70 LETTER XXX II. 



is obtained from a bush belonging to the Lythrum tribe; 

 for this purpose its leaves are pounded, and made into 

 a paste. Botanists call the plant Lawsonia inermis ; 

 antiquaries have asserted, without much reason, that it 

 is the Gopher plant of Scripture. 



A second object of interest is the beautiful timber 

 used by Cabinet-makers under the name of Rose- 

 wood. By some this production is assigned to a plant 

 called Physocalymna floribunda belonging to the tribe 

 before us ; but Prince Maximilian of Wied Neuwied 

 declares that it is yielded by a Mimosa. 



^\liile speaking of the remarkable plants of the 

 Lythrum Tribe, the Lagerstromias must on no account 

 be forgotten : Indian and Chinese trees or shrubs, 

 bearing a profusion of large purple flowers, in clusters 

 of considerable size, and one of them (L. indica), 

 at least, nearly hardy in England. 



The RocK-RosE Tribe (Plate XXXII. 2.) shall 

 be the next object of our examination, and most worthy 

 of it will it prove, whether the beauty of the species 

 belonsfins" to it, or their very extraordinarv structure 

 be considered. These plants are well knowTi in gar- 

 dens, under the names of Cistus or Helianthemum, 

 and are either cultivated as evergreen bushes in the 

 shrubben% or are employed to ornament rough 

 banks and masses of rock- work, over which they trail 

 or spread with great beauty ; they are particularly 

 useful in places so much exposed to the sun as to be 

 too dry in summer for the support of other plants. In 

 such situations they grow with vigour, resist severe 



