ie STreatfurji of Statang. 



190 



fleshy leaves, which are smooth and of a 

 glaucous hue ; "by its lilac flowers ; and by 

 its succulent pod, which when matured is 

 found to be divided by a horizontal parti- 

 tion into two cells, the upper containing a 

 single erect seed, the lower a pendulous 

 one. It is known to sea-side visitors by the 

 name of Sea Rocket, but has nothing to 

 j recommend it to notice but the singular 

 structure of its seed-pods. Closely allied 

 species inhabit the shores of the Mediter- 

 ranean and the West Indian Islands. They 

 are all annuals, and grow among the shingle 

 or sand a short distance above high-water 

 mark. French, Caquille. [C. A. J.] 



CALABA TREE. Calophyllum Calaba. 



CALABASH. Crescentia Cujete, a tropi- 

 cal tree bearing great gourd-like fruits. 

 — , SWEET. Passiflora maliformis. 



CALABASH NUTMEG. Monodora My- 

 risiica. 

 CALABUR TREE. Muntingia Caldbura. 



CALADENIA. A genus of exquisitely 

 beautiful little terrestrial orchids inhabit- 

 ing Australasia. They generally produce 

 one grassy leaf, from within which arises 

 a scape bearing a few ringent flowers, 

 covered in various places in a very remark- 

 able manner with glandular hairs, which 

 have suggested the name. In many spe- 

 cies the sepals or petals or both are pro- 

 longed into long slender tails; in others 

 they have the usual oval outline. The 

 genus is admirably illustrated in Hooker's 

 Mora Tasmanica. 



CALADIUM. The generic name of cer- 

 tain plants of the Arum family, having a 

 hood-like spathe rolled round at the base ; a 

 spadix whose upper portion is entirely- 

 covered with stamens, but ultimately be- 

 comes bare at the extreme top, provided 

 with blunt glands or sterile stamens in the 

 middle, and ovaries beneath ; the anthers 

 shield-shaped and one-celled ; the ovaries 

 numerous, two-celled, with from two to 

 four ascending ovules in each cell; the 

 fruit a one or two-celled berry, with few 

 seeds. These plants partake of the acrid 

 properties which pervade the Aracecc, but, 

 nevertheless, the rootstocks or rhizomes 

 of some of the species are eaten as food in 

 the West Indies, the Sandwich Islands, 

 &.c., in consequence of the abundance of 

 starch contained in them, the process of 

 cooking depriving them of their noxious 

 qualities. It is stated that the rootstocks 

 or tubers of G. petiolatum were on one 

 occasion mistaken for potatoes on board 

 ship, and were given to some animals with 

 fatal results. The leaves of C. sagitti/olium 

 are boiled and eaten in the West Indies as 

 a vegetable. The species are natives of 

 the warmer regions of the globe, where 

 they are cultivated in abundance for the 

 above-named purposes. Several are also 

 grown in hothouses in this country, 

 latterly several varieties with beautifully 

 variegated foliage have been introduced. 

 See Plate 2, lig. 6. [M. T. M.] 



CAL AMAGROSTIS. A genus of grasses 

 belonging to the tribe Arundinece, distin- 

 guished chiefly by the inflorescence being 

 in branched panicles, and only one flower 

 in the spikelets, or within the glumes, 

 which has long silky hairs at its base; 

 sometimes the rudiment of a second floret 

 is present ; glumes nearly equal, keeled 

 and pointed ; pales two, small. There are 

 eighty-sjx species described in Steudel's 

 Sinxqtsis. They have an extensive range 

 over the globe. The greater number are, 

 however, natives of rather temperate 

 climates, and some reach the Arctic circle. 

 Three species only are natives of the British 

 Islands, and neither of these is of common 

 occurrence; indeed, C. stricta is one of 

 the rarest British grasses, and only grows 

 sparingly in a few localities. They are not 

 valuable for agricultural purposes, though 

 very ornamental. [D. M.] 



CALAMBAC. The commercial name of 

 Aloes-wood, Eagle-wood, or Lign Aloes, 

 which is produced by Aloexylum Agalloch- 

 itra. 



CALAMINT. (Fr.) Calamintha offici- 

 nalis. 



CALAMINTHA. A genus of labiate 

 flowers which as at present constituted, 

 comprises several plants described in less 

 recent works under the names of Thymus, 

 Acinos, Melissa, and Clinopodium. The 

 essential generic characters of Calamintha 

 are : ' calyx two-lipped ; stamens diverg- 

 ing; upper lip of the corolla nearly fiat, 

 tube straight.' C. Acinos, or Basil-thyme 

 (formerly called Thymus Acinos and Acinos 

 vulgaris), is a low somewhat shrubby plant 

 with stems from four to six inches high, 

 small leaves, and rather showy violet- 

 purple flowers, which grow in whorls of 

 six together. The whole plant is fragrant 

 and aromatic, and well deserves its name 

 (from the Greek basilicon, royal), if, as 

 Gerarde tells us, 'the seede cureth the 

 infirmities of the hart, taketh away sor- 

 rowfulnesse which commeth of melaneho- 

 lie, and maketh a man merrie and glad.' 

 It is most frequently found in chalky or 

 gravelly pastures. C. officinalis {Melissa Ca- 

 lais intha), G. Nepeta, and C. sylvatica, the, Ca- 

 lamints or ' Excellent Mints,' as their name 

 imports, are herbaceous aromatic herbs to 

 which great medicinal virtues were an- 

 ciently ascribed. They bear their flowers 

 in stalked tufts which proceed from the 

 axils of the opposite leaves, and are only 

 to be distinguished from one another 

 by a minute comparison of characters. 

 They all possess a strong aromatic odour 

 resembling that of penny-royal, and are 

 employed to make herb-tea. C. Clinopo- 

 dium, the Wild Basil, formerly called 

 Clinopodium vulgare, is a straggling hedge 

 plant with hairy stems from one to two 

 feet long, bearing its rather large purple 

 flowers in dense whorls in the axils of the 

 hairy ovate distant leaves, and having 

 numerous bristly bracts at their base. 

 The odour is aromatic, but not so agree- 

 able as in the other species. [C. A. J.] 



