98 



APOCYNEjE. XLI. TANOHINIA. XLII. RAUWOLFIA. 



mate at the tops of the branches, coriaceous. Flowers disposed 

 in terminal corymbose panicles. Peduncles and pedicels bibrac- 

 teate, twice ternate. Corollas white, or pink : with a dark eye. 



1 T. VENENE'FLUA (Poir. 1. c. Bojer. 1. c.) leaves elliptic- 

 lanceolate, approximate, coriaceous, glabrous, shining : with re- 

 volute, cartilaginous edges ; flowers disposed in terminal, co- 

 rymbose panicles. Jj . S. Native of Madagascar. Cerbera 

 Tanghin, Hook. hot. mag. 2968. Leaves 5-8 inches long. 

 Corollas with a green tube, and pink or rose-coloured limb. 

 This is the famous ordeal tree of Madagascar. 



The custom of administering Tanghin as an ordeal, in Mada- 

 gascar, has become far more universal during the present reign, 

 than at any former period of the Huwa government. When 

 her present majesty, in the beginning of 1830, came to the reso- 

 lution of cleansing her lands from sorcerers, an ordeal was com- 

 manded in every town and village ; and in Tannanarivoo scarcely 

 any class of inhabitants escaped. On the 9th of May, 1830, in 

 compliance with the sovereign's mandate, a notable administra- 

 tion of Tanghin took place. The accused persons amounted 

 to about thirty, including some of the highest rank in the 

 kingdom. All the nobility recovered ; while the unknown ple- 

 beians, who, according to the common jugglery, had been com- 

 pelled to drink with them, died. The former made the usual 

 triumphant entry into the town, on the 17th, borne in open 

 palanquins, amongst the shouting, dancing, and grimaces of the 

 many thousands of people. In the following month, April, 

 about an equal number of Malagassy ladies submitted to the 

 same ordeal ; but all survived, and, in due course, made a grand 

 entry into town. The Tanghin is administered in private, as 

 well as in public. A subject so deeply rooted in the minds of 

 all the Malagassy people, from the sovereign down to the slave, 

 is the belief in witchcraft; and so blindly are they led by this 

 belief, that a whole nation may be considered as labouring under 

 a spell, as powerful as the fascination which they attribute to the 

 unfortunate sorcerers themselves. The fruit of the Tanghin is 

 the part used, and is administered by means of some liquid, as 

 broth, &c. 



Poison-flowing Tanghinia. Fl. July. Clt. 1826. Tree 30 feet. 



2 T. MA'NGHAS ; leaves oblong-lanceolate, acute, tapering 

 downwards, approximate, shining; segments of corolla ovate, 

 with an incurved, sub-retuse apex ; panicle terminal, corymbose. 



Jj . S. Native of Singapore, and some of the adjacent islands, 

 Ceylon, &c. Cerbera Manghas, Lin. fl. zeyl. 106. Gaertn. 

 fruct. 2. p. 192. t. 123-124. f. 1. Cerbera lactaria, Hamilt. 

 Arbor lactaria, Humph, amb. 2. p. 243. t. 81. Cerbera quaterni- 

 fblia, Roxb. hort. beng. 19. Burm. zeyl. p. 150. t. 70. f. 1. 

 Leaves dark green and shining above, and paler beneath, with 

 capillary, sub-transverse nerves, which unite by means of a sub- 

 marginal vein. Panicle large, open, with articulated dichoto- 

 mous or trichotomous branches. Flowers white, by threes, 

 scentless. Calycine segments lanceolate. Scales in the mouth 

 of the corolla villous, pink-coloured. Drupe ovate-oblong, 

 sometimes twin. The seeds in this and the following are said to 

 be exalbuminous. 



Manghas Tanghinia. Fl. July, Sept. Clt. 1 800. Tree 20 ft. 



3 T. ODOLLAM ; leaves lanceolate, approximate, shining ; 

 corymbs terminal ; calycine segments linear, revolute ; seg- 

 ments of corolla sub-falcate. Tj . S. Native of various parts of 

 India, on the shores, in salt swamps. Cerbera Odollam, Gaertn. 

 fruct. 2. p. 193. t. 124. Cerbera Manghas, Sims, bot. mag. 

 1845. Odollam, Rheed. mal. 1. p. 71. t. 39. Wood remark- 

 ably spongy, and white. Flowers large, white, fragrant. 

 Stigma large and conical, 2-cleft at apex, resting in a saucer- 

 shaped receptacle, the circumference fluted with 10 grooves. 



Odollam Tanghinia. Fl. July, Sept. Clt. 1756. Tree 20 feet. 



