386 DICTIONARY OF POPULAR NAMES SOUR 



differing in the leaves being five-parted, and also in producing 

 edible, but more oily nuts, called Pekea. 



Sour Gourd. (See Baobab.) 



Sour Plum, a name given in Queensland to Ovjenia venosa, 

 a tree of tlie Bead Tree family (Meliace?e), said to have milky 

 juice (?). It has clammy branches, winged leaves, and small 

 flowers produced in panicles. The fruit is a globular drupe; 

 the pulp is wholesome, slightly acid, and is eaten by the natives. 

 The wood is hard, very strong, of a reddish colour, and is used 

 for wheelwrights' work. The wood of 0. cerasifera is also hard, 

 and takes a fine polish. It is called the Sweet Plum, and forms 

 an imj^ortant article of trade in China. Living plants have been 

 recently introduced into this country, but are too tender to grow 

 in the open air. 



Sour Sop, or Custard Apple {Anona muricata), a tree of the 

 Custard Apple family (Anonacese), 15 to 20 feet high, native of 

 the West Indies and tropical America, and cultivated for its fruit, 

 which varies in size from 6 to 9 inches in circumference ; the 

 form also is variable, but the heart shape predominates, as indeed it 

 does in most of the fruits of the other species. Its pulp is woolly 

 in appearance, but contains a fresh and agreeable sub-acid juice. 



Southernwood (Artemisia Ahrotanum), a well-known garden 

 shrub of the Composite family (Compositse), much in favour 

 for its stimulatincc aromatic odour. It is a native of Southern 

 Europe, and is known also by the name of Old Man. 



Sowa, a name given in Bengal to Peucedanum graveolens, 

 better known as Ancthum Sowa, an annual of the Carrot family 

 (Umbelliferfe), cultivated in India, especially in Bengal, for its 

 carminative seeds, which are used for culinary purposes ; by dis- 

 tillation the seeds yield a very useful medicinal oil, also know^n 

 as Bishop's Weed OH. 



Soy (Glycine Soja, better known as Soja hispida),^ small, erect, 

 trifoliate, hairy plant of the Bean family (Leguminosa?), native 

 of India and China. It is cultivated for its seeds, wdiich are 

 made into the sauce called Sov in India, and the residue or cake 

 is extensively used for manure in China. 



