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DIOSME.E DIOSPYRUS. 



elephantipes, or elephant's loot, has also been appliec 

 on account of the remarkable appearance of this root- 

 stock. The stem of the plant is slender and climb- 

 ing, and presents a remarkable contrast to the root. 

 The flowers are small and insignificant. The Hot- 

 tentots, in time of scarcity, use the fleshy inside of the 

 root as a sort of yarn. 



DIOSME^E The Buchu family. A natural 

 order of dicotyledonous plants, containing nearly 

 twenty genera, and upwards of one hundred and 

 twenty known species. It is closely allied to Rutaceee, 

 and by many botanists is considered merely a section 

 of that order. It differs, however, in the peculiar 

 structure of its fruit, and in having two ovules in 

 each cell. It also bears an affinity to Xanthoxylece, 

 Simarubaceee, Humiriacecc, and Auranliacece. 



The essential characters of the order are : flowers 

 hermaphrodite, regular or irregular ; calyx consisting 

 of four or five divisions ; petals as many, distinct or 

 united, rarely wanting ; aestivation generally twisted, 

 convolute, rarely valvate ; stamens equal to, or double 

 the number of the petals, sometimes, by imperfection, 

 fewer, hypogynous, or rarely perigynous, placed on 

 the outside of a disc or cup surrounding the ovary, 

 and either free, or combined with the base of the 

 calyx, or sometimes wanting ; ovary sessile, stalked, 

 its lobes equal to the number of petals, or fewer ; 

 ovules twin and collateral, or one above the other, 

 very rarely four ; style single, sometimes divided at 

 its base into as many parts as there are lobes of the 

 ovary ; stigma simple or dilated ; fruit consisting of 

 several capsules, either cohering firmly, or more or 

 less distinct ; endocarp, or internal skin of the fruit, 

 entirely separating from the sarcocarp (or fleshy 

 matter under the skin), which opens internally by two 

 valves ; the endocarp also two-valved, the valves 

 opening at the base, but connected by a membrane 

 which bears the seeds ; seeds twin or solitary, with a 

 testaceous integument ; embryo with a superior radicle, 

 which is either straight or oblique ; no albumen. 



The plants belonging to this order are trees or 

 shrubs, rarely herbs. They are furnished with exsti- 

 pulate, opposite, or alternate simple or pinnate leaves, 

 which are covered with pellucid resinous dots. Their 

 flowers are axillary or terminal, and of a white or 

 reddish colour. 



The greater part of them inhabit the tropical parts 

 of the globe. They are found abundantly in the 

 warm regions of America, at the Cape of Good Hope, 

 and in New Holland. A single genus is found in the 

 south of Europe. 



By some authors this order has been divided into 

 sections according to the countries in which the 

 plants are found. Thus we have, first, the European 

 section, including the genus Dictamnus, found in the 

 south of Europe ; second, the Cape section, including 

 the numerous species of Diosnia, Adenandra, &c., 

 found at the Cape of Good Hope ; third, the Aus- 

 tralasian section, comprehending the genera Boronia, 

 P/iebalium, Correct, Erioslemon, &c., found in New 

 Holland and Van Diemen's Land ; and, fourth, the 

 American section, including the genera Evodia, 

 Galipea, &c., which grow in South America, the 

 West Indies, New Zealand, the Friendly Islands, 

 and Mexico. To this last section are referred the 

 Cusparieee of Decandolle. This division of the order, 

 according to the geographical distribution of the 

 plants, is found to agree most remarkably with the 

 character of their fructification. 



In general th-r plants of this order abound in 

 essential oil, and possess aromatic, tonic, and antispas- 

 modic properties. Many of them have been used in 

 medicine. 



The genus Diosma, or Buchu, furnishes upwards 

 of seventy species, almost all of which are natives of 

 the Cape. They have a powerful and offensive 

 odour, which is nevertheless relished by the Hotten- 

 tots. Many of them have been recommended as 

 antispasmodics and tonics. 



The leaves of Diosma crcnata (Barosma cremtlata 

 of recent authors) resemble much those of senna, and 

 are used in medicine under the name of Buchu 

 leaves. They have been introduced into the Dublin 

 Pharmacopoeia. The emit a strong aromatic odour, 

 have a pungent taste, and yield by distillation a 

 volatile oil. They possess diuretic and tonic pro- 

 perties, and have been recommended in the form of 

 infusion and tincture in some diseases of the bladder. 

 Their activity seems to be owing to the volatile oil 

 and resin which they contain. Diosma ericoides and 

 other species are used by the Hottentots to scent 

 the ointments with which they anoint their skin. 



Galipea, or Cusparia febrifuga (Bonplandia trifbliata 

 of Willdenow), is a handsome South American tree, 

 and yields the well-known Angostura or Cusparia 

 bark. This bark occurs in commerce in pieces from 

 six to twelve inches long. It is of a fawn colour, and 

 is covered with a whitish rough epidermis. When 

 powdered, it exhibits a yellowish brown hue. It has an 

 aromatic, bitter, and somewhat astringent taste. Ac- 

 cording to analysis, it consists of cinchonia, and a small 

 quantity of brucia, combined with igasuric acid, muriate 

 of ammonia, gum resin, extractive and volatile oil. 

 The term Angostura bark is derived from the common 

 name of the town of St. Thomas, near the Straits of 

 the Orinoco, whence it is exported ; while Cusparia 

 is derived from the native name of the tree. A 

 spurious kind of cusparia bark is sometimes met with 

 in commerce, which possesses poisonous properties, 

 and appears to be the product of a species of strychnos. 

 The epidermis of this false Angostura bark is covered 

 with rust-coloured warty excrescences ; its powder is 

 of a very light yellow, and it has neither the odour 

 nor the aromatic flavour of the true bark. The li- 

 chens which grow upon it, and the effect of different 

 hemical agents, are also sufficient to distinguish it. 



Angostura bark possesses all the tonic properties 

 of Peruvian bark, and is used as an aromatic bitter in 

 tomach complaints, as well as in intermittents and 

 dysentery. It is frequently combined with rhubarb, 

 magnesia, and carbonate of potass, and is prescribed 

 n the form of powder, infusion, or tincture. 



Evodia febrifuga, Ticorea febrifuga, and Ilortia 

 Brazilians, yield barks which are used in Brazil in the 

 ure of intermittent fevers. 



The root of Dictamnus albus, or Fraxinella, has a 

 )itter aromatic taste, and was formerly used medici- 

 nally as a sudorific and vermifuge. This plant abounds 

 so much in volatile oil, that the atmosphere sur- 

 rounding it actually becomes inflammable in hot dry 

 weather. 



DIOSPYRUS (Linnaeus). Is the date-plum, a 

 ^nus of trees and shrubs, indigenous to many diffe- 

 rent parts of the world. Linnaean class and order, 

 Polygamia Diaecia, and natural order Ebenacece. In 

 our collections they are placed in the stove or green- 

 louse, and are in these places treated like other 

 ihuits. The hardy ones are seen in our shrubberies, 



