APPENDIX. 



693 



tree, as in the case of tUe plants producing caout- 

 chouc. A single tree yields about 20 or 30 lb.<i. of 

 gutta percha. Tlie substance was made known only 

 in 1845 ; its uses are already inniunerable. The an- 

 nual imports into Great Britain are about 1000 tons 

 a-year. — For other figures, see Index or List of 

 Plates. 



PLATES XXVII.— XXX. 



PLANTS USED AS FOOD. 



For page of description, see Index or List of Plates. 



PLATES XXXI., XXXII. 



PL.\NTS USED IN DYEING. 

 Por page of description, see Index or List of Plates. 



PLATES XXXIII., XXXIV. 



PLANTS USED IN CtOTHINO AND COBDAHR. 



GoMUDTl-PALM {Arenga saccliarifera). The sub- 

 efcince named gommuti, used for cordage, canvas, 

 and other economical purposes, is a fibre produced 

 by the splitting or decay of the leaf-stalks of this 

 palm . The fibres are stiff and deficient in elasticity, 

 preventing it from being much in request for cordage 

 in this country, where only small quantities of them 

 are received. Piasbava-palm (AttaUa funifera), 

 piassava, pia^aba, monkey-grass, or para-grass, is a 

 fibre produced by this palm in a similar manner to 

 the gommuti, namely, by the separation of the leaf- 

 stalks or petioles, which are of great length, often 

 nearly twenty feet. The fibres are about the thick- 

 ness of a rush, round, and not very flexible, so that 

 they are neither woven nor spun in this countiy, 

 but are much used in making brashes and brooms. 

 The coquilla-nut is the fruit of the same palm. — Sun, 

 shunum, taag, or Bengal hemp, is the fibre of Orota- 

 lariajuncea (p. 420), a leguminous plant of India, 

 resembling our broom, JuTE (Corcliorus capmlaris), 

 p. 420. The fibre of this plant, which belongs to 

 the Linden tribe, has of late years become so gener- 

 ally used, that it now rivals flax and hemp in its im- 

 portance as a commercial product. — For other figures, 

 see Index or List of Plates. 



PLATE XXXV. 



VEGETABLE POISONS. 



jEthilsium cynapium, fool's-parsley ; leaves poi- 

 sonous. Arum maculatum, cuckoo-pint, or wake- 

 robin ; tubers amylaceous, stimulant, diaphoretic, and 

 expectorant ; juice acrid, poisonous ; produces Port- 

 land sago when freed from the acrid juice. Bryonia 

 alia, white bryony ; root acrid and purgative ; cath- 

 artic. Ckdidonium majus, greater or common celan- 

 dine ; juice acrid, stimulating, aperient, diuretic, 

 and sudorific. 



PLATE XXXVL 



VEGETABLE POISONS. 



Aconitam napellua, wolf's-bane, or monk's-hood j 

 narcotico-acrid ; a spirituous infusion of the root has 

 proved fatal to human life. Atropa lelladonna, 

 deadly nightshade or dwale; a dangerous narcotic. 

 Solanum dulcamara, woody nightshade or bitter- 



sweet ; berries bitter and poisonous ; plant narcotio 

 and diaphoretic. Datura Stramonium, common 

 thorn-apple ; violent narcotio poison. 



PLATE XXXVII. 



VEGETABLE POISONS. 



Coniummaculatum, hemlock; powerfully nareotioo- 

 acrid, Hyoseyamut n'ujer, black henbane; strongly 

 narcotic. Lactuca virosa, poisonous lettuce ; narco- 

 tic. Oolchicum autumnale, autumnal meadow- 

 safiron ; a narcotico-acrid poison ; used as an anthel- 

 mintic. 



PLATE XXXVIIL 



VEGETABLE POISONS. 



Ranunculus alpcslris, alpine white crowfoot ; 

 acrid. Agarictts muscarius, fly-blown mushroom 

 (named also Amanita muscaria), one of the most 

 poisonous of our fungi. It is narcotic and intoxi- 

 cating, and in Kamschatka is used in the same man- 

 ner as ardent spirits. Digitalis purpwca, pni-ple 

 foxglove ; diuretic, narcotic. Helleiorus niger, black 

 hellebore, or Christmas rose, same natural order as 

 Ranunculus; characterized generally by aciidity, caus- 

 ticity, and poison. 



PLATE XXXIX., XL. 



rnUITS AND NUTS. 

 Fig. 6. — Sapucaya, Sapucaia, or Zabucajo nut (the 

 produce of Lecytliis ollaria), and known by the name 

 of monkey -pot, the seeds being much relished by these 

 animab. Fig. 7. — Brazil, Juvia, Castanha, or Para 

 nut (the fruit of Bertlioletla excelsa), of which also 

 the monkey is very fond, and will hammer the capsule 

 for hours together with a stone, in order to get at the 

 inclosed nuts. — For other figures, see Index or List 

 of Plates. 



PLATE XLI. 

 AUSTRALIAN TREES AND SHRUBS. 

 Aiistralian trees as well as shrubs are perennial 

 evei'greens. Hence the forests of that vast island are 

 verdant with foliage all the year round. There is 

 no autumnal fall of the leaf; consequently there is 

 scarcel}' any soil formed in the woods by decayed 

 leaves. As there is no general denudation of leaves 

 from the branches in winter, so, when spring comes 

 round, no univeraal budding takes place, to renew the 

 charms of that season, as in European forests. The 

 well-known American expression, " fall of the year," 

 which is derived from its deciduous vegetation, is in 

 this southern region inapplicable. There is a stereo- 

 typed aspect, if we may so term it, about Australian 

 forest scenery, so that its general effect upon the 

 mind is that of monotony. This impression is lllie- 

 wise assisted by the sombre green colour of the fo- 

 liage, caused by the dark tint of the chlorophyll that 

 constitutes the colouring matter of the leaves. Al- 

 though the country is open and grassy, and the cli- 

 mate clear and sunny, yet there are no warm green 

 hues in the forest landscape in spring, nor the rich 

 glowing tints of autumn. A universal sombrenesa 

 would thus prevail, were these effects not consider- 



