THE 



UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



OR, 



BOTANICAL, MEDICAL, AND AGRICULTURAL 



DICTIONARY. 



VOL. I. 



A B R 



A-BEL-Tree, or Abelc-Tree. See Populus. 



Abies ; the Fir-tree. See Pinus. 



Abroma ; a genus of the class Polyadelphia, order Dbde- 

 candi ia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth five-leaved ; 

 leaflets spear-shaped, acute, spreading, permanent, Corolla: 

 petals five, larger than the calix ; claws obovate, arched, 

 concave, obtuse, hairy at the end, erect, inserted at the 

 base into the nectary ; borders oval, obtuse, spreading, cili- 

 ate, contracted at the base into very short, ciliate, recurved, 

 small claws, upon which the principal claws are placed. Nec- 

 tary, short, small, pitcher-shaped, divided into five segments, 

 which are obcordate, hairy, erect, recurved and arched, 

 alternate with the claws of the petals. Stamina : filamenta 

 five, membranaceous, very small, growing on the nectary 

 between the segments, emarginate-trifid ; anthers on each 

 filament three, twin, kidney-form. Pistil : germen almost 

 cylindrical; styles five, awl-shaped, approximating; stigmas 

 acute. Pericarp: capsule egg-shaped, membranaceous, vein- 

 ed, five-winged, five-beaked, five-celled, gaping at top into 

 five parts between the beaks ; partitions folded. Seeds: 

 very many, nearly egg-shaped, with an oblique seed-coat, 

 fixed in a double row to the central edge of the partitions, 

 which is thickened, and longitudinally bearded. Receptacle 

 of the seeds : none. ESSENTIAL, CHARACTER. Pistils: five. 

 Capsule: five-celled, one-valved, gaping at top. Seeds: 



subovate, incompletely arilled. This genus contains the 



following species : 



1. Abroma Augusta; Maple-leaved Abroma, with leaves 

 heart-shaped or angular, sharply serrulate. A tree with a 

 straight trunk, yielding a gum when cut, and filled with a 

 white pith like the elder. It is a native of New South 

 Wales and the Philippine Islands ; and was introduced into 

 England about 1770. It is propagated by cuttings, but re- 

 quires a strong heat, and abundance of water. The seeds 

 will not easily ripen with us, and can seldom be obtained 

 ia a state fit for vegetation. 



2. Abroma Wheleri ; Wheler's Abroma. Its leaves are 

 spear egg-shaped, sharp-pointed, and slightly toothed. A 

 shrub native of the East Indies. It is unknown in 

 Europe. 



VOL. i. 5. 



A C A 



Abrus ; a genus of the class Diadelphia, order Decandria. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth one-leafed, bell- 

 shaped, obscurely four-lobed ; teeth blunt, the upper one 

 broadest. Corolla : papilionaceous ; banner roundish, en- 

 tire, ascending, flatted at the sides, longer than the wings 

 and keel ; wings oblong, blunt ; keel oblong, sickle- 

 shaped, gibbous, longer than the wings. Stamina : filamenta 

 nine, united into a sheath, cloven above, free at the end, 

 unequal, rising ; anthewe oblong, erect. 'Pistil : germen 

 cylindrical, hairy ; style subulate, rising shorter than the 

 stamina ; stigma in the form of a head, and small. Peri- 

 carp : legume like a rhomb, compressed, coriaceous, double- 

 valved, four or five celled, sharp-pointed, with a little awl- 

 shaped deflexed claw. Seeds: solitary, and nearly globu- 

 lar. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: obscurely four-lobed ; 

 the upper lobe broadest. Filamenta : nine, united into 

 a sheath at bottom, gaping at the back. Stigma : blunt. 

 Seeds .- subglobose. There is but one species. 



1. Abrus Precatorius, or Jamaica Wild Liquorice, which is 

 indigenous in the East and West Indies, Guinea, and 

 Egypt. The seeds of this plant are commonly strung, 

 and worn as ornaments by the natives of those countries. 

 Linneus says they are extremely deleterious, although they 

 are eaten in Egypt : however, authors agree that they are 

 the hardest and most indigestible of all the pulse tribe, 

 producing violent flatulencies in the bowels. This plant 

 may be propagated by seeds which have been soaked twelve 

 or fourteen hours in water, before they are sown, which 

 must be in a good hot-bed in the spring. If sown without 

 soaking, they frequently lie a whole year without vegetat- 

 ing, but will appear in a fortnight, if the seed be good and 

 well soaked, and the bed in a proper temperature of heat. 

 When the plants are two inches high, they should be trans- 

 planted each into a separate pot, filled with light earth. 

 They flower in the second year, and sometimes ripen their 

 seeds in England. 



Acatna, a thorn ; a genus of the class Tetrandria, order 

 Monogynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth four- 

 leaved ; leaflets ovate, concave, equal, permanent. Corolla : 

 none, unless the calix be termed one. Stamina : filamenta 

 O 



