278 NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



which, though astringent, has a root said to he purgative; T. 

 mauritiana 1 (fig. 235-237), the seeds of which are edible; T. 

 angustifolia, 2 which, in India, yields a kind of benzoin; T. Buceras? 

 of the Antilles, the astringent bark of which is employed in medi- 

 cine ; T. erecta 41 (fig. 240), the bark of which is useful in the 

 treatment of ophthalmia, syphilitic, diabetic, and many other 

 affections. 5 Laguncularia racemosa, 6 of the tropical African and 

 North American shores, is also an astringent plant. Quisqualis 

 indica 1 (fig. 229-234) has anthelmintic seeds of a sharp and bitter 

 taste ; its leaves also, either alone or with mustard, are prescribed 

 for worms and affections of the lower intestines. Many species of 

 Gombretum are also useful. C. coccineu , m s (fig. 226-228) and 

 G. argentenm, grandiflorum, 9 and alternifolium, have astringent 

 barks. Several are tinctorial. The ashes of G. glutinosum 10 are 

 used in Senegambia to fix the colours of indigo. In Guyana, the 

 Galibees rubbed the muzzle of their dogs with the fruit of T. 

 Cacoucia to increase their power of scent. 11 De Maetitjs made known 

 in Europe Terminalia 'irgentea, 12 of Brazil, as yielding a drastic and 

 resolutive juice used in his country for the same purposes as gum 

 gutta. Several species of Terminalia of the same countries are 

 tinctorial. In Mozambique an aromatic fatty matter is extracted 

 from the seeds of G. butyroswm^ used for preparing food. Alangium 

 has aromatic roots. The wood is good and the fruit edible, but often 

 viscous and nearly tasteless. A. decapetaluw, 1 * (fig. 245-248) and 



1 Lamk. Diet. i. 349; III. t. S4S, fig. 2.— 8 Lamk. Diet. i. 734; III. t. 282, fig. 2.— C. 

 Catappa mauritiana G.ertn. f. purpureum Yahi.— Bot. Beg. t. 429.— Poivrea 



2 Jacq. Hurt. T'mdob. iii. t. 100.— T. Benzoin coccinea DC. Prodr. iii. 18, n. 5. 



L. f. Suppl.—C. Benzoin G.ERTN. f. {Faux- 9 d °n. Edinb. S, w Phil. Journ. (1824) 346.— 



Benjoin, Bien-joint). DC- Prodr. n. 24.— Laws. Fl. Trop. Afr. ii. 423. 



3 Biicida Buceras L. Spec. 556.— DC. Prodr. —°- Aficlii Von.— Poivrea grandiflora Rentii. 

 iii. 10.— Eichl. Mart. Fl. Urns. Combret. 94, t. Niger, 337. 



35, fig. 1. This species, pierced by insects, also 10 Pehr. Fl. Sen. Tint. i. 2S8, t. 08. 



produces galls rich in tannin {Chêne français of " Cacoucia coccinea Achl. Guian. t. 179.— 



the Antilles). Eichl. Mart. Fl. Bras. Combret. 122, t. 32.— 



4 Conocarpus erecta L. Syst. 217.— Descourt. Senousbœa coccinea W. 



Fl. Mêd. Ant. vi. t. 399.— Eichl. he. cit. 101, t. 12 Haut, and Zuoo. Nov. Gen. el Spec. i. 43.— 



35, fig. 2 {Mmglier flibustier, M. droit, M. noir). Eichl. Mart. Fl. Bras. Combret. 86, 126, t. 23. 



s T. glabrata Forst. trovancorensis Wight, 13 Oar. Journ.Linn. Soc. iv. 167. — Sheadendron 



Pamœa DO. crenulata Roth. (Rosenth. foc. cit. iutyrosum Bertol. Mem. Acad. Bologn. (1850) 



900-902), etc. 12, t. 4. 



6 See p. 282, note 2. u Lamk. Diet. i. 174. — A. acuminatum Wiohi 



7 L. Spec. 556. — Lamk. ift.t. 357. — DC. Prodr. and Arn. — Rosenth. op. cit. 903. — Grewia 

 iii. 23.— Bot. Mag. t. 2033.— Bot. Reg. t. 492.— mlvifolia L. r. Suppl. 409 (ex Vaiii, Sf/mi. i. 61). 

 Rosenth. op. at. 903. — Angolam Rheed. Sort. Malub.ii. t. 17. 



