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broad in the middle, of -a much thinner texture than thofe 
of the firft,and their ends are generally reflexed; they are 
of a light green, and irregularly placed on the branches 
by pairs, alternately, or by threes. The flowers are pro¬ 
duced in very large bunches at the end of the branches, 
upon long peduncles ; they have three or four rows of 
petals one within another. They are much larger than 
thofe of the common fort, and fmell like thofe of haw¬ 
thorn. The plain flowers are of a foft red, or peach- 
colour; but in molt they are beautifully variegated with 
a deeper red, and make a fine appearance. The ul'ual 
time ot flowering is in July and Auguft ; but in a warm 
ftove it will continue in flower till Michaelmas. The 
flowers being double, they are not lucceeded by feeds. 
Both thefe are fuppofed to have a poifonous quality ; the 
young branches, when cut or broken, have a milky juice 
or fap, and the larger branches, when burnt, emit a very 
difagreeable odour. Mr. Miller fays it grows naturally 
in both Indies, that it was firft introduced into the Britifh 
iflands in America from the Spanifh Main, and that it is 
called by the inhabitants of thofe iflands “ South-Sea 
rofe.” The beauty and fweetnefs of the flowers engaged 
the inhabitants to cultivate the plants, and in many places 
to form hedges of them ; but many of the cattle that 
browzed on them were killed, fo that they are now only 
preferved in gardens, where they make a fine appearance 
great part of the year. 
N. odorum w'as cultivated by Mr. Miller in 1758. He 
fays that the double Indian rofe-bay was not known here 
till the beginning of the halt century. Dr. Patrick Brownie 
jays that the South-Sea rofe is cultivated in molt gardens 
in Jamaica ; that it generally bears large long double flow¬ 
ers, but that he has fometimes found them Ample and fer¬ 
tile, with all the characters of the genus. 
3. Nerium falicinum, willow-leaved rofe-bay, or olean¬ 
der: leaves linear-lanceolate, in threes, nervelefs. This is 
allied toN. oleander, but differs in having the leaves blunt, 
fomewhat veined underneath, but not with very abun¬ 
dant tranfverfe nerves. 
4. Nerium obefum, or bulbous oleander: leaves ob¬ 
long-lanceolate, fcattered, villofe underneath. Trunk 
foft, relembling a bulb under ground, the fize of a man’s 
head. Branches the thicknefs of the little finger, the 
fame fubftance with the trunk, attenuated above; when 
flowering, woody and warted. Leaves at the ends of the 
branches approximating, fubpetioled, often three inches 
long, mucronate, veinlefs ; the younger ones foft on both 
fides. Although the leaves are fcattered, which is feldom 
the cafe in the contortae, yet the form of the antherse, 
and their cohefion with the ftigma, prove it to be of this 
genus. By the corolla and naked throat it approaches to 
Echites, but the glands at the bafe of the germen are 
wanting ; and, fince the antherse are tailed, it feems better 
to retain this plant among the Neriums, till we become 
acquainted with the fruit. 
5. Nerium Zeylanicum, or Ceylon oleander: leaves 
lanceolate, oppofite; branches ftraight. Stems round, 
very dark purple, fmooth, ereCt, fwelling at the joints. 
Leaves oblong, acuminate, refembling thofe of myrtle, 
green on both fides. Flowers at the ends of the branches. 
Native of the Ealt Indies. 
6. Nerium divaricatum, or divaricated oleander: leaves 
lanceolate-ovate; branches divaricating. This, accord¬ 
ing to Loureiro, is a middle-fized tree ; leaves waved, 
fliining; flowers reddifli yellow, with a reflex border. 
Native of the Eaft Indies, Japan, and Cochin China. 
7. Nerium antidyfentericum, or oval-leaved rofe-bay : 
leaves oblong-ovate; panicles terminating. This alfo is 
a middle-fized tree, with brachiate branches. Leaves op¬ 
pofite, flat, quite entire, fmooth. Flowers herbaceous or 
greenilh white, in fliort fubterminating racemes. Seg¬ 
ments of the crown oblong, alternately trifid and linear. 
