850 NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



Orias cauliflora,^ or Anehovy pear, is gathered before it is ripe and 

 preserved with oil and with salt. BerthoLletia excelsa^ produces the 

 Brazil nut^ of commerce. These seeds (fig. 327, 328) are. in shape 

 that of a quarter of an apple, with hard rugose striated envelope, 

 covering a large undivided edible embryo, rich in a sweet oil 

 which soon turns rancid. The fibrous bark is useful, sometimes 

 supplying the place of tow. Several Barrmgtonias yield useful 

 products. JB. speciosa* of tropical Asia, has oleaginous seeds 

 and fruits* which are eaten green as vegetables. The Indians 

 throw them into the rivers to intoxicate the fish. B. racemosa^ (fig. 

 315, 316), an Asiatic and tropical oceanic species, has bitter aromatic 

 astringent seeds, used in the treatment of affections of the skin, of 

 the digestive organs, and of the liver. The bitter root is also pre- 

 scribed for intermittent fevers. B. rubra ''' is a large Indian tree, 

 the fruit of which has astringent qualities ; the seeds and leaves, 

 macerated in warm water, are likewise used in a similar manner. 

 B. coccinea,^ of India, Cochinchina, and the Moluccas, is edible ; the 

 young leaves are eaten cooked and in salad. Those of B. alba ^ are 

 likewise eaten raw. The bark of this species is used for dyeing black. 

 The number of ornamental Myrtacece is considerable. The 

 common Myrtle and the Pomegranate were long the only species of 

 this family cultivated for decorative purposes. Later were introduced 

 into our warm conservatories, specimens of Eugenia, i" (chiefly of the 

 section Jambosa), Pimenta, then Barringtonia^^ Gustavia,^^ and 

 JVapoleona, with rich foliage and brilliant flowers ; and in our cool 



1 L. Spec. 732.— DC. frodr. iii. 296. — Hook. * "Vulg. Bonnets carris. 



Bot. Mag. t. 5622. — Anchovy Bear Sloan. Sixt. ^ Bl. ex DO. Brodr. n. 2 ; V. Soutt. Fl. dcs 



Jam. ii. 122, t. 217. — P. Br. Jam. 246. — Lun. Serr. vii. 23, tab. — Eugenia racemosa L. Spec. 



SoH. Jam. i. 19. 673. — Samstravadi Eheed. Sort. Malai. iv.'t. 6. 



2 H. B. PI. Mquin.i. 122, t. 36.— Poit. Mim. 7 B. acutangula Gjertn. Fruct. ii. 97, t. 111. 

 Mus. xiii. 148, t. 4, 8. — DC. Brodr. iii. 293. — — Eosenth. op. cit. 1158. — Eugenia acutangula 

 ScHOMB. Bioe. Eort. See. i. 71, t. 3, 4. — Mart. L. Spec. 673. — Strmadia rvhra Pees. — Strava- 

 Bi:ise,m.. 1130, u. 11.— GniB. Brog. Simpl. ed. 6, dium rubrym DO. Brodr. iii. 289, n. 2 {Eosairo 

 iii. 271.— Mee. et Del. Diet. Mat. M4d. i. 579. Irava). 



— H. Bk. Diet. Bncgcl. So. Med. ix. 182. — Beeg. s jj excelsa Bl. Bijdr. 1097 (ex T)Q.).— Stra- 



Lihniea, xxvii. 460 ; Mart. FL Bras. Myrt. 478, vadium excelsum DO. Brodr. n. 5. 



t. 60, 61 {Tuvia, Nha, Nia, Tuea, Touka). 9 Stravadium album DO. Brodr. n. 1. — Stra- 



' Amamdes d'Amerique, du Para, du Bio-Negro, vadiaalbaVsRS. — Seemann [Fl. Vit. 82) describes 



du Bio-Grande, Castanos de Maranh&o. B. edulis as a species employed under the name 



" L. FIL. Suppl. 312.— DC. Brodr. iii. 288, n. of Vutu Kana. 

 1.— Eosenth. op. cit. 938. — Butonica speciosa i" See Bot. Mag. t. 473, 4408, 4626, 4558, 



Lamk. Bict.i. 521. — Mitraria Gommersoni Gmel. 4626, 5040, etc. 

 — Commersona Sonnee. Foy. Guin. i. 14, t. 8, 9. " V. Houtt. Fl. des Serres, vii. 21. 



—Butonica Eumph. Serb. Amiom. iii. t. 114. " Bot. Mag. t. 6069, 6239, 6161. 



