M G O 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



M S C 



axillary, calices smooth. This is a shrub six feet high, with 

 panicles terminating and axillary, leafy, compound, and 

 stiff ; the flowers white. Found on the edges of woods in 

 the island of Martinico. It flowers in November. 



2. JJgiphila Elata. Leaves eliptic, acuminate, membra- 

 naceous, panicles terminating; calices pubescent. This 

 plant is a climber, and frequently rises to the height of six 

 or seven feet or more. It is a native of Jamaica. 



There are two other species, Foetida and Trifida, with 

 leaves ovate-lanceolate, the first having them hirsute be- 

 neath, the last smooth. 



JEgopodium ; a genus of the class Pentandria, order Digy- 

 nia. -GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : umbel universal mani- 

 fold, convex : partial, similar, but flat. Involucre, none. 

 Proper perianth scarcely observable. Corolla : universal uni- 

 form, with every floscule fertile ; particular with live petals, 

 obovitte, concave, inflex at the tip, and equal. Stamina : 

 filaments simple, twice as long as the corolla, with roundish 

 anthera?. Pistilla : germ inferior ; styles simple, erect, the 

 length of the corollas, with headed stigmas. Pericarp : 

 'none. Fruit : ovate-oblong, streaked, bipartite. Seeds ; 

 two, ovate-oblong, convex and streaked on one side, flat on 

 the other. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Fruit : ovate-oblong, 

 streaked. One species only is known, viz. 



1. jEgopodium Podagraria ; Herb Gerard, Gout-weed, Ash- 

 weed, or Ground-ash, and Wild Masterwort. This weed is not 

 uncommon in hedges, orchards, &c. It is a perennial plant ; 

 and, as it is a great creeper, cannot be admitted into gardens 

 without great caution. It requires no care, but to plant it in 

 the shade, and confine the roots. The stem grows two or three 

 feet high. The flowers are white, and appear from May to 

 July. Although it is aromatic, like most umbellate plants, 

 it is not admitted into medical use ; nor has it any title to its 

 name of Goittweed, though formerly used by the Germans to 

 assuage the pains of the gout and piles. Linneus says it is 

 eaten in Sweden, boiled for greens, when tender in the spring. 

 Culpeper says, " It is not to be supposed that Goutwood hath 

 its name for nothing, but upon experiment to heal the gout 

 and sciatica ; as also joint-aches, and other cold griefs. The 

 very bearing of it about one easeth the pains of the gout, and de- 

 fends him that bears it from disease .'" Meyrick and Hill, are, 

 however, more reasonable : the former 'calls the roots and 

 leaves " a good external application for the sciatica and other 

 pains, whether they are employed as a fomentation or a poul- 

 tice ; and though many extol their efficacy in the gout, he 

 says they are well omitted in that complaint, as they are sel- 

 dom productive of any lasting good effects, and may some- 

 times be the occasion of much distress and mischief." The 

 latter, (Hill) recommends the root, and fresh buds of the 

 leaves, as excellent fomentations and poultices for pains, and 

 says he has seen a good effect from a quantity of the leaves and 

 roots boiled soft together, and applied to the hip in the sciatica, 

 keeping a fresh quantity hot to renew the other as it grew 

 cold, but he advises not to make any use of it for the gout. 



SEgopricon ; a genus of the class Moncecia, order Monan- 

 dria. GKXF.RIC CHARACTER. Male flowers small, in an ovate 

 ament. Calix : one-leafed, tubulous, trifid. Corolla : none. 

 Stamina .- filament one, longer than the calix, erect ; with an 

 ovate anthera. Female flowers upon the same plant, solitary. 

 Calix and Corolla .- same as above in the male. Pistil : germ 

 ovate, superior ; styles three, divaricate ; with simple perma- 

 nent stigmas. Pericarp : a globular berry, tricoccous and 

 trilocular within, with a bifid point. (Capsule tricoccous 

 elastic.) Seeds .- solitary, angular on one side. ESSENTIAL 

 CHARACTER. Male, an ament. Calix .- common trifid ; par- 

 tial tubulous. Anthera : four-lobed. Female flowers, solitary. 



