xyla] 



HEfyz {fea£itrg of Matmxy. 



1242 



been regarded as grammitoid rather than 

 pleurograramous. The most common spe- 

 cies is X. serrulata. [T. M.] 



XYLARIA. An important genus of 

 sphasriaceous Fungi, characterised by its 

 stipitate clavate or branched stroma. 

 The species in which the stem is obsolete 

 border closely on Hypoxylon. The genus 

 is far more abundant in tropical countries 

 (where the species sometimes attain a large 

 size), than in Great Britain. We have, 

 however, several indigenous ones, of which 

 three occur in most countries. X. Hypoxy- 

 lon, the commonest of all, and which there- 

 fore appears under endless forms, may be 

 found at the foot of many a gate-post or 

 pea-stick, and is common on stumps in 

 woods, looking like the snuff of a candle, 

 and in its young state mealy and white 

 with conidia. X.polymorpha, as the name 

 implies, is variable in form, but not much- 

 branched or compressed like the last. It 

 is a coarse species, and occurs generally 

 on stumps. X. digitata, which is far neater 

 and very much tufted, and frequently 

 spindle-shaped, occurs principally if not 

 exclusively on fabricated wood. X. carpo- 

 phila, a more delicate species than the 

 others mentioned above, is common on 

 beech-mast in woods, but is very rarely 

 found in a fertile state. [M. J. B.] 



XYLIA. An Indian tree, with bipinnate 

 leaves, and axillary racemes of flowers, 

 has been so named, and constitutes a genus 

 of Leguminosce. The calyx is tubular 

 five-toothed, the petals five free mem- 

 branous, the stamens ten, the pod sessile 

 oblong sickle-shaped compressed woody, 

 with partitions between the seeds, which 

 latter are attached to the pod by a thick 

 fleshy f unicle. [M. T. M.] 



XYLOCARPUS. A genus of trees, 

 natives of the Molucca Isles, belonging 

 to the order Meliacece. The flowers are 

 borne in axillary panicles; they have a 

 cup-shaped calyx, whose limb is divided 

 into four segments ; four petals ; stamens 

 united into a tube, with eight divisions, 

 notched at their margins, and eight 

 anthers ; ovary on a disk, four-furrowed, 

 four-celled, each cell with two to five 

 ovules ; style short; fruit fleshy, one- 

 celled by the obliteration of the partitions, 

 containing many large seeds, and bursting 

 by four valves. Some of these trees have 

 bitter properties. [M. T. M.] 



XYLODIUM. One of the names of the 

 Achene. 



XYLOMELUM. A genus of New Hol- 

 land Proteacem, consisting of trees with op- 

 posite entire leaves, and flowers in axillary 

 spikes. The perianth is regular ; attached 

 to it and projecting beyond it are four sta- 

 mens ; there are four glands at the base of 

 the one-celled ovary ; the style is thread- 

 like and deciduous, the stigma blunt ; the 

 fruit is a hard wcody follicle, with two 

 winged seeds. The name of the genus, sig- 

 nifying ' woody pear,' is derived from the 

 nature of the fruit, which is inversely 

 pear-shaped and very thick and woody; ul- 



timately it splits more or less completely 

 and equally into two parts. X. pyriforme 

 is in cultivation. [M.T. MJ 



XYLOPH YLL A. A genus of Euphorbia- 

 cece or (as some regard it) a section of Phyl- 

 lanthus, consisting of shrubs, without 

 leaves, but whose branches are flattened 

 out and leaf-like, bearing the flowers in 

 tufts in the notches of the margin. The 

 flowers are unisexual, provided with per- 

 sistent bracts. The male flowers have a 

 five to sis-parted calyx, and three or five 



Xylophylla latifolia. 



stamens, united to a glandular disk. The 

 female flowers have a three-celled ovary, 

 placed in a five to six-lobed disk ; styles 

 three ; stigmas six ; fruit capsular. These 

 plants are natives of the West Indies and 

 other tropical countries, and receive their 

 generic name from the singular appear- 

 ance of their leaf-like branches, as well 

 exemplified in X. latifolia. See Phyllan- 

 thus. [M. T. M.] 



XYLOPIA. A genus of Anonacem, so 

 named from the Greek words xulon ' Avood ' 

 and picros ' bitter,' in allusion to the pro- 

 perties of the wood. The species are trees 

 or shrubs, and are indigenous in Brazil 

 and other warm districts of South America, 

 and also in the West Indies. The flowers 

 have a three tofive-lobed calyx, with ovate 

 leathery segments ; six petals, the three 

 outermost of which are largest ; and nu- 

 merous stamens on a globular receptacle, 

 which also bears two to fifteen carpels, each 

 containing one or two seeds. 



The species of this genus are noted for 

 the bitterness of their wood, and the aro- 

 matic properties of their fruit and seeds. 

 X. frutescens, a native of Cayenne, yields 

 seeds which are eaten by the natives in 

 lieu of spices. The bark is also employed 

 in the manufacture of cordage. X.grandi- 

 flora, a Brazilian species, is valued on 

 account of its carminative fruits, which 

 are also esteemed for their febrifugal pro- 

 perties. The Bitter-wood of the West 

 Indies is the timber of X. glabra. Sugar 

 placed in hogsheads made of this wood 

 becomes so highly impregnated with the 



