TOM 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY.' 



TOR 



C79 



shaped. Petals: five, the lowest twice as big, obcordate ; 

 style none.- -The only known species is, 



1. Toluifera Balsamum; Balsam of Tolu Tree. Leaves 

 alternate, oblong, ovate, four inches long, and two inches 

 broad in the middle, rounded at the base, acuminate at the 

 end, smooth, of a light green colour, on very short strong 

 footstalks; the flowers are produced in small axillary racemes 

 or bunches, each on a slender pedicel ; the corolla has four 

 narrow petals of a yellow colour, a little longer than the calix, 

 and a fifth, the claw of which is of the same length as the 

 other petals, and the top ovate-cordate. Balsam of Tolu, 

 which is brought to Europe in little gourd-shells, is obtained 

 by making incisions in the bark of this tree, and is collected 

 into spoons made of black wax, and poured from the spoons 

 into proper vessels. It is of a reddish-yellow colour, thick 

 and tenacious in consistence ; by age it grows so hard and 

 brittle that it may be rubbed into a powder between the 

 finger and thumb. It has an extremely fragrant smell, some- 

 what resembling that of lemons; its taste is warm and sweet- 

 ish, and, on being chewed, it adheres to the teeth : thrown 

 into the fire, it immediately liquefies, takes flame, and dis- 

 perses its agreeable odour. Though it does not dissolve in 

 water, still, if boiled in it for two or three hours in a covered 

 vessel, the water acquires its odoriferous smell, and also 

 suffers a similar impregnation when the Balsam is distilled. 

 With the addition of mucilage, it unites with water so as to 

 form a milky solution. Spirits of wine entirely dissolve it, and 

 it easily mixes with distilled oils, but least freely with those of 

 the expressed kind. Distilled without addition, not only an 

 empyreumatic oil, but sometimes a small portion of a saline 

 matter, similar to that of the flowers of Benzoin, is obtained. 

 It possesses the same general virtues with the Balsam of Gi- 

 lead and Peru, but is less heating and stimulating, and may 

 be more safely taken. It has been chiefly used as a pectoral, 

 and is reputed to be an excellent corroborant in gleets and 

 seminal weaknesses. It is excellent in consumptions, and 

 other disorders of the breast, and may be given in pills. The 

 Balsamic Syrup of the apothecaries is made from it, and pos- 

 sesses a great deal of its virtues. Propagation and Culture, 

 Sow the seeds in pots filled with light earth, as soon as 

 they arrive, and plunge them into the tan-pit. If they have 

 not been taken out of their covers, it will be long before they 

 will vegetate. When the plants are large enough to remove, 

 transplant them carefully, each into a separate pot, and plunge 

 them into a good hot-bed of tanners' bark, shading them from 

 the sun until they have taken new root: after which treat them 

 in the same way as the Coffee-tree. The seeds should be 

 gathered ripe, and, whilst fresh, should be put up in sand, to 

 protect them effectually from inserts. 



Tomex ; a genus of the class Decandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER, Calix: involucre universal 

 five-leaved, five-flowered, permanent; leaflets ovate, very 

 concave, externally tomentose, very blunt, unequal, imbricate ; 

 outer smaller. Perianth: proper five-leaved, permanent; 

 leaflets lanceolate, externally villose, from upright spreading. 

 Corolla : none, unless the proper perianth be considered as 

 such. Nectary: scales five, between the interior stamina, 

 plaited, crenate, smooth, length of the filamenta. Stamina : 

 filamenta twelve, filiform, unequal; exterior five, length of 

 the perianth; interior seven, shorter; antherse twin. Pistil: 

 germen three-sided, smooth ; superior; style none; stigma 

 awl-shaped. Pericarp : berry. Seed : one. Observe. The 

 involucre is seldom six-leaved, six-flowered. ESSENTIAL 

 CHARACTER. Involucre: four or five leaved. Calix: none. 

 Corolla: five-petalled. Nectary: scales five, between the 



lower stamina. Berry: one-seeded. The species are, 



VOL. 11. 122. 



