826 



X YR 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



X Y R 



sides, three or four inches in length, and from twelve to 

 fifteen lines broad, shining above, rather glaucous beneath : 

 stalks single-flowered, axillary, very short, each bearing an 

 extremely minute bracte ; flowers solitary ; calix deeply three- 

 cleft ; petals ovate, acute, scarcely two lines long, being 

 the smallest of this genus ; capsules with two valves, stalked ; 

 seeds two, flat at the inner side, convex at the outer. Branches 

 wand-like, slightly rugged. Native of Cayenne. 



Xylosma; a genus of the class Dicecia, order Polyandria. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Male. Calix: perianth in four 

 or five deep, roundish, minute, spreading segments. Corolla : 

 petals none, nectary minute, annular, finely crenate, sur- 

 rounding the stamina. Stamina : filamenta from twenty to 

 fifty, capillary, twice the length of the calix ; antherse round- 

 ish, small. Female, on a distinct tree. Calix: as in the 

 male. Corolla: petals none; nectary as in the male, sur- 

 roundijig the germen. Pistil: germen superior, roundish- 

 ovate; style very short, cylindrical; stigma obtuse, flat, 

 obscurely three-cleft. Pericarp : berry dry, oblong, imper- 

 fectly divided into two cells by a partition from the bottom. 

 Seeds : two in each, triangular, convex at the back, flat at the 

 sides. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Male. Calix : in four or 

 five deep segments. Petals : none. Nectary : annular, cre- 

 nate. Stamina : from twenty to fifty. Female. Calix and 

 Nectary : as in the male. Style : very short. Stigma : 

 slightly three-cleft. Berry: dry, of two incomplete cells. 

 Seeds : two to each cell. The species are, 



1. Xylosma Suaveolens; Serrated Sweet Wood. Leaves 

 ovate, serrated. It appears to be uncertain whether this be 

 the Red Sanders Wood of the South Sea islands, the scent 

 of which resembles that of the East Indian Wood of the 

 same name. The Red Sanders Wood Tree was kept as long 

 as possible from the knowledge of the European voyagers. 

 The inhabitants of the Society islands employ the wood of 

 this species to give a fragrant scent to Cocoa-nut oil for 

 anointing their hair. 



2. Xylosma Orbiculatum ; Entire-leaved Sweet Wood. 

 Leaves roundish, entire. Native of Savage Island. 



Xylostroma ; a genus of the class Cryptogamia, order 

 Fungi. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Expanded, coriaceous, 

 two-sided, shapeless, concealed ; surface smooth and even ; 

 seminal globules very minute, attached to internal fibres. 

 The only species is, 



I. Xylostroma Giganteum ; Oak Leather. The inside is 

 spongy or partly hollow, occupied with branching fibres, 

 bearing numerous little ovate capsules or receptacles. The 

 whole fungus is very durable, remaining for years unchanged. 

 It is generally of an uniform buff or pale tan colour ; though 

 a whitish variety, more compact than the usual sort, and 

 another, saffron-coloured, have been noticed. This singular 

 production is found in the centre of the trunks of growing 

 Oaks, spreading in the form of a piece of cloth or leather, 

 with numerous ramifications, through some of the largest 

 trees ; but whether it be like the dry rot in wrought tim- 

 ber, the cause or the consequence of decay, is yet unascer- 

 tained. 



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

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix: perianth inferior, of 

 three concave chaffy leaves ; the outermost hooded, decidu- 

 ous; the two lateral ones keeled, compressed, curved, acute, 

 converging, permanent. Corolla : petals three, large, spread- 

 ing, flat, crenate, with narrow claws, as long as the calix; 

 nectaries three, feathery, alternate with the petals, suspected 

 to be barren stamina. Stamina: filamenta three, inserted 

 into the claws of the petals, much shorter than the border, 

 thread-shaped, erect; antherae oblong, incumbent. Pistil: 



germen superior, obovate, three-lobed ; style one, thread- 

 shaped, rather longer than the claws of the petals, three- 

 cleft at the summit; stigmas obtuse, entire, or jagged. Peri- 

 carp : capsule roundish, of one cell and three valves, with 

 three more or less prominent receptacles, running down the 

 middle of each valve. Seed: numerous, minute, roundish, 

 or elliptic, acute. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix: of 

 three unequal leaves; the two lateral ones permanent. Petals: 

 three, equal. Nectaries: three, feathery. Capsule: superior, 

 of three valves, with central receptacles. Seeds : numerous. 



