i d 3 



€*f)c €rca£uni of 23 a tan ti. 



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scaly ovary is surmounted by along thread- 

 like style, and a simple round stigma. The 

 fruit varies in shape, being either globular 

 or oval, and measures as much as ten inches 

 in length : it has a thick hard rind, entirely 

 covered with very strong sharp prickles, 

 and is divided into five cells, each of which 

 I contains from one to four seeds rather 

 j larger than pigeons' eggs, and completely 

 i enveloped in a firm luscious-looking 

 ! cream-coloured pulp, which is the eatable 

 I portion of the fruit. 



This tree is very commonly cultivated 

 j throughout the Malayan Peninsula and 

 Islands, where its fruit, during the period 

 ; it is in season, forms the greatest part of 

 ; the food of the natives. Considerable diver- 

 , sity of opinion exists among epicures as 

 t.o the relative merits of several well-known 

 i tropical fruits, including the Durian, the 

 : mangosteen, the cherimoyer, and the pine- 

 "apple, any one of which is made to occupy 

 ; the foremost place, according to individual 

 tasre. The flavour of the Durian, however, 

 is said to be perfectly unique ; and it is 

 . also quite certain that no other fruit, either 

 of tropical or temperate climes, combines 

 in itself such a delicious flavour with such 

 an abominably offensive odour — an odour 

 commonly compared either with putrid 

 animal matter, or with rotten onions. It 

 might be supposed that a fruit possessing 

 such an odour could never become a fa- 

 vourite ; but it is said that when once the 

 repugnance has been overcome, the Durian 

 is sure to find favour, and that Europeans 

 invariably become extremely fond of it. 

 Mr. A. "Wallace observes that ' a rich cus- 

 tard highly flavoured with almonds gives 

 the best general idea of it, but there are 

 occasional wafts of flavour that call to 

 mind cream-cheese, onion-sauce, sherry 

 wine, aud other incongruous dishes. Tben 

 there is a rich glutinous smoothness in the 

 pulp which nothing else possesses, but 

 which adds to its delicacy. It is neither 

 acid, nor sweet, nor juicy; yet it wants 

 none of these qualities, for it is in itself 

 perfect. It produces no nausea or other 

 bad effect, and the more you eat of it the 

 less you feel inclined to stop. In fact, to 

 j eat Durians is a new sensation worth a 

 voyage to the East to experience.' The 

 unripe Durians are cooked as a vegetable, 

 and the pulp of the ripe fruit is salted and 

 preserved in jars ; while the seeds are 

 roasted and eaten like chestnuts. [A. S.] 



DURMAST. Quercus sessiliflora pubes- 

 cens. 



DURRA. Sorghum vulgare. 



DUST BRAND. UstUago. 



DUTCHMAN'S BREECHES. Bicentra 

 Cucullaria. 



DUTCHMAN'S LAUDANUM. A tincture 

 of Passiflora rubra, or, according to some, 

 of Murucuja ocellata. 



DUTCHMAN'S PIPE. An American name 

 for Aristolochia Sipho. 

 DUTTONIA. A name originally pro- 



[ posed by Dr. Mueller for an Australian com- 

 posite plant/winch proved to be the same as 

 ! Bimorpholepis; and afterwards applied by 

 | him to a myoporaceous shrub from South 

 j Australia, which he published as a new 

 genus, but which he has more recently re- 

 duced to EremopMla. 



I DUVALIA. A name given by Haworth 

 to some species of Stapelia. 



| DUVAUA. A genus of Anacardiacece , 

 ! consisting of trees or shrubs, natives of 

 China and the Sandwich Isles. They are 

 sometimes armed with axillary spines ; 

 : the leaves are entire ; the flowers are in 

 I clusters, each with a four or five-cleft per- 

 j sistent calyx , four to five petals inserted 

 I beneath an eight-lobed disk; eight to ten 

 ; stamens, those alternate with the petals 

 j longer than the others ; and a sessile one- 

 celled ovary. The drupe is pea-shaped, 

 | having the smell of juniper. Some of the 

 j species are grown as evergreen wall 

 shrubs, with white or greenish flowers. 

 Dr. Lindley remarks ' that the leaves of B. 

 hai/oHa expel their resin with such vio- 

 lence, when immersed in water, as to have 

 the appearance of spontaneous motion in 

 consequence of the recoil.' [M. T. M.] 



DWALE. The Deadly Nightshade, Atro- 

 pa Belladonna, 



DYCKIA. Brazilian herbs, named in 

 honour of Prince Salm-Dyck, an amateur 

 and patron of science. They constitute a 

 genus of Bromeliacece, having lance-shaped 

 pointed leaves, and bearing flowers in pani- 

 cles, with spiny bracts. The perianth is six- 

 parted, the three outer segments calycine, 

 the three inner ones petal-like, bell-shaped, 

 rather fleshy ; the six filaments of the sta- 

 mens are united below into a tube adhe- 

 rent to the inner segments of the peri- 

 anth ; the ovary is free, three-lobed, with 

 three spreading forked stigmas. B. rari- 

 flora is a very showy plant with orange- 

 coloured flowers. [M. T. M.] 



DTER'S-WEED. Reseda Luteola; also 

 Genista tinctoriafand Isatis tinctoria. 



DYNAMIS. A power. A figurative 

 term employed by Linnaeus to express, 

 the degrees of development of stamens. 

 Thus his Bidynamia signified stamens of 

 two different lengths, or of two different 

 degrees of development. 



DTSOPHYLLA. A genus belonging to 

 the labiate order, distinguished from its 

 congeners by the corolla having a short 

 tube, the border divided into four nearly 

 equal pieces, the upper division entire or 

 slightly notched. The few species belong- 

 ing to it are herbs, natives of India and 

 Java ; the leaves opposite or in whorls ; 

 the flowers in more or less dense clusters. 

 The name is derived from Greek words 

 signifying ' fetid leaf,' and descriptive of 

 the odour of the plants, in which property 

 they differ from most of the species of the 

 same order. [G. D.] 



DYSOXYLON. Large Javanese trees 

 forming a genus of Meliaceaz, with com- 



