618 



ST A 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



ST A 



tor this is in the spring, before the plants put out their leaves. 

 They may also be propagated by the stones, if brought over 

 fresh. Put these into small pots filled with the same rich 

 earth, and plunge them into a hot-bed of tanners' bark, ob- 

 serving duly to water the earth, and in six or seven weeks 

 the plants will appear. 



2. Spondias Myrobalanus ; Yellow Hog Plum, or Jamaica 

 Plum. Petioles round ; leaflets shining, acuminate. 1 'his 

 rises to the height of thirty feet or more, sending out many 

 crooked irregular branches, which are destitute of leaves for 

 some months. The flowers come out before the leaves ap- 

 pear, and are succeeded by yellow plums, an iich or more in 

 length, growing in a sort of raceme; they Have large fibrous 

 stones, with a thin covering of flesh. The fruit is sometimes 

 eaten by children; and is an excellent food for hogs. Native 

 of all the Caribbee Islands, and the neighbouring continent. 

 As the branches or cuttings grow so readily, it is used by 

 some for hedges ; and a tree or two is frequently planted in 

 pastures, to afford shade to the sheep. There is a variety 

 with slightly pinnate leaves, which is much esteemed by 

 some West India planters, and also by the wild hogs, whom 

 it principally supplies with food. 



3. Spondias Mangifera ; Mango Hog Plum. Leaflets ob- 

 long, quite entire; panicle raeemed ; nut five-celled. Fruit 

 oval, yellowish-green, eatable. Native of the East Indies. 



4. Spondias Dulcis ; Otaheite Apple. Petioles round, 

 six-paired; leaflets serrate, ribbed. This is a tall shady tree, 

 with a handsome spreading head; trunk thicker than a man's 

 body, upright, fifty ! feet high, flowering before the time of 

 leafing, in September; branches diffused, spreading, round, 

 with a brown rugged bark ; flowers small, of a greenish yel- 

 low colour; drupe oval, obtuse, large, very smooth, of a 

 golden colour, resembling an apple in flavour; outer shell very 

 thin, dotted; pulp fleshy, succulent, sweet, aromatic, fra- 

 grant; nut hard, woody, ovate, echinate all over with hard 

 pungent fibrils, five-celled, with membranaceous partitions. 

 It is easily distinguished from the other species, by its pe- 

 duncled shell and cells, removed both from each other, and 

 from the axils. Cultivated in the Society and Friendly 

 Islands of the South Sea, especially in Otaheite. The gol- 

 den fruit hangs in little nodding bunches, and is esteemed 

 one of the most tasteful and wholesome ; it has almost the 

 same flavour with Ananas, and not only assuages thirst, but 

 is given to the sick without distinction. 



Spo&nwort. See Cochlearia. 



Spruce -Fir. See Pinus. 



Spurge. See Euphorbia. 



Spurge- Laurel. See Daphne. 



Spurrey. See Spergula. 



Squash Gourd. See Cucurbita. 



Squill. See Scilla. 



Squirting Cucumber. See Momordica. 



Stachys ; a genus of the class Diilynamia, order Gymno- 

 spermia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth one- 

 leafed, tubular, angular, half five-cleft, acuminate, permanent; 

 toothlets acuminate, awl shaped, a little unequal. Corolla : 

 one-pelalled, ringeat; tube very short; throat oblong, at 

 the base gibbous downwards ; upper lip erect, subovate, 

 arched, often emarginate; lower lip larger, reflexed on the 

 sides, trifid, the middle segment very large, emarginate, 

 folded back. Stamina: filamenta fotif, two of them snorter, 

 awl-shaped; when the antheree have shed their pollen, curved 

 back to the sides of the opening; antherae simple. Pistil: 

 germen four-parted ; style filiform, situation and length of 

 the stamina; stigma bifid, acute. Pericarp: none; the calix 

 scarcely changed. Seeds: four, ovate, angular. ESSENTIAL 



CHARACTER. Calix: five-cleft, awned. Corolla: upper lip 

 arched; lower reflexed at the sides; the middle segment 

 larger, emargitiate. Stamina: finally reflexed towards the 

 sides. Most of the species of this genus are hardy, and 

 may be propagated by seeds sown in March, upon a bed of 

 light fresh earth: when the plants come up, set them out 

 into beds six inches asunder, watering them till they have 

 taken root, and keeping them clear from weeds. At Michael- 

 mas transplant them where they are to remain, in an open 

 situation, and upon a dry and light, but not very rich soil. 

