839 



€*f)C CrntSurw nf ttatmrj. 



[PAND 



iFr.i The fruit of the Shaddock, Citrus cle- 

 cumana. 



PAMPHTLIA. A genus of Brazilian 

 trees of the family Styracacece. The sur- 

 face of the plants is densely covered with 

 ruddy-coloured woolly hairs ; flowers in 

 axillary clusters : calyx bell-shaped, five- 

 toothed : corolla five-cleft, twice the length 

 of the calyx, its segments bent inwards ; 

 stamens five, the filaments united below, 

 shorter than the anthers, which are united 

 at their backs by a membranous prolonga- 

 tion of the filaments ; ovary free, three- 

 celled ; ovules erect, solitary ; style one ; 

 stigma three-lobed. [M. T. M.] 



PANAIS. (Fr.) Pastinaca. 



PANAX. A genus of Araliacece, com- 

 prising herbs, shrubs, or trees, natives of 

 tropical and Northern Asia and America. 

 , The leaves are usually palraately compound 

 ' with sheathing leafstalks ; and their flow- 

 ' ers greenish, arranged in an umbellate 

 manner on branching flower-stalks. They 

 ! have Ave spreading petals, five stamens, 

 ■ and eight styles, two with simple stigmas. 

 The fruit is succulent, orbicular or divided 

 ! into two lobes, rarely cylindrical, crowned 

 j by a fleshy disk, and divided internally into 

 : two one-seeded compartments. 

 ! The name Panax is an adaptation of the 

 I Greek word panakes, signifying a panacea, 

 i or remedy for all complaints, in allusion 

 i to the supposed or real virtues possessed 

 by some of these plants. Thus the root of 

 I P. Schinseng is highly esteemed by Chinese 

 i physicians, who affirm that it is able to 

 ! ward off or remove fatigue, to invigorate 

 t the enfeebled frame, to restore the ex- 

 j hausted animal powers, to make old people 

 young, and in a word to render man im- 

 mortal if anyth ing on earth can do so. Hence 

 the name Ginseng, which signifies ' "Won- 

 der of the World.' At Pekin it is said some- 

 times to have been worth its weight in 

 gold. In Europe the root has failed to pro- 



Y"\ 



North America, has been sometimes con- 

 founded with the foregoing. Its roots are 

 exported from America to China, where 

 they x are highly valued. P. fruticosum, P. 

 cochleatum, and P. Anisum have all aroma- 

 tic properties. Some of the species are 

 cultivated as objects of curiosity in this 

 country. [M. T. MJ 



PANCE, PATJNCE, or PAWNCE. Viola 

 tricolor. 



PANCRAIS. (Fr.) Pancratium. 



PANCRATIUM. A genus of Amarylli- 

 daceo?, and the type of the paucratiform 

 section of the order, distinguished by the 

 presence of a cup or coronet, on Avhich 

 the stamens are borne. There are about 



duce any remarkable effects, though it j 

 is described as mucilaginous, bitter, and | 

 slightly aromatic. It is a native of North- I 

 em Asia. P. quinquefolium, a native of ' 



Pancratium maritimum. 



half a dozen species found in South Europe, 

 North Africa, Syria, Arabia, and Carolina, 

 and as many more in India and the adja- 

 cent islands. They are bulbous plants, 

 with lorate deciduous or persistent leaves, 

 and an umbel of white flowers termina- 

 ting a solid scape. The perianth tube is 

 straight and elongated with a funnel-shap- 

 ed throat, the limb six-parted and spread- 

 ing, and the cup conspicuous funnel-shaped 

 six-lobed, bearing six stamens between 

 the lobes. The ovary is three-celled, with 

 many ovules in each cell. The European 

 P. maritimum, though not now regarded as 

 officinal, has properties resembling those 

 of the squill. It and P. illyricum may be 

 grown at the foot of a wall. The tropi- 

 cal species form handsome stove-plants. 

 Many of the latter are now separated under 

 the name of JJyvienocallis. [T. M.] 



PANDANACEiE. (Cyclanthece, Freycine- 

 tiece, Screiopives.) A natural order of mo- 

 nocotyledonous plants, belonging to Lind- 

 ley's aral alliance of Endogens. They are 

 trees or bushes, sometimes with adventi- 

 tious roots, long imbricated amplexicaul 

 leaves, usually with spiny margins and 

 backs, and unisexual or polygamous flow- 



