519 



&l)c Crcatfurw nf 38atanjj. 



[gard 



whose stems yield, in greater or less quan- 

 tity, a yellow resinous juice which in G. 

 Cambogia is known as Ceylon Gamboge. 

 The chief features of the genus are : uni- 

 sexual or rarely perfect flowers, having a 

 calyx of four rounded leaves, and four 

 petals of similar form ; in the males nu- 

 merous stamens which are free or united 

 into one or four parcels ; and in the females 

 a few Darren stamens surrounding a glo- 

 bose ovary which is from two to ten-celled 

 with one ovuiein each cell, and is crowned 

 by a shield-like entire or lobed stigma. 



The greater portion of the species are 



found in India and the Malay Archipelago. 



All have glossy laurel-like leathery leaves. 



j The flowers are either white tinged with 



pink, oryellow, and arranged in clusters in 



the axils of the leaves or in panicles at the 



ends of the twigs. The species from 



which the Gamboge or Camboge of com- 



j merce is obtained in largest quantity are 



! commonly known under the name Cam- 



! bogia : which see. G pictoria, which is 



found in the Coorg district of Malabar, 



[ yields a gamboge said by Dr. Christison 



and others to have properties similar to 



those of the Ceylon and Siam gamboge, 



being 'excellent as a pigment, efficient as 



a purgative, and equal to the gamboge in 



common use.' It does not, however, appear 



to be imported in any quantity, by far the 



greater portion brought to this country 



being sent from Siam to Singapore and 



shipped from that port. This plant is a 



! tall tree with elliptical leaves, smallyellow 



axillary solitary flowers, and berries about 



the size of a cherry, with four one-seeded 



cells. 



TheMangostan or Mangosteen (G.Man- 

 gostana), so well known for its luscious 

 fruit, is found in the Malay islands, where 

 it grows to a tree of middling stature with 

 a conical head, the branches furnished 

 with glossy leathery elliptical-oblong poin- 

 ted leaves, and the flowers single and near- 

 ly sessile at the ends of the twigs, of a 

 dull red colour, and as large as dog-roses. 

 Dr. Abel, writing of the fruits of Batavia, 

 says : ' First in beauty and flavour was the 

 celebrated Mangostan. This, so often eu- 

 logised by travellers, certainly deserves 

 much of the praise bestowed upon it. It is 

 of a spherical form, of the size of a small 

 orange, when ripe reddish-brown, and 

 when old of a chestnut-brown colour. Its 

 succulent rind is nearly the fourth of 

 an inch in thickness. It contains a very 

 powerful astringent juice, and in wet wea- 

 ther exudes a yellow gum which is a variety 

 of gamboge. On removing the rind, its 

 esculent substance appears in the form of a 

 juicy pulp having the whiteness and solu- 

 bility of snow, and of a refreshing, delicate, 

 delicious flavour. We were all anxious to 

 carry away with us some precise expression 

 of its qualities; but after satisfying our- 

 selves that it partook of the compound taste 

 of thepine-apple and peach,we were obliged 

 to confess it had many other equally good 

 but utterly inexpressible qualities.' Any 

 amount of the fruit may be eaten without 

 injury, and it is said to be given to those 



afflicted with fever along with the sweet 

 orange. The Chinese use the bark as a 

 basis for a black dye, and it is also used in 

 dysentery. In 1855 it first produced its 

 blossom and fruit in this country in the 

 gardens of the Duke of Northumberland 

 at Syon, from whence it was figured by Sir 

 W. J. Hooker in the Botanical Magazine (t. 

 4847). It has been cultivated in thesouth- 



Gareinia JMangostana. 



ern and eastern parts of India, but does 

 not there attain the same perfection as it 

 does in the Malay Archipelago. A few 

 small-flowered species, with the stamens 

 in four parcels, and the two-celled ovary 

 crowned with a shield-like stigma, are by 

 some authors kept as a separate genus 

 under the name Discostigma. [A- A. BJ 



GARDENER'S GARTERS. DigrapMs 



arundinacea rariegata. 



GARDENIA. A genus of Cinchonacece, 

 and a favourite with cultivators on account 

 of the fragrance and beauty of its flowers. 

 It consists of trees or shrubs, frequently 

 spiny, and indigenous in tropical Asia and 

 Africa, as well as at the Cape of Good Hope. 

 The calyx tube is ovate, the limb variously 

 divided ; corolla white or yellowish, more 

 or less funnel-shaped, with its limb divided 

 into from five to nine somewhat twisted 

 segments, and its tube considerably longer 

 than the calyx ; anthers five to nine, sessile 

 on the throat of the corolla, from which 

 they project to a short distance ; ovary 

 partially five-celled, with numerous ovules ; 

 fruit berry-like, crowned by the limb of the 

 calyx. G. gummifera and G. lucida, East 

 Indian species, yield a fragrant resin some- 

 thing like Elemi, which might be turned to 

 some account. The fruit of G. campanu- 

 lata is stated by Roxburgh to be used by 

 the natives as a cathartic, and also to 

 wash out stains in silk. Several kinds of 

 this beautiful genus are in cultivation. 

 The Cape Jasmine, G. florida and G. radi- 

 cans, both found with double flowers of 

 exquisite fragrance, and G. Stanley ana, .with 

 long trumpet-shaped blossoms, are among 

 the most beautiful species. [M. T. MJ 



GARDENIOLA. The name of a Brazilian 

 shrub of the Cinchona family, having nu- 

 merous flattened branches, with polyga- 

 mous flowers : the males in groups of three 