 In the following summer these plants will flower, and in 

 August their seeds will ripen ; many of them die soon after. 

 Some continue several years, and may be increased by part- 

 ing the roots. The species are, 



1. Stachys Sylvatica; Hedge Woundwort, or Hedge Nettle. 

 Whorls six-flowered ; leaves cordate, petioled. Root per- 

 ennial, creeping, but not very extensive ; stems about two 

 feet high, or from one to three feet high, upright, little 

 branched, square, hairy, leafy ; corolla of a deep blood- 

 colour, prettily marbled about the orifice with a darker hue 

 intermixed with white. This herb has a pungent fetid smell 

 when rubbed, approaching to that of Black Horehound. 

 Being one of those that powerfully affect the nerves, it might 

 prove no contemptible stimulant, if judiciously used. Toads 

 are thought to be fond of living under its shade. Sheep and 

 goats eat it, but cows and hogs refuse it. The herb will dye 

 yellow. It is common in hedges, and shady places through- 

 out Europe, flowering in July and August. 



2. Stachys Circinata ; Blunt-leaved Stachys. Whorls six- 

 flowered; leaves cordate-rounded, crenate. Root perennial; 

 stems several, decumbent at the base, and then ascending, 

 scarcely a foot high, very hairy; corolla purple, with the 

 upper lip pubescent. It flowers here from May to July. 

 Found in the mountains Zavans of Tunis. 



3. Stachys Palustris ; Marsh Woundwort. Whorls six- 

 flowered ; leaves linear-lanceolate, half embracing. Root 

 perennial, creeping to a great extent, the extremities, at the 

 close of summer, becoming tuberous; stems two feet high, 

 upright, hollow, four-cornered, the sides flattish, the corners 

 rough with hairs, pointing downwards ; the joints also are 

 hairy and purple; corolla pale reddish purple. If Linneus 

 be accurate in stating that swine are fond of the roots, these 

 animals might be turned into fields, where this plant abounds, 

 with great advantage, after the crop has been removed ; for 

 it is a very noxious plant in many corn-fields, increasing 

 much by its roots, and also by seed. Gerarde calls it 

 Clowns Woundwort, because he was instructed by a clown to 

 use it as a vulnerary; which he did with much success. 

 Native of Europe, in marshes, on the banks of rivers, in 

 watery places, by road-sides, particularly in moist situa- 

 tions ; flowering in July and August. 



4. Stachys Alpina; Alpine Stachys. Whorls many-flower- 

 ed ; serratures of the leaves cartilaginous at the tip; corollas 

 with a flat lip. Root perennial: colour of the plant dusky; 

 colour of the corolla pale purple, with one blood-red line, 

 running. Native of Germany, Switzerland, Carniola, Italy, 

 and the south of France. It flowers from June to August. 



5. Stachys Germanica ; Downy Woundwort. Whorls 

 many-flowered; leaves crenate; stem woolly, erect; root per- 

 ennial. The whole herb is remarkably invested with a white, 

 soft, silky pubescence; corollas purple within, streaked about 

 the mouth with white, their outside whitish and very downy. 

 It flowers in July. Native of Denmark, Germany, Switzer- 

 land, France, England, Austria, Carniola, Piedmont, and 

 Siberia. It is found on the lime-stone soil of Oxfordshire, in 

 corn-fields, and by the way-sides; between Blenheim and 



