657 



SALT. 



SAJiYDACE.E. 



659 



alkali, is found on tlie coasts of Europe, and of many parts of the 

 world, and is one of the species which ia burnt for the purpose of 

 yielding kelp and barilla. 



& saliva is a species found on the southern coast of Spain, where 

 some pains are taken to extend both it and the following species by 

 cultivation, for th purpose of yielding barilla when burnt. The crop 

 is cut in September, and laid in small heaps to dry. These heaps are 

 collected and burned, forty or fifty of them, in a hole in the ground. 



>'. soda is found on the southern coast of Europe, and in the north 

 of Africa. 



Herat and Delens conceive that the species which yields the soda of 

 Alicant ia a new species, and not yet described, which they propose 

 calling S. BeriT, Other species are described by Forskiil as yielding 

 soda on the coasts of the Red Sea. 



*>'. udijiora Dr. Roxburgh describes as a native of salt barren lands 

 near the sea in India, where it is gathered for fuel only ; but as the 

 taste is strongly saline, it would no doubt yield good fossil alkali ; and 

 he gave it as his opinion that this plant, with two Indian species of 

 Salicornia, might be made to yield barilla sufficient to make soap and 

 glass for the whole world. 



ft. Indica is another Indian species, growing in similar localities. 

 The green leaves are eaten by the natives. 



SALT. [SODIUM.] 



SALTPETRE. [POTASSIUM.] 



SALTWORT. [GLAUX; SAUSOLA.] 



SALVADORA. [SALVADORACE-E.] 



SALVADORA'CE/E, a natural order of Jtouopetalous Exogenous 

 Plants, comprising only one genus, ftalvadora. It is characterised by 

 possessing a superior ovary, regular flowers, single carpel, single style 

 with a simple stigma, and a 1-celled fruit with a single seed. The posi- 

 tion of the genus ftalvadora has always been doubtful : by one author 

 it has been referred to Chenopodiaccas, although it has a monopetalous 

 corolla ; by others it ia referred to Myrsinacea;, from which it differs 

 in the position of its stamens and the structure of the ovary and seeds. 

 It is most nearly allied to Plumbayinacece and Plantaginacea ; with 

 the former it agrees in habit, and with the latter in the number of 

 the parts of the flower, its membranous corolla, and simple style. 

 They are Indian and North African plants, with eatable fruit. 



>'. fergica, the Mustard-Tree of Scripture, has a succulent fruit with 

 an aromatic smell, and tastes like garden cress. The bark of the root 

 is extremely acrid ; bruised and applied to the skin, it soon raises 

 blisters, for which the natives of India often use it. The leaves of 

 iS' Indica are purgative, and the fruit is said to be eatable. 



SA'LVIA (perhaps from 'salvu?,' healthy), a genus of Plants 

 belonging to the natural order Lamiacca, or Labiatte. It belongs to 

 the Monopetalous division of Exogenous Plants, and is known by its 

 2-lippe ] tubular or campanulate calyx ; bilabiate corolla, with the 

 upper lip usually arched ; 2 stamens with halved anthers, having a 

 flat dilated connective, which is placed vertically with the anther on 

 the upper end. The species of this genus are well known both as 

 ornamental shrubs and on account of their uses in domestic economy. 

 The best known, and that which is used most frequently iu this 

 country, is the Salvia officinalis, the Garden Sage. It is a native of 

 various parts of the South of Europe. It is a low straggling shrub, 

 with erect branches, hoary with down, leafy at the base ; entire, 

 stalked, oblong, narrowed at the base or rounded leaves ; nearly 

 simple racemes; many-flowered distinct whorls; campanulate coloured 

 meubranous calyx ; corolla two or three times as long as the calyx, 

 with a large projecting tube ringed inside ; the lips erect, the upper 

 lip straight, the lateral lobes of the lower one reflexed. This plant is 

 much used in cookery, and is supposed to assist the stomach in digest- 

 ing fat and luscious foods. Sage-tea is also commended as a stomachic 

 and slight stimulant. 



