118 



ARE 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL ; 



ARE 



Corolla : one-petalled ; tube short, length of the falix ; border 

 five-parted : parts lanceelate, acute, spreading, at length 

 reflex. Stamina : lilamenta fi\e, subulate, upright ; anthera 

 acute, upright, hitid at the base, converging at top round 

 the style. Pistil: germen superior, ovate, very small; style 

 subulate, longer than the stamina, upright, at length ascend- 

 ing ; stigma simple, acute, permanent. Periearp: berry round- 

 ish, large. Seed : single, roundish, covered with a hard brittle 

 bark, like a nut. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Cater five-cleft. 

 Corolla: one-petalled, five-parted, reflex. Stigma: simple. 

 Berry : roundish, one-seeded. The species are, 



1. Ardisia Excelsa ; Laurel-leaved Ardisia or Aderno. Ra- 

 cemes axillary, simple ; leaves obovate, cartilaginous, ser- 

 rate at the edge. Native of Madeira. 



2. Ardisia Zeylanica. Flowers terminating, panicled ; 

 leaves ovate, subpetioled, quite entire ; stem arboreous. 

 Native of Ceylon, where the berries, which are esteemed 

 cooling and refreshing, are given in ardent fevers. 



3. Ardisia Tinifolia. Flowers panicled ; leaves elliptic, 

 entire, nerved ; stem arboreous ; flowers purplish. A tree 

 thirty feet high, and a native of Jamaica. 



4. Ardisia Coriacea. Flowers panicled ; leaves oblong, 

 entire, veinless, coriaceous. Native of the West Indies. 



5. Ardisia Serrulata. Flowers panicled ; leaves ovate, 

 lanceolate, acuminate, wrinkled ; stem shrubby, pubescent. 

 Native of St. Domingo. 



6. Ardisia Lateriflora. Racemes lateral or axillary, com- 

 pound ; flowers umbelled ; leaves oblong, acuminate, quite 

 entire ; stem shrubby. Grows in the West Indies. 



7. Ardisia Parasitica. Racemes axillary, simple ; leaves 

 sessile, lanceolate-ovate, marked with lines ; stem shrubby. 

 Native of Montserrat. 



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

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Cater . perianth five-parted, 

 erect, acute, small, permanent. Corolla : one-petalled, 

 funnel-shaped ; tube cylindrical, a little curved inwards at 

 top; border five-parted, acute, spreading. Stamina: fila- 

 menta five, simple, shorter than the tube, and inserted into 

 the lower part of it; anthera oblong, within the throat of 

 the corolla. Pistil : germen superior, ovate ; style filiform, 

 the length of the tube; stigma bifid, thickish. Pericarp: 

 berry globular-oval, two-celled. Seeds: solitary, oblong, 

 hard. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Corolla: one-petalled. Stig- 

 ma : bifid. Berry ; two-celled. Seeds : solitary. Only 



one species is known, viz. 



1. Arduina Bispinosa ; Two-spined Arduina. A low 

 shrubby plant, seldom rising more than five feet high. The 

 flowers are small, white, and have an agreeable smell, but 

 seldom come to seed in England. Native of the Cape of 

 Good Hope. It may be increased by cuttings planted in 

 July, and shaded from the sun, and must be preserved in 

 the green-house during autumn and winter. 



Areca ; a genus of the class Moncecia, order Enneandria; 

 ranking in the natural order of Palms. GENKKIC CHARAC- 

 TER. Male Flowers. Cater.- spathe bivalve; spadix branched. 

 Proper perianth three-leaved. Corolla : petals three, acu- 

 minate, rigid. Stamina: filamenta nine, the three outer 

 longer than the rest. Female Flowers : in the same spadix. 

 Cter .- spathe common with the males. Proper perianth 

 three-leaved. Corolla : petals three, acuminate, rigid. Pe- 

 ricarp : berry subovate, fibrose, surrounded at the base with 

 the imbricate calix. Seed : ovate. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. 

