4GG ANACARDIACEJ:. [Htpogynous Exogens. 



Spondiacese. It differs from Anacards in having a many-celled instead of a 1-celled, 

 1 -seeded drupe ; and on this more than anything else the character of the supposed Order 

 was made to depend. But it appears that in the begmmng Spondias has 5 d.smct 

 carpels, inclosed within a large fleshy cup,and that the growing together of these cru -el. 

 is an after operation, unconnected with original structure ; a Mango m fact, if .c had 

 5 carpels instead of , would be almost a Spondias. For this reason the supposed Order 

 does o seem to be tenable. It is true that its ovules are described as being suspended 

 from "he ape™ of the cells ; but this seems to arise from the cord contracting anadhesion 



^S^WftSli suggests that Anacards should he placed **£%£* 

 with Malpighiads (xiv. 243). A better approximation would have been to me Older of 

 }\ ands with which thev are not associated, chiefly because of their flowers not being 

 amiceous, nor usually absolutely $ ? Pistacia indeed, is so and sop,e others ; but 

 the mass of the Order is polygamous, or has distinct rudiments of a ? n the c? *°***»- 

 cSv natives of tropical America, Africa, and India ; a few are found, beyond the 

 tropics both to the north and south. Pistacias and some species of Rhus inhabit the 

 south o Europe ; many of the latter genus occupy stations in North America and 

 Northern India, and also at the Cape of Good Hope ; Duvaua and Schinus inhabit 

 eSSy Chile and the adjacent districts. The Order is unknown in ^e^y Holland 



Large trees, with hiconspicuous flowers, abounding in a resinous, sometimes acrid 

 hi-ml g po Lonous juice, are 'the ordinary representatives of this Order, to -Inch belong 

 he Cashew-nut, (Anacardium occidental), the Pistacia-nut (Pistacia vera) and the 

 M^o fruit (Mangifera indica). Of these trees the Mango is the most unportan ts 

 SC as highly valued in tropical as the Peach in temperate countries ; its bark, 

 espec alf that of the root, is a bitter aromatic, and is employed against diarrhoea, leucor- 

 rlTcea &c ; the voung leaves are pectoral, the old leaves are used for cleaning the 

 teeTh' the seeds are anthelmintic ; a resin that flows from he stem is reputed to be 

 antypMlS Some are celebrated for yielding a clammy **%£** *£%£& 

 black and is used for varnishing in India ; as the common Cashew-nut. Ihe^arnWi 

 of Svlhe i chiefly procured from Semecarpus Anacardium, the marking Nut- tree of 

 commerce and the varnish of Martaban from the Theet-see or Kheu a plant called by 

 WalHcl Melanorrheea usitatissima. All these varnishes are extremely dangerous to some 

 con St ions ; the skin, if rubbed with them, inflames and becomes covered with pimples 

 that are dTfficult to heal ; the fumes have been known to produce a painful swelling and 

 flammation of the skin, which, in a case recorded by Brewster, extended from the 

 EmTasfaTas the face and eyes which became swelled to an alarming degree I have 

 1 "ion an instance of similar effects having been produced by roasting the nu s of Ana- 

 caiSm ocridentale. But there are some* constitutions which are not affected in any 

 decree 1 such poisons. These varnishes are at first white, and afterwards become 

 blade This has been ascertained by Brewster to arise from the recent varnish being 

 an organised substance, consisting of an immense congeries of small parts winch disperse 

 rhe sun's rays in all directions, like a thin film of unmelted tallow ; while the varnish 

 which has been exposed to the air loses its organised structure, becomes homogeneous, 

 JCSSS sun's rays of a rich, dee P ,uniform red colour Such a secretion is 

 ProbS he substance mentioned by Ainslie as the Black Lac of the Burmah country, 

 ^thwich the natives lacquer various kinds of ware. The valuable black hard varnish 

 cXTjaWLa^er,is obtained from Stagmaria verniciflua in the Indian archipelago : 

 fh s resin P ?s extremely acini, causing excoriations and blisters if applied to the skin ; 

 e^Teople of Sumatra consider it dangerous even to sit or sleep beneath its shade; 

 the manner of faring ** varnish is fully described in Jack's Malayan MueOom^ 

 Tm L\] cutta edition.) A black varnish well known in India is manufactured from 

 LnuKlwecarS Anacardium and the berries of Holigarna longifoha Aug* 

 chin" sis produces a varnish in China and Siam. Odina wodier Buchanama lat.fol a 

 a mnvnore Indian species, have the same property. Several Comoelachas stain the 

 S ill K The haves of some species of Schinus are so filled with a resinous fluid, 

 th Sekaet decree of unusual repletion of the tissue causes it to be discharged ; to 

 s of t em fill die air with fragrance after rain ; and S. Molle, Duvaua latrfoha, 



and some others expel their resin with such violence when immersed m water as to 

 f m-e the appcai-a... I of spontaneous motion, in consequence of the recoil. See Botlkg. 

 S sSusArroeira ' is v.id by Auguste de St. Hilaire to cause swellings in those 

 \ u r rtr its shade The fresh juicy bark of this shrub is used m Brazil for 

 rubbSe^yWe^opi which it covers with a very durable bright dark-brown coat- 

 £ The Sw4e Ew plant is applied by the Indians in diseases of the eye. This 

 „,. Cl a it Rhus coriaria, possess acid qualities. The fruit of Cassuyium occi- 

 i wfafe ud \, -ardiun, orientate is said to exercise a singular effect upon the brain 

 i , n ,s,y for strengthening the gums and sweetening the breath, .Mfe 



