420 BUCKTHORN TRIBE. TEREBINTH TRIBE. 



which is used in dyeing. The " French berries" of the shops, 

 from which a beautiful yellow is obtained, are the unripe fruit 

 of this plant ; and from their juice, when they are ripe, the 

 colour termed sap-green is prepared. Another species affords 

 the colour with which yellow morocco leather is tinged. The 

 fruit of a species allied to the Christ's Thorn, however, contains 

 a large quantity of gummy matter, without any substance pos- 

 sessing active properties ; this, which is known under the name 

 of the fiyubf) is a favourite dessert in Italy and Spain, either 

 when fresh, or when dried as a sweetmeat ; and lozenges made 

 from it are much employed in this country as a remedy for 

 coughs. The Lotus, the fruit of which has been celebrated from 

 the time of Homer, also belongs to this order. It is a native of 

 Persia, and grows wild on the north coast of Africa as well as 

 in its interior ; and its fruit is eaten by the inhabitants, wherever 

 it grows. It is converted into a sort of bread, by drying and 

 pounding ; and from its juice, when pressed out and mixed with 

 water, and afterwards fermented, a sort of wine is commonly 

 made. The leaves of one Chinese species are used for tea by 

 the poorer classes in that country ; and another produces a sort 

 of fruit, which is said to resemble a pear in flavour, but which 

 is nothing else than the flower-stalk become fleshy. 



585. Passing over several small orders of little importance, 

 we come to that of TEREBINTACE^S, which contains a large 

 number of species inhabiting tropical countries, distinguished by 

 their resinous secretions, and, at the same time, by their poi- 

 sonous properties. The number and arrangement of the parts 

 of the flower differ considerably in the different sections of the 

 order ; so that many Botanists subdivide it into three or more. 

 The flowers are sometimes complete, but not unfrequently one 

 or other set of organs is suppressed in some of them, so as to 

 render the plant polygamous ( 483) ; and some species are 

 dioecious. The sepals are from 3 to 5 in number, more or less 

 united together, and imbricated. The petals, when present, are 

 equal in number to the sepals ; but they are occasionally absent ; 

 they alternate with the sepals, and are sometimes adherent to 

 each other. The stamens are either equal in number to the 



