GEOIAN OF ECONOMIC PLANTS. 191 



veined. Flowers yellow, axillary, in tufts. The roots, known 

 as Gentian Eoots, are strong, about the thickness of the finger, 

 and highly valued as a tonic in stomach complaints. 



Geranium, the Linnsean name of an extensive genus of 

 plants. The name is derived from the Greek word "Geranos," 

 a " Crane." In modern times the genus has been broken up 

 into three sections, namely. Geranium proper, Felargonium, and 

 Erodium. Geranium consists of 40 to 50 species of annual and 

 perennial herbs, the greater number native of Europe, of which 

 twelve are natives of Britain. Their flowers are showy white, 

 blue, or red, and are regular — i.e, having five equal-sized 

 petals — which character distinguishes them from the more 

 extensive genus Felargonium, the flowers of which consist of 

 five unequal petals. . It derives its name from " Pelargos," a 

 " Stork," hence its name Stork-bills. There are a considerable 

 number of species, all native of the Cape of Good Hope, of 

 which 130 are recorded in Hortus Kmvensis as having l)een 

 introduced previous to 1813. They consist of soft-stemmed 

 herbaceous plants ; their sweet smell and pretty flowers led 

 them to become early favourites with all under the name of 

 Geraniums; but during the last fifty years they have become 

 extensively cultivated by nurserymen and amateurs, and by 

 hybridising numerous varieties have been established, and 

 Pelargoniums now form one of the principal features at horti- 

 cultural shows. 



Geranium Oil. — This fragrant oil is obtained from Pelar- 

 gonium roseum, a small fleshy-stemmed plant of the Geranium 

 family (Geraniacese), native of the Cape of Good Hope. It is 

 largely cultivated in France under the name of Rose de 

 Linours. It also yields an acid called Pelargonium Acid, which 

 is used for flavouring wine. 



German Tinder, known also by the name of Amadou, is a 

 substance prepared from a solid fungus {Polyporus fomcntarius), 

 which grows on trees in this country, but more abundantly in 

 Germany, where it is collected in large quantities, and forms a 

 considerable article of trade. It is also cut in slices and beaten 



