A C H 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



A C H 



55 



Achras; a genus of the class Hexandria, order Monogynia. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth six-leaved; leaf- 

 lets ovate, concave, erect; outer broader, shorter; inner 

 coloured. Corolla : one petalled, ovate, of the same height 

 with the calix : border cut into six subovate flat divisions ; 

 scales at the jaw of the corolla equal in length to the divi- 

 sions, narrower, spreading, emarginate. Stamina : filamenta 

 short, awl-shaped, at the jaws of the corolla, alternate with 

 the divisions, bent inwards ; antherse sharp. Pistil : germen 

 roundish, flatted ; style awl-shaped, longer than the corolla ; 

 stigma obtuse. Pericarp: a globose very succulent pome, 

 with twelve cells. Seeds: solitary, ovate, shining, scarred 

 on one side, and pointed at the base. ESSENTIAL CHARAC- 

 TER. Calix: six-leaved. Corolla: ovate, sexfid, with six 

 scales alternate, more within. Pome: ten-celled. Seeds: 

 solitary, with a scar on the edge, and a tail or a process at 

 the top. The trees of this genus are natives of very warm 

 countries, and cannot be preserved in England unless they 

 are placed in the warmest stoves, and managed with great 

 care. The species are, 



1. Achras Mammosa ; Mammee Sapota. This has a sixth 

 part less in the parts of fructification than the other species 

 of this genus. It is also called nippled Sapota, or American 

 Marmalade ; it grows in America, to the height of thirty- 

 five or forty feet, having a straight trunk covered with an 

 ash-coloured bark. The flowers are cream-coloured, and 

 are succeeded by large oval or top-shaped fruit, covered 

 with a brownish skin, under which is a thick pulp of a rus- 

 set-colour, very luscious, called natural marmalade, from 

 its resemblance to marmalade of quinces. This tree is com- 

 monly planted in gardens for the fruit, in Jamaica, Barbadoes, 

 Cuba, and most of the West India islands. It is esteemed 

 one of the best timber trees in Jamaica. The bark of this 

 and the following species is called Cortex Jamaicensis, or 

 Jamaica bark. It is an excellent astringent, but very dif- 

 ferent from the Jesuits' bark, for which it was mistaken, 

 and given to the negroes, with very ill effect, and has been 

 also tried in England. There is a wild Mammee, which 

 bears a fruit of no value ; but the tree is straight, tall, and 

 tough, and therefore principally used for masts. 



2. Achras Sapota; Common Sapota. Flowers solitary; 

 leaves lanceolate-ovate. A large, tall, straight tree, with- 

 out knots or branches for sixty or seventy feet or more. The 

 fruit is bigger than a quince, round, and covered with a 

 thick grey rind : it tastes and smells well : the flesh is 

 yellow as a carrot, with two large rough stones, each bigger 

 than an almond, in the middle ; the kernels of which are 

 bitter, and may be used in strengthening emulsions. This 

 tree is larger and taller than the preceding species. 



3. Achras Dissccta ; Cloven-flowered Sapota. Flowers 

 crowded ; corollas cloven into eight parts ; leaves obovate, 

 bluntly notched at the end. This is a lofty tree, with a 

 thick upright trunk. The flowers are white ; and all its 

 herbaceous parts milky. In Malabar it is cultivated for the 

 fruit, which is succulent, and of a sweetish acid flavour. 

 The leaves bruised, and boiled with the root of Curcuma and 

 the leaves of ginger, are used for catapalsms to tumors. 

 It is supposed to be a native of the Philippine Islands, and 

 also to grow in China ; Forster found it flowering in Sep- 

 tember upon the island of Tongatabu. 



4. Achras Salicifolia ; Willow-leaved Sapota. Flowers 

 crowded ; leaves lanceolate-ovate, acuminate. This species 

 is called the White Bully-tree, or Galimeta-wood, in Ja- 

 maica, where it grows to a considerable height, commonly 

 strajght and tapering, and most frequently found in the 

 lower lands. The wood is pale yellow, and reckoned good 



timber, but is mostly used in such parts of the building as 

 are least exposed to the weather. 



