XYLOriA. 



XYLOPIA, in Botany, altered by Linnasus from Xyhpi- 

 crum of Browi.c, a name which tlie latter took from riukenet, 

 whofe Xylcpkron, formed from Ja>» and rr.Kjc,-, alludes to 

 the bittcrncls of the wood. M. De CandoUe, m foUowmg 

 Linnaius, obfervcs, that this abbreviation entirely deftroys 

 the fenfe. It certainly does to thofe who do not trace out 

 the fource of the word. If the original had been conftruft- 

 cd in the moft unexceptionable manner, we might have ha- 

 zarded its reftoration ; but Xylopia is now too firmly efta- 

 blifhed to be lightly difturbed, and in found nothing can be 

 better.— Linn. Gen. 469. Schreb. 375. WiUd. Sp. PL 

 V 2.1270. Mart. Mill. Dia. V. 4. Ait. Hort. Kew. 

 V. 3. 336. JufT. 284. DeCand. Syft. v. 1. 499. Poiret 

 v.\ Lamarck Dift. v. 8. 810. Lamarck lUullr. t. 495. 

 Gxrln. t. 69. (Xylopicron; Pluk. Almagr. 395. Xy- 

 lopicrum ; Browne Jam. 250. )— Clafs and order, Polyan- 

 dria Polygynia. (Gynandria Polyandria, Linn.) Nat. 

 Old. CoadunaU, Liiin. yinonte, Juff. Anonacit, De 

 Candolle. .... 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Perianth inferior, of one leaf, in trom 

 three to five deep, broad, ovate, coriaceous, rather acute, 

 permanent fcgmcnts. Cor. Petals fix, feflile, linear-lanceo- 

 late, coriaceous, much longer than the calyx ; the three 

 outermofl largeil. Stam. Filaments none ; anthers numer- 

 ous, oblong, quadrangular, abrupt, parallel, crowded, 

 feated on the tumid, nearly globofc, receptacle, in fcveral 

 rows. P'ljl. Germens feveral, on ftiort ftalks, comprefled ; 

 ftylcs tapering, crowded together ; ftigmas fimple. Perlc. 

 Capfules foveral, ilalked, coriaceous, comprcfTed, bluntly 

 angular, of one cell and two valves, burfting at the top. 

 Seedi one or two, obovate, polilhed, tunicated at the 

 bafe. 



Efi". Ch. Calyx lobed, coriaceous. Petals fix; the three 

 outermoft largcft. Capfules ftalked, angular, comprefled, 

 of two valves. Seeds one or two, tunicated. 



The plants compofingthis genus are trees or flirubs, with 

 oblong or lanceolate (entire) leaves, and axillary, bradteated, 

 fimple or divided fower-Jlalks. The -wood is bitter ; lark 

 and fruit aromatic. De Candolle, who defcribes eight 

 fpecies, uf which the firfl is Hill the lead underftood. 



Linnieiis, by a mifapprehenfion of the true charafter of 

 his own clafs of Oynandiua, (fee that article,) has placed 

 this genus far afunder from Anona, Uvaria, &c., to which 

 it is clofely allied, both in natural and artificial diftinftions. 

 Few genera have hitherto been lefs underftood. 



I. X. muricata. Rough-fruited Bitter-wood. Linn. 

 Sp. PI. 1367. Willd. n. I. De Cand. n. i. Ait. n. i. 

 (X. frutefcens ; Gxrtn. v. 1. 339. t. 69, excluding the fy- 

 nonym of Aublet. Xylopicrum n. i ; Browne Jam. 250. 

 t. 5. f. 2.) — Leaves ovato-lanceolate, pointed ; clothed with 

 clofe-preffed ha;rs beneath. Branches zigzag, nearly 

 fmooth. Stalks with feveral flowers. Fruit muricated. — 

 Found by Dr. Patrick Browne, at the foot of the moun- 

 tains, in Sixteen-mile walk, Jamaica. His fpecimen, drawn 

 in the plate above-cited, is in our hands, but ftripped of the 

 leaves. This deficiency is fupplied by another very large 

 and perfect one, gathered in Jamaica, by Mr. ^lafTon. 

