 

 Ash or Elm. 



Sambu'cus. Eider. From sambuca, a musical 

 instrument, which is supposed to have been 

 made of Elder-wood. Nat. Ord. CaprifoliacecB. 

 The common Elder of our hedgerows is 8. 

 Canadensis, and it may be considered typical 

 of the order. Few of the species are consid- 

 ered of much value, though S. Canadensis is 

 used to some extent to make a domestic wine. 

 The most ornamental of the species is S. 

 piibens, which has large, loose panicles of 

 bright scarlet berries. This species is occa- 

 sionally found in moist high grounds from 



