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1128 



TEA-BERRY. Gaultheria procumbens. 



TEAK, or TEAKWOOD. A hard heavy 

 durable timber obtained from Tectonagran- 

 dis, and extensively employed for ship- 

 building purposes. — , AFRICAN. The 

 timber of Oldfieldia africana. — ,BEN. The 

 wood of Lagerstromia microcarpa ; also ap- 

 plied to inferior Teak. — , NEW SOUTH 

 WALES. jEjtdiandra glauca. 



TEARS OF ST. PETER. Anthacanthus 

 microphyllus. 

 TEAR-THUMB. An American name for 



Polygonum arifoliuvi and sagittatum. 



TEASEL, or TEAZEL. Dipsacus. —, 

 FULLER'S. Dipsacus Fullonum. —, WILD. 

 Dipsacus sylvestris. 



TEA-TREE, CEYLON. Elceodendron 

 glaucum. — , NEW JERSEY. Ceamithns 

 americanus. — , NEW SOUTH WALES. 

 Melaleuca uncinata ; also Callistemon pal- 

 lidum and C. salignum. — , NEW ZEA- 

 LAND. Leptospermum scoparium. — , 

 SWAMP, of Australia. Melaleuca, squar- 

 rosa. — , WHITE. Melaleuca genistifolia. 



TEAZELWORTS. Lindley's name for 

 the Dipsacacece. 



TECLEA. An Abyssinian tree, consti- 

 tuting a genus of Xanthoxylacece. The 

 leaves have three lance-shaped smooth 

 leaflets; the flowers are placed on spikes 

 or panicles— the males having a four to 

 five-toothed, calyx, four or five concave 

 erect petals, and as many stamens inserted 

 at the base of a fleshy coloured three- 

 cornered rudimentary ovary; and the 

 females having a cup-shaped four-toothed 

 calyx, four yellowish-green petals, four 

 abortive stamens, a one-celled ovary sur- 

 rounded by a disk, and containing a single 

 ovule ; the stigma is peltate. [M. T. M.] 



TECOMA (including Sparattosperma and 

 Tabebuia). A genus of Bignoniacece, com- 

 posed of about fifty species, tall trees 

 inhabiting the tropical parts of America, 

 and valued chiefly on account of their 

 hard almost indestructible timber, which 

 has procured for several species the name 

 of Roble - Oak. The White Wood of the 

 West Indies (T, leucoxylon or Bignonia 

 pallida), the Guayacan of Panama (T. 

 Guayacari), the Porrier de la Martinique of 

 the Caribbean Islands (T. pentaphylla),a,n6. 

 several Brazilian species might he par- 

 ticularly pointed out as yielding firstrate 

 timber for house and ship-building, or 

 wood for making hows for savages. Se- 

 veral species are of importance in medi- 

 cine. T. impetiginosa abounds in tannin ; 

 its bark is bitter and mucilaginous, and it 

 is used in lotions baths &c, in inflamma- 

 tion of the joints and in cases of debility. 

 T. Ipe has similar qualities, and is pre- 

 scribed by the Brazilians as a gargle in 

 ulcers of the mouth ; the leaves are milder, 

 and are sometimes used in ophthalmic 

 affections. The leaves of T. subvernicosa 

 (Sparattosperma lithotriptica) are bitter 

 acrid and diuretic, and have in Brazil a 

 reputation in cases of calculus. 



When young the Tecomas often have 

 simple or unifoliolate leaves, but as they 

 grow up the leaflets increase in number, 

 so that they become digitate. The flowers 

 are arranged in terminal bunches, and in 

 many species appear after the leaves have 

 fallen off. They are large, very numerous, 

 and of bright tint— golden-vellow purple 

 pink or pure white. The calyx is cup- 

 shaped, and splits into irregular segments, 

 renderi ng it either bilabiate or five or three- 

 lobed; the corolla is funnel-shaped ; the sta- 

 mens didynamous, with a fifth sterile one, 

 the anthers glabrous and divergent. The 

 fruit is a linear flat capsule, the valves of 

 which are placed contrary to the direction 

 of the partition, dividing the fruit into two 

 cells, whilst the winged seeds are nume- 

 rous, and arranged in single rows. 



The name Tecoma is derived from the 

 Mexican Tecomaxochitl (i.e. Tecomatl = 

 an earthen war-vessel of peculiar shape, 

 and xochitl = a flower), which Jussieu, the 

 founder of the genus, believed to be the 

 native name of a. Mexican species of Te- 

 coma ; but the Tecomaxochitl of the Aztec 

 language is in fact Solandra guttata. For 

 other species formerlyclassed with Tecoma, 

 see Campsis, Tecomabia, Ste> t olobium, 

 and Pandobea [B S.] 



TECOMARIA. A genus of Bignoniacece, 

 consisting of about half a dozen species 

 indigenous to South America. But one 

 species, T. capensis (Bignonia or Tecoma ca- 

 pensis), though originally confined to 

 Brazil, has become widely spread over 

 various parts of the Old World, including 

 the East Indies, the Mediterranean region, 

 and various parts of Africa. It was first 

 brought to Europe from the Cape of Good 

 Hope— hence its specific name ; and it has 

 for more than a century been an inmate 

 of our greenhouses. More recently two 

 other species (T. fulvaand T. roscefolia) have 

 also found their way thither. The calyx of 

 Tecomaria is regular five-ribbed and five- 

 toothed ; the corolla tubular ; and the sta- 

 mens five in number, one of which is sterile. 

 The fruit is a linear flat capsule, smooth on 

 the surface, and divided by a partition, 

 running contrary to the direction of the 

 valves, into two cslls, on each side of 

 which is a single row of numerous winged 

 seeds. All the species are erect shrubs, 

 with pinnate leaves the leaflets of which 

 are acutely serrated, and terminal orange 

 or yellow-coloured flowers arranged in 

 panicles. They recommend themselves by 

 their beauty, but seem to have no known 

 uses. [B. S.] 



TECOMATE. The Mexican name of Cres- 

 centia alata. 



TECOMAXOCHITL. The Aztec name of 



Solandra guttata. 



TECTARIA. Polystichum. 



TECTONA. The genus of the Teak-tree, 

 belonging to the order Verbenacece. Its 

 flowers have a bell-shaped five-cleft calyx; 

 a funnel-shaped corolla, with a nearly 

 equally five-cleft spreading limb, and a 