 The latter M. De Candolle unfortunately did not fee, when 

 the writer of this was favoured with too fhort a vifit from 

 this learned and amiable man. It is become necellary to 

 correft fome errors in the defcription, whofe fource is un- 

 known to us. The leaves are certainly r.ot " bearded at the 

 point," nor do we perceive in what fenfe they are termed 

 " ftrigofe beneath." Thefe are Willdenow's expreffions, 

 adopted by De Candolle. Sir Jofeph Banks fent a living 

 plant of this fpecies to Kew garden, in 1793 ; but if it 

 furvivcs,it has not yet flowered. This is a fmaU tree, fifteen 



2 



or twenty feet high, with alternate, round branches, zigzag • 

 when young, quite fmooth, except towards the very extre- 

 mity, which is fiightly filky. Leaves alternate, on (hort 

 thick ilalks, fpreading, rather ovate than lanceolate, with a 

 blunt or emarginate, fmooth point ; their length two inches, 

 or a little more ; their margin entire, (lightly revolute ; their 

 upper furface fmooth and (hining, reticulated with veins ; 

 under paler, more opaque, clothed with fine, fcattered, 

 clofe, filky hairs, after a while deciduous: mid-rib ftout, 

 rough with minute tubercles at the back. Flonver-Jlalks co- 

 pious, axillary, folitary, (hort, knotty, bearing from two 

 to fivijloivers. Calyx three-lobed, fcarcely downy. Petals 

 half an inch long, denfely filky on both fides ; the three 

 innermoft very narrow, triangular-awlfliaped. Capfules, by 

 Ga:rtncr's account, which in the main agrees with that of 

 Linnxus, nearly ovate, but angular and compreffed, fome- 

 times as many as fifteen, coriaceous, covered with little 

 points, of one cell and two valves, containing one or two 

 oval feeds, each with a cup-like tunic at the bottom. 

 Browne made no remarks on the bark or wood of this tree. 

 We perceive little bitternefs in either, though fome aromatic 

 flavour in the bark. This fpecies being the type of its ge- 

 nus, we have thought a full defcription requifite. 



2. "K. frutefcens. Shrubby Silky Bitter-wood. Aubl. 

 Guian. 602. t. 242, excluding the lynonyms of Linnsus 

 and Browne. WiUd. n. 2. De Cand. n. 2. " Dunal 

 Monogr. 120." Lamarck t. 495, copied from Aublet, ex- 

 cluding the fruit, which is Gartner's figure of the forego- 

 ing. Poiret n. 2. (X. fetofa ; Poiret n. 4, according to 

 De Candolle. Embira feu Pindaiba ; Pif. Braf. 71. Ibira; J 

 Marcgr. Braf. 99.) — Leaves lanceolate, pointed; glaucous \ 

 and iilky beneath. Branches filky. Stalks with few 

 flowers. Capfules fmooth. — Found by Marcgraf in Brafil, 

 flowering in February ; by Aublet in Cayenne and Guiana, 

 bearing flowers and fruit in Augud. M. De Candolle has 

 examined a fpecimen, and we, having feen none, are obliged 



to rely on him and the other authors here cited for the fpeci- 

 fic diftin<Stior(s between this and the firft fpecies. The 

 fmoothnefs of the fruit, the filkinefs of the branches, and 

 narrownefs of the leaves, appear fufficient to afcertain the 

 prefent plant. Marcgraf fays the bark aiTords a tough 

 kind of cordage. The yru;/, equal in fize to hazel-nuts, is 

 aromatic and acrid, ferving, when powdered, inftead of 

 pepper. 



3. ^.falicifolia. Willow-leaved Bitter-wood. " Humb. 

 and Bonpl. unpublifhed. Dunal Monogr. 121. t. 17." 

 De Cand. n. 3. — " Leaves oblong, with a bluntifli point ; 

 filky beneath. Stalks fliort, fingle-flowered ? with fmall 

 brafteas." — Found by the celebrated travellers baron Hum- 

 boldt and M. Bonpland, near Efpinal, in South America. 

 A tree with blackifli branches, marked with white dots. 

 Leaves narrow, an inch and a half or two inches long, three 

 or four lines broad, on (hort Ilalks, fingle-ribbed, without 

 veins ; fmooth and green above ; villous beneath, with clofe- 

 preffed, filky hairs, of a rufous grey. Capfules from five 

 to feven, gibbous, (lightly pointed, not burfting. Seeds one 

 or two. De Cand. 



4. X. liguflrifolia. Privet-leaved Bitter-wood. " Dunal 

 Monogr. 121. t. 18." De Cand. n. 4. — " Leaves oblong, 

 rather acute, fmooth on both fides. Stalks (hort, with few 

 flowers, and fmall bradeas." — Gathered by Humboldt and 

 Bonpland, at Buga, in South America. The branches are 

 round, blackifli, rugged, rough with whitifh points. Leaves 

 an inch and a half long, four lines broad, on very (hort 

 ftalks, fingle-ribbed, veinlefs ; fomewhat (hining above ; 

 paler beneath ; the young ones filky at the under fide. 

 Stalks axillary, with three or four flowers, and roundifh con- 

 cave 



