14 
the ancients. It is sometimes used in medicine as an astringent and 
stimulant, and is employed, for its grateful perfume, as an incense in 
churches. 
BRACHYCHITON POPULNEUM.—This Australian tree furnishes a soft 
wood which contains gum-mucilage. The tap-roots of the young trees, 
as well as the younger roots of the large trees, are eaten as food. The 
seeds are also eaten, and the bark is used for making fishing nets. The 
thickened appearance at the base of the stem shows a tendency to 
gout. 
BROMELIA KARATAS.—The Corawa fiber, or Silk-Grass of Guiana, is 
obtained from this plant, which is very strong, and much used for bow: 
strings, fishing lines, nets, and ropes. 
BROMELIA PINGUIN.—This is very common as a hedge or fence plant 
in the West Indies. The leaves, when beaten with a blunt mallet and 
macerated in water, produce fibers from which beautiful fabrics are 
manufactured. The fruit yields a cooling juice much used in fevers. 
BROSIMUM GALACTODENDRON.—The Cow tree of South America, 
which yields a milk of as good quality as that from the cow. It forms 
large forests on the mountains near the town of Cariaco and elsewhere 
along the sea-coast of Venezuela, reaching to a considerable height. 
In South America the Cow tree is called Palo de Vaca, or Arbol de 
Leche. Its milk, which is obtained by making incisions in the trunk, 
so closely resembles the milk of the cow, both in appearance and quality, 
that it is commonly used as an article of food by the inhabitants of the 
places where the tree is abundant. Unlike many other vegetable milks, 
it is perfectly wholesome, and very nourishing, possessing an agreeable 
taste, and a pleasant balsamic odor; its only unpleasant quality being a 
slight amount of stickiness. The chemical analysis of this milk has 
shown it to possess a composition closely resembling some animal sub- 
stances; and, like animal milk, it quickly forms a cheesy scum, and, 
after a few days’ exposure to the atmosphere, turns sour and putrifies. 
It contains upward of 30 per cent. of a resinous substance called ga- 
lactine. 
BRosmMUM ALICASTRUM.—The Bread-Nut tree of Jamaica. The nuts 
or seeds produced by this tree are said to form an agreeable and nutri- 
tious article of food. When cooked they taste like hazel-nuts. The 
young branches and ‘shoots are greedily eaten by horses and cattle, and 
the wood resembles mahogany, and is used for making furniture. 
BROWNEA GRANDICEPS.—A very beautiful plant, of the leguminous 
family. The flowers are large and fine. The leaves droop during the 
day so as almost to hide the flowers from view, and protect them “from 
the heat of the sun, but as soon as evening comes, the leaves become 
erect, So as to expose the flowers to the dews. In Venezuela it is called 
Rosa del Monte, or Palo de Cruz. 
Brya EBENUS.—Jamaica, or West India Ebony tree, is not the plant 
that ‘yields the true ebony-wood of commerce. Jamaica ebony is of a 
ereenish-brown color, very hard, and so heavy thatit sinksin water. It 
takes a good polish; and is used by turners for the manufacture of nu- 
merous kinds of small wares. . 
BRYOPHYLLUM CALYCINUM.—This is oftentimes called the Leaf plant, 
from the circumstance that small buds form at the notches on the margin 
of the leaves, which, when laid on damp soil, form new plants. It isa 
native of the East Indies. In the Mauritius it is used as a fomentation 
or poultice in intestinal complaints. 
BYRSONIMA SPICATA.—A’ Brazilian plant, furnishing an astringen 
bark used for tanning, and which also contains a red ‘coloring: matter 
7. — 7’ 
