418 



PSO 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



PSO 



ate, acute, tomentose underneath ; peduncles one-flowered. 

 Tliis has exactly the appearance of the preceding species, but 

 is rive times smaller in all its parts; being a shrub about two 

 feet high : fruit the size of a hazel nut. Native of Ceylon. 



3. Psidiurn Aromaticum; Aromatic Guava. Leaves ovate, 

 acuminate, smooth ; peduncles one-flowered, bracted. This 

 is a moderate tree, with a trunk about five feet in height, and 

 branching at the top in a scattered manner. The fruit is 

 globular, like a cherry, aromatic, and eatable. The bruised 

 leaves have the smell of Balm. It is a native of Cayenne 

 and Guiana, growing in woods, and flowering in the month 

 of October. 



4- Psidium Grandiflorum ; Great-lowered Guava. Leaves 

 ovate, acuminate, smooth ; peduncles one-flowered, bracted. 

 This also is a middling-sized tree, branching from the top in 

 an irregular manner. The flowers spring from the young 

 branches: they are large and showy, white, and have a very 

 agreeable odour. Native of the woods of Cayenne; where it 

 flowers in December, and produces the fruit, the seeds of 

 which are enveloped in a succulent pulp, in February. 



5. Psidium Decaspermum. Leaves ovate, acuminate, 

 pubescent ; peduncles one-flowered, bracted. This is a 

 smooth shrub. Fruit small, globular, rugged. It differs 

 from Guajava only in having all the seeds inserted, instead 

 of their being in every position; in their being straightish, and 

 not kidney-form ; and in having no partition whatever. Native 

 of Otaheite, and the other Society Islands. 



6. Psidium Pomiferum ; Red Guava. Leaves oblong- 

 lanceolate, pubescent underneath; peduncles three-flowered. 

 This has a pretty thick trunk, twenty feet in height, covered 

 wi^h a smooth bark, and towards the top dividing into many 

 iingular branches; fruit shaped like a pomegranate; crown 

 when ripe having an agreeable odour. Native of both Indies, 

 and of the woods of China and Cochin-china. In the latter 

 countries, according to Loureiro, the fruit is eatable, but 

 both the taste and smell of it is bad and unpleasant. The 

 roots and younger leaves are astringent, and esteemed useful 

 in curing fluxes, and strengthening the stomach. 



7. Psidium Guianense; African Guava. Leaves ovate, 

 quite entire, tomentose underneath; peduncles three-flow- 

 ered. A small, smooth tree: the fruit small, roundish, tawny 

 outside, deep red within, of a most grateful and exquisitely 

 sweet taste. Native of Prince's Island on the coast of 

 Guinea, and cultivated in San Domingo. 



8. Psidium Montanum ; Mountain Guava. Leaves oblong, 

 acuminate, crenulate, shining; peduncles many-flowered. 

 This is one of the largest trees in the woods of Jamaica, 

 growing frequently to the height of sixty or seventy feet, 

 with a proportioned thickness. The flowers are white, and 

 fragrant, resembling those of the White Guava : the fruit is 

 acid. It is an excellent timber wood, of a dark colour, and 

 curled grain, works easily, takes a fine polish, and makes 

 very beautiful walking-sticks. 



Psoralea ; a genus of the class Diadelphia, order Decan- 

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

 dotted with tubercles, five-cleft ; segments acute, equal, per- 

 manent; the lowest double the length of the others. Corolla : 

 papilionaceous, five-petalled ; standard roundish, emarginate, 

 rising; wings crescent-shaped, blunt, small; keel two-petal- 

 led, crescent-shaped, blunt. Stamina: filamenta diadelphous, 

 one single and bristle-shaped, nine united, ascending; antherse 

 roundish. Pistil: germen linear ; style awl-shaped, ascend- 

 ing, the length of the stamina; stigma blunt. Pericarp: 

 legume the length of the calix, compressed, ascending, acu- 

 minate. Seed: single, kidney-form. ESSENTIAL CHA- 

 RACTER. Calix: besprinkled with callous dots, the same 



length with the legume. Stamina. : in two distinct sets. 

