CHRYSOBALANE^E. X. LEUCOSTOMON. XI. TRILEPISIUM. AMYGDALACE^E. 



48 L 



pubescent ; leaves oblong, acuminated, sliining, narrow at the 

 base. Jj . S. Native of Cuba. 



Shining-\ea\ed Hirtella. Shrub or tree. 



Cult. For culture and propagation see ChrysoMlanus, p. 478. 



f Genera which are doubtful whether they belong to the present 

 order. 



X. LEUCO'STOMON (from \i/coc, leucos, white, and 

 aT(if.ta, stoma, mouth). Moc. et Sesse, fl. mex. icon. ined. D. C. 

 prod. 2. p. 639. 



LIN. SYST. Icosdndria, Monogynia. Calyx 5-parted ; lobes 

 ovate-lanceolate, acute, spreading, coloured, deciduous, the lower 

 part permanent, and bearing a circle of glands above, and sta- 

 mens. Petals wanting. Stamens about 20, inserted in the 

 calycine disk ; filaments very short ; anthers long, erect, 

 fixed by the base. Ovary free, ovate, pubescent, 5-furrowed, 

 ending in an acute filiform style. Fruit unknown. A shrub, 

 with oval, entire, feather-nerved leaves. Stipulas 2, subulate. 

 Peduncles trifkl, 3-flowered. Calyx brownish-purple. 



1 L. TERNIFLORUM (Moc. et Sesse, 1. c.) T? . S. Native of 

 Mexico. 



Tern-flowered Leucostomon. Shrub. 



Cult. For culture and propagation see Chrysobdlanus, p. 478. 



XI. TRILEPl'SIUM (from rpeic, treis, three, and \eirtf, lepis, 

 a scale ; in reference to the 3 scales situated in the calyeine tube 

 between the stamens and pistil). Pet. Th. gen. mad. no. 74. 

 D. C. prod. 2. p. 639. 



LIN. SYST. Icosdndria, Monogynia. Calyx thick, 5-cleft, not 

 adhering to the ovary. Petals wanting. Stamens numerous, in- 

 serted by several series in the calyx ; filaments filiform. Caly- 

 cine tube terminating in 3 scales between the stamens and pistil. 

 Ovary in the bottom of the calyx, 1-seeded. Style longer than 

 the tube, bifid at the apex. Stigmas tomentose. Fruit un- 

 known. A small tree, with alternate lanceolate leaves, when 

 young wrapped round by the stipulas, which are caducous. 



1 T. MADAGASCARIE'NSIS. Tj . S. Native of Madagascar. 



Madagascar Trilepisium. Tree. 



Cult. For culture and propagation see Chrysobdlanus, p. 478. 



ORDER LXXX. AMYGDALA'CEJE (plants agreeing in im- 

 portant characters with Amygdalus, the almond). AmygdakcC, 

 Juss. gen. 340. exclusive of some genera. Drupacese, D. C. fl. 

 fr. 4. p. 479. Rosacese, tribe II. Amygdaleae, D. C. prod. 2. p. 

 529. 



Calyx 5-toothed (f. 62. a. f. 64. a.), deciduous, lined with a 

 disk, the fifth lobe next the axis. Petals 5 (f. 62. a. f. 63. &.), 

 perigynous. Stamens about 20 (f. 62. b. f. 63. b. f. 64. a.), inserted 

 in the throat of the calyx, curved inwards in aestivation. Anthers 

 innate, 1 -celled, bursting lengthwise. Ovary superior, solitary, 

 simple, 1 -celled. Ovula 2, suspended. Style terminal, with a 

 furrow on one side, terminating in a reniform stigma. Seed 

 usually solitary, suspended. Embryo straight, with the radicle 

 pointing towards the hylum, with thick cotyledons. Albumen 

 none. Trees or shrubs. Leaves simple, alternate, usually glan- 

 dular towards the base. Stipulas simple, mostly glandular. 

 Flowers white or pink. This order is distinguished from Ro- 

 sacea; and Pomacece by its fruit being a drupe (f. 63. b. f. 64. 

 rf.), and by the presence of Prussic acid, from Leguminosce in 

 the equal petals and stamens, and by the fruit. 



The plants contained in this order are astringent and febri- 



VOL. II. 



fugal, as the bark of Cerasus Virginlana is prescribed in the 

 United States, and of the Cerasus Cdpollin in Mexico. They 

 are, however, better known for yielding an abundance of prussic- 

 acid, a deadly principle residing in the leaves and kernels of the 

 fruit, in consequence of which some of the species are poisonous 

 to cattle which feed upon them, as for example Cerasus capri- 

 cicla, which kills the goats of Nipaul, and the Cerasus Virginlana, 

 which is known in North America to be dangerous. They all 

 of them also yield a gum analogous to Tragacanth. Notwith- 

 standing, however, the poisonous principle that is present in 

 them, their fruit is in many cases a favourite food, as that of 

 Amygdalus the almond, Armeniaca the apricot, Persica the 

 peach and nectarine, Priinus the plum, and Cerasus the cherry. 

 The principle in which they abound is the basis of laurel-water, 

 which when taken in small doses acts either as a violent purga- 

 tive or as an emetic, and in larger doses is said to destroy the 

 irritability without exciting inflammation ; these properties, how- 

 ever, although thus dangerous in the distilled water of the laurel 

 and other similar plants, can scarcely be said to exist in any 

 important quantity in the plants iu a state of nature. The leaves 

 of Prunus spinbsa, and Cerasus avium have been employed as a 

 substitute for tea. The bark of Cerasus Cdpollin is used in 

 Mexico against dysentery. The prunes of the shops are chiefly 

 prepared from those sorts of plums called St. Catharine and green- 

 gage, and in Portugal from a sort that derives its name from the 

 village of Guimaraens, where they are principally dried. They 

 contain so large a quantity of sugar, that brandy is distilled from 

 them when fermented. The kernel of Cerasus BriganCtaca vields 

 a fixed oil called Huil des Marmottes, which is used instead of 

 olive or almond oil. The Prunus Cocomilia yields a bark the 

 properties of which are spoken of very highly ; according to 

 Tenore it is a specific for the cure of the dangerous intermittent 

 fevers of Calabria, where it grows. A variety of the Cerasus 

 avium is used for the preparation in the Vosges and the Black 

 Forest of the liqueur known under the name of Kirschenwaesser. 

 The kernel of Cerasus occidentalis is used for flavouring the 

 liqueur Noyeau. 



Synopsis of the Genera. 



1 AMY'GDALUS. Drupe clothed with velvety pubescence (f. 62. 

 c.), with a fibrous dry rind, separating irregularly, having the 

 putamen pitted or smooth. 



2 PE'RSICA. Drupe fleshy (f. 63. &.), glabrous or clothed 

 with velvety down, having the putamen irregularly furrowed (f. 

 63. c.). 



3 ARMENI'ACA. Drupe fleshy, clothed with velvety down, 

 having the putamen obtuse at one end, and acute at the other, 

 and surrounded by a furrow, the rest smooth, but never rugged. 



4 PRU'NUS. Drupe fleshy, quite glabrous, but covered with 

 a kind of grey bloom, having a compressed putamen, which is 

 acute at both ends, and slightly furrowed on the margin, the rest 

 smooth. 



5 CE'RASUS. Drupe globose (f. 64. d.\ fleshy, quite gla- 

 brous, containing a smooth flattened putamen (f. 64./.). 



6 POLYDONTIA. Drupe kidney-shaped, dry, containing a 1- 

 seeded nut. Calyx 6-parted. 



3Q 



