CHAP. XLVII. TAMARICa'cE^. Ta'^IARIX. Qt? 



Other species ; and which, being highly astringent, are used in medicine and 

 dyeing. The ashes of T. gallica and T. africana, when growing near the 

 sea, contain a large proportion of sulphate of soda ; so that they may be 

 profitably burnt to obtain this salt : its abundance explains the utility of some 

 of these plants as diuretics. T. gallica grows on Mount Sinai ; and, by the 

 puncture of Coccus manniparus, a species of manna is produced, which is 

 known by the name of Arabian, to distinguish it from the Persian manna, 

 which is the produce oi Alhagi Maurorum. (p. 646.) The tamarisk was a cele- 

 brated medicinal plant with the ancient Arabians, from whom the Latins seem 

 to have borrowed the high encomiums they bestowed on its virtues. Dr. 

 Grindall, who brought it from Germany after he was made Archbishop of 

 Canterbury (see p. 39.), cultivated it chiefly for its medicinal virtues; and 

 Master Richard Hakluyt, in ] 599, tells us that " many people have received 

 great health by this plant." {Voy., ii. p. 161.) The tamarisk is mentioned by 

 nearly all the ancient poets. Homer states that it was the tree against which 

 Achilles laid his spear before he plunged into the QEanthus to pursue the 

 flying Trojans ; and Theocritus, in his Pastorals, Virgil, in his Eclogues, and 

 Ovid, in several of his poems, all refer to this plant. Some of the older 

 British poets have also celebrated it. Davy says, — 



and Browne,- 



" On yon rough crag, 



Where the wild tamarisk whistles to the blast :' 



" Among the rest, the tamarisk there stood, 

 For huswives' besomes onely knowne most good.' 



Evelyn speaks of it as having been anciently considered as a tree accursed ; 

 and says that the Romans wove wreaths of it, with which they crowned their 

 criminals. 



Genus I. 



TA'MARIX Desv. The Tamarisk. Lin. Syst. Pentandria Trigynia. 



Identification. Desv. Ann. Sc- Nat., 4. p. 348. ; Dec. Prod., 3. p. 95. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 725. 

 Synonymes. The species of Tamarix of authors that have 4 stamens and 5 stamens ; Tamaris, Fr. ; 



Tamarisken, Ger. 

 Derivation. So called, according to some, from the plants growing on the banks of the river Tamara$ 



now Tarabra, on the borders of the Pyrenees ; or, according to others, from the Hebrew word 



tamaris, cleansing, on account of their branches, being used for brooms. 



Description, Sfc. Tall shrubs, natives of Europe, the north of Africa, 

 and the west of Asia; subevergreen in British gardens; and highly valuable, 

 as standing the sea breeze in situations where few other ligneous plants, and 

 no other flowering shrubs, will grow. 



a 1. T. ga'llica L. The French Tamarisk. 



Identification.. Lin. Sp., 386. ; Mill. Ic. ; Dec. Prod., 3. p. 96. ; Don's MilL, 2. p. 726. 



Synonymes. T. narbon^nsis Lob. Ic, 2. t. 218. ; Tamariscus gallicus All. : Tamarfscus pentan- 



drus Lam. Ft. Fr., not of Pall. 

 Engravings. Mill. Ic, t. 262. f. 1. ; Blackw. Herb., t. 331. ; Lob. Ic, 2. t. 218. ; N. Du Ham., vol. 



vii. t. 59. ; and out fig. 671. 



Spec. Char., Src Glabrous, glaucous. Leaves minute, clasping 

 the stem or branch, adpressed, acute. Spikes of flowers lateral, 

 somewhat panicled, slender, 3 times longer than broad. (Dec. 

 Prod., iii. p. 96.) Frequent in sandy places in France, on the 

 shores of the Mediterranean Sea and of the Atlantic Ocean, as 

 far as Poictiers ; also found upon the banks of rivers in the 

 south of Europe, north of Africa, and west of Asia : flowerino- 

 from May to October. It is likewise a native of Tartary, Bar- 

 bary, the Himalayas, and Japan ; and it has been found wild +* 

 in Cornwall, Hampshire, Sussex, and Suffolk, in England. It 671 



.*? R .3 