 Legume : single-seeded, somewhat beaked, without valves. 

 The species are, 



1. Psoralea Rotundifolia; Round-leaved Psoralea. Leaves 

 simple, ovate, quite entire ; heads and bractes villose. 

 Native of the Cape. It only requires, like all its congeners 

 from the Cape, the protection of a green-house or glass-case. 

 See the second species. 



2. Psoralea Pinnata ; Wing-leaved Psoralea. Leaves pin- 

 nate, linear ; flowers axillary. It rises with a soft shrubby 

 stalk four or five feet high, much branched; leaves alternate, 

 stalked, dark-green; leaflets about an inch long, narrow; 

 stipules in pairs, ovate, pointed, flowers the size of the Labur- 

 num, blue, with white claws. It flowers during the greater 

 part of the summer, and the seeds ripen in autumn. Native 

 of the Cape. This is easily propagated by seeds sown upon 

 a moderate hot-bed. When the plants come up, they should 

 have much air and little heat; when they are of a size to re- 

 move, plant them in separate small pots filled with light earth. 

 Plunge them into the new bed, shading them from the sun 

 till they have taken new root, and gradually inure them to the 

 open air, into which they should be removed about the end 

 of May; and keep them abroad till October, then placing 

 them in the green-house. It may also be increased by cut- 

 tings of the young shoots, planted, during any of the sum- 

 mer months, on a bed of light earth, covering them close with 

 bell or hand glasses, shading them, and gently refreshing 

 them with water as the ground dries : when they have taken 

 root, harden them gradually, transplant them into small pots, 

 and treat them like the seedling plants. 



3. Psoralea Aculeata ; Prickly Psoralea. Leaves ternate ; 

 leaflets wedge-form, recurved, mucronate ; flowers axillary, 

 solitary, approximating. Found in ditches at the Cape. 



4. Psoralea Bracteata; Oval-spiked Psoralea. Leaves 

 ternate, obovate, recurved, mucronate; spikes ovate. It 

 flowers in June and July. The flowers are numerous at the 

 ends of the branches ; standard violet ; wings and keel blue. 

 Native of the Cape. 



5. Psoralea Spicata ; Long-spiked Psoralea. Leaves ter- 

 nate, oblong, blunt; spikes cylindric. Native of the Cape. 



6. Psoralea Angustifolia; Narrow-leaved Psoralea. Leaves 

 ternate, linear; peduncles axillary, solitary or trine, few-" 

 flowered. Native of the Cape. 



7. Psoralea Axillaris; Axillary Psoralea. Leaves ternate ; 

 leaflets lanceolate; peduncles axillary, one-flowered Native 

 of the Cape. 



8. Psoralea Stachydis. Leaves ternate, petioled ; leaflets 

 oblong, mucronate ; spikes terminating, interrupted ; calices 

 villose. Native of the Cape. 



9. Psoralea Aphylla; Leafless Psoralea. Leaves none; 

 stipules mucronate, very short, subimbricate towards the 

 flowers. The long leafless scaly branches terminate in a 

 longish cluster of several flowers, whose standard is blue, 

 the other petals white Native of the Ca-pe - . 



10. Psoralea Tenuifolia; Fine-leaved Psoralea. Lower 

 leaves ternate ; upper simple, lanceolate-subsessile Native 

 of die Cape. 



11. Psoralea Capitata ; Headed Psoralea. Leaves lei nate 

 and simple, linear; head terminating. Native of the Cape. 



12. Psoralea Hirta; Hairy Psoralea. Leaves ternate; 

 leaflets obovate, recurved, mucronate ; flowers tern-spiked ; 

 calices tomentose Native of the Cape. 



13. Psoralea Decumbens ; Trailing Psoralea. Leaves 

 ternate; leaflets wedge-lanceolate, with a recurved point; 

 flowers axillary. Native of the Cape; flowering in May. 



14. Psoralea Repens; Creeping Psoralea. Leaves ternate; 



