450 NATUEAL HISTORY OF PLAXTS. 



acidulate or slightly astringent. Their colour- and shape have often 

 given to the shrubs bearing them the name of Antilles or Barbadoes 

 cherries. Such are M. aqiiifoUa,^ cocci/em,'^ fucaia^ 'pmiidfol'm^ 

 introduced into oiu' greenhouses and esteemed for the elegance of 

 their flowers.'^ They are less beautiful however than the species of 

 Galpliimla with long clusters of yellow flowers, frequently cultivated 

 by us. M. glahra,^ a native of Mexico, and Nicaragua, has received 

 the common names of Xocof and XocJitotl (that is to say berry). In 

 Jamaica, it is cultivated for its fruit. The same with M. urens "^ in 

 the French Antilles, under the names of Bois-ccqntaine (Fr.), Brin- 

 dhmiour (Fr.), etc. The flesh of the pericarp has an agreeable 

 bitterish taste, is easy of digestion, and is supposed to dilute and 

 refresh the blood. A rob is prepared from it, or it is made up with 

 jelly and preserved fruits, and used for diarrhœa, haemorrhage, leu- 

 corrhœa and inflammatory fevers. M. jnmicifolia has also an edible 

 fruit ; it is eaten rolled in sugar, and a refreshing juice is prepared 

 from it ; it is said to be laxative beyond a certain dose. The wood 

 is used for tanning and dyeing red. Remarkably enough, whilst the 

 Brazilians have long recognised as edible the fruit of Bjjrsonima^ 

 especially those of i?.<?ra.ss//b//«, intermedia^ 2mchii2:)hi]lla^sericca^s])icata^ 

 and those of several Bunchosia^ the almonds of B. Armeniaca,^ are 

 supposed to be poisonous ; and whilst the bark of so many species 

 of Malpighiaccce form astringent remedies, the root of Banistcria 

 Pragua ^^ is employed in Brazil, according to Vellozo, as an évacuant, 

 sometimes substituted as laxative and emetic for Cephœlis Tpeca- 

 cuanha. The wood of the Maljnghiuceœ is neither heavy nor hard, 

 but it is sufliciently résistent to serve for the fabrication of beams 



' L.Spec.6\\. — GhN. Diss. ym. 409, t. 236. — hedges of tbem in tropical America, so that 



M. ilicifolia Mill. these insects may pillage them. 



2 L. Sprc. ed. Reich, ii. 371.— Jacq. Ic. Rar. " L. Spec. 609.— Cav. Diss. 406, t. 234 



t. 470.— .W. c^ciii/rija L. This speeics owes its {Jamaican Cherries). 



name, like several others, to being used as a re- ' L. Spec. 6019. — Cav. Di^s. 407. t. 235 



treatbyinBects(Cy»!>;s.'') whopuncturetheleaves [Cerisier-capitaine, de CourwiU, Bois Hinselin, 



to deposit their eggs, and it becomes, in conse- Couhnye). 



quence, covered with galls, in the thickness of ^ Mahcgk. Bras. (ed. 1648), US. — Piso, 



which the larvae may find nourishment. Bras. (ed. 166S), 171 [Mureci petini/ii, M. 



■' Kek, in Bot. Reg. t. 189. — M. Macrophylla giinfu). 



Desp. Cat. Hort. Par. 169 (nee Peks.).— Tukp. » liicH. DC. Prodr. i. 582, n. W.—Malpighia 



Diet. fie. Nat. Atl. t. 164 {Moureilkr with large Armeniaea Cav. Diss. 410, t. 238. 



fioicers.) '" Velloz. Fl. Fhim. 190, iv. t. 158.— ? Be- 



* L. Spec. 609. — ^A. Juss. Malpigh. 10, n. 12. temptenjs Hgriiigreflora Griseb. Liitii/ea xiii, 



* These flowers are often very odorous ; they 223. 

 nttract bees, and de JMaktius advises planting 



