184 Select Plants for Industrial Culture 



ordinary Tea-plant, although in its native country it is very exten- 

 sively used as such. From the province of Parana alone more than 

 36 million pounds were exported in 1871, besides 9 million pounds 

 used for home-consumption; while in Rio Grande de Sul the local 

 provincial consumption is nearly four times as much, not counting 

 large quantities consumed by the aboriginal race. It is cheaper than 

 coffee or tea (about 5d. per pound), but an individual there uses 

 about 1 Ib. per week. It has a pleasant aroma, can be taken with 

 milk and sugar, and is the favorite beverage in large portions of 

 South- America (Dr. Macedo Soares). The leaves destined for the 

 Mate are slightly roasted. I. Dahoon (Walter) and I. dipyrena 

 (Wallace) are used for the same purpose, and probably other hollies 

 may be found occasionally fair substitutes. I. theezans (Martius) 

 also yields in Southern Brazil a kind of Mate. Chemical principles: 

 coffein, quina-acid and a peculiar tannic acid, which latter can be 

 converted into viridin-acid. 



Hex verticillata, Gray. (Prinos verticillatus, Linne". ) 



Eastern North-America. There the bark much used for medicinal 

 purposes, both externally and internally. 



Illicium anisatura, Linne*. 



China and Japan. The Star-Anis. An evergreen shrub or small 

 tree. The starry fruits used in medicine and as a condiment. 

 Their flavor is derived from a peculiar volatile oil with anethol. 

 This species and a few others also deserve culture as ornamental 

 bushes. 



Illipe butyracea, F. v. Mueller. (Bassia butyracea, Roxburgh.) 



India, up to 4,500 feet. A tree, gaining a height of 50 feet. The 

 pulp of the fruit is edible. The seeds yield a soft fat. 



Illipe latifolia, F. v. Mueller. (Bassia latifolia, Roxburgh.) 



The " Mahwa." Central India. A tree to 50 feet high, content 

 with dry, stony ground ; enduring slight frost. The succulent corolla 

 affords a never-failing crop of nourishing food to the rural inhabi- 

 tants. Each tree supplies 2 to 3 cwt., each hundredweight yields 

 on distillation about 3 gallons of spirit; essential oil is also obtained 

 from the corolla. The flowers are also used for feeding cattle; they 

 will keep for a long time. The seeds yield oil of thick consistence. 

 I. neriifolia is an allied species, which ascends to 4,000 feet. 



Imperata arundinacea, Cyrillo. 



South-Europe, North-Africa, Southern and Eastern Asia, Aus- 

 tralia, Polynesia. The Lalong-grass of India. Almost a sugar-cane 

 in miniature. Valuable for binding sand, especially in wet localities. 

 Difficult to eradicate. Available also for thatching. 



Indigofera Anil, Linne". 



Recorded as indigenous to the West-Indies, and extending naturally 

 through continental America from Carolina to Brazil. A shrub, 



