AND GENERAL HORTICULTUEE. 



469 



UMB 



is the Cork, Hickory or Cliff Elm. U. alata is 

 the Winged Elm or Whahoo of the South ami 

 West. The celebrated English Elm is U. caiii- 

 pestris. All the species are propagated from 

 seeds. 



Umbel. An inflorescence in which the stalks 

 radiate from a common point and form a flat 

 or convex surface above, as in the Carrot. It 

 is simple or compound. 



Umbellate. Disposed in or resembling the um- 

 bels. 



Um.belli'feraB, One of the most natural and, 

 consequently, most easily reco,;;nized orders 

 of plants, but one of the most difficult to 

 divide into well-defined genera. It consists 

 of herbs, often strongly scented, with small 

 flowers, usually in a simple or compound 

 umbel which has given the name to the order. 

 They inhabit, for the most part, woods, bogs, 

 marshes and dry places, principally in the 

 northern parts of the northern hemisphere . 

 As the equator is approached they become 

 less known, and in the southern hemisphere 

 they are comparatively rare. Though mostly 

 herbs, these plants sometimes attain a gigan- 

 tic size, as in some species of Heracleum and 

 Angelica. Dr. Welwitsch, moreover, mentions 

 having found in ti-opical Africa, in the region 

 of the Golungo Alto, an arboreous umbellifer 

 with a stem one foot and a half in diameter, 

 which is prized highly by the natives for its 

 medicinal properties and for its value as a 

 timber tree. This, so far as at present known, 

 is the most gigantic plant of the order. The 

 UnibellifertB number at least fifteen hundred 

 species, divided amongst nearly three hundred 

 genera, many of which are important as pro- 

 ducing articles of food ; many are poisonous ; 

 most are merely unimportant weeds ; a few, 

 like Astrcmtia, are furnished with gay colors, 

 and thus become objects of decoration. One 

 of them, Bolax Glebaria, forms huge tussocks 

 in the Falkland Islands, resembling haj^-cocks. 

 Of the harmless species, in which, with a little 

 aroma, there is no inconsiderable quantity of 

 acrid watery matter or gum-resinous secre- 

 tion, must be more particularly named Celery, 

 Fennel, Samphire, Parsley, and the roots of 

 the Carrot, Parsnip and Skirret {Shim Sii^- 

 arum). The roots of Eripigiuni camijeHire and E. 

 mori/('m»(Hi, commonly called Eryngo, are sweet, 

 aromatic and tonic. The aromatic roots of 

 Meum athamanticum and M. Mutellina form 

 an ingredient in Venice treacle. Angelica 

 Koot {Archangelica officinalis), is fragrant, 

 sweet when first tasted, but leaving a glowing 

 heat in the mouth. Others are gum-resinous, 

 as the species of Ferula and Xarthex, yielding 

 Asafoetida, the f(>tid odor of which is supposed 

 to be owing to sulphur in combination with a 

 peculiar essential oil. 



Of aromatic and carminative fruits, the 

 most celebrated are Anise {PimpinellaAnisum), 

 Dill {Anethum graveolens), Carawjiy [Caruin 

 Carui) and Coriander {Coriandruin satiimm). 

 Besides these, great numbers of less note are 

 also employed for the same I'eason, the chief 

 of which are the Aj wains or Ajowains of India 

 (species of Plychotis), Honeywort (Suion Amo- 

 mum), whose fruits smell of bugs, and Cummin 

 (Cuniinurn Cyminum), now only vised in veter- 

 inary practice. Among poisons, H(!mlock 

 {Conium nmculatmn) holds the first place. An- 

 thriacus vulgaris and A. sglvestris are not so 



UNI 



dangerous, ^thusa Cynarpium, QSnanthe cro- 

 cata, CE. phellandritim, Cicula maculata and C. 

 virosa are other poisonous species. 



Umbellula'ria Califoruica. A name given to 

 Ocotea or Oreodaphne Calijornica, the Califor- 

 nian Sassafras. 



Umbilicus. From umbilicus, the navel ; in al- 

 lusion to the concave leaves of some of the 

 species. Nat. Ord. Crassidacece. 



A genus of interesting plants, natives of 

 southern Europe, the Levant and tropical 

 Africa, and now usually placed under Cotyle- 

 don. In some of the species the radical leaves 

 are rosulate, or disposed like the petals in 

 the fiower of a double Hose; others have 

 them alternate on the stalk ; in all they are 

 fleshy. The flowers, which are either white 

 or yellow, grow in branched or simple ra- 

 cemes. They grow naturally in dry, stony 

 places, are at home in a rock-work, and are 

 often used for carpet bedding and edging. 

 They grow well in pots, and require the same 

 treatment as Echeverias and Sempervivuma. 

 Introduced in 1732. 



Unibraculiform. Umbrella-shaped. 



Umbrella Cliiiia Tree. A variety of Melia 

 Azedarach, which see. 



Umbrella Grass. The common name of Fuirena 

 squarrosa. It is common in sandy, wet placea 

 from Massachusetts southward. 



Umbrella Palm. See Kentia. 



Umbrella Pine or Parasol Fir. See Sciado- 

 pitys. 



Umbrella Tree. Magnolia Umbrella and M. 

 tripetala. also Thespesia populnea and Pan- 

 danus odoratissimus. 



Umbrosus. Growing in shady places. 



Unarmed. Destitute of spines or prickles ; 

 pointless. 



Unca'ria. From uncus, a hook ; the old peti- 

 oles are converted into hooked spines. Nat. 

 Ord. Rubiacece. 



A genus of about thirty species of climbing, 

 shrubby plants, natives of the tropics. The 

 most interesting species, U. Gambler, from 

 which the Gambler of commerce is obtained, 

 is a native of India and was introduced in 

 1825. 



Uncinate. Bent or curved at the tip, like a 

 ln)ok. 



Undershrub. A small, woody plant, the ends 

 of its brani'hes perishing annually. 



Undulate. Wavy or wavy-margined. 



Uxiguiculate. Furnished with a claw {unguis); 

 1 liat is, a narrow base ; as the petals of a Rose, 

 where the claw is very short, and those of 

 Pinks, where the claw is very long. 



Uni. In compound words, one, as Unifoliale, 

 Uniflorus, etc. 



Unicorn Plant. A common name for Martynia 

 lutea and M. proboscidea. 



Unicorn Root. Unicorn's Horn. The root of 

 Helonias dioica, a native of New Jersey, Penn- 

 sylvania, Virginia, etc. ; used as an anthel- 

 mintic. 



Uniflorus, Supporting a single flower. 



Unifoliate. When a c(Mnponnd leaf consists of 

 Olio leafli't only, as in the Orange-tree. 



Unilocular. One-celled. 



