438 DICTIOXARY OF POPULAR XAMES WHAXGEE 



SO called, ^vlrich are of a leathery texture, and in old plants attain 

 the length of 5 or 6 feet with the breadth of a foot or more, their 

 apex being torn or divided, and they lie nearly flat on the ground 

 in opposite directions, their original axis or point of development 

 being overgro\Yn above and below by the continued enlargement 

 of the trunk, giving the leaves the appearance of being artificially 

 inserted in two slits which extend nearly half-way round, 

 almost meeting each other. It is difficult to determine the age 

 of these plants ; the largest, which have the appearance of flat 

 tables lying on the ground, may be presumed as not being 

 less than 500 years old. It belongs to a small family called 

 Gnetace?e, allied to the Fir and Yew famil3^ It presents a con- 

 trast to the long, slender, whipcord-like branches of the genus 

 Eljhedra, which belongs to the same family. Several specimens 

 are to be seen in the Museum at Kew. 



Whangee Cane, a Chinese name for the stems of Fliyllo- 

 stacliys, a genus of the Grass family (Graminaceffi), allied to the 

 bamboo. The regularly jointed walking-sticks, known by the 

 above name, are furnished by P. nigra ; walking-sticks are also 

 made of P. hamhusoides. 



Wheat [Triticum vulgare, of which there are many varieties), 

 an annual corn-grass, cultivated in Egypt from remote antiquity, 

 and now" throughout all the temperate regions of the world, and 

 in the Andes of South America, where it is cultivated at an 

 elevation of 9260 feet. It may be considered the most important 

 bread -food of the world, forming the staff of life to millions. 

 Large quantities of wheat-flour are made into starch, and used 

 for dressing woollen fabrics. {See Hard Grass.) 



Wheel Tree, or Paddle -wood (AsjndosjKrma excelsinn), a 

 large tree of the Dogbane family (Apocynaccte), native of Guiana. 

 Eemarkable in havine^ the stem re^ularlv fluted, often givincf 

 the appearance of several small trees stuck to a large one ; they 

 are cut away, and used by the natives as paddles. These trunks 

 are sometimes 4 or 5 feet in diameter, and when cut trans- 

 versely the section has the appearance of the rays of a wheel. 



Whins. {See Furze.) 



