LOCUST OF ECONOMIC PLAINTS. 249 



veys the idea of the trees being in bloom. Its fruit is about the 

 size of a walnut, and contains a honey-like, glutinous, white 

 pulp, which is esteemed by the Kjians. 



Lithi, a name in ChiH for Rhus caustica, a stiff shrub with 

 firm oyal leaves of a brownish colour, belonging to the Cashew 

 Nut family (Anacardiacese). It is dreaded by the natives for 

 its baneful effects in blistering the skin, equal to those of the 

 Poison Oak {liJius ioxicodendron). 



Litmus. (Se& Orchil.) 



Liverworts, a general name for the plants comprehended 

 under the family Hepaticeae, of the class Cryptogamia of Linnaeus, 

 now separated under two distinct families^ Marchantiacege and 

 Jungermanniese. Nearly 700 species are recorded, natives of 

 moist and shady places in most hot and temperate climates ; 

 many are epiphytal, and in some respects they may be com- 

 pared to mosses. They possess no economic properties, but are 

 highly interesting to the microscopic botanist ; such, for instance, 

 as the numerous species of the extensive genus Jungermannia^ 

 many of which are natives of this country. The common 

 Liverwort {Marchantia ;polymorpJia) grows in moist situations, in 

 gardens, sometimes in pots, and even in the hothouse. Another 

 common species is Eiccicc fiuitans, which grows in pools and 

 ditches. 



Locust, Honey {GleditscJiia triacanthos), a large thorny tree 

 of the Bean family (Leguminos^), native of North America, 

 attaining a height of 60 feet. The wood is hard, and prin- 

 cipally used for making fences, posts, etc. The stem and main 

 branches are furnished from top to bottom with tripartite, rigid 

 spines, 3 to 4 inches in length, presenting a most formidable 

 barrier to the ascent of climbing animals. The pods are thin, 

 jBat, curved, and twisted, a foot or more in length; they contain 

 numerous seeds, embedded in a sweet pulpy substance, from 

 which a kind of sugar is extracted. 



Locust Trees, a name given by early botanists in America 

 to trees bearing pods similar to the locust tree of Palestine 

 Ceratonia Siliiua (see Carob Tree). West Indian (see Oour- 