4 T. IAURIFOLIA ; leaves lanceolate, obtuse, attenuated at the 



base, coriaceous, quite entire, glabrous, with dense parallel 

 nerves. fj . S. Native of the East Indies. Cerbera lauri- 

 folia, Lodd. bot. cab. 989. Flowers white. 



Laurel-leaved Tanghinia. Fl. May, Sept. Clt. 1818. Shrub. 



Cult. For culture and propagation see Taberncemontana, p. 92. 



XLII. RAUWO'LFIA (so named by Plumier, in honour of 

 Leonhard Rauwolf, physician at Augsburg, who travelled in 

 France and Italy, 1560 1563 ; and through Palestine and other 

 countries, in 1573 1575. His travels were published in Ger- 

 man, in 1582 and 1583, and were translated into English by 

 Nich. Staphorst, under the revision of Mr. Ray, with additions by 

 him. John Fred. Gronovius published a catalogue of the plants 

 which Rauwolf found in his travels to the East in 1775, under 

 the title of Flora Orientalis, Lugdb. oct. He died in 1596.) 

 Plum. gen. 40. Lin. gen. no. 293. Juss. gen. 148. Gsertn. 

 fruct. t. 52. Jacq. amer. 47. Roxb. fl. ind. 2. p. 543. 

 Blum, bijdr. 1033, but not of Ruiz, et Pav. 



LIN. SYST. Pentdndria, Monogynia. Calyx 5 -parted, per- 

 manent. Corolla funnel-shaped, with a bearded throat, a short 

 tube, and a twisted, 5-lobed limb ; segments unequal-sided. 

 Stamens 5, inclosed, or a little exserted ; anthers free, ovate- 

 cordate. Ovaria 2, combined, girded by a hypogynous ring ; 2- 

 celled, bi-ovulate. Style didymous. Stigma sub-capitate, or 

 peltate, emarginate. Drupe didymous, globose, containing 2 

 1-celled, 1-seeded nuts, or a 2-celled one; cells divided into 2 

 chambers. Seeds reflexedly conduplicate below, attached to 

 the dissepiment, which is incomplete, and is perhaps a dilated 

 placenta. Embryo uncinately recurved at the base, with a su- 

 perior radicle. Albumen fleshy, conforming to the seed. 

 Lactescent shrubs, or small trees ; with verticillate leaves ; and 

 interpetiolar corymbs of small flowers. Petioles furnished 

 with subulate glands inside. 



* Species natives of South America. 



1 R. PSYCHOTRIOIDES (H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 3. p. 

 231.) leaves 4 in a whorl, elliptic-oblong, acuminated, glabrous, 

 2 of which are much smaller than the other 2, having the middle 

 rib ciliated towards the base ; corymbs on long peduncles. 



fj . S. Native of the Spanish Main, in shady places, near 

 Cumana. R. viridis, Willd. herb, ex Rcem. et Schultes, syst. 4. 

 p. 805. Leaves membranous, shining above, but paler beneath, 

 4 or 4^ inches long. Bracteas lanceolate-linear. Corymbs 

 small. Corollas white, downy outside. Calycine segments 

 ovate, acute. Segments of corolla dimidiately oblong, obtuse. 

 Perhaps the same as R. nitida. 



Psychotria-like Rauwolfia. Tree 10 to 15 feet. 



2 R. TERNIFOLIA (H. B. et Kunth, 1. c. p. 232.) leaves 3 in a 

 whorl, oblong, acuminated, glabrous ; peduncles few-flowered, 

 sub-corymbose. ^ . S. Native of New Spain, on the banks of 

 the river Magdalena, near Monpox. Hook. bot. mag. 2440. R. 

 ligustrina, Willd. herb.no. 5097. Roem. et Schultes, syst. 4. p. 

 805. Leaves membranous, 2-4 inches long. Flowers like the 

 preceding. Calycine segments ovate-lanceolate. 



Three-leaved Rauwolfia. Fl. May. Clt. 1823. Shrub. 



3 R. NITIDA (Jacq. amer. p. 47. Lin. spec. 303.") leaves 3 and 

 4 in a whorl, elliptic-lanceolate, acuminated, quite glabrous, 

 shining, having the midrib rather villous beneath ; corymbs few- 

 flowered. \i . S. Native of South America, and St. Domingo, 

 in woods. Lam. ill. t. 172. f. 1. Lodd. bot. cab. 339. R. 

 viridis, Herb. Willd. R. heterophylla, Willd. herb, ex Roem. et 

 Schultes, syst. 4. p. 805. Plum. gen. 19. icon. 236. f. 1. 

 Leaves approximate, unequal in size, 3 inches long, and one 

 broad. Calycine teeth acute. Corollas white. Petals ciliated, 

 with thick conical pili. Fruit at first yellowish, afterwards dark 

 purple. 



