XYL 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



XYL 



825 



6. Xylopbylla Linearis ; Linear Sea-side Laurel. Leaves 

 pinnate, linear, tapering, pliant, crenate ; their common stalk 

 bordered, scattered, depressed; flowers several from each 

 notch, white, monoecious, on capillary stalks, four lines in 

 length. Stem hardly a foot high, erect, with round branches. 

 Native of shady, stony banks of rivers in the western 

 parts of Jamaica. 



7. Xylophilla Montana ; Mountain Sea-side Laurel. 

 Leaves somewhat two-ranked, elliptic-lanceolate, coriaceous, 

 deeply crenate, nearly sessile, either blunt or acute, obliquely 

 striated, rigid, brownish-green, smooth, with deep many- 

 flowered notches. Flowers monoecious, nearly sessile, many 

 from each notch ; the males eight or ten, pale red ; females 

 solitary among the males, deep purple. Branches round, 

 two-edged at the extremity. This is a shrub, six feet high, 

 easily distinguished from all the species, which it in other 

 respects resembles, by the permanency and texture of the 

 ultimate branches, which are often forked, nearly erect, with 

 annular scars. It occurs upon lime-stone rocks, i-n the west- 

 ern parts of Jamaica. 



8. Xylophylla Ramiflora ; Siberian Sea-side- Laurel. 

 Leaves elliptical, stalked, scattered, thin, hardly an inch in 

 length, blunt, crenate, or somewhat wavy ; flowers axillary, 

 six or eight together, with minute red stipules or bractes ; 

 segments of the calix five, concave, white, with a coloured 

 margin ; antheree five, thick, obtuse, furrowed at the outside; 

 styles three, thread-shaped, simple, the length of the stamina. 

 Stem bushy, with many straight wand-like leafy branches, 

 each a span long. This is a hardy shrub, flowering in July 

 and August. Native of the deserts of Siberia. 



Xylopia ; a genus of the class Polyandria, order Polygy- 

 nia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth inferior, of 

 one leaf, in from three to five deep, broad, ovate, coriaceous, 

 rather acute, permanent segments. Corolla: petals srx, ses- 

 sile, linear-lanceolate, coriaceous, much longer than the 

 calix; the three outermost largest. Stamina: filamenta 

 none ; aotherse numerous, oblong,' quadrangular, abrupt, 

 parallel, crowded, seated on the tumid nearly globose recep- 

 tacle, in several rows. Pistil: germina several, on short stalks, 

 compressed; styles tapering, crowded together; stigmas 

 simple. Pericarp : capsules several, stalked, coriaceous, 

 compressed, bluntly angular, of one cell and two valves, 

 bursting at the top. Seeds : one or two, obovate, polished, 

 tunicated at the base. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: 

 lobed, coriaceous. Petals : six, the three outermost largest. 

 Capsules: stalked, angular, compressed, of two valves. Seeds: 

 one or two, tunicated. The species are, 



1. Xylopia Muricata; Rough-fruited Bitter-wood. Leaves 

 ovate-lanceolate, pointed, clothed with close-pressed hairs 

 beneath : branches zigzag, nearly smooth. A small tree, 

 fifteen to twenty feet high ; the branches towards the ex- 

 tremity slightly silky. The leaves are alternate, on short 

 thick stalks, spreading, with a blunt or emarginate smooth 

 point, two inches or more long, their margin entire, slightly 

 revolute ; their upper surface smooth and shining, reticulated 

 with veins, under paler, more opaque, clothed with fine, 

 scattered, close, silky hairs, after a while deciduous ; midrib 

 stout, rough with minute tubercles at the back. Flower- 

 stalks copious, axillary, solitary, short, knotty, bearing from 

 two to five flowers ;, calix three-iobed, scarcely downy ; petals 

 half an inch long, densely silky on both sides, the three 

 innermost very narrow, triangular-awl-shaped ; capsules 

 nearly ovate, sometimes as many as fifteen, coriaceous, cover- 

 ed with little points, of one cell and two valves, containing 

 one or two oval seeds, each with a cup-like tunic at the bottom ; 

 fruit muncated. Native of Jamaica. 