 Corolla: three-petalled. Male: nine stamina. Female: a 

 drupe, with an imbricate calix. For the propagation and 

 culture, see Palm*. The species are, 



1. Areca Catechu. Fronds pinnate ; leaflets folded back, 

 upposite, end-bitten. This Palm is forty or fifty feet high, 



the trunk six or eight inches in diameter. The fruit does not 

 fall off even when ripe. The Indians call it C/ioluol, and pre- 

 sent it to all their guests green when it can be procured, and 

 stripped of the outer rind, but otherwise dried. They are 

 continually chew intr it, and swallowing their saliva tinctured 

 with the juice ; which is esteemed to be an excellent anti- 

 scorbutic for the gums, and a strengtheuer of the stomach 

 and appetite. It is also used in constipations of the bowels, 

 and in worm cases. A decoction of the nuts is employed in 

 dyeing, and is supposed both to set and enliven the colours 

 A native of the East Indies and of Cochin-china. 



1 2. Areca Oryzajformis. Fronds pinnate; leaflets smooth, 

 three-nerved. A straight slender Palm, ten feet high, and 

 only an inch and half in diameter ; fruit smaller than the 

 preceding. Native of Cochin-china, Amboyna, &c. 



Areca Oleracea ; Cabbage Tree. Leaflets quite entire. 

 This is the loftiest of the American Palms. The West In- 

 dians cut off the green top of the trunk, take out the white 

 heart of two or three inches in diameter, consisting of the 

 leaves closely folded together, and eat it raw with pepper 

 and salt, or fried with butter; it has somewhat the taste of 

 an artichoke. The best cabbage is obtained when the tree 

 is young. The outward part of the tree is used for lathing, 

 and boards for outhouses ; the seeds serve to feed the wild 

 hogs in the season ; and the spathes are frequently made into 

 mats by the negroes. The Barbadoes Cabbage-tree, says 

 Browne, is the most beautiful tree I have ever seen : it 

 grows to a very considerable size, and may be esteemed the 

 queen of the woods. 



Arenaria; a genus of the class Decandria, order Trigynia. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Cater : perianth five-leaved ; leaf- 

 lets oblong, acuminate, spreading, permanent. Corolla : 

 petals five, ovate, entire. Stamina : filamenta ten, subulate, 

 five alternately interior; antherae roundish. Pistil: germen 

 ovate ; styles from erect reflex ; stigmas thickish. Pericarp : 

 capsule ovate, covered, one-celled, three or six valved. Seeds : 

 very many, kidney-shaped. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Cater . 

 five-leaved, expanding. Petals : five, entire. Capsule : one- 

 celled, many-seeded. The species are, 



1. Arenaria Peploides; .Sea Sandwort, or Chickiceed. 

 Leaves ovate-acute, fleshy; root creeping, perennial. Com- 

 mon on sandy coasts in the north of Europe ; as, near Sheer- 

 ness in Kent, Yarmouth in Norfolk; Southwold in Suffolk, 

 and Leith in Scotland : it flowers in June and July. 



"2. Arenaria Tetraquetra ; Sijiiare Sandwort. Leaves 

 pointed, recurved ; flowers aggregate , they are white, ami 

 grow live or six together. Native of the Pyrenean and Ar- 

 ragon mountains ; flowering in July or August. 



3. Arenaria Biflora ; Tvto-fmcered Sandwort. Leaves obo- 

 vate, obtuse; stems procumbent ; peduncles two-flowered, 

 lateral. Native of the high Alps of Savoy and Switzerland. 



4. Arenaria Lateriflora; Side-flowering Sandwort. Leaves 

 ovate, obtuse ; peduncles lateral, two-flowered. Discovered 

 in Siberia. 



5. Arenaria Trinervia; Plainfain-leai-ed Chickweed or 

 Sandicvrt. Leaves ovate, acute; petiolate-nerved. This 

 species has an annual root; and is not very common, grow- 

 ing only in and about woods, and flowering in May and 

 June. 



6. Arenaria C'iliata ; Cilinte Sandwort. Leaves ovate, 

 nerved, ciliate, acute. Biennial ; flowering from March till 

 August. Found upon Mount Cenis, and in the turf of the 

 mountains of Dnuphiny, and by Sir Joseph Banks in Iceland. 



7. Arenaria Balcarica; Muj'irca Sandwort. Leaves ovate , 

 shining, rather fleshy ; stem creeping ; peduncles one- 

 flowered : perennial. Native of Majorca and Minorca. 



8. Arenaria Multicaulis ; Many-stalked Sandmort. Leaves 



