EUPHORBIACE^E. 



Nat. syst. ed.2.p.U2. 



BUXUS. 



Flowers monoecious, clustered or racemose. Sepals 4, brac- 

 teate. <? . Stamens 4. ? . Styles and stigmas 3. Capsule 

 3-horned, tricoccous, 6-seeded. A. de J. 



350. B. sempervirens Linn. sp. pL 1394. E. Sot. t. 1341. 

 Dry chalky hills in Europe and the west of Asia. 



A small dense-leaved, hard-wooded, evergreen tree. Leaves ovate, 

 deep shining green, becoming red in the autumn, quite smooth and 

 entire, with the cuticle of the under side readily stripping off; petioles 

 and young branches slightly downy. Flowers aggregate, axillary, pale 

 yellow. Capsule globular, bursting elastically. Seeds parallel, oblong, 

 slightly compressed, externally rounded. Leaves bitter and nauseous ; 

 sudorific and purgative. Chips of the wood have the same properties, 

 and have been prescribed in syphilitic diseases and chronic rheumatism. 

 A foetid empyreumatic oil, Oleum Buxi, was formerly sold in the shops ; 

 but for all the purposes of box-oil, preparations of Guaiacum are 

 now emploj'ed in preference. The oil has been occasionally employed 

 with success in tooth ache. Camels are poisoned by browsing on the 

 leaves in some parts of Persia. 



CICCA. 



Flowers monoecious or dioscious. Calyx 4-parted. $ . Sta- 

 mens 4. $ . Styles 4-5, bifid. Capsule somewhat fleshy, with 

 4-5 cocci, and 8-10 seeds. 



351. C. disticha Willd. iv. 332. Phyllanthus longifolius 

 Jacq. h. schonb. ii. t. 194. Roxb. fl. ind. iii. 673. (Rheede 

 iii. t. 47. 48. Rumph. vii. t. 33. f. 2.) Averrhoa acida Linn. sp. pi. 

 613. Islands of India. (Cheramella of Europeans.) 



A small tree. Leaves pinnated 1-2 feet long, often flower-bearing ; 

 leaflets numerous, alternate, stalked, nearly orbicular, 1-3 inches long, 

 1-1^ broad; petioles round, smooth, tapering, sometimes ending in a 

 short raceme of male flowers. Racemes numerous, terminal, axillary 

 and from the old buds on the naked branches. Flowers numerous, 

 small, reddish, in globular beads. Drupe 3-4-lobed, 4-6-8-grooved, the 

 size of a gooseberry. Nut (according to Roxb.) 3-4-parted, each part 

 1-celled and 1-seeded, which is at variance with the character assigned 

 to the genus by A. 'de J. Leaves sudorific, seeds cathartic. Fruit 

 subacid, cooling and wholesome. 

 175 



