240 NATURAL HISTORY. 



Indies and South America, h- According to Lindley, 

 there are t^yenty thousand varieties of Citrus Aurantium. 



The Shaddock Tree (Citrus decumana). Petioles 

 winged ; leaves obtuse or stumpy ; the floAvers hang in 

 clusters, and smell like lilies. The oblong, knobbed 

 fruit, often as large as a child's head, is of a pale yellow- 

 ish-green color ; often groAvs to the diameter of seven 

 to eight inches, and Aveighs fourteen pounds. The rind 

 is spongy and bitter ; the pulp, purplish-red, has little 

 taste. The fruit can be kept a considerable time, but 

 only ripens perfectly in the East and West Indies. There 

 is a relative species, called the Gideons Apple, which is 

 three times as large as a lemon ; the pulp has an acid, 

 but very pleasant flavor. It is often planted in gar- 

 dens.* TZ. 



EIGHTEENTH FAMILY. HYPERICACE^E. (Class 18, 

 L.) Are IOAV shrubs, with reddish-colored sap and yel- 

 low floAvers. The most common species is 



The St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum), Willd. 

 Leaves obtuse or often rather acute, Avith numerous pel- 

 lucid punctures like perforations, and dotted Avith black. 

 The handsome gold-colored flowers are numerous and 

 arranged in terminal panicles ; if rubbed so as to extract 

 the juice, the fingers are colored red ; the taste is bitter 

 and balsam-like. Considered medicinal, the yelloAV flow- 

 ers rubbed into olive oil are used as a remedy for burns 

 and wounds. T?. 



The species termed Hcbradcndron are found only in 

 the East Indies ; the juice of the sap, dried in the sun 



* Iu a splendid French work, written iu 1818, there are 169 varie- 

 ties of the Aurantiaceae described. Sweet Orange, 42 ; Bitter, 32 ; 

 Bergamots, 5; Limes, 8; Shaddocks, G; Lumes, 12 ; Lemons, 48 ; 

 Citrons, 1 7. Cuttings best mode of cultivation. 



