42 



A SYNOPSIS OF THE PLANT KINGDOM 



Plants used for medicine: Acacia Senegal (gum aca- 

 cia); .4. Catechu (catechu), astringent, tonic; Swartzia 

 tomeiitosa, sudorific; Copaiba Langdorfii (balsam of 

 Copaiba), of Brazil, for catarrh; Cassia sps., Orient, 

 India, etc., leaves purgative; Tamarindus indica 

 (tamarind), pulpy pods used; Sophora tomentosa, 

 India, seeds arrest choleric vomiting; Toluifera Balsa- 

 mum (balsam of Tolu), South America, bronchial; 

 Andira sps., tropical America, emetic, purge, narcotic, 

 vermifuge; Pterocarpus Draco (dragons blood), West 

 Indies, astringent ; P. Marsupium (gum kino) ; Bulea 

 Jrondosa (eastern kino), Asia; Mucuna pruriens (cow- 

 itch or cowage), India, stinging hairs on pod, anthel- 

 mintic; Astragalus gummifer (gum tragacanth), of the 

 Orient; Colutea arborescens (bladder senna), purgative, 

 emetic; Glycyrrhiza glabra, (licorice), Europe, emol- 

 lient; Genista tinctoria, purgative; Cytisus scoparius, 

 diuretic; Triganetta Foenum-grxcum (fenugreek), Old 

 World, food, condiment, horse-remedy, and so on; 

 Anagyris fatida (stinking wood), purgative and poi- 

 sonous; Physostigma venosum (calabar bean), sedative, 

 contracts the pupil, poisonous; Astragalus sps., and 

 Crotalaria sps. are loco-weeds, and poisonous to cattle; 

 arrow-poisons are furnished by Erythrophlosum, 

 Afzelia, and Pithecolobium. Fifteen genera furnish 

 fish-poison. 



Dye-stuffs: Csesalpinia. echinata yields braziline; 

 Sophora japonica yields yellow dye; Indigofera tinc- 

 toria yields indigo; Genista tinctoria, yields a dye; 

 Hxmatoxylon campec.hianum yields logwood and hsema- 

 toxylin. Pterocarpus santalinum yields red sandal- 

 wood, a brown dye. 



Other purposes: Copal varnish from Hymensea sps., 

 Trachylobium sps., and Copaiba sps. Many species are 

 valuable timber trees. A snuff-perfume is obtained 

 from seeds of Coumarouna (tonka bean). Rosewood 

 is from Dalbergia nigra, and other species. African 

 rosewood is from Pterocarpus erinaceus. Red seeds of 

 Abrus precatorius (jequirity) are used for necklaces, as 

 are also those of Adenanthera Pavonina (Circassian 

 seeds). Branches of Cytisus scoparius (broom) are used 

 for basket-work. Ulex europseus (furze) is used as fire- 

 wood in France. Many species furnish fibers for spin- 

 ning. Oil is obtained from seeds of peanut and others. 

 Many are ornamental. 



About 150 genera are cultivated in America, or are 

 important to American agriculture. Many of the spe- 

 cies are among our most valuable ornamental and 

 food-plants. Some of these genera are: Abrus (Crab's- 

 eye Vine, Weather Plant); Acacia (Wattle, Kangaroo 

 Thorn, Weeping Myall, Australian Blackwood, Mulga, 

 Popinac, Opopanax, Cassie, Huisache, Espino, Cavan, 

 Gum Arabic Tree); Adenanthera (Red Sandalwood); 

 Albizzia; Alhagi (Camel's Thorn); Amphicarpaja (Hog 

 Peanut); Amorpha (Lead Plant, Bastard Indigo); An- 

 thyllis (Kidney Vetch, Sand Clover, Woundwort, Jupi- 

 ter's Beard); Apios (Groundnut, Wild Bean); Arachis 

 (Peanut, Goober); Astragalus (Milk Vetch); Baptisia 

 (Wjld Indigo); Bauhinia (Mountain Ebony); Cffisal- 

 pinia (Brasilleto, Barbadoes Pride, Barbadoes Flower- 

 fence, Dwarf Poinciana); Canavalia (Jack Bean, 

 Chickasaw Lima) ; Caragana (Pea Tree) ; Cassia (Wild 

 Senna, Partridge Pea, Pudding Pipe Tree) ; Centrosema 

 (Butterfly Pea) ; Cercis (Judas Tree, Red Bud) ; Chori- 

 zema; Cicer (Chick Pea); Cladrastis (Yellow-wood); 

 Clianthus (Glory Pea, Glory Vine, Parrot's Bill); Cli- 

 toria (Butterfly Pea); Colutea (Bladder Senna); Coro- 

 nilla (Crown Vetch, Scorpion Senna) ; Crotalaria (Rat- 

 tle-Box); Cytisus (Broom, Genista); Desmodium (Tick 

 Trefoil, Telegraph Plant); Dolichos (Hyacinth Bean, 

 Taukok, Black Bean), the species still much con- 

 fused; Erythrina (Coral Tree); Galega (Goat's Rue); 

 Genista (Dyer's Greenwood); Gleditsia (Honey Lo- 

 cust, Sweet Locust, Three-thorned Acacia); Glycine 

 (Soy Bean); Glycyrrhiza (Licorice); Gymnocladus 

 (Kentucky Coffee Tree); Halimodendron (Salt Tree); 



