SKIRRIT OF ECONOMIC PLANTS. 379 



tapers upwards from a swollen base, around wliicli are thick 

 projecting buttresses of sufacient width to allow of horses being 

 stalled between them. The natives call it Ceiba. 



Silky Oak {GremlUd robusta), a tree of the Protea family 

 (Proteacese), native of Queensland, and probably one of the 

 loftiest trees of the family ; it attains a height of fiom 50 to 

 150 feet, with a diameter of from 6 to 8 feet ; its timber is 

 valuable. A plant introduced into Kew in 1826 has attained 

 a large size, and with its much-divided silky leaves presents a 

 strong contrast to the more humble species of the genus, which 

 mostly consist of small shrubs with willow, holly, box, or juniper- 

 like leaves, producing pretty spikes of flowers. 



Silphium of the Ancients. {Sm Carrot, Deadly.) 



Silphium of Linnssus. (See Compass Plant.) 



Silver Fir (Piceco ;pectinata), a tree of the family Coniferse, 

 native of Europe and Northern Asia. It takes its name from 

 its silvery white leaves, and attains a great height, it is even 

 said above 200 feet, and when standing singly is a beautiful 

 tree. A resin is obtained from it, which when purified is called 

 Strasburg Turpentine. The Silver Fir is subject to a disease, 

 especially in Switzerland, which is caused by a fungus, a species 

 of ^cidium, similar to the corn mildew. 



Silver Eod. {See Asphodel.) 



Silver Tree (Zeucadendron argenteimi), a small tree of the 

 Protea family (Proteacese), with beautiful silvery lance-shaped 

 leaves, native of Table Mountain and the Cape of Good Hope. 

 Its vicinity to Cape Town has led to its almost complete extirpa- 

 tion for firewood. Its destruction, however, is now prohibited. 



Simaruba Bark. (See Quassia.) 



Sissoo, a name in India for Dalhergia Sissoo, a tree of the 

 Bean family (Leguminosse), common in Bengal, and extending 

 northward to the Punjab. It is a fast-growing tree, attaining a 

 considerable size. Its timber is strong, compact, and tenacious, 

 of a dark-brown colour, and is used in all works where strength 

 and durability are required. 



Skirrit (Sium Sisarum), a perennial herb of the Carrot family 