The wood of this and the preceding fpecies is proper for 
the turner, and to make cabinets and other elegant furni¬ 
ture. It is very white and of a fine grain, like ivory, only 
jmuch lighter. It mixes admirably with ebony. It is re- 
I U M. 
puted to be a fpecific in the dyfentery. Native of the Eaft 
Indies, Cochin China, andlome parts of the Ruffian em¬ 
pire. Introduced in 1778, by Patrick Ruffe! 1 , M.D. 
0 . N. tinCtorium is a middle-fized tree, from the quality 
of its leaves called Nerium tinCtorium, or dyer’s role-bay, 
by Dr. Roxburgh. It comes nearelt N. antidyfentericum, 
the tree which yields the conefli-bark of our materia me- 
dica ; codago pala of the Hortus Malabarieus, pala cadija. 
of the Hindoos. They are both natives of the lower re¬ 
gion of thofe mountains which bound the Rajahmundry- 
circar on the north fide, and are fo much alike in moft 
refpeCls, the neCtary excepted, that, without a perfeCl 
knowledge of both, the one may be miftaken for the other; 
and it is probable that the bark of this new Nerium might 
have been gathered and fold for conefli-bark; which with 
the Plindoos is efteemed a fpecific in moft complaints of 
the bowels, and perhaps deferves a better name than it 
has hitherto acquired in Europe. 
This tree, the thjil-ankaloo of the Telingas, contains a 
mild milky juice, chiefly in the tender branches and young 
leaves, which flows out on being wounded. Nerium an¬ 
tidyfentericum contains a fimilar juice. The trunk is 
very irregular in fltape ; when very old, it is from one and 
a half to two feet in diameter, but, when of that fize, it 
is full of large rotten cavities ; its height to the branches, 
when large, is from ten to fifteen feet; the bark of the 
old wood is fcabrous, of the young pretty fmooth and 
afli-coloured. Wood remarkably white, clofe-grained, 
very beautiful, coming near to ivory in appearance. 
Branches irregularly difpofed, being bent in various 
forms; branchlets oppofite. Leaves numerous, oppofite, 
on Ihort footftalks, oval, pointed, pretty fmooth, entire, 
pale green, when full grown from five to eight inches 
long, and from three to four broad. Flowers about an 
inch and a half in diameter when expanded, perfectly 
white, fragrant, and difpofed on lax globular panicles, at 
the extremity of the branches. The natives make fcarcely 
any ufe of this tree, except for fire-wood ; and the more 
it is cut down the more it increafes, many flioots ifl’uing 
from the old flumps. Thefe, in one year, acquire the 
height of eight or ten feet, and are thick in proportion ; 
it calls its leaves during the cold feafon, (perhaps it may 
not do fo in a (late of cultivation.) About the beginning 
of the hot feafon, March and April, the young leaves 
begin to make their appearance, together with the flowers, 
by the end of May ; thofe that firft began to be unfolded 
will have attained to their full fize ; about this time alfo 
it ceafes flowering, and the feed-veffels ai'e fully formed, 
but the feeds are not ripe till January or February. 
The colour the leaves fometimes acquired in drying, 
firft induced Dr. Roxburgh to think they were poflefled of 
colouring matter; and the refult of fiome experiments 
fully anfwered his expectations. The difficulty attend¬ 
ing this operation relults from the peculiar quality of the 
leaves of the plant; which, unlike the common indigo, 
will not communicate their colour to cold water ; but in 
warm water they readily yield their colouring matter; 
and Dr. R. has given ample directions forconftruCting the 
vats, ciftern, &c. that are requilite in this operation, as 
well as a view of the Nerium Indigo-Works in Hindooftan. 
The following palfages may be fufficient to afford a gene¬ 
ral idea of the procefs : “ The leaves of the Nerium tree, 
in thefe parts of India, begin to be fit for making indigo 
in the month of April; and, in May and June, I have 
found them to yield a better colour than in any other 
month. About the end of Auguft the growth of the 
plant begins to draw to a clofe for the feafon; the leaves, 
acquiring a yellowifh rufty colour, foon fall off, without 
being lucceeded by others, or in a trifling degree, till next 
feafon ; fo that here, with the plants in a wild Hate (which 
is the ftate I always allude to in thefe obfervations), I can 
only reckon the length of the feafon for making the indigo 
at four, or at moft five, months in the year. The leaves, 
being collected, forinftance, on the preceding day, are put 
into the coppers, or other velfels, in fufficient quantity, 
i. e. full, but not preffed down; and then the velfels are 
filled 