X pomifera, Apple-Bearing Sage. Leaves crenate, hoary, articulated 

 with veins, lanceolate ; heart-shaped at the base ; calyx 3-lobed, bluntish. 

 It is a native of rough open hills in Crete and various parts of the 

 L>:vant. It is remarkable for being liable to the attacks of an insect 

 of the C'ynifg genus, which produces upon their branches little pro- 

 tuberances fimilar to galls upon the oak, but much larger. These 

 morbid growths contain an acid aromatic juice, and on this account 

 are valued by the inhabitants of Crete as an article of diet. 



*<'. iclarea, Common Clary. Leaves oblong, heart-shaped, rugged, 

 villous, doubly crenate ; bractese coloured, concave, longer than the 

 calyx. This plant is a native of Italy, Syria, and Bithynia, and is one 

 of the longest known of the exotic herbs found in British gardens. 

 It ia sometimes used for making wine, which has a taste resembling 

 that of Frontignac, and is remarkable for its narcotic qualities. 



ft. tjilmdens, ft. Indica, ft. formosa, and fi. fulgent, are all handsome 

 ornamental flowers, and as such are much cultivated. 



8. pratenrit. Meadow Clary, and .S'. verbenacca, Wild English Clary, 

 are natives of Great Britain. 



SALVINIA'CE.K [MAHSII.F.ACE.E.] 



SAMADE'RA, a genus of Plants belonging to the natural order 

 Fimarubacea, which was named by Gsertner, though the origin of the 

 name a unknown. The genus, though containing but few species, 

 includes Vil'iminniaof Vahl and Kiota of Lamarck. The gemis is 

 characteri'i'd l>y having bisexual Mowers; calyx 4-5-pnrtite ; petals 

 4-5, much longer than the calyx; stamens 8-10; ovaries 5-sceded, on 



NAT. HIST. HIV. VOL. IV. 



a short stalk-like gynophore ; styles as many. Fruit of one or more 

 carpels, usually drupaceous. The genus is composed of trees or 

 shrubs, with simple alternate and reticulately-veined leave?. Pedun- 

 cles are axillary or terminal, pendulous when in fruit, and divided at 

 the apex into a 5-12-flowered umbel. S. tclraj ctala is a shrub, 10 feet 

 in height, a native of Madagascar. S. lucida (Niota lucida) is another 

 shrub, figured by Dr. Wallich ('PI. As. Rar.,' t. 168), from Amherst, 

 on the coast of Martaban. .S'. Indica (& pentapelala of authors) is a 

 large tree, a native of Southern India, especially on the Malabar 

 coast; the fruit and bark are intensely bitter, like that of the other 

 plants of the Quassia family. Niepa Bark, an Indian febrifuge, is 

 obtained from this species. 



SAMARSKITE. [URANIUM.] 



SAMBU'CUS (from <ra/i/8uK7j, a musical instrument), a genus of 

 Plants belonging to the natural order Caprifuliacece. It is known by 

 possessing a 5-cleft calyx ; rotate urceolate 5-cleft corolla ; 5 stamens ; 

 3 sessile stigmas; a roundish pulpy 1-celled berry hardly crowned by 

 the remains of the calyx, with 3 or 4 seeds. The species are low 

 deciduous trees inhabiting Europe and North America. The best 

 known of the species is the Common or Black Elder (S. nigra). It 

 is a small tree or large bush ; the stem is irregularly, but always 

 oppositely, branched; the young branches are clothed with a smooth 

 gray bark, and filled with a light spongy pith ; the leaflets are deep 

 green and smooth, usually with an odd one ; the inflorescence is a 

 cyme composed of numerous cream-coloured flowers, with a sweetish 

 but faint and heavy smell ; fruit a globular purplish-black berry, with 

 reddish stalks. This plant is a native of Europe, the north of Africa, 

 and the colder parts of Asia. It is very common in most parts of 

 Great Britain, and is generally found near human habitations. Con- 

 siderable medicinal value has at all times been popularly attributed to 

 this plant, and it is only recently that it has fallen into comparative 

 disuse amongst medical practitioners. In the rural districts of England 

 a wine is made from the berries, which is in great repute, and when 

 drunk hot is an agreeable stimulant. The flowers are employed for 

 making a distilled water, which is frequently used as a refrigerant, and 

 on account of its agreeable odour is introduced into many articles of 

 confectionery. The pith, on account of its solidity and great lightness, 

 is used for making small figures and balls for electrical experiments. 

