I6fi POLYANDRIA. 



petals are from six to twenty-seven in number, the outer ones 

 oblong, and the inner ones lanceolate. The leaves are on 

 petioles, large, glossy, and panduriform, or guitar shaped 

 The trunk is smooth, straight, and sometimes nearly a hun- 

 dred feet high, and when covered with its Tulip-like blossoms, 

 has a magnificent appearance. There is a variety, in which 

 the lobes of the leaves are obtuse, and the petals all ovate, 

 and of a yellowish color. This genus has boon transported 

 to Europe, where it is now common, but seldom grows to the 

 height of more than fifty or sixty feet. 



GENUS Magnolia. Beaver tree. Name, in honor of Pro- 

 fessor Magnol, of Montpelier, the author of several botanical 

 works. This genus consists of many species, eight of which 

 are natives of North America. Most of the species are 

 superb trees, and some of them, as the Laurel-leaved, (Magno- 

 lia grandiflora,) are among the most beautiful and magnificent 

 of vegetables. The leaves of this species are a foot or more 

 long, and not unlike those of the common Laurel. The 

 flower is produced at the end of the branches, is very large, 

 and composed of about eight white petals, which are narrow 

 at the base, but broad and waved at their extremities. Some 

 of the species are deciduous, and others are evergreens. 



GENUS Annona. Custard- Apple. '] he name appears to 

 be a corruption of menona, by which name this fruit is known 

 among some of the natives of the tropics. The genus con- 

 sists of several species of trees, some of which produce ber- 

 ries of the size of an orange. One species grows wild in 

 Jamaica, another in Peru, and another in Carolina. 



Fig. 162. 



The fruit is succulent, a little acid, 

 and very agreeable to new comers into 

 hot climates. In some parts of South 

 America, it is highly esteemed as a de- 

 licious fruit, and is generally eaten by 

 the natives of the tropics. In some 

 species the fruit is rough or netted as 

 in the reticulata, Fig. 182. In others 

 it is smooth. 



What is said of the genus Magnolia 1 What is the custard-apple, and 

 what is its use 7 



