232 



BIGNONIACE^l. XXIV. CALAMPELIS. XXV. CRESCENTIA. 



cate, distinct at apex. Stigma bipartite (f. 22. c.), hispid at 

 top. Capsule 1 -celled, 2-valved ; valves placentiferous in the 

 middle. Placentas 2, large, fleshy. Seeds obovate, horizontal, 

 imbricate, flattened, surrounded by a broad, repandly sinuated 

 wing, which is emarginate at the base ; outer testa black, crus- 

 taceous, wrinkled, and a little scrobiculate. A suffruticose, 

 scandent plant. Leaves opposite, petiolate, abruptly bipinnate, 

 terminated by a spiral, compound tendril. Leaflets coarsely 

 serrated. Flowers racemose, secund. Racemes opposite the 

 leaves, pedunculate, secund, many-flowered. Calyx short, green. 

 Corolla scarlet, or deep orange red Capsule large, muricated. 



1 C. SCA'BER (Sweet, fl. gard. 

 n. s. t. 30.) T? . w . G. Native 

 of Chili. Eccremocarpus sca- 

 ber, Ruiz, et Pav. syst. fl. per. 

 157. Lindl. hot. reg. 939. 

 Leaves with 2 pairs of pinnae ; 

 leaflets alternate, obliquely cor- 

 date, ovate, serrated or entire. 

 Stems angular, thickly clothed 

 with short, stiff, pellucid hairs, 



FIG. 22. 



when young, but afterwards 

 smooth. Leaves, racemes, and 

 corollas clothed with glandular 

 hairs. 



Scabrous Calampelis. Fl. 

 July, Aug. Clt. 1824. Shrub 

 climbing. 



Cult. This beautiful, climb- 

 ing plant is generally raised from seeds in spring, in a hot bed ; 

 and when the plants are of sufficient size, they are planted 

 singly in separate pots. They answer well to be trained in a 

 conservatory ; or to be planted out in the open ground, against a 

 wall or house, with a south exposure, along with Cobce'a scan- 

 dens, where, if the summer prove warm, it will make a showy 

 appearance. 



Tribe III. 



CRESCENTIEVE (the plants contained in this section agree 

 with Crescendo, in having a large, baccate fruit.) Fruit a large 

 melon or gourd-shaped, 1 -celled berry ; with a corticate, solid 

 rind ; filled with pulp and seeds inside. 



XXV. CRESCE'NTIA (named by Linnaeus after Pietro 

 Crescentio, an Italian writer on agriculture, in the thirteenth 

 century.) Lin. gen. 762. Schreb. gen. no. 1021. Juss. gen. 

 127. edit. Uster. p. 142. Gaertn. fruct. suppl. 1. p. 229. t. 

 223. H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. 3. p. 157 Cujete, Plum. gen. 

 p. 23. t. 16. icon. 109. 



LIN^SYST. Didynamia, Angiosjierma. Calyx bipartite, equal, 

 deciduous. Corolla large, sub-campanulate ; tube very short ; 

 throat large, ventricose, incurved ; limb erect, 5-cleft, unequal ; 

 lobes toothed or curled. Stamens 4, didynamous ; with the 

 rudiment of a fifth ; anthers 2-lobed. Stigma bilamellate. 

 Berry large, form of a gourd, 1-celled, pulpy inside; rind solid. 

 Seeds nestling in the pulp. Large, spreading trees. Leaves 

 alternate, solitary or in fascicles, simple, ternate or pinnate. 

 Flowers solitary, rising from the trunk or branches. 



1 C. CUJE'TE (Lin. spec. 873. Jacq. amer. 175. t. 111. ed 

 pict. p. 86. t. 1G7.) leaves oblong, acute or obtuse, cuneate at the 

 base, in fascicles. T? . S. Native throughout equinoxial Ame- 

 rica. Plum. gen. 23. t. 109. Comm. hort. 1. p. 137. t. 71. 

