114 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS 



SIL 



CO resist almost any amount of frost, they are 

 sometimes injured by excessive wet, and for 

 this reason a few should be potted and kept 

 in a cold frame. Such of the annuals as are 

 worth cultivating need only to be sown where 

 they are to flower. Several species are com- 

 mon throughout the United States, but they 

 are of less importance than those from south- 

 ern Europe and Africa. First introduced in 

 1640. 



Siliqua. The long tapering pod of Cmciftraz. 



Silk Cotton-tree. See Bombax. 



Silk Oak. See Grevillea. 



Silk Tree. Acacia JuUbrissin, a native of the 

 Levant. 



Silk- Vine. Periploca grceca. 



Silk Weed. Asclepias cornuti. 



Si'lphium. Kosin Plant, Rosin Weed, Compass 

 Plant. From silphion, the Greek name applied 

 to an Asafoetida plant. Nat. Ord. Compositor. 



A small genus of strong-growing,herbaceous, 

 perennial plants, common in the Western and 

 Southern States. S. luciniatum is said to pre- 

 sent its leaves exactly north and south, which 

 gives it the name of Compass Plant. The 

 leaves and stems of some of the species exude 

 a large amount of rosin, whence the common 

 name Rosin Weed. All the species are of far 

 more interest to the botanist than the florist. 



Silver Balm. See Melissa. 



Silver Bell Tree. See Halesia. 



Silver Berry. Missouri. The fruit of Shep- 

 herdia argentea. 



Silver Bush. Anthyllis Barha-Jovis. 



Silver Fern. See Cheilanthes. 



Silver Fir. The popular name for Abies pecti- 



nata. 

 Silver Tree. Cape. Leucadendron argenteum. 



Silver Weed. Potentilla anserina. See also Im- 

 patiens. 



Sily'bum. Milk Thistle. An old Greek name 

 applied by Dioscorides to some Thistle-like 

 plants. Nat. Ord. Compositm. 



S. Marianum, the only species, is a glabrous, 

 erect, biennial herb, included by some botan- 

 ists under Cardutis. "The specific name, 

 Marianum, was given to this plant to preserve 

 the legend that the white stain on the leaves 

 was caused by the falling on the plant of a drop 

 of the Virgin Mary's milk," — Lindley. It was 

 formerly cultivated, the young leaves being 

 used as a spring salad, the root boiled as a pot- 

 herb, and the heads treated like the heads of 

 the Artichoke. It grows wild in waste places 

 in many pai'ts of Britain, and still retains its 

 place in old-fashioned gardens. See Cardmis 

 and Scotch Thistle. 



Sima'ba. The native name in Guiana of one of 

 the species. Nat. Ord. SimarubacecB. 



A genus of trees and shrubs, natives of 

 tropical America. Three species have been in- 

 troduced, but S. Cedron, the Cedron Tree, is 

 probably the only species in cultivation. It is 

 a small tree, a native of New Grenada, and 

 bears large panicles of flowers, often three to 

 four feet long, succeeded by fruit about the 

 size of a swan's egg. It is remarkable for the 

 febrifugal properties of its seeds, which have 

 also been from time immemorial reputed, 

 in its native place, as a remedy for snake bites. 



SIP 



Every part of the plant, but especially its 

 seed, is intensely bitter. 



Simaro'uba. Sometimes spelled Simaruba. The 

 Carib name of S. amara. Nat. Ord. Simaru- 

 bacecB. 



A small genus of evergreen trees, natives of 

 eastern and tropical America. Probably the 

 only cultivated species is S. amara (the 

 Mountain Damson), which yields the drug 

 known as Simaruba Bark, which is, strictly 

 speaking, the rind of the root, and is em- 

 plojed as a bitter tonic in diarrhoea and 

 dysentery. 



Simaruba'ceae. A natural order of trees or 

 shrubs, remarkable for the bitter taste of 

 their bark. They are natives of hot countries, 

 a very few only being found without the 

 tropics. Thirty genera are referred to this 

 order, which is closely allied to Rutacece. 

 Quassia, Ailantus, Brucea and Cneorum, are 

 good examples. 



Simmo'ndsia. Named in memorj^ of T. W. Sim- 

 inonds, a botiuust and explorer, 1805. Nat. 

 Ord. EuphorbiaceiB. 



S. Californica, the only described species, is 

 a small, hardy, evergreen, much branched 

 shrub from California. It is seldom found in 

 cultivation. Syn. Bocchia. 



Simple. Consisting of not more than one 

 distinct part. 



Sina'pis. Mustard. From the Celtic nap, a 

 designation applied to all plants resembling 

 the Cabbage or Turnip. Nat. Ord. Cruciferce. 

 A genus of hardy, yellow-flowered annuals. 

 S. nigra is the common Black Mustard, and 8. 

 alba the White Mustard of commerce, both 

 natives of Europe and most common on the 

 shores of the Mediterranean. The former 

 yields a greater portion of the Mustard in 

 general use. Both species are extensively 

 grown in England as field crops, and also in 

 many other parts of Europe. These species 

 are common in fields and waste places in 

 this country, having escaped from the 

 garden and become naturalized. There are 

 several other species, but they are all of the 

 same general character. S. nigra, which 

 grows ten or twelve feet high in Palestine, is 

 regarded by some as the " Mustard of Scrip- 

 ture " in preference to Salvadora. 



Sinni'ngia. Named in honor of William Sinning, 

 Ganlener to the University of Bonn on the 

 Rhine. A genus of some sixteen species of 

 very pretty dwarf, pubescent herbs, natives of 

 Brazil, and closely allied to Gloxinia, which 

 genus they closely I'esemble, and require 

 similar treatment for their culture. 



Sinistrorse. Turned or directed to the left. 



Sinuate. Strongly wavy; with the margin 

 alternately bowed inward and outward. 



Sinus. A recess or bay ; the re-entering angles 

 between two lobes or projections. 



Siphoca'mpylos. From siphon, a tube, and 

 kampylos, curved ; in allusion to the curved 

 shape of the flower. Nat. Ord. Campanula- 

 cece. 



An extensive genus of handsome, low-grow- 

 ing, evergreen shrubs, natives of South 

 America. The flowers are mostly tubular, 

 scarlet or yellow, solitary on axillary stalks 

 or in dense racemes or clusters. Several of 

 the species are cultivated for their showy 



