Plants, Helpful and Harmful 531 



ages. The juices of apples and grapes are also widely used. 

 All these juices are obtained by crushing the ripe fruit. 



Dye-producing Plants. Among the dye-producing plants 

 are the indigo, which grows only in tropical regions ; the logwood, 

 a tree that grows in the damp forests of Central America; the 

 madder, a plant cultivated in India and Java, and to some extent 

 in France, Holland, and central United States ; and the annatto, a 

 species of plant that thrives in the tropical countries of South 

 America. Vegetable dyes obtained from these plants were 

 formerly more widely used than at present. The discovery of 

 coloring substances in coal tar, and their manufacture into products 

 called aniline dyes, has to a large extent lessened the use of vege- 

 table dyes. However, annatto holds its own as a harmless agent 

 to give butter and cheese a rich yellow color. 



Medicinal Plants. Many plants produce substances used for 

 healing purposes. Among the important ones are the cinchona 

 tree, from the bark of which quinine is made ; the camphor tree, 

 from the wood of which camphor is distilled; and the castor oil 

 plant, from the seeds of which castor oil is obtained. Ginger 

 is made from the dried, pungent roots of the ginger plant, and rhu- 

 barb from the roots of the rhubarb plant. Peppermint is distilled 

 from the stem and leaves of the peppermint plant. The native 

 home of the cinchona tree is in South America; that of the 

 camphor tree and the castor oil plant is in eastern or southern 

 Asia, and that of the ginger plant is the West Indies. The other 

 plants referred to flourish in various parts of the North Temper- 

 ate zone. Other common plants often used for medicinal pur- 

 poses are sage, catnip, comfrey, hoarhound, mandrake, tansy and 

 flax. 



Condiment-producing Plants. The substances most com- 

 monly used as condiments, or seasonings, are cinnamon, clove, 

 ginger, pepper, nutmeg, allspice, anise, mace, cassia, mustard, 

 caraway, cardamon, coriander, caper and vanilla. These are ob- 

 tained from the various parts of plants, the buds, seeds, fruits, 

 bark and roots. Anise, cassia, pepper, allspice, cardamon, cara- 

 way, coriander, nutmeg, mace, and vanilla are obtained from the 



