nuta] 



C^e Cn?a£ur» at 3Sntang. 



796 



— , RAVENSARA. The fruit of Agalho- 

 phyllum aromaticum, used as a spice in Ma- 

 dagascar. — , RUSH. Cyperus esculent us. 

 — , SAPUCAIA. The seed of Lecythis 

 Zabucajo ; also L. Ollaria, and L. grandi- 

 flora. — , SARDIAN. The Chestnut, Cas- 

 taneavesca. —, SASSAFRAS. Nectandra 

 Pichury. — , SINGHARA. The fruit of 

 various species of Trapa, especially T. 

 bispinosa and bicornis. — , SNAKE. The 

 seed of Ophiocaryon paradoxum. — , 

 SOAP. Mimosa abstergens. — , SOUARI, 

 or SDWARROW. The seed of Caryocar 

 nuciferum ; also C. butyrosum. —.SPAN- 

 ISH. Morcea Sisyrinchium. — , TAQUA. 

 Phytelephas macrocarpa. — , VEGETA- 

 BLE IVORY. Phytelephas macrocarpa. —, 

 VOMIT. Strychnos nux vomica. — , WA- 

 TER. The fruit of various species of 

 Trapa. — , WOOD. Cory his Avellana. ' — , 

 YER, YUR, or JUR. The fruit of Arachis 

 hypogaa and Bunimn flexuosum. 



NUTANT, NUTANS. Nodding; inclin- 

 ing very much from the perpendicular, so 

 that the apex is directed downwards, as 

 the flower of the snowdrop. 



NUTGALLS. The galls formed on Quer- 

 eus in/ectoria. 



NUTMEG. Myristica moschata ; called 

 also M. fragrans and M. officinalis. — , 

 AMERICAN. Monodora Myristica. — , 

 BRAZILIAN. Cryptocarya moschata. — , 

 CALABASH. Monodora Myristica. — , 

 CALIFORNIAN. Torreya Myristica. — , 

 CLOVE. Agathophyllum aromaticum. — , 

 JAMAICA. Monodora Myristica. — , LONG. 

 Myristica fatua. — , MADAGASCAR. 

 Agathophyllum aromaticum. — , MALE. 

 Mynstica tomentosa. — , PERUVIAN. 

 The seed of Laurelia sempervirens. — , 

 PLUME. ,Atherosperma moschata. — , 

 SANTA PE. Muristica Otoba. -, STINK- 

 ING. Torreya Myristica. — , WILD. My- 

 ristica tomentosa, and M.fatita. 



NUTMEG-WOOD. The wood of the 

 Palmyra palm, Borassus flabelliformis. 



NUTTALLIA. A name given by Torrey 

 and Gray to a North-west American shrub 

 constituting a genus of Rosacece, remark- 

 able as forming a transition from theAmyg- 

 dalece to the Spirazm. The flowers are dioe- 

 cious, with only fifteen stamens. There are 

 five distinct ovaries, the fruiting carpels 

 usually fewer, coriaceous, and one-seeded. 

 It is a small tree.with obovate entire leaves, 

 and white flowers in axillary racemes. 



NUX. The same as Nut. — , BACCATA. 

 A nut enclosed in a pulpy covering formed 

 by some external organ, as in the Yew. 



NUX VOMICA. Strychnos nux vomica. 



NUYTSIA. The Flame-tree or Fire-tree 

 of South-western Australia is N.floribunda, 

 a plant belonging to the Loranthacece, but 

 differing from all the rest of the order by 

 growing in the ground like ordinary trees, 

 instead of being parasitic like the Loran- 

 thus, mistleto, &c. It attains the height 

 of twenty-five or thirty feet, and, when co- 

 vered with its long narrow orange-coloured 



flowers, is an extremely brilliant object, 

 and is compared by the colonists to a tree 

 on fire. Its flowers are abundantly pro- 

 duced in large terminal racemes, and are 

 in threes, each three with an involucre of 

 three separate bracts at the base. A large 

 quantity of gum, somewhat like gum-ara- 

 bic, exudes from its trunk. [A. S.] 



NYCTAGE. (Fr.) Mirabilis. 



NYCTAGINACE^I. (Nyctagines, Nycta- 

 gos.) A natural order of monochlamydeous 

 dicotyledons belonging to Lindley's che- 

 nopodal alliance of hypogynous Exogens, 

 and consisting of herbs, shrubs, or trees 

 with opposite often unequal leaves, and 

 involucrate flowers. Perianth tubular, co- 

 loured, contracted in the middle, becoming 

 indurated at the base, the limb deciduous ; 

 stamens definite, hypogynous ; ovary su- 

 perior, one-celled, with a solitary erect 

 ovule. Fruit a caryopsis, enclosed within 

 the enlarged persistent tube of the peri- 

 anth. The plants of the order have in 

 general purgative qualities. Mirabilis Ja- 

 lapa was at one time considered the Jalap- 

 plant. M. dichotoma is called in the West 

 Indies 'four o'clock flower,' on account of 

 opening its blossoms at that hour in the 

 afternoon. They arc natives principally 

 of warm countries. The order comprises 

 about a score of genera, and upwards of 

 one hundred species. Examples : Mirabilis 

 {Nyctago), and Pisonia. [J. H. B.] 



NYCTAGINIA. Mexican herbs consti- 

 tuting a genus of Nyctagmacece. The prin- 

 cipal characteristics are: leaves opposite; 

 flowers aggregated within a many-leaved 

 involucre ; perianth tubular, dilated at the 

 apex ; stamens five, attached to the base 

 of the perianth, and projecting beyond it; 

 style as long as the stamens, terminated 

 by a small button-like stigma; fruit sur- 

 rounded by the hardened base of the peri- 

 anth, and by the membranous base of the 

 stamens. [M. T. M.] 



NYCTALIS. A genus of gill-bearing 

 Fungi, all the species of which are parasitic 

 on Russula adusta, elephavtina, and one or 

 two allied fungi. They are,however,chiefly 

 remarkable for the comparatively small de- 

 velopment of the hymenium in some of the 

 species, and the constant growth of a para- 

 site with curious stellate spores (Astero- 

 phora) on the extremely thick pileus, or, 

 according to the views of some, the con- 

 version of its tissues into stylospores. N. 

 parasitica, which has a different habit, is 

 also described as producing stylospores on 

 the hymenium instead of true fruit ; but 

 whether this is really the case, or whether 

 the appearance is due to some parasite, is 

 at present undecided. [M. J. B.] 



NYCTANTHES Arbor tristis, the Night 

 Jasmine of India, is a shrub or small tree of 

 the Jasminaceo?, with acutely four-angled 

 branches, ovate-acuminate entire leaves, 

 and highly fragrant flowers. These have 

 salver-shaped corollas, the flat limb of 

 which is white with an orange eye, and 

 the long terete tube also bright-orange. 



