961 



£I)c CrraSury at 230taiig. 



[recc 



RATSBANE, or RAT-POISON. A West 

 African name for Chailletia toxicaria. 



RATTAN. A commercial name for the 

 long trailing stems of Calamus Royleanus, 

 Rotang, rudentum, viminalis, and other 

 species, which form a considerable article 

 of import from India and the Eastern Ar- 

 chipelago. — , GREAT. Calamus ruden- 

 tum. —, GROUND. Rhaphisflabelliformis. 



RATTANT, or RHATAXY. The power- 

 fully astringent root of Krameria triandra. 

 — SA VANILLA. The root of the New Gre- 

 nada variety of Krameria Ixina. 



RATTLE. RED. Pedicularis sylvatica. 

 — , TE L LO W. Rh inanfh us Crista galli. 



RATTLE-BOX. Rh inanfh us Crista galli ; 

 also an American name for Crotalaria. 



RATTLESNAKE-HERB. An American 

 name for Aetata. 



RATTLESNAKE-ROOT. The root of 

 Polygala Senega; also an American name 

 for Nabalus. 



RATTLESNAKE'S MASTER. An Ame- 

 rican name for Liatris scariosa and squar- 

 rosa. 



RATTLESNAKE- WEED. Eryngium vir- 

 ginicum. 



RATTLEWORT. Crotalaria. 



RAIT CHE. (Fr.) Typha latifolia. 



RAUPO. Typha angnstifolia. 



RAUWOLFIA. This genus of Apocyna- 

 cece, so called in honour of a botanical tra- 

 veller.cousists of tropical American shrubs, 

 having the leaves opposite or whorled,and 

 the flowers in corymbs. The corolla is fun- 

 nel-shaped, with a hairy throat, and a limb 

 divided into five oblique segments; the 

 ovai-y is two-lobed, surrounded at its base 

 by a circular thickened rim ; and the fruit 

 is fleshy, divided into two halves each con- 

 taining a stone, in which is enclosed a sin- 

 gle seed. The fruits of R. canescens contain 

 a black juice which has been used as a dye 

 in the West Indies. These plants are more 

 or less poisonous. Some of them are used 

 medicinally as cathartics or emetics, as for 

 instance R.nitida, of which the root is thus 

 employed. [M. T. M.] 



RAVE. (Fr.) Brassica Rapa. — DE 

 SAINT ANTOINE. Ranunculus bulbosus. 



RAVENALA. A splendid Madagascar 

 plant constituting a genus of Musacece. 

 | The trunk is like that of the palm, and is 

 1 built up of the sheaths of the leafstalks, 

 the other portions of the leaves having 

 j fallen off. The upper leaves are in two rows 

 on long stalks, and they diverse from the 

 upper portion of the stem somewhat in the 

 same manner as the ribs of a fan, from its 

 centre. The flowers are closely crowded 

 in the axils of large bracts or spathes, 

 which are ranged in two rows along the 

 terminal flo-verstalks. In botanical cha- 

 racters the flowers are similar to those of 

 the species of Musa and Strelitzia, but they 

 differ in the stamens which are six in num- 



ber. The fruit also is woody, capsular, 

 three-celled, aud three-valved ; and the 

 seeds are arranged in two rows, in each of 

 the compartments of the fruit, and have 

 a pulpy blue arillus surrounding them. 



This noble plant is called by the French 

 the Traveller's Tree, probably on account 

 of the water which is stored up in the 

 large cup-like sheaths of the leafstalks, 

 and which is sought for by travellers to 

 allay their thirst. The broad leaves are 

 used as thatch to cover the huts in Mada- 

 gascar. The seeds are edible, and the blue 

 pulpy aril surrounding them yields an es- 

 sential oil. The blades of the leaves are 

 oblong in form, and are larger in size than 

 those of any known plant, being simple, 

 except the Victoria regia, [M. T. M.] 



RAVEN-BLACK. See Pulltts and Co- 



RACDfUS. 



RAVENCHEENT. An Indian name for 

 Gamboge 



RAVENELLE. (Fr.) Raphanus Rapha- 

 nistrum. — JATJNE. Cheiranthus Cheiri. 



RAWTJND, or REWUND. Indian names 

 for Rhubarb. 



REAUMURIA, REAUMURIACE.E. The 

 first of these names represents a small 

 genus of dicotyledons, closely connected 

 through Hololachna with Tamarix, and con- 

 sidered by several botanists as belonging 

 to the family of Tamaricacere, whilst others, 

 relying uponits affinities with Hypericacece, 

 propose it as the type of the small inde- 

 pendent order Reanmurio.cecs. The foliage, 

 the free erect distinct placentas, and the 

 seeds.connect the genus with Tamaricacece, 

 from which it differs chiefly in the more 

 numerous stamens, and in the placenta?, 

 which, although free from the sides of the 

 ovary, rise up to the top of the cavity, with 

 which they are often united there as well 

 as at the base. The few species are small 

 diffuse or much-branched saline shrubs, 

 natives of the eastern shores of the Me- 

 diterranean, or of the salt-plains of Central 

 Asia; and bearing solitary conspicuous 

 flowers, which have a five-cut bell-shaped 

 calyx surrounded by numerous overlapping 

 bracts, five egg-shaped petals with two 

 fringed scales at their bases on the inside, 

 numerous stamens with narrow awl-shaped 

 filaments cohering together in five bundles, 

 and a sessile ovary terminating in five 

 thread-like styles, and divided into five 

 cells each containing four ovules. The 

 five-celled fruits contain one or two hairy 

 seeds in each cell. The bruised leaves of R. 

 vermiculata are used at Alexandria as an 

 external application for the cure of the 

 itch. [A. S.] 



REBENTA CABALLOS. A Spanish Ame- 

 rican name for Isotoma longiflora. 



REBLE, or RIEBLE. (Fr.) Galium 

 Aparine. 



RECCHIA. A little-known Mexican 

 shrub, R. mexicana, is the only representa- 

 tive of this penus of Dilleniacece whichis 

 allied to Curatella ; but distinguished from 



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