160 Cactaceae-Lythraceae. 
CACTACEAE 
Cactus Family. 
While this family does not come within the scope of this work, 
mention must he made of Cert us triangularis (Linn.) Haw., the 
Night-blooming Cereus, a native of Mexico, remarkable for its large 
white flowers and red, quite palatable fruits. Cultivated extensively 
in the islands, the finest specimens may be seen on the stone wall en- 
closing the Punahou Campus. It may not be out of place to mention 
Carica papaya L.. the Papaya, which, next to the Pineapple, is the 
most extensively cultivated fruit in the Territory. The first Papaya 
tree in these Islands was probably one planted by Mr. G. Wundenberg 
at Hanalei in 1848. 
LYTHRACEAE 
Henna Family. 
This rather large family is represented in these Islands by sev- 
eral species, two of which are of striking beauty and are discussed in 
the last two chapters. 
Lawscnia inermis L. 
Henna. 
The Henna is an erect, much branched shrub, ten to eighteen 
feet in height; the leaves are oblong-elliptical, pointed, and about an 
inch or more long; the flowering panicle is ten to twelve inches long 
and its lower branches are subtended by leaves; the flowers are very 
fragrant, rather small, and usually straw-yellow; the fruit is a de- 
pressed globose capsule a few lines in diameter. 
Henna is commonly cultivated for its fragrant flowers in many 
tropical countries; it is a native of Africa and India, but may now 
be found well distributed over the tropics. It is the only species of 
the genus Lawsonia; the latter having been named in honor of Dr. 
J. Lawson, a Scotch friend of Linnaeus. 
It is cultivated in many provinces of India for the sake of its 
dye and fragrant flowers, and partly as a hedge plant. The natives 
of India employ a decoction of the leaves in dyeing cloth, the color 
produced being a shade of yellow or reddish-brown, which is known 
as M'dagiri. The most important use of Hi una in India is as an 
article of toilet; the leaves being used for staining the fingers, nails. 
hands and feet, and for dveing the hair. The custom is a very old 
