26 ON THE PLANTS CULTIVATED OR NATURALIZED 
to Brazil, and may have brought the plaut, as well as its name, to this 
country, where, after addition of the Portuguese masculine article o, 
the name assumed the shape ‘ Okardss’ or ‘Okra.’ There is only 
one positive statement in favour of the American origin of the plant, 
viz. that of C. Jacquin; “ crescit sponte in Caribzmis." But this loses 
much of its value by not being corroborated by any of the numerous 
botanists who explored the West Indian Islands. 
Gossypium. * Algodon.’—The G. Barbadense, L., and G. hirsutum, 
L., are probably both of American origin (see Parlatore, ‘ Le Specie dei 
Cotoni,’ Firenze, 1866, pp. 17, 18); and the former is common in the 
valley of Caracas, though nowhere with the features of a truly wild 
plant. (Venezuela exported from July, 1864, to July, 1865, more 
than 5,300,000 Ibs. of cotton.)* 
Coffea Arabica, L. * Café.’—The Coffee-tree was brought to Vene- 
zuela, in 1730, from "Trinidad or Martinique. In 1740 there were 
some small plantations, but the seeds were used more medicinally 
than as an article of daily food. In 1783, José A. Mohedano, the priest 
of the small village of Chacao, near Caracas, planted 6000 trees, and 
soon afterwards established Bartolomeo Blandin (the sanie mentioned 
in Humboldt's * Travels?) the first large coffee-plantation between 
Caracas and Chacao. (Venezuela exported from July, 1864, to July, 
1865, 28,420,442 Ibs. coffee, principally to Hamburg.) 
Cocos nucifera, L. ‘Coco.’—The few specimens cultivated in the 
valley of Caracas, with exception of a single one, do not produce fruit 
The Palm is abundant on the shores of Lake Valencia. 
G. Plants cultivated for Ornamental Purposes, 
The following list contains all those plants which nearly everywhere 
may be seen in “large gardens, as well as about the dwelling-places of 
the poor. 
Cicca disticha, L. * Cerezo 
Jatropha multifida, L. Radios vejetal, oa 
Aleurites triloba, Forst. * Nuez de Chin 
Ricinus communis, L. ‘Tartago,’ Mamas from * Tartarus,' on ac- 
count of its purging properties. 
Euphorbia pulcherrima, Willd. * Papagayo.’ 
cured for me from Major Trevor Clarke, F.H.S. Al the seeds came up well, 
and the whole plantation is in the most flourishing condition. 
