cara] 



%\)t &vzn£urv at SSotauu. 



220 



or crowded, but always single on thin 

 stalks, of a pale yellow colour, with the 

 exception of one species, C. jubata, in which 

 they are white tinged with red. They are all 

 ornamental or curious. Some of them being 

 natives of Siberia, vegetate like most other 

 Siberian plants, early in the spring, and 

 their delicate pinnate foliage, of a yellowish 

 green, independently altogether of their 

 flowers, makes a fine appearance about the 

 middle of April, or, in mild seasons, as early 

 as the middle of March. The flowers, which 

 are of a bright yellow, appear about the end 

 of April, in the earliest Siberian species, 

 and those which flower latest, are also latest 

 in coming into leaf. Thus in a group con- 

 sisting of the different species of this 

 genus, in the climate of London, some 

 plants may be seen, in the month of May, 

 covered with leaves and flowers, and others 

 in which the buds have just begun to ex- 

 pand. The yellow colour prevails in every 

 part of the plants of this genus, even to 

 the roots ; and were it not that this colour 

 is so abundant in common productions of 

 the vegetable kingdom, there can be no 

 doubt that the Caragana would be used to 

 afford a yellow dye. C. arborescens is a 

 small tree with hard wood and a tough 

 bark, which may be used as a substitute 

 for ropes or cords, as the twigs are for 

 withs. The seeds are good food for poultry, 

 and the leaves are said to contain a blue 

 colouring matter like indigo. C. spinosa 

 is a thorny shrub plentiful in China about 

 Pekin, where branches of it are stuck in 

 clay upon the tops of the walls, in order 

 that its spines may prevent people from 

 getting over them. For other species see 

 London's Arboretum Britannicum. [C. A. J.] 



CARAGEEN or CARRAGEEN. A name 

 given in Ireland to Chondrus crispus, and 

 some other allied Algce when dried and 

 bleached. Vast quantities are collected 

 for sale and supply a useful article for 

 feeding cattle or making jelly for invalids. 

 Its unequivocal sea taste and odour are 

 against its being a perfect substitute for 

 isinglass. Thei'e is no doubt, however, 

 that in the sick chamber it is a far better 

 substitute than gelatine, as that has very 

 small, if any, nutritive qualities, a fact 

 perhaps not sufficiently known. [M. J. B.] 



CARAIPA. A genus of Ternstromiacem, 

 distinguished among the group having the 

 petals contorted, and the capsule septicid- 

 ally dehiscent, by its leaves being alter- 

 nate, its stamens usually free, with the 

 anthers glanduliferous at the apex, and 

 fixed near the base, and by its having two 

 or three pendulous ovules in each of the 

 three cells of its ovary. The species, about 

 eight in number, grow in Tropical America, 

 and are trees bearing white sweet-scented 

 flowers. The celebrated Balsam of Tama- 

 coari is obtained from C. fasciculata, or a 

 closely allied species. This substance, which 

 is of the colour of old port wine, and the 

 consistency of olive oil, is, according to 

 Mr. Spruce (Journ. Lin. Soc. v. 63) of great 

 use in the cure of the itch, a single appli- 



cation curing the most inveterate cases in 

 twenty-four hours. [T. MJ 



CARAJTJRA. A red colouring matter 

 obtained from Bignonia Chica. 



CARALLINE. (Pr.) Ranunculus gla- 

 cialis. 



C ARALLUMA. A genus of Asclepiadacece, 



containing a few species of fleshy leafless 



herbaceous plants, natives of India and 



Arabia. The stems are sparingly branched, 



erect and four-sided, with teeth at the 



angles ; towards the summit the stem 



becomes rounded, and from the teeth rise | 



the peduncles bearing at their summits | 



one or more drooping flowers. The calyx 



; is five-parted. The rotate corolla is deeply 



l five-cleft. The gynostegium is slightly 



! exserted, and the bi- or trifid leaves of the 



I staminal corona alternate with the sta- 



j mens. The roundish pollen masses are 



capped by a pellucid membrane. The 



follicles are long and slender, with comose 



seeds. [W. C] 



CARAMBOLA TREE. Averrhoa Coram- 

 bola. 



CARANA PALM. A South American 

 name for Mauritia Car ana. 



CARANA RESIN. A gum resin produced 

 by Bursera acuminata, or, according to 

 others, by Icica Carana or Cedrota longi- 

 folia. 



CARAPA. A small genus of trees with 

 abruptly-pinnate leaves, belonging to the 

 order of meliads (Meliacece), and native of 

 Tropical America, the West Indies, and 

 Guinea. Their flowers have a calyx of four 

 or sometimes five distinct sepals, and a 

 corolla of the same number of oblong 

 egg-shaped spreading petals ; their sta- 

 mens are united into a tube, the apex of 

 which is divided into eight or ten rounded 

 teeth, bearing the anthers on the inside, 

 between the teeth ; and the ovary is four 

 or five-celled, each cell containing four 

 ovules in pairs. The fruit is large and con- 

 tains numerous oily seeds, and eventually 

 splits into five pieces. C. guianensis is a 

 large tree, sixty or eighty feet high, grow- 

 ing plentifully in the forests of Guiana 

 where it is called Carapa and Andiroba. 

 Its leaves are composed of from eight to 

 ten pairs of elliptical lance-shaped 

 leathery shining leaflets ; and its fruit is 

 nearly round, and about four inches in 

 diameter. The bark of this tree possesses 

 febrifugal properties, and is also used for 

 tanning. Its timber, called Crab-wood, is 

 obtainable in sticks, fifty feet long by 

 fifteen inches square, and is used in Dem- 

 erara for making articles of furniture, for 

 shingles, and for the masts and spars of 

 vessels : it is light, having a specific 

 gravity of 0"603, and takes a good polish. 

 By pressure the seeds yield a liquid oil, 

 called Carap oil or Crab oil, suitable for 

 burning in lamps, and which the natives 

 use for anointing their hair; but in this 

 country it hardens into a solid fat. C. 

 guineensis is a native of Senegal, and 



