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GALA, GALACTO. In Greek compounds i 

 = milk or white as milk. 



GALACTITES. A genus of Composite?. J 

 peculiar to the Mediterranean region and j 

 the Canary Islands. The three known 

 species have much the aspect of, and are j 

 i nearly allied to, Cnicus, differing chiefly in 

 1 the outer florets of the flower-head being 

 j sterile and larger than the others, as in 

 ' Centaurea. The stems seldom exceed two 

 1 feet high ; the leaves are pinnatifld with 

 spiny-pointed segments, spotted with white 

 | above, and covered with cottony down be- 

 i low, the bases of the upper ones decur- 

 rent, and forming a wing to the stems, 

 i The flower-heads, which contain numerous 

 ; white or pink florets, are either clustered 

 and sessile on the ends of the branches, or 

 grow simply on long stalks. G. tomentosa 

 ; is remarkable among the thistles for hav- 

 ing a milky juice like that so common in 

 the cichory group. [A. A. B.] 



} GALACTODEXDROX. A generic name 

 given by some authors to the celebrated 

 Cow-tree or ' Palo de Vaca' of South Ame- 

 rica, now more generally referred to Brosi- 

 ; aim : which see. [A. S.] 



I GALAM BUTTER. A reddish-white solid 

 ! oil obtained from Bassia butyracea. 



I GALAXE. (Ft.) Chelone. 



! GALAXGAL or GALAXGALE. The aro- 

 l matic Alpinia Gaianga; also A. racemosa, 

 I Allughas, and pyramidalis ; in Sweden it 

 j is called Galgant. Also a common name for 

 Kampferia. 



I GALAXT DE JOUR. (Fr.) Cestrum diur- 

 num. — DE SOIR. Cestrum vespertinum. 

 - DE XUIT. Cestrum nocturnum. 

 GALARDIEXXE. (Fr.) Gaillardia. 



J GALAXTHUS. A genus of Amarylli- 



| dacece characterised by having a six-leaved 

 bell-shaped perianth, the exterior seg- 

 ments concave and spreading, the interior 

 shorter, erect, and emarginate; six stamens 

 inserted on an epigynous disk, with very 

 short filaments and erect convergent 



, anthers; a straight filiform style with 

 simple acute stigma; and a three-celled 

 ovary with numerous ovules. G. nivalis is 



. the common Snowdrop, a dwarf bulbous 

 plant found in some parts of England, and 

 having a pair of narrow linear glaucous 



: leaves, and drooping white flowers dotted 

 with green on the inner segments, and 

 generally solitary at the top of the short 



; scape. G.plicata, the Crimean Snowdrop, is 

 similar, but larger and handsomer, with the 

 leaves broad linear and plicate. Our Eng- 

 lish Snowdrop is welcomed as one of the 

 earliest floral harbingers of spring, the 

 ' first pale blossom of the unripened year,' 

 and a double-flowered variety is much cul- 



I tivated. [T. M.] 



I GALATELLA. A genus of perennial 

 | herbs of the composite family, numbering 

 : about twenty species, found in the tempe- 

 rate parts of Asia, one species only occur- 

 ring in the United States. They have much 



the appearance of Aster, and only differ in 

 the ray florets being neuter ; while from Li- 

 nosyris they differ in the ray florets being 

 white or purple, never yellow. The stems 

 are simple below, branching above, and fur- 

 nished with narrow entire leaves, and nu- 

 merous flower-Leads arranged in terminal 

 corymbs. The ray florets are white or blue, 

 those of the disk yellow ; and the achehes I 

 are hairy or villous and crowned with a ! 

 pappus consisting of numerous rigid and j 

 filiform rough bristles. [A. A. B.J 



GALAX. The name of a genus of win- 

 tergreens distinguished by having the fila- 

 ments united to form a tube, with ten 

 teeth at the end, the five teeth opposite to 

 the petals havingno anthers, and the other 

 five bearing perfect anthers. The name is j 

 derived from the Greek word signifying i 

 ' milk,' and probably refers to the colour of j 

 the numerous small flowers. The only 

 species is G. aphylla, a tufted herbaceous j 

 plant, with scaly creeping root-stocks, and 

 a native of open woods in the southern 

 parts of the United States, extending 

 nortnwards to Virginia. [G. D.j 



GALAXIA. A genus of Cape Iridacece, 

 forming dwarf plants with bulb-tuberous 

 rhizomes, short stems bearing a terminal 

 cluster of narrow leaves and handsome 

 flowers, consisting of a funnel-shaped 

 perianth, with a slender terete tube, and 

 six-parted equal limb of oblong wedge- 

 shaped spreading segments, the outer of 

 which have a nectariferous cavity at the 

 base. They have three stamens, with the 

 filaments connate into a short tube, and 

 the arrow-shaped anthers affixed by their 

 base; a filiform triquetrous club-shaped 

 style with three fringed convolute stig- 

 mas ; and a three-celled ovary containing 

 many ovules. There are some five or six 

 species; of which G. ovata grows three or 

 four inches high, and has ovate-oblong 

 plicate ciliated leaves, and large bright 

 yellow flowers. [T. M.] 



GALBA. A durable Indian wood pro- 

 duced by Calophyllum Calaba. 



GALBAXUM. A Persian umbelliferous 

 plant, the fruit only of which is known, 

 has been described under this name, from 

 the supposition that it was the source of 

 the drug galbanum ; a supposition, how- 

 ever, that is at present unsupported by 

 evidence. The fruits of G. officinale are 

 elliptical and flattened from back to front ; 

 each half-fruit has seven elevated bluntly 

 keeled ridges ; the intervening channels 

 are broad, and have no vittaa or reservoirs 

 for oil, but on the commissure or surface 

 by which the two halves of the fruit are in 

 contact, there are two vittag. [M. T. M.J 



The name Galbanum is also applied to 

 a balsamic gum-resin, of which that ob- 

 tained from Persia is ascertained to be pro- 

 duced by Opoidia galbanifera ; its proper- 

 ties are similar but inferior to those of 

 asaf eetida. It is supposed to be also yielded 

 by other umbellifers. 



GALBULUS. A strobilus, whose scales 