2. Xylopia Frutescens ; Shrubby Silky Bitter-wood. Leaves 

 lanceolate, pointed, glaucous and silky beneath; branches 

 silky ; stalks with few flowers ; capsules smooth. The 

 smoothness of the fruit, the silkiness of the branches, and 

 the narrowness of the leaves, sufficiently distinguish the 

 present plant. The fruit is about the size of a hazel-nut, 

 aromatic and acrid, serving, when powdered, instead of pep- 

 per. Found in Brazil ; also in Cayenne and Guiana, bearing 

 flowers and fruit in August. 



3. Xylopia Salicifolia ; Willow-leaved Bitter-wood. Leaves 

 oblong, with a bluntish point, silky beneath ; they are 

 narrow, an inch and half or two inches long, three or four 

 lines broad, on short stalks, single-ribbed, without veins 

 smooth and green above,- villous beneath, with close-pressed 

 silky hairs of a rufous gray : capsules from five to seven, 

 gibbous, slightly pointed, not bursting ; seeds one or two ; 

 stalks short, single-flowered, with small bractes. It is a tree 

 with blackish branches, marked with white dots. Found 

 near Espinal in South America. 



4. Xylopia Ligustrifolia ; Privet-leaved Bitter-wood. 

 Leaves oblong, rather acute, smooth on both sides; they 

 are an inch and half long, four lines broad, on very short 

 stalks, single-ribbed, veinless, somewhat shining above, paler 

 beneath : stalks short, with few flowers, and small bractes ; 

 calix small, three-cleft; three outer petals longest, spreading 

 at the points ; capsules corrugated, not bursting ; seeds one 

 or two. Found at Buga, in South America. 



5. Xylopia Glabra; Smooth Bitter-wood. Leaves ovate- 

 oblong, pointed, quite smooth on both sides ; stalks single- 

 flowered, solitary, or in pairs ; fruit smooth. Browne says 

 that the wood, bark, and berries, have an agreeable bitter 

 taste, not unlike that of the orange-seed, and would probably 

 prove excellent medicines. Wild pigeons feed much upon 

 the berries, and derive their delicate bitterish flavour from 

 this food. The berries are agreeable to the palate, and 

 grateful to the stomach. The bark and wood are agreeable 

 while fresh, but that delicacy diminishes greatly after they 

 are dried. The wood is good timber, but must not be 

 exposed to the weather. Found in the mountains at the 

 back of Bull Bay in Jamaica, where it grew to a considerable 

 size, being fifty or sixty feet high ; also in Barbadoes. 



6. Xylopia N'itida ; Shining-leaved Bitter-wood. Leaves 

 oblong-lanceolate, smooth, polished on the upper side ; they 

 are somewhat elliptical, two or three inches long, and nine 

 or ten lines broad, green, veiny, pale, and rather silky, with 

 minute close hairs beneath, the margin a little revolute. 

 Stalks branched, many-flowered ; clusters small, corymbose, 

 of four or five flowers, whose stalks are embraced by little 

 roundish bractes ; calix nearly entire, coriaceous, brown, 

 pitcher-shaped, scarcely divided ; bud of the petals oblong, 

 triangular, acute. This is a tree of a middling size, with 

 straight, round, rugged branches. Found on the Oyac moun- 

 tains of Cayenne, sloping down to the sea. 



7. Xylopia Acuminata; Long-pointed Bitter-wood. Leaves 

 oblong-elliptical, very long-pointed, perfectly smooth ; they 

 are on very short footstalks, four to six inches long, two 

 inches wide, remarkably pointed, revolute, rather coriaceous, 

 a little shining above : capsules on long stalks, single-valved, 

 with two seeds; they are ovate, nine or ten lines in length, 

 pointed, each tapering down into a long stalk, imperfectly 

 bivalve, smooth, and even : seeds obovate, black, fetid, con- 

 vex at the outside, flat at the inner. Branches round, rugged, 

 smooth. Native of Cayenne. 



8. Xylopia Prinoides ; Winter-berry Bitter-wood. Leaves 

 oblong-lanceolate, smooth, membranous, pointed, bluntish 

 at the extremity ; they are on short stalks, smooth on both 



