PLANTS. 251 



having two lateral petals called wings and two lower ones 

 which, converging together, form a body named the Car- 

 ina, or Keel, from its resemblance to a boat, and serves 

 to enclose the stamens and pistil. If our young student 

 will examine the nearest bean blossom, he will find a 

 better explanation than can be conveyed by terms ; there 

 are nine coherent (diadelphous) stamens, and one free ; 

 therefore the Papilionacese rank in the 17th class, L. 

 The fruit, or rather seed, is contained in pods, and is 

 mostly eatable. To this division belongs, first, 



The Tragacanth Tree (Astragalus tragacantha). It 

 is shrub-like, with numerous leaflets ten pairs small 

 and oblong ; the flowers are pale-red. A native of the 

 East, it furnishes a gum which exudes from its bark, 

 which is very useful in Materia Medica and the arts. 

 The gums Arabic, Cino, Senna, Catechu, also belong to 

 this tribe. Related to this family is 



The A. Bactricus, valued and cultivated on account 

 of the .seeds, which are said to afford a tolerable substi- 

 tute for coffee. It is also known by the name of Swedish 

 coffee ; but it is hardly likely that this plant will ever 

 be of much account in this country, as coffee-drinkers 

 are not apt to admire substitutes for their favorite ber- 

 ry. T ?. 



The Indifjo Plant (Indigofera tinctoria), plate 27, 

 fig. 5, is a low tree or rather a tall shrub, two to three 

 feet in height, with six or eight pairs of cleft leaflets ; 

 their shape is oblong, rather than oval, and the red flow- 

 ers are arranged in short clusters. The indigo plant is 

 a native of the East Indies and China, but has been 

 transplanted to the West Indies, where it is now culti- 

 vated in many places. The seed is sown in a rich, light 

 soil, requires much culture, and must be carefully nursed 