1. Tomex Jnponica; Japanese Tomex. Floscules corolled ; 

 leaves tomentose beneath. Stem arboreous, lofty, branched, 

 more than a fathom in height; branches and branchlets to- 

 mentose, knobbed, the end ones angular; flowers axillary, 

 collected into a head. Native of Japan, where it flowers in 

 October and November. 



2. Tomex Tetranthera; Laurel-leaved Tomex. Floscults 

 corolleds leaves smooth. Branches round, yellowish, the 

 younger ones rough-haired; corolla five-petalled, white; berry 

 globular, red, the size of a red currant. Native of China. 



3. Tomex Sebifera ; Glutinous Tomex, or Tallow Tree. 

 Floscules apetalous; leaves smooth. Branches round, knob- 

 bed, covered with a yellow shining bark: the branchlets ave 

 covered with a fine down ; corolla none. The leaves and 

 twii^s abound in a viscid juice, and being bruised and mace- 

 rated in water render it glutinous; hence the natives work up 

 their plaster with it, to render it more tenacious and durable. 

 A great quantity of a thick white oil is extracted from the 

 berries, of which common candles are made, resembling sper- 

 maceti or wax candles, but having an unpleasant smell. It is 

 a large tree; the berries are small, smooth, and blackish. 

 Found in the woods of China and Cochin-china. 



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

 GENEUIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth one-leafed, 

 bell-shaped, permanent, five-parted; segments ovate-acute. 

 Corolla: petals five, ovate, thick, permanent, inserted into the 

 receptacle, longer than the calix ; nectary pitcher-shaped, quite 

 entire, surrounding the germen. Stamina: filamenta three, in- 

 serted into the inner wall of the nectary, after flowering spread- 

 ing; anther roundish. Pistil: germen roundish, surrounded 

 by the nectary ; style cylindrical, short ; stigma simple. Peri- 

 carp: berry spherical, one-celled, accompanied by the calix 

 and corolla. Seeds: four. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: 

 five-parted. Petals: five. Nectary: pitcher-shaped. Berry: 

 one-celled, four-seeded. The species are, 



1. Tonsella Scandens; Climbing Tonsella. Leaves quite 

 entire, acuminate; branches round, hairy at top, and covered 

 with a purplish somewhat rugged bark. This tree has been 

 found in Guiana, and the island of Trinidad. 



2. Tonsella Africana; African Tonsella. Leaves obtuse, 

 glandular-toothed. It resembles the preceding, but the corol- 

 las are larger, and the autherse sessile. Native of Guinea. 



3. Tonsella Angulosa : Entire-leaved Tonsella. Leaves 

 pointed, entire; branches angular, smooth. Found at Si- 

 erra Leone. 



4. Tonsella Deoussata ; Cross-branched Tonsella. Leaves 

 oblong-ovate, obtusely serrated, polished; panicles forked. 

 Native of woods upon the Andes. 



5. Tonsella Multiflora; Many-flowered Tonsella. Leaves 

 obovate, entire, polished ; stalks crowded, each bearing two 

 or three flowers. Found in Cayenne. 



Toothwort. See Dentaria. 



Torch Thistle. See Cactus. 



Tordylium; a genus of the class Pentandria, order Digy- 

 n i a . GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: umbel univ> is, I 

 equal, manifold; partial unequal, manifold, very short, flat: 

 involucre universal, of slender undivided leaflets, commonly 

 the length of the umbel; partial halved, outwardly longer 

 than the umbellet; perianth proper five-toothed. Corolla: 

 universal diflbrm, radiate ; florets all fertile; proper of the 

 disk of five equal inflex-cordate petals; proper of the ray 

 similar, but the outmost petals very large and two-parted. 

 Stamina: all with five capillary filamenta ; antheree simple, 

 roundish. Pistil: all with a roundish inferior germen ; styles 

 two, small; stigmas obtuse. Pericarp: fruit suborbicular, 

 compressed, creuulate at the edge, bipartite. Seeds: two, 

 8 K 