 Branches horizontal. Flowers scattered over the older branches, 

 and even in the trunk itself, solitary, pedicellate, sometimes all 

 green, but most often variegated with green, purple, red, and 

 yellow ; they do not wither, but become putrid, and in that 



state exhale a nauseous and intolerable smell. The form and 

 size of the fruit are variable ; from spherical to bottle-shaped, and 

 from 2 inches to a foot in diameter. These, however, if they 

 are no more than varieties, are very constant. The fruit is co- 

 vered witli a thin skin, of a greenish yellow colour when ripe ; 

 under this is a hard, thin, woody shell, inclosing a pale yellowish 

 soft pulp, of a tart, unsavoury flavour, surrounding a great num- 

 ber of flat seeds. These shells, cleansed of their pulp, and de- 

 prived of their outer skin, and dried, are used by the inhabitants 

 of tropical America, for drinking cups ; those of the long, small- 

 fruited kind, are formed into spoons and ladles ; those which 

 are round are cut through the middle, and used as cups for cho- 

 colate and cacao : in short, these shells are converted into a 

 variety of domestic furniture. They are frequently large 

 enough to hold a gallon of fluid ; they serve to boil water in, as 

 they bear the fire well. The thicker parts are frequently used 

 as button moulds in the West Indies. The Caribs engrave the 

 outside with a number of grotesque figures, which they some- 

 times colour black or red. The pulp is sometimes eaten by the 

 negroes, but is not looked upon as being either agreeable or 

 wholesome ; it is, however, much used by way of poultice ; and 

 a syrup made of it is in much request among the natives, in dis- 

 orders of the breast, in contusions and inward bruises. The 

 wood being very tough and flexible, is very fit for the coach- 

 maker, and is frequently used for making saddles, stools, and 

 other furniture. The leaves and branches are eaten by cattle, 

 in times of scarcity, as is also the pulp of the fruit. The tree is 

 called Tutuma in some parts of America. 



Far. /3 ; leaves narrow ; fruit smaller, globose or ovate. 

 Plum. gen. 23. 



Var. y, Cujete minima, fruclu duro. Plum. gen. 23. The 

 smallest Calabash tree, with a hard fruit. 



Cujete or Common Calabash Tree. Fl. ? Clt. 1690. Tree 

 20 to 30 feet. 



2 C. CUCURBITINA (Lin. syst. p. 565. mant. 250. Swartz, 

 obs. 234.) leaves ovate, rather coriaceous, solitary ; fruit ovate, 

 acuminated. I? . S. Native of Jamaica, in dry rocky places ; 

 and about Campeachy. C. latifolia, Mill. diet. no. 2. C. 

 Cujete, var. S, Lin. spec. 873. Plum. gen. 23. icon. 109. 

 Brown, jam. 266. Pluk. aim. 124. t. 171. f. 2. Sloan, jam. 

 206. hist. 2. p. 172. Branches erect. Pedicels 2-5, terminating, 

 one-flowered, shorter than the leaves. Corollas size of those of 

 the preceding, dusky ; the base of the tube and throat is white. 

 The fruit varies in size ; the shell is so thin as to be unfit for 

 any purpose ; the seeds are also much thinner ; and the pulp is 

 deeper yellow than that of the preceding. 



Gourd-like Calabash-tree. Fl. ? Clt. 1733. Tree 20 

 feet. 



3 C. ACUMINA'TA (H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 3. p. 157.) 

 leaves oblong-lanceolate, acuminated, cuneately narrowed at the 

 base, in fascicles. ^ . S. Native of the Island of Cuba, near 

 Havannah and Los Guines. Branches elongated, white. Flowers 

 size of those of the two preceding. Fruit globose, 3-4 inches 

 in diameter. It differs from C. Cujete in the leaves being nar- 

 rower, acuminated, and less firm. 



Acuminated-\ea\ei\. Calabash tree. Clt. 1822. Tree. 



4 C. ACULEA'TA (H. B. et Kunth, 1. c. p. 158.) branches 

 prickly ; leaves ternate or simple, twin ; common petiole fur- 

 nished with a narrow wing above. Tj . S. Native of Mexico, 

 near Campeachy. Hern. mex. 290. Branches terete, warted. 

 Leaves ovate-oblong, obtuse, running into the petioles at the 

 base. Prickles nearly opposite, subulate at top, and thickened 

 at the base. Flowers solitary or twin on the tops of the 

 branches. Corolla as in the genus, greenish. Fruit oblong, 

 ribbed. 



Prickly Calabash tree. Tree. 



