TALAUMA 



TAMABINDUS 



1767 



finely with the ivory white of the petals. This species 

 is a native of the Himalayas, a region which is perhaps 

 richer in handsome magnolia-like trees than any other 

 area of equal size in the world. Hooker ranks this 

 species second in beauty only to Magnolia Campbelli. 

 T. Hodgsoni grows at an elevation of 5,000 to C, 000 feet. 



This fine tree has been flowered at Kew and perhaps 

 elsewhere in Europe, but never in America, so far as is 

 known. Time and time again seeds were received at 

 Kew from India, but they never germinated, the reason 

 being the rapid decay of the albumen, involving that of 

 the embryo. The trees now cultivated in Europe have 

 been derived from young plants sent from India in 

 Wardian eases at considerable expense and risk. 



Talauma is closely allied to Magnolia, but the carpels 

 are indehiscent and deciduous, while those of Magnolia 

 dehisce dorsally and are persistent. Talauma is a genus 

 of about 15 species of trees and shrubs, mostly natives 

 of the tropics of eastern Asia and South America; also 

 Japan. Leaves, inflorescence and seeds as in Magnolia: 

 sepals 3; petals 6 or more in 2 or more whorls; stamens 

 very numerous, in many series: ovaries indefinite, 2- 

 ovuled, spiked or capitate; carpels woody, separating 

 from the woody axis at the ventral suture and leaving 

 the seeds suspended from the latter by an elastic cord. 



Hodgsoni, Hook. & Thorn. Tender, evergreen tree, 

 50-60 ft. high, producing lvs. and fls. at the same time: 

 lvs. 8-20x4-9 in., obovate-oblong, cuspidate or obtuse, 

 leathery, glabrous: fls. solitary, terminal ; sepals 3-5, 

 purple outside; petals about 6: fr. 4-6 in. long. Hima- 

 layas. B.M. 7392. vy M. 



TALlNUM (possibly a native name in Senegal). Por- 

 tulaeacea*. A dozen or more species of fleshy herbs 

 widely scattered in the warmer regions. With age 

 they sometimes become woody at the base. Lvs. alter- 

 nate or subopposite, flat: fls. small, in terminal cymes, 

 racemes or panicles, rarely solitary, axillary or lateral; 

 sepals 2; petals 5, hypogynous, ephemeral; stamens 5- 

 many: ovary many-ovuled; style 3-cut or 3-grooved at 

 apex; capsule globose or ovoid, chartaceous, 3-valved; 

 seeds subglobose or laterally compressed, somewhat 

 kidney-shaped, shining. 



patens, Willd. Erect subshrub: stem almost sim- 

 ple, 1-2 ft. high, leafy to the middle, where the panicle 

 begins: lvs. mostly opposite, oval, abruptly tapering at 

 the base: panicle terminal, long, leafless, bearing di- 

 chotomous cymes: fls. carmine; petals 3 lines long; 

 stamens about 15-20. West Indies and east coast of 

 S. Amer. to Buenos Ayres. Var. variegatum, Hort. 

 ("Tolinium variegatum," Hort. Basflla rariegata, 

 Hort.), is the plant described as Sweet Malabar Vine 

 in Vol. 1, page 133, of this work. yy jj 



triangnlare, Willd. Lvs. alternate, obovate-lanceo- 

 late: cymes corymbif erous : pedicels 3-cornered (in T. 

 patens they are filiform): fls. red or white. West 

 Indies. Brazil. Peru. Var. crassiiolium, Hort. ( T. 

 crassifdlium, Hort.), is said to be taller and more 

 branched : lvs. larger, often emarginate and mucronate. 



Talinum patens, var. variegatum, is a handsome 

 greenhouse shrub, with foliage marked white and some- 

 times also pink. The young stems are pink and succu- 

 lent, but they become woody with age. The plant is 

 allied to Portulaca and will endure much heat and 

 drought, but is very impatient of overwatering and 

 lack of drainage. The plants bloom freely, the fls. be- 

 ing small, light pink and followed hv small, yellow cap- 

 sules filled with an indefinite number of little brown 

 seeds. Some prefer to retain the sprays of blossom, 

 but to make the best show of foliage the flower-shoots 

 should he cut off as soon as they appear. Talinum is 

 a satisfactory house plant. It should be placed in a 

 window with a northern exposure or in some other 

 shady position. Talinum may also be planted out dur- 

 ing the summer. TY. q Steele. 



TALIPOT PALM. See Corypha umbraculifera. 



TALLOW SHRUB. Myrica eerifera. TALLOW 

 TREE, Chinese. Sapium sebiferum. 



TALLOW WOOD Eucalyptus microcorys. 



TAMARACK. See Lar 

 TAMARIND. See Tar, 



Indus 



TAMARlNDOS (From Arabic, meaning "Indian date"). 

 Legumindsce. The Tamarind, Fig. 2461, is an exception- 

 ally beautiful and useful tropical tree. It attains a great 

 height, has acacia-like foliage and yellow flowers about 

 an inch across in clusters of 8 or 10. The Tamarind is 

 cultivated everywhere in the tropics but its native 

 country is uncertain, probably either Africa or India. 

 As an ornamental shade tree it is considered by trav- 

 elers as one of the noblest in the tropics. Hooker 



2461. Tamarind — Tamarind 

 Indica (XX). 



has well described its "vast, dense and bushy head of 

 branches, thickly clothed with light and feathery foli- 

 age." The Tamarind is grown out of doors in southern 

 Fla. and Calif, and young plants are said to be desir- 

 able for the decoration of windows and conservatories 

 in northern countries. 



The pods of the Tamarind, which are thick, linear 

 and 3-6 in. long, contain a pleasant acid pulp much 

 used throughout the tropics as the basis of a cooling 

 drink. The pulp is also used in medicine, being rich in 

 formic and butyric acids. It is laxative and refrigerant, 

 and is also used to prepare a gargle for sore throat. 

 The pulp of the Tamarind is generally called the 

 "fruit" or "Tamarind" and the pod is spoken of as the 

 "shell." In the East Indies the shell is removed and 

 the pulp simply pressed together into a mass. The 

 Tamarinds of the Malayan Archipelago are considered 

 better than those of India. They are preserved without 

 sugar, being merely dried in the sun. They are ex- 

 ported from one island to another and when sent to 

 Europe are cured in salt. In the West Indies the fruit 

 is prepared by removing the shell and placing alternate 

 layers of fruit and sugar in a jar and then pouring 

 boiling syrup over the mass. McPadyen says that in 