This is a genus of perennial herbs, with fibrous roots. 



The species are, 



1. Xyris Indica; East Indian Xyris. Stalk furrowed, with 

 many angles; head ovate; leaves sometimes a foot Ions, equal- 

 ling the flower-stalks, lax, acute, almost the breadth of the 

 nail. The flower-stalks are several, rather more slender than 

 a pigeon's quill, furnished with six or eight furrows, and twist- 

 ed in the lower part; head rather smaller than a hazel-nut, 

 with roundish scales, which are from twenty-five to thirty in 

 each head, rounded, or nearly orbicular, convex, closely im- 

 bricated, obtuse, brown, but a little polished, divided length- 

 wise into three nearly equal spaces, the central space slightly 

 hoary, the others smooth. Native of the East Indies. 



2. Xyris Pubescens ; Downy-sheathed Xyris. Stalk stri- 

 ated, almost cylindrical, enveloped in a downy sheath ; leaves 

 greatly elongated, a foot or foot and half long, half an inch 

 wide, entire, pointed, dilated at the base. Roots long, as thick 

 as the finger, with soft, rather fleshy, nearly simple fibres, as 

 thick as a raven's quill, and producing from the crown a great 

 number of soft, flaccid, alternate, somewhat imbricated, very 

 smooth leaves. Stalks straight and rather slender, twisted 

 at the lower part, where they are each, embraced by a cylin- 

 drical, striated, downy sheath, three or four inches long, 

 terminating in a little short acute leaf. Heads of flowers 

 oval, obtuse, the size of a large pea, formed of numerous 

 imbricated, very close, unequal, whitish scales; the outer 

 ones a little oval, nearly flat, scarcely pointed ; the inner 

 narrower, obtuse, rather concave. Native of the West 

 Indies. 



3. Xyris Macrocephala ; Great-headed Xyris. Stalk with 

 one acute angle, taller than the foliage, round in the lower 

 part, somewhat two-edged further up, with one convex and 

 one acute side; head and scales ovate; the latter gray at the 

 back ; the former, when in fruit, twice as big as a hazel-nut, 

 ovate, with obtuse scales. This differs from the other spe- 

 cies in the breadth of its leaves, and the size of the head. 

 Native of Cayenne. 



4. Xyris Platycaulis; Broad-stalked Xyris. Stalk com- 

 pressed, dilated, striated, smooth, twisted below, with a lax, 

 cloven, abrupt sheath at the base. The stalks are a foot high, 

 and two or three lines broad ; sheath at least three inches 

 long, smooth, striated, rather lax, cloven lengthwise, obliquely 

 truncated at the summit; heads globose, abrupt at the sum- 

 mit, hardly so large as a pea, with broad, obtuse, concave, 

 shining, chestnut-coloured scales, the outer ones keeled 

 towards their point. Native of Madagascar. 



5. Xyris Anceps ; Small-headed Two-edged Xyris. Stalk 

 two-edged, smooth, a foot or more in height, twisted, smooth, 

 by no means striated ; head nearly globose, scarcely so large 

 as a pea, with roundish, convex, hardly emarginate scales ; 

 leaves rather rigid, narrow, but one-third or one-fourth of 

 the height of the stalks. Native of Madagascar, Malabar, 

 and probably also of Guiana. 



6. Xyris Complanata; Flat-stalked Xyris. Stalk com- 

 pressed flat, dilated, nearly straight, cartilaginous and rough at 

 the edges, four times as long as the sword-shaped, straight, 



