THE BLOODBERRY FAMILY. 



239 



flowers, or rather their coloured bracts, which have a hand- 

 some appearance. 



This family is remarkable in their tissues containing ra- 

 phides in great quantity ; in Pisonia they lie in bundles like 

 packets of needles, and so compact that their position can be 

 seen with the naked eye by the irregular white markings of 

 the leaves. 



The Bloodberry Family. 



(Phytolaccace^.) 



Soft-wooded sub-trees, shrubs or herbs, with alternate 

 simple leaves. Flowers in spikes or panicles. Fruit a fleshy 

 berry with red juice, or sometimes dry. 



About 80 species are known of this family. They are 

 chiefly natives of the tropics, some species of Phytolacca ex- 

 tending to temperate countries; they are generally acrid. 



Poke (^Phytolacca decandra). A strong-growing herba- 

 ceous plant, 3 to 4 feet high, having bunches of dark purple 

 berries, the juice of which resembles red ink. It is a native 

 of the Southern United States, where the plant is used medi- 

 cinally ; the young shoots on being boiled lose their acridity, 

 and are then eaten as a vegetable. 



Umbra tree (Pircuma dioicd). A native of South America, 

 and has now become naturalized in many warm countries, 

 even in the South of Europe, where it becomes a large tree of 

 from 20 to 30 feet high. It has a thick, gouty, soft-wooded 

 stem ; the branches are furnished with large dark, broad 

 elliptical leaves, the whole aspect of the tree having a sombre, 

 dull appearance. In the hothouses of this country it soon 

 attains a great height and thickness, and is a rude-growing 

 plant. The juice of its berries is said to be used for 

 colouring wine. 



Bloodberry {Rivina humilis). A small shrub with soft 

 leaves, native of the West Indies, and is an old inhabitant in 

 the hothouses of this country. It has spikes of white flowers, 

 which are followed by a bunch of small red berries, the juice 

 of which is like blood. 



