S YM 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



S Y M 



641 



plant each singly in the pots, shading them till they have 

 taken fresh root; after which treat them in the same manner 

 as directed for other West India plants, taking care to water 

 them, hut sparingly, especially in winter, and also, when they 

 are shifted, to preserve the earth to their roots. 



2. Swietenia Febrifuga. Leaves pinnate, about four-paired; 

 leaflets elliptic, roundish, emarginate, unequal at the base ; 

 panicle terminating, divaricate. A lofty tree, with numerous 

 branches, the lower ones spreading, the upper ascending. 

 The bark is externally gray and scabrous, internally of a light 

 red colour : a decoction of it dyes brown of various shades, 

 according as the cloth has been prepared. Its taste is a 

 bitter and astringent united, and very strong, particularly the 

 bitter, at the same time not in any way nauseous or offensive. 

 The wood is of a dull red colour, remarkably hard and heavy. 

 The Telingas, who call this tree Soymicla, reckon it the most 

 durable wood they know, and on that account is used for all 

 the wood-work in their temples; it is also very serviceable 

 for various other purposes. Native of India. 



3. Swietenia Chloroxylou. Leaves pinnate, many-paired; 

 leaflets halved, cordate, obtuse ; panicle terminating, spread- 

 ing. This is a middling-sized tree, with large spreading 

 branches, the trunk tolerably erect ; flowers numerous, small, 

 yellow. The wood is of a deep yellow colour, remarkably 

 close-grained, heavy and durable : it is used for various 

 economical purposes, and comes nearer to Box-wood than 

 any other. Native of the mountainous part of the Circars, 

 flowering at the beginning of the hot season. It is the Billoo 

 of the Telingas. 



Swine's Cress. See Cochlearia Coronopus. 



Sycamore. See Acer and Ficus. 



Syena ; a genus of the class Triandria, order Monogynia. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth three-leaved; 

 leaflets linear-lanceolate, acute, spreading, permanent. Co- 

 rolla: petals three, roundish, concave, spreading, length of 

 the calix. Stamina: filamenta three, capillary; antherse 

 oblong. Pistil: germen superior, roundish; style filiform ; 

 stigma trifid. Pericarp : capsule globular, crowned with 

 the style, one-celled, three-valved. Seeds : six, globular, 

 striated, two fastened to each valve, one above the other. 

 Observe. Allied to Commelina. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. 

 Calix: three-leaved. Petals: three. Capsule: one-celled, 

 three-valved. The only species is, 



1. Syena Fluviatilis. Leaves capillaceous, in whorls; 

 flowers axillary, white, peduncled, solitary; stem somewhat 

 branched, decumbent. This minute mossy plant is a native 

 of Guiana, where it is found in rivulets. 



Sympltonia; a genus of the class Monadelphia, order 

 Pentandria. GEN-ERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth rive- 

 leaved, permanent; leaflets roundish, very small, spreading. 

 Corolla: petals five, roundish, subcoriaceous, concave, con- 

 verging into a depressed globe. Stamina: filamenta cylin- 

 dric, sheathing the style ; antherse five, ovate, acute, spread- 

 ing, alternate with the stigmas. Pistil: germen ovate; style 

 cylindric, a little longer than the corolla; stigmas five, ob- 

 loui;, acute, spreading. Pericarp: berry five-celled, glo- 

 buUr. Seeds: solitary, subglobular, smooth, flatter inter- 

 nally. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. One-styled. Corolla: 

 globular, five-petalled. Berry: five-celled. Seed: solitary. 

 The only discovered species is, 



1. Symphonia Globulifera. Leaves at the end of the 

 branchlets, approximating, oblong-lanceolate, quite entire, 

 very smooth, keeled underneath, with a blunt rachis. This 

 is a tree, with a thick lofty trunk ; flowers red, four or five, 

 in a simple terminal umbel. The seeds are very grateful to 

 parrots. Native of Surinam. 