Achyranthes ; a genus of the class Pentandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth, outer three- 

 leaved, lanceolate, acute, permanent ; inner five-leaved^ 

 permanent. Corolla : none ; nectary of five valves, surround- 

 ing the germen, bearded at the top, concave, caducous. 

 Stamina : filamenta filiform, the length of the corolla ; an- 

 therae ovate, incumbent. Pistil : germen superior, turbinate ; 

 style filiform, the length of the stamina ; stigma bifid, 

 villose. Pericarp : capsule roundish, one-celled, not gaping. 

 Seed : single, oblong. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: five- 

 leaved. Corolla : none. Stigma : bifid. Seeds : solitary. 

 These plants have not much beauty to recommend them ; 

 they are preserved in botanic gardens, and the greater num- 

 ber must be placed in a stove, to preserve them through 

 the winter. The species are, 



1. Achyranthes Aspera ; Rough Achyranthes. Stem shrub- 

 by, erect ; calices reflex, pressed to the spike. It is found 

 in Sicily, Malabar, Ceylon, Jamaica, und almost every where 

 within the tropics. It has been long known in England, and 

 may be raised on a hot-bed from the seeds ; and when the 

 plants have acquired strength, they may be removed into the 

 full ground, where the flowers will appear in July, and the 

 fruit ripen in September. '-" If kept in pots, set into a warm 

 green-house in winter, they will live two or three years. 



2. Achyranthes Lappacea ; Burry Achyranthes. Stem 

 shrubby, diffused, prostrate ; spikes interrupted ; lateral 

 flowers having a bundle of hooked bristles on each side. 

 It is a lofty plant, native of Malabar and Ceylon. 



3. Achyranthes Muricata ; Prickly Achyranthes, Stem 

 shrubby, patulous ; leaves alternate ; flowers in remote 

 ovate spikes ; calices squarrose. It is a native of India. 



4. Achyranthes Patula; Spreading Achyranthes. Stem 

 shrubby, patulous, pubescent ; flowers in orbicular spikes, 

 hedgehog-hooked. This plant is three feet high. In a state of 

 sleep, the opposite leaves are bent down under the branch, and 

 approximate to the under surface. Native of the East Indies. 



5. Achyranthes Alternifolia ; Alternate-leaved Achyranthes, 

 Stem herbaceous, erect ; flowers in subglobular burrs. The 

 flowers have two stigmas ; the germen is globose ; and the 

 style purple. Native of the East Indies. 



6. Achyranthes Corymbosa; Corymbed Achyranthes. 

 Leaves fourfold, linear ; panicle dichotomous, corymbed. 

 This herb is a foot in height ; its stem is round and jointed. 

 A native of Ceylon. 



7. Achyranthes Dichotoma ; Dichotomous Achyranthes. 

 Stems suffruticose ; leaves opposite, linear, flat, acute ; 

 cyme dichotomous. It resembles the preceding species ; 

 and is a native of Virginia. 



8. Achyranthes Prostrata ; Prostrate Achyranthes. Stems 

 prostrate, shrubby ; spikes oblong ; floscules in pairs, with 

 a hooked fascicle on each side. The stems of this species 

 are often creeping. It is a native of India. 



9. Achyranthes Nivea ; Wliite, or Snowy Achyranthes. 

 Leaves verticillated, ovate, tomentose ; corymbs compact, 

 dichotomous ; flowers corolled. This species, which will 

 live in a green-house, was introduced into England in 1~8O, 

 from the Canary Islands. It flowers from May to July. 



10. Achyranthes Altissima ; Tall Achyranthes. Stem suf- 

 fruticose, scandent; panicles terminating and axillary, 

 branched. The stalks of this species climb up trees to the 

 height of twenty feet. Browne calls it Bastard Hoop-withe. 

 It is common among low bushes about Spanish Town and 

 Kingston in Jamaica, and in the woods of St. Domingo. 



11. Achyranthes Polygonoides j Many -cornered Achy- 



