28 



272. Macrozamia denisonii. — An Australian cycad, the seeds of which contain a 



large amount- of farina, or starchy matter, which formerly supplied a con- 

 siderable amount of food for the natives of that country. The fresh seeds 

 are very acrid, but when steeped in water and roasted they become palatable 

 and nutritious. 



273. Malpighia glabra.— A low-growing tree of the "West Indies, which produces 



an edible fruit called the Barbadoes cherry. 



274. Mammea Americana. — The fruit of this tree, under the name of mammee 



apple, is very much esteemed in tropical countries. It often attains a size of 

 6 or 8 inches in diameter and is of a yellow color. The outer rind and the 

 pulp which immediately surrounds the seeds are very bitter, but the inter- 

 mediate is sweet and aromatic. The seeds are used as anthelmintics, an 

 aromatic liquor is distilled from the flowers, and the acrid, resinous gum 

 distilled from the bark is used to destroy insects. 



275. Manettia cordipolia.— This climbing-plant is a native of South America, and 



belongs to the family of Cinchonacece. The rind of the root has emetic 

 properties, and is used in Brazil for dropsy and other diseases. It is also 

 exported under the name of Ipecacuan, chiefly from Buenos Ayres. 



276. Mangipera indica. — The mango, in some of its varieties esteemed as the 



most delicious of tropical fruits, while many varieties produce fruit whose 

 texture resembles cotton and tastes of turpentine. The unripe fruit is 

 pickled. The pulp contains gallic and citric acid. The seeds possess 

 anthelmintic properties. A soft gum resin exudes from the wounded bark, 

 which is used medicinally. 



277. Manicaria saccifera.— Bussu palm of South America. Its large leaves are 



used for thatching roofs , for which purpose they are well fitted and very 

 durable. The fibrous spathe furnishes a material of much value to the na- 

 tives. This fibrous matter when taken off entire is at once converted into 

 capital bags, in which the Indian keeps the red paint for his toilet, or the 

 silk cotton for his arrows, of he stretches out the larger ones to make him- 

 self a cap of nature's own weaving, without seam or joint. 



278. Manihot utilissima. — -This euphorbiaceous plant yields cassava or mandiocca 



meal. It is extensively cultivated in tropical climates and supplies a great 

 amount of food. The root is the part used, and in its natural condition is 

 a most virulent poison, but by grating the roots to a pulp the poison is ex- 

 pelled by pressure, and altogether dissipated by cooking. The expressed 

 juice, when allowed to settle, deposits the starch known as tapioca. 



279. Maranta arundinacea.— The arrowroot plant, cultivated for its starch. 



The tubers being reduced to pulp with water, the fecula subsides, and is 

 washed and dried for commerce. It is a very pure kind of starch, and very 

 nutritious. The term arrowroot is said to be derived from the fact that 

 the natives of the West Indies use the roots of the plant as an application 

 to wounds made by poison arrows. 



280. Matjritia flexuosa. — The Moriche, or Ita palm, very abundant on the banks 



of the Amazon, Rio Negro, and Orinoco Rivers. In the delta of the lat- 

 ter it occupies swampy tracts of ground, which are at times completely 

 inundated, and present the appearance of forests rising out of the water. 

 These swamps are frequented by a tribe of Indians called Guaranes, who 

 subsist almost entirely upon the produce of this palm, and during the period 

 of the inundations suspend their dwellings from the tops of its tall stems. 

 The outer skin of the young leaves is made into string and cord for the 

 manufacture of hammocks. The fermented sap yields palm wine, and 

 another beverage is prepared from the young fruits, while the soft inner 

 bark of the stem yields a farinaceous substance like sago. 



281. Maximiliana regia.— An Amazonian palm called Inaja. The spathes are so 



hard that, when filled with water, they will stand the fire, and are some- 

 times used by the Indians as cooking utensils. The Indians who prepare 

 the kind of rubber called bottle rubber, make use of the hard stones of the 

 fruit as fuel for smoking and drying the successive layers of milky juice as 

 it is applied to the mold upon which the bottles are formed. The outer 

 husk, also, yields a kind of saline flour used for seasoning their food. 



283. Melaleuca minor. — A native of Aui tralia and the islands of the Indian Ocean. 

 The leaves, being fermented, are distilled, and yield an oil known as caju- 

 put or cajeput oil, which is green, and has a strong aromatic odor. It is 



