AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



29 



AQU 



Aquifo'lia'ceae. The common Holly Tree Ilex 

 Aquilfolium, is the type of this small natural 

 order of shrubs and trees. The species may be 

 said to possess in general, emetic qualities, 

 variously modified in various instances. Bird- 

 lime is obtained from the bark of the common 

 Holly, and the beautiful white wood is much 

 esteemed by cabinet-makers for inlaying. 

 A decoction of Ilex vomitoria, called Black 

 Drink, was used by the Creek Indians at the 

 opening of their Councils, and it acts as a 

 mild emetic. But the most celebrated pro- 

 duct of the order is Mate, or Paraguay Tea, the 

 dried leaves of Ilex Paraguariensis, which see. 

 There are about 150 species, and the follow- 

 ing genera Syronia, Ilex, and Nemopanthes. 

 The order is sometimes known as Illicinece. 



Aquila'ria. Eagle Wood. From aquila, an eagle ; 

 locally called Eagle-wood in Malacca, where it 

 abounds. Nat. Ord. Aquilariacece. 



A small genus of tropical evergreen shrubs 

 and trees. A. Agallocha, a large tree inhabit- 

 ing Silket, and provided with alternate lanceo- 

 late leaves, furnishes an odoriferous wood 

 called Aloes-wood, or Eagle-wood. The wood 

 contains an abundance of resin, and an 

 essential oil, which is separated and highly 

 esteemed as a perfume. The Orientals burn 

 it in their temples for the sake of its slight 

 fragrance, on which account it was used in the 

 palace of Napoleon the First. 



Aquile'gia. Columbine. From aquila, an eagle ; 

 alluding to the form of the petal. Nat. Ord. 

 RanunculacecB. 



Perennial herbaceous plants growing from 

 one to three feet high, of which several species 

 are very ornamental, especially, A. vulgaris, 

 and its varieties. A. Canadensis is the wild 

 Columbine of the United States. A. chry- 

 santha, from the Rocky Mountains, has 

 canary-colored flowers, contrasting finely with 

 the blue A. alpina and A. ccerulea. There are 

 also many beautiful hybrids, as well as species 

 in cultivation. They* are of easy cultivation 

 and are propagated by seeds, or by division of 

 the root. 



A'rabis. Rock Cress. From Arabia ; probably 

 in reference to the dry situations where many 

 of the species grow. Nat. Ord. Crueiferce. 



An extensive genus of annual or perennial 

 herbaceous plants, bearing white or, rarely, 

 purple flowers. A. alpina has white flowers, 

 which, in its native country, appear in March ; 

 and A. albida flowers the greater part of the 

 year, commencing in mild winters in January, 

 and producing its large tufts of white blossoms 

 till October. Some of the species and vari- 

 eties, such as A. verna, A. alpina nana, and A. 

 bellidifolia, do not grow above three inches 

 high, and are admirable plants for rock- work. 



Ara'ceae or Aro'ideae. An extensive genus of 

 herbaceous plants with numerous unisexual 

 or hermaphrodite flowers, closely packed 

 upon a spadix, shielded when young by the 

 hooded leaf called a spathe, as is seen in the 

 common Indian Turnip, Ariscema triphyllum. 

 They are common in tropical countries, but 

 rare in those with a cold or temperate climate. 

 Most 1 of them have tuberous rhizomes, but 

 some acquire the stature of small trees, the 

 most interesting of which is the Dumb Cane a 

 species of Dieffenbachia, others as Philo- 

 dendron and Monstera have scrambling stems 



ARA 



by which they attach themselves to the trunks 

 of trees. The tuberous species all contain 

 starch in such abundance that it may be 

 separated in the form of arrow-root, and used 

 as food, only however, after very careful 

 washing to remove the acrid juices; and the 

 Colocasias are grown as an article of food 

 in hot countries as common field crops. 

 Scarcely more than 200 species are known, 

 Caladium, Richardia, Arum, Amorphophallus, 

 etc., are examples of this order. 

 A'rachis. Peanut. From a, privative, and 

 rachis, a branch ; a branchless plant. Nat. 

 Ord. Leguminosca. 



A. hypogcea (underground), the only species, 

 is the Peanut of our shops. It is a native of 

 the West Indies and Western Africa, but has 

 become generally cultivated in all warm 

 climates as an article of food, to be eaten like 

 other nuts, or as food for swine. It is also 

 largely cultivated in the East Indies and 

 Cochin China for the oil obtained from the 

 seeds, which is thin and of a straw color, 

 resembling the finer kinds of olive oil. It is 

 said to be of a superior quality, and for table 

 use preferable to the best olive oil. It is free 

 from stearine, and is used by watchmakers and 

 others for delicate machinery. The plant is an 

 annual, of a trailing habit, with yellow, pea- 

 shaped flowers, produced from the axils of the 

 leaves in bunches of five or seven, close to or 

 even under the ground. They should be 

 grown in a light, sandy soil, and the stems 

 ^covered lightly with earth when in flower, as 

 the seeds are only ripened under ground. The 

 peanut is profitably grown in nearly all of the 

 Southern States. 



A'rachnis. Name from the Greek: a spider. 

 Nat. Ord. Orchidacece. 



A small genus of very curious and interest- 

 ing epiphytal orchids from Java; deriving 

 their name from their extraordinary resem- 

 blance to a spider. A. moschifera, the best 

 known species, is a very peculiar plant, some- 

 what like a Renanthera in habit. The flowers 

 are large, creamy white, or lemon-color, with 

 purple spots ; they are delicately scented with 

 musk, and continue in perfection a long time. 

 Arachnoid. Resembling a cob-web in appear- 

 ance. 



Ara'lia. A name of unknown meaning. Nat. 

 Ord. AraliaccB. 



This genus consists of trees, herbs and 

 shrubs, mostly of an ornamental character, 

 but of no value as flowering plants. The 

 roots, of A. nudicaulis, one of our native species 

 is largely sold for sarsaparilla. A. racemosa, 

 is our beautiful Spikenard, much esteemed for 

 its medicinal properties. A. spinosa, one of 

 our native shrubs or low trees, is common in 

 cultivation, and is known as the Angelica Tree 

 and Hercules Club. A. papyri/era, which 

 assumes a tree form, grows in great quantities 

 in the deep, swampy forests of the island of 

 Formosa. The stems of this species are filled 

 with pith of a very fine texture, from which is 

 manufactured the celebrated rice paper of the 

 Chinese, which is chiefly used in making artifi- 

 cial flowers. A. Sieboldi (Syn. Fatsiajaponica) 

 has large leathery, deep green leaves and is 

 much used in sub-tropical and window gar- 

 dening ; a very beautiful variegated variety 

 of this species is in cultivation. The vari- 

 ous species with much divided leaves in- 



