HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



GOU 



for canoes, and yields a valuable lumber; the 

 Cotton is of a coarse, inferior quality. The 

 general uses of this staple are too important 

 and well known to require comment. The seed 

 has, however, a value but little known. Near 

 the City of New York there is an oil mill that 

 makes daily several thousand gallons of oil from 

 Cotton seed, which is sent to Italy, there bottled, 

 and sent all over the world, and sold as a very 

 superior quality of Olive Oil, for table use. The 

 seed is also valuable as a manure. 



Gouania. Chaw Stick. Named after A. Gouan, 

 once Professor of Botany at Montpelier. Linn. 

 Polygamia-Dicecia. Nat. Ord. Rkamnacece. 



A genus of climbing tropical shrubs, contain- 

 ing upward of twenty species. The most in- 

 teresting, G. Domingensis, is a common creeper 

 in the West Indies and Brazil. In Jamaica it is 

 called Chaw Stick, on account of its thin, flexi- 

 ble stems being chewed as an agreeable sto- 

 machic, and tooth brushes are also made by cut- 

 ting pieces of Chaw Stick to a convenient length 

 and fraying out the ends ; and a tooth powder is 

 prepared by pulverizing the dried stems. It is 

 said to possess febrifugal properties; and on ac- 

 count of its pleasant bitter taste is commonly 

 used for flavoring different cooling beverages. 



Gourd. See Cucurbita. 



Govenia. Named after J. R. Gowen, a distin- 

 guished horticulturist and cross-breeder of 

 plants. Linn. Gynandria-Monandria. Nat. Ord. 

 Orchidacea'. 



A small genus of interesting terrestrial Or- 

 chids from Mexico. The flowers are borne on 

 spikes from one and a half to two feet high, in 

 the same manner as the Bletia. The colors are 

 mostly shades of yellow, beautifully marked 

 with crimson. Propagation and culture the 

 same as for Bletia. 



Grains of Paradise. See Amomum. 



Grammanth.es. From tjramma, writing, and an- 

 thos, a flower; marks like V being on the corolla. 

 Linn. Pentandria-Pentagynia. Nat. Ord. Crassu- 

 lacecn. 



Succulent herbaceous plants, natives of the 

 Cape of Good Hope. Seed sown in the green- 

 house in January will make very showy and in- 

 teresting plants for rock-work during summer. 

 The flowers closely resemble those of Crassula, 

 to which it is allied. Introduced in 1774. 



Grammatophyllum. From grammata, letters, 

 and phyllon, a leaf; referring to the markings on 

 the leaves. Linn. Gynandria-Monandria. Nat. 

 Ord. Orchidacece. 



The species of this genus are but few in num- 

 ber, and are rarely seen in collections of Orchids, 

 because of the difficulty in management. Those 

 who have had the good fortune to flower them 

 say that it is at the expense of years of patience 

 and labor that their rare and curious flowers are 

 produced. They are natives of Manilla. Intro- 

 duced in 1837. 



Grape. Fi'/i.s v'mifera. Like many extensively cul- 

 tivated plants, the native country of the Grape is 

 unknown, or at least doubtful. It is among the 

 plants spokeu of in the Books of Moses, and 

 it appears to have been cultivated and the fruit 

 used then as at the present day. Noah planted a 

 vineyard, and wine is mentioned as a beverage 

 among the earliest nations of the world. The 

 oldest profane writers ascribe its introduction 

 to their gods. According to the tradition of the 

 Egyptians, Osiris first paid attention to the Vine, 

 and instructed other men in the manner of 

 planting and using it. The inhabitants of Africa 



GRE 



ascribe the same gift to the ancient Bacchus. 

 Wine was among the first oblations to the Divin- 

 ity. " Melchisedek, King of Salem, brought 

 forth bread and wine, and he was the priest of 

 the Most High God." Humboldt says the Vine 

 does not belong to Europe, but is indigenous in 

 Asia between the Black Sea and the Caspian, of 

 Mount Ararat and of the Taurus. In the forests 

 of Mongrelia it flourishes in great magnificence, 

 climbing to the tops of the highest trees, bearing 

 bunches of fruit of delicious flavor. We have no 

 authentic account of the introduction of the Vine 

 into the present grape-growing countries, or of 

 the origin of the maay varieties now under cul- 

 tivation. More than one hundred varieties have 

 been introduced into our graperies, and into the 

 Southern States and California, where the cli- 

 mate will permit of their being grown in the 



. open air. The Grapes grown throughout the 

 United States have their origin in the species 

 indigenous to North America. V. labrusca, the 

 Fox Grape, common in swampy grounds from 

 Maine to the Gulf of Mexico, is the parent of our 

 best garden varieties, among others the Isabella, 

 which originated in South Carolina, and the 

 Concord, which originated in Massachusetts. 

 The Catawba had its parentage in V. riparia, the 

 common Frost Grape, or at least it is so accred- 

 ited. The Diana, a seedling of the Catawba, 

 was raised by Mrs. Diana Crehore, of Boston. 

 The introduction of new varieties, from seed, of 

 various crossings, is being rapidly carried on by 

 our enterprising horticulturists. 



Grape Hyacinth. See Muscari. 



Grass of Parnassus. See Parnassia. 



Graptophyllum. Caricature Plant. From grapho, 

 to write, and phyllon, a leaf; referring to the mark- 

 ings on the leaves. Linn. Diandria-Monogynia. 

 Nat. Ord. Acanthacece. 



A genus of tropical shrubs, inhabiting both 

 hemispheres. A few of the species have been 

 introduced into the hot-house for the beauty of 

 their variegated foliage and their racemes of 

 white flowers. G. pictum is properly called the 

 Caricature Plant, from the fact that, when its 

 leaf is held up to the light, it often presents 

 nearly an exact profile of the human face. G. 

 Nortonii, a more recent introduction, is a very 

 distinct and beautiful species, with rich rose- 

 colored spots or markings. Propagated by cut- 

 tings. First introduced in 1780. 



Great Laurel. See Magnolia. 



Greek Valerian. See Polemoniwn. 



Green Brier. See Smilax. 



Green Violet. See Tolea. 



GreviUea. Named after C. F. Greville, a patron of 

 botany. Linn. Tetrandria-Monogynia. Nat. Ord. 

 Proteacece. 



An extensive genus of green-house shrubs and 

 evergreen trees, natives of New Holland. The 

 species include lofty trees more than a hundred 

 feet high, and low-growing shrubs. G. robusta, 

 the Silk Oak, is a magnificent tree, with orange- 

 colored flowers. G. Forsterii is a similar species 

 with bright scarlet flowers, that are produced 

 when the tree is young. The foliage of the 

 species is as varied as the size of the plants. On 

 some of the trees it is needle-shaped; others 

 have leaves closely resembling those of the A>-n- 

 thus. Several of the species are under cultiva- 

 tion in the green-house, and are considered ac- 

 quisitions. Young plants are obtained from 

 seed. 



Greyia. Named in honor of Sir George Grey, who 

 was Governor-General of the Cape Colony at the 



