fer a . — A v PERRUQUE. Rhus Cut hi it*. 



— A x SU1F. Stillingia sebifera. — AU 

 POIVRE. Vitex Agnus-castus. — AUX 

 ANE'MONES. Calycanthus florid us. —AUX 

 PRAISES. Arbutus Unedo. — AUX QUA- 

 RANTE E'CUS. Salisburia adiautifulia. 



— D'ARGENT. Leucadendron argenteum. 



— DE CASTOR. Magnolia glauca. — DE 

 JUDE'E. Cercis Siliquastrum. — DE 

 NEIGE. Chionanthus virginica. — DE 

 SOIE. Acacia Julibrissin. — DE STE. 

 LUCIE. Cerasus Mahaleb. — DE VIE. 

 Cupressus thuioides, Thuja occidentnlis, 

 and Thuja orientalis. — DU VOYAGEUR. 

 Ravenala madagascariensis, sometimes 

 called Urania speciosa. — SAINT. Melia 

 Azedarach. 



ARBUTUS. A genus of Ericaceae., con- 

 sisting of trees and shrubs, natives of 

 Southern Europe, the Canary Islands, 

 North America and Chili. Twenty-five 

 species have been described. They have 

 alternate, entire, or toothed evergreen 

 leaves. The pedicellate and bracteate flowers 

 are in terminal paniculate racemes; the 

 corolla is white or reddish ; the calyx 

 inferior, and consisting of five small sepals. 

 The deciduous corolla is globosely or 

 ovately campanulate, with a small con- 

 tracted five-cleft and reflexed border. 

 It encloses the ten stamens, which have 

 flattened filaments, and anthers com- 

 pressed at the sides, opening by two 

 terminal pores, and attached below the 

 apex, where two reflexed awns are pro- 

 duced. The ovary has five cells, with many 

 ovules in each. There is a single style 

 with an obtuse stigma. The fruit is a 

 globular indehisceut berry, rough with 

 granular tubercles, and containing five 

 many-seeded cells. The berries are edible 

 though not agreeable. A. Unedo is called 

 the Strawberry tree from its fruit resem- 

 bling a strawberry at a distance. When 

 eaten in quantities this fruit is said to be 

 narcotic. A wine is made from it in 

 Corsica, but it has the same property as 

 the fruit. In Spain both a sugar and a | 

 spirit are obtained from it. The bark and 

 leaves of the same plant are used as 

 astringents ; in some parts of Greece they 

 are employed for tanning leather. This 

 species grows abundantly on the rocks at 

 Killarney. It is cultivated as an orna- 

 mental shrub, and as it ripens its fruit the 

 second year, it is peculiarly beautiful in 

 October and November, being covered at 

 the same time with blossoms and ripe 

 fruit. [W. C] ; 



ARBUTUS, TRAILING. An American ' 

 name of Epigcea repens. 



ARCEUTHOS. (Gr.) Juniperus oxyce- I 

 drus and Juniperus phcenicea. 



ARCHANGEL. A common name for 

 La mi urn and Galeobdolon ; also applied to 

 Archangelica officinalis. 



ARCHANGELICA. A genus of umbelli- 

 ferous plants, whose stems and leaves have 

 a very powerful and agreeable aromatic 

 smell. The Angelica, A. officinalis, is the 1 



only species grown for culinary ormedicinal 

 purposes. Angelica is a hardy biennial, from 

 three to six feet high, found in England in 

 moist situations, but believed to be origi- 

 nally a native of the northern parts of 

 Europe. It has been in cultivation since 

 1568. The leaf stalks were formerly blanch- 

 ed and eaten like Celery. They have, 

 however, long ceased to be so, and are 

 now in request for the use of confectioners, 

 who make an excellent sweetmeat with 

 the tender stems, stalks, and ribs of the 

 leaves, candied with sugar. The seeds and 

 leaves are powerfully aromatic, and are 

 used in country places for their supposed 

 medicinal properties. [W. B. B.] 



ARCHEGONE. A term applied to the 

 long-necked cellular sacs which occur in 

 the higher or acrogenous cryptogams, and 

 which are analogous to the pistils of 

 phfenogams. They contain at the base of 

 their cavity a sac which is analogous to 

 the embryo sac of pha?nogams, and which is 

 impregnated by the agency of spermato- 

 zoids. Within this latter sac, either the 

 young plant as in ferns, or the capsule as 

 in mosses, is formed by means of cellular 

 division. [M. J. B.] 



ARCHILL, or ORCHIL. A colouring 

 matter obtained from various species of 

 lichens, especially Roccella tinctoria. 



ARCTIUM. One of the familiar plants, 

 which, without culture or management, 

 flourishes in nearly all climates and every 

 kind of soil. To the agriculturist it is 

 best known as a troublesome weed, always 

 ready to make its appearance in neglected 

 ground, growing rapidly, and with its 

 large spreading leaves checking all other 

 vegetation ; to the artist it affords a bold 

 and striking foreground for his landscapes ; 

 and to the school boy its heads of flowers, 

 under the name of burs, offer an ever wel- 

 come supply of means for playing practical 

 jokes. The Burdock is of no utility to man, 

 as no domesticated animals, except, it is 

 said, the ass, will eat its leaves ; though it 

 is a question whether it might not be sown 

 with advantage as a cover for pheasants in 

 places where there is a difficulty in raising 

 underwood. It was formerly commended 

 for its medicinal virtues, and was prescribed 

 for rheumatic affections. Some writers 

 too speak of its excellence as a culinary 

 vegetable. The stems, they say, should 

 be gathered young, stripped of their rind, 

 and treated as asparagus. When burnt 

 the ashes afford a large quantity of alkaline 

 salt. There is but one British species of 

 Burdock, of which modern botanists reckon 

 two varieties, A. bardana, with a cottony 

 substance investing the heads; and A. 

 Lappa, which is destitute of this appen- 

 dage. By some continental authorities, 

 Lappa is made the name of the genus, and 

 the two plants are described as distinct 

 species, L. tomentosa and L. major. A third 

 species, L. minor, grows on the continent 

 of Europe, but does not occur in Britain. 

 The name Lappa is derived from the 

 Celtic llap, a hand, from its prehensile pro- 



