MYRTALE8. 523 



Species, 250, represented in the United States by a few small lierbs of 

 the genera Lythrum, Cuphea, etc. 



Lawsonia inermis, a slifub of Western Asia, has long been in culti- 

 vation in Egypt and the adjacent countries. From its leaves the cos- 

 metic Henna or Khenna, so much used for coloring the hair and nails, 

 is made. 



Puniea granatum, the Pomegranate of India, is a bushy tree, six to 

 nine metres high (20-30 feet), bearing deciduous leaves, and yellowish 

 fruits about the size of an apple. The pulpy interior of the latter is 

 prized for malting cooling drinks ; from it a wine is also made. Pome- 

 granates have long been grown in the countries about the Mediterranean 

 Sea, and are now cultivated in the warmer parts of America. 



Lagerstramia reginos, the Jarool or Bloodwood tree of India, is highly 

 valued for its blood-red wood, which, being exceedingly durable in 

 water, is much used in shipbuilding. 



L. Iiidica, a common green-house shrub from Iudia,is cultivated under 

 the name of Crape Myrtle. 



Sonneratia acida, an Indian tree, yields a most valuable fuel. 



Physocalymina floribunda, the Tulip tree of Brazil, yields a fine 

 wood much used for inlaying. 



Order Melastomaceae. — Trees, shrubs, and a few herbs, of the 

 tropics. Species, 1800. We have in the United States but one genus, 

 Mhexia, represented by half a dozen species. A few are cultivated in 

 green-houses. 



Order Myrtacese. — The Myrtle Family. Trees and shrubs (rarely 

 herbs), with mostly opposite glandular-dotted leaves ; stamens, many. 

 A large and very difficult order of 1800 or more species, which are dis- 

 tributed throughout the tropics and the Southern Hemisphere. 



Many of the species yield excellent fruits. 



Psidium pomiferum and P pyriferum, of the West Indies, and P. 

 Caltleyaiivm, of Braz'.l, bear apple- or pear-shaped fruits called Guavas, 

 highly esteemed for dessert, and for preserving. All are now exten- 

 sively grown in tropical climates. 



Bugeuia ma^accensis, the Malay Apple, and E. Jambos, the Rose 

 Apple, both of the East Indies, furnish important fruits to the people 

 of the far East. 



E. pimenta, a West Indian tree, is there cultivated for its berries, 

 which are gathered and dried before ripening, constituting the Pimento 

 or Allspice of commerce. 



E. aromatica, the Clove Tree of the Moluccas, now extensively cul- 

 tivated in the East and West Indies, is prized for its spicy flower-buds, 

 which are gathered before opening and then dried, in which state they 

 are known as Cloves. 



BerthoUetia excelsa, of tropical America, is a tree thirty to forty-five 

 metres high (100-150 feet), bearing woody-shelled fruits, ten to fifteeu 



