683 



HIB 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



H I B 



ef a very musky odour, so that a few of them are sufficient 

 to perfume a whole room. They may undoubtedly be used 

 in scenting powders and pomatums, instead of the animal 

 musk, which is a scarce and dear commodity; and are ac- 

 cordingly put to that use in Paris. In Arabia and Egypt, 

 they grind these seeds, and mix the powder with their coffee, 

 to render it more agreeable to the head and stomach. The 

 officinal names are, Abelmoschus, from the Arabic Ab-el- 

 rnosch, grain or seed of musk ; and Bummia Moschata. These 

 seeds seem to have a claim, as a medicine, to the cordial and 

 nervine virtues, experienced from most other substances of 

 that class. In its native country it is biennial, but seldom 

 survives a year here. Native of the East and West Indies. 



31. Hibiscus Esculentus; Eatable Hibiscus. Leaves five- 

 parted, pedate ; inner calices bursting at the side. This 

 rises with a soft herbaceous stalk, from three to five feet 

 high, dividing at top into many branches. The flowers are 

 axillary, of a pale sulphur colour, with dark purple bottoms ; 

 small, and of a very short duration, opening with the rising 

 sun, but fading long before noon in warm weather. The 

 capsules are of different forms, in some not thicker than a 

 man's finger, and five or six inches long ; in some very thick, 

 but not so long; in some erect, and in others inclined. It is 

 common in the West Indies, where the inhabitants cultivate 

 it for the capsules, which they gather green, to put into their 

 soups and pepper-pots. They are generally boiled sepa- 

 rately, and added just before the messes are taken off the 

 fire: but the seeds may be boiled in broth, like barley, 

 or any other ingredient, for they are not so mucilaginous. 

 The pods, boiled and buttered, make a rich dish: but 

 they are used only in private families in this form. They 

 are full of a nutritive mucilage. It is known in Jamaica by 

 the name of the Okro plant; in China and Cochin-china, it 

 is cultivated in gardens, for the beauty and colour of the 

 flower, which is nevertheless void of scent : with us it is an- 

 nual, and flowers in June and July. It will live in a warm 

 border, and thrive for a time in a good season ; but with the 

 first cold or bad weather, the leaves drop off: it seldom 

 flowers, and never perfects seeds ; so that it requires shelter, 

 especially in cold wet weather. 



32. Hibiscus Clypeatus ; Shielded Hibiscus. Leaves cor- 

 date, angular; capsules turbinate, truncate, hispid. This 

 shrub is the height of a man ; stem upright, branched, round, 

 pubescent ; peduncles one-flowered ; corollas pale, sometimes 

 dusky yellow. It is found, but not in abundance, in coppices 

 near the coast of the island of Jamaica, where it is commonly 

 called Congo Mahoe ; the negroes affirming, that it came 

 originally from Africa. See the third species. 



33. Hibiscus Vitifolius ; Vine-leaved Hibiscus. Leaves 

 five-angled, sharp, serrate ; stem unarmed, a foot and half 

 high, somewhat tomentose ; flowers drooping; peduncles 

 axillary, solitary, one-flowered, leafless, the length of the 

 leaves ; corolla large, yellow, with a dark purple base : an- 

 nual. Native of the East Indies. See the third species. 



34. Hibiscus Zeilanicus. Leaves cordate-hastate ; pedun- 

 cles alternate, one-flowered, jointed ; corolla flesh-coloured. 

 Native of the island of Ceylon. For its propagation and 

 culture, see the third species. 



35. Hibiscus Virginicus. Lower leaves cordate, acumi- 

 nate, serrate, upper hastate ; stem green, upright ; peduncles 

 one-flowered, solitary, axillary, forming something of a naked 

 raceme at top. Native of salt marshes in Virginia. See the 

 first species. 



