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JACARANDA (Jussieu). A genus of tropical 

 frees belonging to the natural order Bignoniacece. 

 Generic character : calyx bell-shaped, five-toothed ; 

 corolla funnel-shaped, limb five-cleft spreading ; sta- 

 mens, anthers two-celled'; rudiments of five filaments ; 

 style with a two-plated stigma ; capsule roundish, 

 compressed, woody, and two-celled ; seeds in a double 

 series, with membranous wings. This plant flowers 

 freely in our stoves, potted in any kind of light soil ; 

 and it should be kept very dry in winter to cause it to 

 flower more readily. Young plants may be raised 

 from cuttings. The full sized tree forms a beautiful 

 kind of rose-wood. The jacaranda of commerce is 

 said to be the timber of a Brazilian mimosa. 



JACQUINIA (Linnreus). A genus of tropical 

 trees and shrubs belonging to the fifth class of Lin- 

 nteus, and to the natural order J\'h/rsinccB. Generic 

 character : calyx five-cleft, persisting ; corolla some- 

 what bell-shaped, limb ten-lobed, in two series, the 

 lobes of the inner one smallest ; stamens fixed in the 

 base of the corolla ; anthers behind ; style short, 

 bearing an obtuse stigma ; berry globular and five- 

 seeded ; albumen fleshy. The jacquinias are beauti- 

 ful plants, and thrive in loam mixed with moor-earth. 

 They may be increased by cuttings, but require much 

 care. 



JALAP is a medicinal juice extracted from the 

 l/wmeea ja/apct, a South American plant nearly allied 

 to Conru/uii/tix. The Mirabilis jalapa, a species of 

 the marvel of Peru, is also known by this name. 



JAM BOS A (Decandolle). A genus of fruit trees 

 natives of India, formerly called Eugenia jambos, and 

 belonging to the beautiful order Myrtacecc. This 

 plant, with many of its near alliances, have long been 

 cultivated in our stoves, and grow readily in good 

 loam and moor-earth. They are readily propagated 

 by cuttings in moist heat, or placed under a small 

 bell-glass. 



JANIPHA (Kunth). A genus of useful shrubs 

 natives of South America, belonging to the natural 

 order Euphorbiacece. It has been separated from the 

 genus Jatropha of Linna3us. 



JASMINEJ3. A small natural order containing 

 only two genera, of which there are already described 

 forty-two species. They are elegant and generally 

 fragrant shrubs. From their flowers, some of the 

 most delicious perfumes are extracted, such as the 

 essenti-dl oil of jasmin which is distilled from the 

 flowers of ./. grandiflorum, officionalc, and odoratisxi- 

 t/nint, as well as from the Jasminum, or, as it is now 

 called, Mogonnm sambac, which is the Ysmyn of the 

 Arabs, whence our common European name. The 



NAT. HIST. -Voi.. III. 



flowers of M. undulatum and trifoliatum are also sweet 

 scented ; and their leaves, which have a bitter taste, 

 have been recommended as slightly stomachic, and 

 agreeable cephalic medicines. The powdered root 

 of J. anguslifolium is extremely bitter, and it is said 

 by Ainslie to be an effectual application to ringworms. 

 Nyctanthes arbor tristis has likewise a very fragrant 

 blossom, and to its expanding only towards night, and 

 diffusing its odours chiefly during the dark, its generic 

 and specific names allude. 



Of the jasmine there are above thirty species ; and 

 of the Ojjlcinale there are several varieties, two of 

 them with variegated leaves. These variegated ones 

 present a curious physiological circumstance, which 

 is, if a common green one be budded with a variegated 

 sort, not only will the future head rising from the 

 bud be variegated, but the suckers also which rise 

 from the root. 



JASPER. There are five varieties of this mineral 

 commonly found in the cabinets of collectors. Egyp- 

 tian jasper, striped, jasper, porcelain jasper, common 

 jasper, and agate jasper. The first kind is found in 

 several parts of Africa, and whatever may have been 

 its original formation, it is now frequently discovered 

 in detached masses embedded in sand. 



There are some fine specimens of the second kind 

 in the Pentland Hills, near Edinburgh, and also in 

 Germany, which is also the case with the remaining 

 varieties ; but the last is more generally found in 

 the agates of the Lothians. 



The jaspers vary considerably in their colour, and 

 also in their value, as the latter depends very much 

 on the beauty of their tints. The red Egyptian 

 jasper frequently passes into flint, from which, how- 

 ever, it may be distinguished by its opacity and infe- 

 rior degree of hardness. Some of the largest and 

 most beautiful snuff-boxes are formed of this mineral ; 

 so that it is common in Egypt for the political ex- 

 pectants of the Pacha to calculate the value of an 

 appointment by the size of the jasper box, which are 

 its first fruits. There are some very fine specimens 

 of jasper in the mineralogical gallery of the British 

 Museum. 



JATROPHA (Linnaeus). Tropical shrubs, com- 

 monly called the physic-nut tree in the West Indies. 

 The genus belongs to Eupftorbiacca:, and some of the 

 species now'called Janipha are important both as medi- 

 cine and food. The physic-nuts are the seeds of the 

 J. curcas, but those of inultifida are cathartic likewise. 

 One species, J. manihot, affords the celebrated manioc 

 of the negroes ; known, however, better by the name 

 of cassava in the West Indies, and tapioca of Brazil. 

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