Hedysarum (French Honeysuckle); Hosackia; Indigo- 

 fera (Indigo); Kennedya; Laburnum (Golden Chain, 

 Bean Tree, Scotch Laburnum); Lathyrus (Sweet Pea, 

 Tangier Scarlet P., Pride of California, Everlasting P., 

 Two-flowered P., Flat P., Perennial P., Lord Anson's 

 P., Marsh P., Sea P., Beach P., Prairie Vetchling, Black 

 P., Black Bitter Vetch, Spring Bitter Vetch); Lens 

 (Lentil); Lespedeza (Bush Clover, Japan Clover, Hoop- 

 koop); Leuciena (White Popinac); Lotus (Bird's-foot 

 Trefoil, Babies' Slippers, Winged Pea); Lupinus (Lu- 

 pine, Sundial, Deer Cabbage); Millettia (Ironwood); 

 Medicago (Alfalfa, Lucerne, Black or Hop Medick, 

 Nonesuch, Snails, Tree Alfalfa, Moon Trefoil); Meli- 

 lotus (Sweet Clover); Mimosa (Sensitive Plant, Hum- 

 ble Plant); Mucuna (Cowitch, Cowage, Velvet Bean, 

 Banana Bean); Onobrychis (Sainfoin, Holy Clover); 

 Ononis (Rest-Harrow, Goat Root); Parkinsonia (Jeru- 

 salem Thorn); Parochetus (Shamrock Pea, Blue Oxa- 

 lis); Petalostemon (Prairie Clover); Phaseolus (Bean, 

 Caracol, Snail-flower, Corkscrew Flower, Scarlet-run- 

 ner, Dutch Caseknife B., Metcalfe B., Moth B., Gram, 

 Silva B., Civet B., Lima B., Kidney B., Bush B.); Pis- 

 cidia (Fish-poison Tree, Jamaica Dogwood); Pisum 

 (Garden Pea, Field P.); Pithecolobium; Prosopis (Mes- 

 quite, Screw Bean, Tornillo) ; Poinciana (Royal Poin- 

 ciana, Peacock Flower, Flomboyant) ; Psoralea (Scurfy 

 Pea. Pomme Blanche); Pueraria (Kudzu Vine); Robi- 

 nia( Locust, False Acacia, Black Locust, Rose Acacia, 

 Clammy Locust); Schrankia (Sensitive Brier); Sophora 

 (Japan Pagoda Tree); Spartium (Spanish Broom); 

 Sutherlandia (Bladder Senna); Swainsona (Winter 

 Sweet Pea); Tamarindus (Tamarind); Templetonia 

 (Coral Bush) ; Tephrosia (Goat's Rue, Catgut, Wild 

 Sweet Pea, Hoary P.) ; Thermopsis; Trifolium (Clover, 

 Alsike, Cowgrass); Trigonella (Fenugreek); Ulex 

 (Gorse, Whin, Furze) ; Vicia (Vetch, Tare, Broad Bean, 

 Windsor B., English Dwarf B.) ; Vigna (Cowpea, Black 

 Pea, China Bean); Wistaria (Chinese Wistaria, Kid- 

 ney-bean Tree). 



Order 38. GERANIALES 



104. Geraniaceae (from the genus Geranium, Crane's- 

 bill, from geranps, a crane, in allusion to the cranelike 

 beak of the fruit). GERANIUM FAMILY. Fig. 29. Herba 

 and shrubs, sometimes fleshy: leaves opposite or alter- 

 nate, very diverse: flowers bisexual, regular or slightly 

 irregular; sepals 5, imbricated, persistent; petals 5, 

 rarely fewer, imbricated or convolute; stamens usually 

 10, rarely more, hypogynous or perigynous, the outer 

 set opposite the petals, some frequently antherless, 

 somewhat monadelphous below, often glandular at the 

 base; carpels 5; ovary 5-celled, rarely 2-3-ceIled, 5- 

 lobed, prolonged into a beak terminatd by the 5 styles; 

 ovules 1 to many in each cell: fruit rarely a capsule, 

 more commonly splitting into 5 beaked sections; seeds 

 with endosperm, straight or curved. 



The family has 10 genera and 360 species, widely 

 distributed over the whole globe. The largest genera are 

 Pelargonium (South Africa) with 175 species, and Ge- 

 ranium with 160 species. Some fossil fruits of Gerani- 

 acea; are known. The Geraniacea? are related to the 

 Oxalidacese, Tropaeolacese and Balsaminaceic; also to the 

 Linacea; and Rutacea;. The 5 sepals and petals, the 

 10 stamens, the 5 carpels, and the more or less beaked 

 or lobed fruit with its peculiar dehiscence, are together 

 distinctive. 



The flower of Pelargonium is slightly irregular, with 

 a dorsal receptacular spur at the base of the calyx. The 

 fruits of all but 40 Geraniaceae dehisce elastically, 

 throwing the seeds to a distance. The 5 carpels 

 split away at base, coil up violently, and remain 

 attached to the summit of a column which projects 

 from the receptacle. This method of dehiscence, when 

 present, is characteristic of the Geraniaceas. 



The Geraniacea? are astringent; several contain 

 resin, and others contain free acids. Several species of 