36. Hibiscus Pentacarpus ; Five-seeded Hibiscus. Lower 

 leave* cordate, angular; upper subhaatate'; flowers nodding 

 a little; pistil drooping; root perennial; stem three feet high, 



narrow; peduncles axillary, on the top of the plant, solitary, 

 nuked, longer than the petiole, one-flowertcl ; corolla spread- 

 ing, pale red, nodding a little ; capsule globular. It grows 

 near Venice, in marshy places, and was also found near 

 Astracan. Though the roots will live in the open ground, 

 yet our summers are not warm enough to bring it to flower : 

 the seeds therefore should be sown in a hot-bed, and when the 

 plants are fit to remove, they should each be planted in a sepa- 

 rate small pot, and plunged into a moderate hot-bed, allowing 

 them sufficient air in warm weather. It may stand in the open 

 air in summer, but will seldom flower, unless kept in a deep 

 frame, where it will continue, and flower for several years. 



37. Hibiscus Hastatus. Hoary : leaves oblong, simple, 

 three-lobed at the base, quite entire ; raceme terminating. 

 Native of the Society Isles. See the third species. 



38. Hibiscus Fraternus. Leaves three-lobed ; outer calices 

 with round rays, mucronate and concave at the tip ; stem 

 herbaceous, smooth and even, as is the whole plant; corolla 

 yellow.. Native of Surinam. See the third species. 



39. Hibiscus jEthiopicus ; Dwarf Wedije-leaved Hibiscus. 

 Leaves subcuneate, slightly three-toothed, the upper ones 

 opposite. This is a small shrub: flowers terminating, pe- 

 duncled, solitary, the peduncles shorter than the leaf. Na- 

 tive of the Cape of Good Hope. For its culture and propa- 

 gation, see the third and fifth species. 



40. Hibiscus Trionum ; Bladder Hibiscus. Leaves three- 

 parted, gashed ; capsule ovate ; inner calix inflated ; seeds 

 several. It rises with a branching stalk, a foot and a half 

 high, having many short spines, which are soft. The flowers 

 come out at the joints of the stalks, upon pretty long pe- 

 duncles ; each flower is composed of five petals, which spread 

 open at the top, and form an open bell-shaped flower : these 

 have dark purple bottoms, but are of a pale sulphur colour 

 above, tinged sometimes partially with pale purple on the 

 outside, where they are also ribbed ; the corolla becomes 

 wholly purple after it has folded up again. This is an annual 

 plant, growing naturally in some parts of Italy and Austria. 

 It has been long known in the English gardens by the title 

 of Venice Mallow : Gerarde and Parkinson call it Mallow, 

 or Flower of an Hour, and Good Night at Noon, or Good 

 Night at Nine, for they say it opens about eight o'clock, and 

 shuts up again at nine. The flowers are certainly of short 

 duration, and in hot weather continue but a few hours open : 

 however, there is a succession of them daily for a considerable 

 time, in June, July, and August. There are several varieties: 

 two are natives of the Cape of Good Hope. This plant is 

 propagated by seeds, which should be sown where the plants 

 are designed to remain ; for they do not bear transplanting 

 well. If the seeds are sown in autumn, the plants, coming 

 up early in the spring, will flower in the summer, and those 

 which are sown early in the spring, will succeed them ; so that 

 by sowing them at three different seasons, they may be con- 

 tinued in succession till, the frost stops them. They only re- 

 quire clearing from weeds, and thinning them where they are 

 too close ; and if the seeds are permitted to scatter, the plants 

 will come up full as well as when sown, so that it will main- 

 tain its situation, unless it be weeded out. 



41. Hibiscus Elatus. Leaves cordate, roundish, entire; 

 peduncles very short, one-flowered; calix ten-toothed. This 

 is a tree, growing to a considerable size ; the wood is of a 

 dark olive colour; the bark pretty smooth, and the trunk 

 tall and straight: the flowers are large and open, not unlike 

 those of the yellow Lily either in size or appearance. It is 

 reckoned excellent timber. All the tender parts of the tree 

 abound with a delicate mucilage, which may be used in- 

 stead of the more common medicines of this tribe. The bark 