Calix : as in the male. Corolla-, none. Styles: three, coadunate 

 at the base. Capsule; tricoccous. One species only is known. 



1. JEgopricon Betulinum. A tree, is very much branched. 

 Branchlets alternate, bent different ways, leafy, flowering at 

 the ends. Bark somewhat wrinkled, except in the younger 

 shoots. Dalberg noticed it at Surinam ; and Aublet in Guiana. 



JEschynomene , a genus of the Diadelphia class, order De- 

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

 bell-shaped, sub-bilabiate ; lips equal, upper bifid, lower 

 three-toothed. Corolla: papilionaceous; banner subcordate, 

 scarcely gaping, large ; wings subovate, obtuse, shorter than 

 the banner; keel lunate, acuminate, the length of the wings. 

 Stamina; filaments ten, (single and nine-cleft;) anthers 

 small. Pistil : germ oblong, villous, columnar ; style sub- 

 ulate, rising ; stigmas simple, rather obtuse. Pericarp ; le- 

 gume, long, flat, jointed, rough, one-celled, opening at the 

 truncate joints. Seeds : solitary between the joints, kidney- 

 shaped. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix : bilabiate. Le- 

 gume: with truncate one-seeded joints. All the plants of this 

 genus are propagated by seeds, which should be sown on a 

 hot-bed early in the spring ; and when the plants have strength 

 enough to be removed, they should be put each into a sepa- 

 rate small pot, filled with light earth, and plunged into a fresh 

 hot-bed, from whence, as they advance in growth, they should 

 be shifted into larger pots, but not be too large, otherwise 

 the plants will not thrive. - The species are, 



1. ^Eschynomene Grandiflora; Great-flowered 



mene. Stem arborescent, flowers very large, legumes filiform. 

 It is a shrub from ten to fifteen feet in height. It is a na- 

 tive of the East Indies ; and called Pois du Due de Choisuel 

 by the French. It has been cultivated in England, and is fre- 

 quent in the gardens at Jamaica ; domestic fowls are partial 

 to the seeds. It is difficult to preserve this plant through the 

 winter in thiscountry. The seedling plants should be brought 

 forward on a hot-bed, and then plunged into the bark-bed in 

 the stove, where, if they be tenderly treated, they will sur- 

 vive the winter, and flower in the summer following. 



2. ^ischynomene Arborea; Arborescent SEschynomene. 

 Stem aborescent, smooth ; joints of the legumes semi-cor- 

 date, smooth. This plant attains the height of six or seven 

 feet. It requires the same treatment as the preceding spe- 

 cies, flowers early in the summer, and ripens its seeds in the 

 autumn. As their stalks are succulent, they must be kept 

 dry in winter, otherwise they are very apt to rot. 



3. Jlschynomene Coccinea ; Scarlet-flowered JEschyno- 

 mene. Stem arborescent ; leaves pinnate ; leaflets numerous, 

 linear, obtuse, dusty ; legumes compressed, equal. This spe- 

 cies is smaller and lower than the first, but the head and 

 leaves are more dense. Native of the East Indies ; and of 

 ,the islands Otaheite and Huaheine in the South Seas. 



4. ^Eschynomene Aspera; Rough-stalked sEschynomene. 

 Stem herbaceous, rugged ; joints of the legumes rugged in 

 the middle. This species reaches the height of four or five 

 feet, with a single herbaceous stem, which is in some parts 

 rough. It is a native of the East Indies. 



5. ^Eschynomene Americana; Hairy JEschynomene. Stem 

 herbaceous, hispid; joints of the legumes semicordate ; leaf- 

 lets acuminate, bractes, ciliate. The root of this species is 

 annual, its stem one, two, and sometimes even three feet 

 high. It is somewhat sensative, folding its leaves together 

 during the night, and at the approach of rain. It is found 

 in dry pastures, on the south side of the island of Jamaica, 

 of which it is a native. Propagated in England in the same 

 manner as the first species. 



6. .aischynomene Indica ; Indian JSschynomene. Stem 

 herbaceous, smooth ; legumes smooth, swelling on one 



