Scientific Intelligence. — Botany* 879 
21. On the Leaves used by the Chinese in lining Tea-Chests. 
—Much conjecture and doubt has existed respecting the plant 
which produces these leaves. Some have supposed them to be- 
long to a scitamineous plant ; while others, and with more rea- 
son, have regarded them as the leaflets of some species of palm 
with pinnated fronds. That they cannot belong to a scita- 
mineous plant, is evident from the want of a midrib, from 
the disposition of the nerve, from their spinulously, serrated 
margin, and, lastly, from the harsher feel of both surfaces; 
and the equality of their sides clearly shews, that they are not 
portions of a compound leaf. Mr Lambert obtained this sum- 
mer a quantity of these leaves, for the purpose of comparing them 
with several broad-leaved Graminea , and we found them to ap- 
proach so exceedingly near those of some species of Pharus , as 
scarcely to leave a doubt of the genus to which they ought to 
be referred. This new species may, therefore, should our con- 
jecture prove correct, when the flowers are obtained, be named, 
Pharus officinalis.— D. D. 
22. On various Plants used as Tea in different Countries.— 
The plants used as tea are as widely separated from each other 
as the countries themselves are remote. In Mexico and Guati- 
mala the leaves of the Psoralea glandulosa are generally used 
as tea ; and in New Grenada the Alstonia theoeformis of Mutis, 
the Symplocos Alstonia of Humboldt and Bonpland, affords a 
tea not inferior to that of China. Farther to the north on the 
same continent, a very wholesome tea is made from the leaves of the 
Gaultheria procumbens and Ledum latifolium. This last is vul- 
garly called Labrador tea, and its use was, I believe, first made 
known by the late Sir Joseph Banks, The most famous of all 
American teas, however, is the tea of Paraguay, of which large 
quantities are annually imported into Peru, Chili, and the States 
of Buenos Ayres, and the use of it is so universal in South 
America, that the inhabitants have always some of this tea ready 
prepared, whether engaged in occupations at home or in the fields, 
and no person departs on a journey without being provided with 
a quantity of the herb. It is made by merely pouring warm wa- 
ter on the leaves, and is sipped, through a silver or glass tube, 
from a small vessel, called a Mate Pot, which is carried in the 
hand, or, should the person be on horseback, or engaged in 
