1115 



QLlyz &rea£ur» at 33otang. 



Water ...... 



Flesh-forming substances . 

 Non-nitrogenised substances :— 



Heat and fat-producing matters 



Inorganic matters (.ash) . 



Leaves 



In Natural Calculated 

 State Dry 



Stem 



In Natural Calculated 

 State L>ry 



88-400 

 2712 



6-898 

 1-990 



2337 



59-49 

 17-14 



94-74 

 •69 



3-81 

 •76 



1306 



72-49 

 14-45 



100-000 



100-00 



lOO'OO 



lOO'OO 



On comparison the above figures will 

 show this plant to be almost equal to some 

 of our more important green-food crops ; 

 and certainly, if we take into consideration 

 the quantity of its produce, there are few 

 plants capable of yielding so much of green 

 food as the Comfrey. Dr. Voelckcr says 

 that 'the amount of flesh-forming sub- 

 stances is considerable. The juice of this 

 plant contains much gum and mucilage, 

 and but little sugar.' 



The cultivation of Comfrey is easy ; even 

 a moist clay soil will not be unsuitable. 

 Divisions of its suckers may be planted in 

 rows two feet apart, and fully a foot be- 

 tween each of the plants in the rows. It 

 may be cut twice and will yield largely, 

 especially if some rotten dung be dug in 

 between the rows when the plantation is 

 dressed up for winter. [J. B.] 



SYHPLOCACEiE, or SYMPLOCINEiE. 

 See Styracagele. 



SYMPLOCARPUS. A genus of Orontia- 

 cece, comprising a few herbaceous species 

 found growing in wet places in North Ame- 

 rica and Northern Asia. The leaves are 

 large, stalked; the spathe nearly sessile 

 hooded, and tapering to a point ; the spa- 

 dix globular, covered with perfect flowers; 

 perianth four-parted, ultimately becoming 

 fleshy; stamens four, the filaments linear, 

 flattened ; ovary one-celled, the style four- 

 cornered, the stigma minute ; fruits con- 

 fluent, one-celled, one-seeded. 



S.foztidus, so called from its disgusting 

 garlic-like odour, is employed medicinally 

 in North America— the roots in cases of 

 asthma, the leaves as an application to 

 ulcers. The seeds are also considered 

 to be antispasmodic, and useful in coughs. 

 The plant maybe occasionally met with 

 in cultivation. [M. T. MJ 



STMPLOCIUM. The spore-case of a 

 fern. 



SYMPLOCOS. A very large genus, re- 

 garded by some botanists as typical of a 

 distinct natural order, Symplocacece, while 

 others refer it to Styracacece. It is con- 

 fined to the tropical and subtropical coun- 

 tries of Asia and America, and consists of 

 trees and shrubs, with simple usually 

 toothed leaves, and small flowers disposed 

 in axillary clusters or racemes ; the flowers 

 having a flve-lobed calyx, a five to ten- 

 lobed corolla, an indefinite number of 

 stamens, and a two to five-celled ovary. 



The fruits, which vary from globular to el- 

 lipsoid, are fleshy and crowned by the calyx- 

 lobes, and usually contain only one or two 

 seeds. 



S. Alstonia, r\\&s Alstonia theceformis, is a 

 branching shrub growing ten or twelve 

 feet high, with shining evergreen leaves 

 resembling those of the tea— so much so, 

 indeed, that when first discovered in New 

 Grenada it was erroneously supposed to 

 be that shrub. According to Humboldt, 

 the infusion of the leaves of this plant, 

 though not so palatable as tea, owing to its 

 astringency, possesses valuable medicinal 

 properties. Gardner, however, states that 

 the Brazilians drink an infusion of one of 

 the species, previously scorching the 

 leaves. The leaves of nearly all the spe- 

 cies of Symplocos turn yellow in drying. 

 Those of S. tinctoria, which is called 

 Sweetleaf in Georgia and Carolina, are 

 j used for dyeing yellow ; and the leaves of 

 I other species are employed for the same 

 : purpose in Nepal. In India the bark of 

 ! S. racemosa, called Lodh, is used both 

 j as a dyeing material and as a mordant 

 for other dyes ; when employed alone it 

 gives various shades of brown and choco- 

 late-colour. [A. SJ 



STN. In Greek compounds = union, ad- 

 hesion, or growing together. 



SYNALYSSA. A genus of gelatinous 

 lichens, nearly allied to Lichina, with 

 fastigiate fronds, and remarkable for the 

 peculiar mode of growth of its gonidia, 

 resembling the structure of some Palmella, 

 and iu this agreeing with Paulia. The 

 species are few in number ; two occur in 

 this country. [M.J.B.] 



SYNAMMIA. Goniophlebium. 



SYNANDRA. A genus of Labiates, dis- 

 tinguished by the following characters :— 

 Calyx thin, bell-shaped, with four nearly 

 equal teeth ; corolla with a long tube, the 

 upper lip entire, the lower three-cleft, the 

 middle lobe broadest and notched at the 

 end ; stamens four, approaching in pairs, 

 the two upper with one barren and one 

 fertile cell, the barren cells of each pair 

 coherent to each other. The only species 

 is S. grandiflora, an herbaceous plant re- 

 sembling a Lamium, native of some of the 

 Southern States of America. Its leaves are 

 ovate heart-shaped ; and the flowers yellow- 

 ish white, in pairs. The name is derived 

 from the Greek words sun ' together ' and 



