250 Select Plants for Industrial Culture and 



clime. It produces the medicinal Ratanhia-root, well known also 

 as a dentrifice, and used further for coloring wine. The root con- 

 tains 38 to 43 per cent, tannin [Muspratt]. Some other species 

 have similarly astringent roots, particularly K. Ixine (Loening), 

 from Central America and the West-Indies. Some could be chosen 

 to aid in adorning and diversifying our gardens. Krameria is 

 placed by Eichler among coesalpinous Leguminosae. 



Kunzea pomulifera, F. v. Mueiler. 



Southern coast of Australia. This creeping or somewhat shrubby 

 plant is well worth naturalisation on other sandy or rocky shores 

 in mild climates, on account of the berries, called " Muntries " by 

 the aboriginals, yielding excellent jam or preserves. It occurs also 

 in the deserts of the interior, but is there not readily fruiting into 

 succulence. 



Iiactuca sativa, C. Bauhin.* 



Southern Asia. The ordinary annual Lettuce, in use since remote 

 antiquity. It is not without value for medicinal purposes, especially 

 as a sedative. L. Scariola (Linne) seems to be the wild state of 

 the gar den- lettuce, and is a native of all the countries around the 

 Mediterranean Sea. Messrs. Dippe in Quedlinburg devote ex- 

 clusively 130 acres to the culture of lettuce merely for seed. Mons. 

 Vilmorin notes the seeds to retain their power of germination for 

 about five years. L. altissima, (Bieberstein), is a variety attaining 

 a height of 9 feet. All yield lactucarium. Succeeds also in 

 equinoctial latitudes, thus thriving also fairly well in the hot and 

 moist depressions of the Malayan Peninsula [H. N. Ridley]. It 

 ripens seeds even in the hot desert-regions of Central Australia. 

 Picridium vulgare (Desfontaines) of the countries at the Medi- 

 terranean Sea is there occasionally consumed as lettuce. L. perennis 

 (Linne) is there a pot-herb [Naudin]. 



Iiactuca virosa, Linne. 



MiddJe and South-Europe, North-Africa, Middle - Asia. A 

 biennial. The inspissated juice particularly of this lettuce forms 

 the sedative lactucarium. 



Las en aria vulgar is, Serin ge. 



Tropical Asia and Africa, perhaps also Australia. An annual 

 climber, rather a plant of curiosity than of utility in the rural 

 sense of the word, but cultivated in India for making calabashes 

 and also employed in medicine. A variety occurs with edible 

 fruits. 



Lantana crocea, -\. Jacquin. 



Central America. One of the most grateful and ornamental 

 plants for low hedges, flowering all through the year, and not apt 

 to spread detrimentally, as do some of its tropical congeners. All 

 the species are of some medicinal value. 