Symphytum ; a genus of the class Pentandria, order Mo- 

 nogynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth five- 

 parted, erect, five-cornered, acute, permanent. Corolla : 

 one-petalled, bell-shaped; tube very short; border tubular, 

 bellying, a little thicker than the tube; mouth five-toothed, 

 obtuse, reflexed; throat fenced by five lanceolate rays, spi- 

 nulose at the edge, shorter than the border, converging into 

 a cone. Stamina : filamenta five, awl-shaped, alternate with 

 the rays of the throat.; antherae acute, erect, covered. Pistil: 

 germina four ; style filiform, length of the corolla ; stigma 

 simple. Pericarp: none; calix larger, widened. Seeds: 

 four, gibbous, acuminate, converging at the tips. ESSEN- 

 TIAL CHARACTER. Corolla: border tubular, ventricose; 

 throat closed by lanceolate rays. Calix: five-parted. Seeds: 

 four, naked. The species are, 



1. Symphytum OfHcinale ; Common Comfrey. Leaves 

 ovate-lanceolate, decurrent. Root perennial, fleshy, muci- 

 laginous, externally black; stem two or three feet high, 

 upright, leafy, winged, hispid with deflexed hairs ; clusters 

 of flowers in pairs on a common stalk, with an odd flower 

 between them, recurved, dense, hairy; corolla yellowish- 

 white, sometimes purple, the rays down at each edge. Com- 

 frey is a plant which possesses considerable medical proper- 

 ties, though they are but little regarded. The root abounds 

 in a pure, tasteless mucilage, and is useful in irritations of 

 the throat, intestines, and, above all, the bladder. A con- 

 serve of the roots cures the whites, and a decoction of them 

 is excellent in coughs and soreness of the breast. Dried and 

 powdered, theyare.good against fluxes of the belly, attended 

 with griping pains and bloody stools. It is also serviceable in 

 defluxions on the lungs, spitting of blood, and other disorders 

 of the breast. Bruised and applied to foul ulcers, it cleanses 

 and disposes them to heal. It removes the inflammation, 

 eases the pain, and stops the bleeding of the piles, and is of 

 considerable efficacy in ulcerations of the kidneys and urinary 

 passage, particularly if occasioned by the use of cantharides, 

 or Spanish flies. The leaves are frequently employed to 

 give a grateful flavour to cakes and panada, and when boiled 

 are esteemed by many a very great delicacy. The variety 

 with a red or purple flower is more common in many parts 

 of the continent than in England. Mr. Miller asserts, that 

 the difference in colour is permanent in the plants raised 

 from seeds ; and that the purple and whitish-yellow flowers 

 are never found mixed, where the plants grow wild. -It is a 

 native of Europe, and also of Siberia : common in watery 

 places on the banks of rivers and ditches, flowering from 

 the end of May to September. Propagation. This and the 

 following species may be cultivated by sowing the seeds in 

 the spring, or by parting their roots in the autumn, when 

 almost every piece of a root will grow. They should be 

 planted about two feet and a half asunder, and will require 

 no further care but to keep them clear from weeds ; for they 

 are hardy enough for any soil or situation. 



2. Symphytum Tuberosum ; Tuberous-rooted Comfrey. 

 Leaves ovate, setni-deeurrent, the uppermost opposite. This 

 is suspected to be a variety of the preceding species. It is a 

 lower plant, with the root white on the outside ; clusters in 

 pairs, terminal ; flowers yellowish or greenish-white, cylin- 

 drical. It flowers from May to October. Native of Ger- 

 many, Austria, France, Spain, and Italy, and observed in 

 various parts of Scotland. 



3. Symphytum Orientals ; Eastern Comfrey. Leaves ovate, 

 subpctioled. Root perennial ; stalks two feet high ; flowers 

 in bunches like the first species, but blue. They appear in 

 March, but seldom produce seeds in England. Found grow- 

 ing by the sides of rivulets near Constantinople. 