 The undeveloped buds, when pickled, form a good substitute for capers. 



S. Ebulux, the Darf Elder or Banewort, is distinguished by its 

 cymes with three principal branches, lanceolate leaves, foliaeeous 

 stipules, and herbaceous stem. It is not an uncommon plant in 

 England and Scotland in waysides and waste places. It has a very 

 fetid smell, and the roots are violently purgative. 



>'. Canadentii, the Canadian Elder. Cymes with 5 principal 

 branches ; leaflets 4 pairs and an odd one, oblong, oval, acuminated 

 more or less, pubescent beneath. The flowers are nearly scentless. 

 It is a native of North America throughout Canada to the Carolinas. 



S. racemoaa, the Red-Berried Elder. Leaflets 5, membranous, oblong, 

 acuminated, serrated, unequal at the base ; petioles glabrous ; flowers 

 of a whitish-green colour. It is a native of the south of Europe and 

 Siberia. It is a showy plant, and has a splendid appearance when 

 covered with its fine large scarlet fruit Many other species of this 

 genus are worth cultivation, on account of their flowers, fruit, and 

 foliage. Amongst these, ft. laciniata, the Parsley-Leaved Elder, and 

 /S'. pvbens, the Downy Elder, may be mentioned. 



SA'MOLUS, a genus of Plants belonging to the natural order 

 Primnlacece. It has a 5-parted calyx, its tube adhering to the lower 

 half of the germen ; the corolla is salver-shaped, with a short tube 

 and a 5-parted limb with interposed converging scales ; the stamens, 

 5 in number, are inserted near to the base of the tube of the corolla ; 

 the capsules half covered by the persistent calyx, many-seeded, and 

 opening with reflexed teeth. 



.S'. valerandi, the Brook-Weed, or Water-Pimpernel, has obovate or 

 roundish-blunt leaves; the upper leaves blunt with a point; the 

 racemes many-flowered, ultimately elongated ; the capsules sub-glo- 

 bose. It is found in damp watery places iu Great Britain. 



(Lindley, Vegetable Kingdom ; Burnett, Outlines of Botany ; 

 Babington, Manual of British Botany.) 



SAMPHIRE. [CnmiMUM.] 



SAMY'DA, a genus of Plants belonging to the natural order 

 ftamydacece. The genus having all the characters of the family to 

 which it belongs, is distinguished by possessing 10-12 stamens, all of 

 which bear anther?, while the stigma is globose. The species consist 

 of small trees or shrubs, found in the hot parts of America, such as 

 the West Indies, Mexico, and Brazil, with a few doubtful species in 

 the East Indies. The branches are sometimes thorny; the leaves 

 alternate, entire, or serrate, with pellucid dots and twin stipules ; 

 flower-stalks axillary, single-flowered, solitary or fascicled with white 

 but sometimes purple flowers. 



SAMYDA'CE^E, fiamyds, a natural order of Apetalous Plants, of 

 uncertain station, and placed by De Candolle amongst Polypetalous 

 Kxogenp. They have 3, 5, or 7 sepals more or less cohering at the 

 base; stamens periyynous, two, three, or four times as numerous as 

 the sepals, with uionadelphous filaments; superior 1-celled ovary; 

 indefinite ovults attached to parietal placenta? ; capsules with 3-5 

 valvis; numerous seeds fixed to the valves; fleshy albiunen and a 

 radicle pointing away from the hiluui. Thu leaves arc alternate with 



2 U 



