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BOTANICAL NOTICES OF NEW PLANTS. 



and useful for many culinary purposes. Two ounces of cassava will suffice for a 

 meal, and a pound will support a man for twenty-four hours. The physic-nuts of 

 the West Indies are the seeds of Iatropha curcas ; but those of multifida are 

 cathartic likewise. The Chinese make a varnish for their ornamental works by 

 boiling the oil of I. curcas with the oxide of iron. I. elastica (Siphonia or Hevea 

 elastica) is commonly referred to as one of the chief sources of caoutchouc ; but 

 this valuable substance is found in a variety of plants of this order. 



BOTANICAL NOTICES OF NEW PLANTS. 



DICOTYLEDONES. 



RANUXCULACEiE. Juss. 



Delphinum laxiflorum. D. C. Loose-flowered Larkspur. Bot. Reg. N. S. 

 t. 30. This is a pleasing hardy perennial, growing from four to five feet in 

 height, in any good garden soil, and well adapted for planting in the shrubbery ; 

 flowers in June. It may be increased either by seeds, or the division of the 

 root. Bot. Reg. 



CARYOPHYLLACEiE. Juss. 



Dianthus Bisignani. Jen. Prince Bisignani, Pink. Bot. Mag. N. S. t. 29. 

 A beautiful half-hardy shrubby species, from the garden of the Hon. W. F. 

 Strangways, at Abbotsbury, who gives the following particulars respecting it. 

 It is a native of the coast of Calabria and Sicily. It is allied to D. fruticulosus, 

 Fl. Gr., from which it differs in its sharper leaves and more imbricated calyx. 

 Unlike most maritime plants, it is less glaucous in its wild state than in culti- 

 vation. It flowers late, is best kept in a greenhouse, and is not easily raised 

 from seed. The succulent character of the leaves spoken of by the Italian bota- 

 nists, disappears very much in this, as well as in D. fruticosus, under cultivation. 

 Bot. Reg. 



LEGUMINOSiE. Juss. 



Sutherlandia frutescens, var. sub canescens. Hoaryish var. of shrubby 

 Sutherlandia. Var. sub. canescens ; foliis ovatis emarginatis calycibus nigris 

 hirsutis vestitis ; floribus purpureis. 



This is very nearly related to S. frutescens, and indeed only to be distin- 

 guished from that species by the leaves being broader, more deeply notched at 

 the end, less canescent, and the flowers of a delicate colour. It is in the pos- 

 session of Messrs. Pope and Sons, Handsworth. We have not been informed 

 from what country it was imported. 



CACTEjE. Juss. 



Echinocactus Eyriesii, var. glaucus. Lindl. Glaucous Sweet-scented Por- 

 cupine Cactus. Bot. Reg. N. S. t. 31. This is a delicate variety, having flowers 



