IN EXTRA-TROPICAL COUNTRIES. 103 



Diospyros Lotus, Linne. 



From Northern China to the Caucasus. The ordinary Date 

 Plum. The sweet fruits of this tree, resembling black cherries, 

 are edible, and also used for the preparation of syrup. The 

 wood, like that of D. chloroxylon, is known in some places as 

 Green Ebony. It resembles Mottled Ebony ; it must not, how- 

 ever, be confounded with other kinds, such as are furnished by 

 some species of Excoecaria, Nectandra, and Jacaranda. 



Diospyros Virginiana, Linne. 



The North American Ebony or Parsimon or Persimmon. A 

 tree 60 feet high. Wood veiy hard and blackish. The sweet 

 variety yields a good table fruit. Hot summers promote the 

 early ripening and sweetness of the fruit, the delicious taste not 

 depending on early frost. Ripens fruit to 41° north in Illinois 

 (BryantJ . The final sweetness depends upon chemical decom- 

 position. 



Diposis Bulbocastanum, CandoUe. 



Chili. The tubers of this perennial herb are edible (Philippi) . 



Dipsacus fuUonum, Linne. 



FuUei-'s Teazel. Middle and South Europe and Middle Asia. 

 A tall biennial herb. The thorny fruit-heads are used for fulling 

 in cloth factories. The import during one of the last years into 

 England was valued at £5,000. The plant is most easily raised. 

 The use of these Teazels has not yet been superseded by any 

 adequate machinery. 



Dirca palustris, Linne. 



North America. An ornamental forest shrub, the tough bark 

 of which is serviceable for straps and whipcords. 



Distichlis maritima, Rafinesque. {Festwa dAstichophylla, J. Hooker.) 



North and South America, extra-tropical Australia. This dwarf 

 Creeping Grass is of great value for binding soil, forming rough 

 lawns, edging garden plots in arid places, and covering coast 

 sand. 



Dolichos Lablab, Linn6. 



Warmer parts of Africa ; probably thence spread widely through 

 the tropics. An annual herb, sometimes lasting through seve- 

 ral years. The young pods, as well as the ripe seeds, available 

 for culinary use, but not of all varieties. It delights in rice 

 soil, and ripens in hot countries within three'months ; its yield 



