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ALYSSUM, SWEET. Glyce (or Edniga) 

 maritima. 



ALYXLA A germs of Apocynacece, con- 

 taining sixteen species: natives of Austral- 

 asia, Madagascar, and tropical Asia. They 

 consist of evergreen trees or shrubs, with 

 ternate, quaternate, or sometimes oppo- 

 site, entire, and shortly-petiolate leaves. 

 The flowers are fragrant (.some species 

 smelling like jasmine), axillary or ter- 

 minal and solitary, or in cymes. The 

 calyx is five-partite ; the corolla ishypocra- 

 teriform, its long tube is swollen above 

 the middle ; the Ave included stamens, on 

 short filaments, and with lanceolate an- 

 thers, are inserted on the dilated portion 

 of the tube; there are two ovaries, with a 

 single included style. While this genus 

 has all the habit and the structure of the 

 flowers of the true Apocynacece, it differs 

 from the other genera of the order in 

 having baccate, or sub-drupaceous fruits, 

 in the shape of its seed, in its ruminated 

 albumen, and in its erect embryo : in 

 these two last particulars it agrees with 

 Anonacece. The dark green foliage and 

 fragrant flowers make the members of 

 this genus an ornament in the conserva- 

 tory, where they flower freely in the 

 autumn. [W. C] 



AMADOU. A soft leathery substance, 

 derived from Polyporus fomentarius and 

 some other Polypori, and used for tinder, 

 moxa, and other economical or medical 

 purposes. It is prepared by cutting off 

 carefully the cuticle and pores of the fun- 

 gus, dividing it into convenient slices, 

 beating them out, and steeping them in a 

 solution of saltpetre. Occasionally, it is 

 used to make coarse clothing, and then 

 the latter process is omitted. The best 

 Amadou is prepared in Germany, from 

 Polyporus fomentarius, but P. igniarius 

 and other species afford an inferior 

 quality. The softer and more silky the 

 substance of the fungus, the better the 

 material. The fungus is generally collected 

 from trunks of trees in the forests, where 

 it is tolerably abundant ; but attempts have 

 also been made at cultivating it by collect- 

 ing timber in proper situations, and water- 

 ing it at proper intervals. The species 

 occurs pretty generally in this country', 

 but is not sufficiently frequent to make its 

 collection a matter of interest. [M. J. BJ 



Amadou is sometimes called German 

 Tinder in the shops. The wood of Her- 

 nandia guianensis is used in a similar way 

 in South America. [T. M.] 



AMADOUYIER. 

 marius. 



AMALAGA Chovica offlcinarum. 



A3IAXDE DE TERRE. .(Fr.) Cy perns 

 esculentus. 



AMANDIER. Amygdalus. — A v LA 

 MAIN, or DES DAMES. Amygdalus 

 fragilis. — DE GE'ORGIE. Amygdalus 

 nana. — SATINE'. Amygdalus orientalis. 

 — DU BOIS. Hippocratea 



(Fr.) Polyporus ig- 



AMANITA. A sub-genus of Agaricus, 

 distinguished by its gills producing white 

 spores, and the whole plant being covered 

 at first by a distinct universal wrapper, or 

 volva. It contains some of the most ex- 

 cellent and poisonous of Agarics— amongst 

 the former being the Oronge and A. 

 vaginatus; and among the latter the Fly 

 Agaric and A. virosas. Some of the species 

 have a distinct ring upon the stem ; while 

 others are wholly deficient in this orna- 

 ment. Tho Fly Agaric {A. muscarius), 

 with its vermilion pileum studded with 

 white or yellow warts, and its stately stem, 

 is the ornament of beech woods in most 

 parts of the kingdom, and seldom fails to 

 excite admiration, especially when illumi- 

 nated by a strong gleam of light. Several 

 species — and especially those of Sikkim, 

 where they abound — are amongst the 

 largest of the fleshy Fungi. [M. J. B.] 



AMANSIA. A lovely genus of rose- 

 spored Algce, mostly inhabiting the south- 

 ern hemisphere, with a pinnate frond and 

 generally involute tips. The frond is 

 ribbed ; the membrane formed of oblong 

 six-sided cells, of equal length, arranged in 

 transverse lines ; the tetraspores are in 

 marginal or superficial podshaped pro- 

 cesses — generally in two rows; and the 

 pyriform spaces form a little fascicle at 

 the base of the sub-globose capsules, which 

 are perforated at the tip. Some species 

 have almost exactly the habit of Junger- 

 mannio?. [M. J. B.] 



AMARACUS. (Fr.) Origanum Dictamnus. 



AMARANTH, GLOBE. Gomphrena 

 globosa. 



AMARANTHACEiE. (Amaranthi ; Poly- 

 cnemece.) Under this name are included 

 about 500 species of weeds, or, occasion- 

 ally, showy annual plants (very seldom 

 undershrubs),with inconspicuous apetalous 

 flowers, in almost all cases of a scarious 

 texture, and most commonly with a white 

 colour — although now and then pink, or 

 orange, or intensely crimson. They are 

 very nearly the same as chenopods, a still 

 more weedy order. They occupy dry, 

 stony, barren stations, or thickets upon 

 the borders of woods, or even salt 

 marshes ; are much more frequent within 

 the tropics than beyond them ; and are 

 unknown in the coldest regions of the 

 world. Many of the species are used, with 

 the addition of lemon-juice, as pot-herbs, on 

 account of the wholesome mucilaginous 

 qualities of the leaves. Gomphrena offici- 

 nalis and macrocephala in Brazil, where 

 they are called Para todo, Perpetua, and 

 Raiz do Padre Salerma, are esteemed 

 useful in all kinds of diseases, especially 

 in cases of intermittent fever, colic, and 

 diarrhoea, and against the bite of ser- 

 pents. 



AMARANTHUS. A genus of tropical 

 annual plants, the type of a natural order, 

 to which it gives its name — the Amaran- 

 thads. They are readily distinguished from 

 the few other genera of the order by their 



