736 
POD 
Corolla: petals nine, orbicular, concave, plaited at the 
edge. Stamina: filaments very many, very ffiort; an- 
therae oblong, large, erefl. Piftillum : germ roundiffi ; 
ftyle none; ftigma blunt, plaited. Pericarpium; berry 
ovate, crowned with the ftigma, one-celled. Seeds very 
many, roundifh ; receptacle free.— EJfential Char after. Ca¬ 
lyx three-leaved ; corolla nine-petalied : berry one-celled, 
crowned with the ftigma. Linnaeus has two fpecies. 
1. Podophyllum peltatum, duck’s-foot, or may-apple : 
leaves peltate, lobate. This plant grows naturally in 
many parts of North America. The root is compofed of 
many thick tubers, which are fattened together by flefhy 
fibres, which fpread and propagate greatly under ground, 
fending out many fmaller fibres which ttrike downward. 
In the fpring arife feveral footftalks about fix inches high, 
which divide into two fmaller, each fuftaining one leaf, 
compofed of five, fix, or feven, lobes, the five middle be¬ 
ing deeply indented at the top; thefe join together at 
their bafe, where the footftalk meets, which is fattened to 
the under fide of the leaf like the handle of a target; the 
leaves are fmooth, and of a light green. At the divifion 
of the footftalk comes out the flower, with a large calyx 
covering it like a flieath ; the flower has nine pretty 
large white petals, which are roundilh at the top, and 
plaited on their borders. The flowers appear in May ; 
and, when they fall off, the germ fwells to a fruit of the 
fize and fliape of the common hip, or fruit of the wild 
rofe. This is at firft green, but when ripe changes to a 
yellow colour. It appears from Evelyn’s Kalendar, that 
it was cultivated here in 1664, 
The may-apple is common in every part of Upper Ca¬ 
nada, growing fpontaneoufly in low fhady fituations. 
The root is the part ufed for medicinal purpofes: it is a 
fure purgative ; one fcruple is a dofe for an adult, the root 
being reduced to a fine powder; and may be joined with 
the fubmurias hydrarg. with great advantage. The In¬ 
dians have a method of roafting the roots in the hot afhes 
of a wood fire, until they are of a mealy whitenefs in the 
infide; then break them to pieces, and boil them in fix 
gills of foft water to one gill: given to the patient at 
bed-time, it operates early in the next morning: fix roots 
are the number to be fo ufed for an adult. The Indians 
ufe the may-apple for all eruptions of the fkin, and a 
foulnefs of the blood. The roots ought to be gathered 
in the fall of the year, when the leaf begins to turn yellow. 
2. Podophyllum diphyllum : leaves binate, femicor- 
date. This was fent to Linnaeus from Peter Collinfon, 
as a fpecies of Podophyllum. He had it from Virginia. 
Linnaeus doubts whether it may not be rather a fpecies of 
Sanguinaria, fince it has a Angle binate leaf, a leaflefs ra¬ 
dical fcape, and an oblong capfule. It is feparated from 
this genus by Barton, Michaux, and Purfh ; and is thus 
diftinguifhed : Calyx of five leaves, deciduous; petals 
eight, incurved; capfule obovate, fomewhat ftalked, of one 
cell, burfting below the fummit 5 feeds feveral, oblong, 
truncated at the bafe. It has received the name of Jeffer- 
fonia diphylla. It belongs to the clafs ocfandria, and ap¬ 
pears a tolerably diftinft genus, though retained in Podo¬ 
phyllum by Willdenow, and confequently in Hort. Kew. 
See Purfli, i. 268. 
Propagation and Culture. The firft fort propagates fo 
faft by its creeping roots, that few perfons are at the trou¬ 
ble of fowing the feeds. Every part of the roots will grow, 
fo they may be annually parted, either in autumn when 
their leaves decay, or in the fpring juft before the roots 
begin to flioot; they require no other culture but to keep 
them clean from weeds. It loves a light loamy foil and 
a fhady fituation, and is fo hardy as feldom to be injured 
by the froft. 
PODO'R, a French factory, fituated about fixty leagues 
up the river Senegal, in a very level country, abounding 
with beautiful trees, particularly tamarifks, red gum trees, 
and feveral forts of thorny acacias. The influence of the 
tide reaches to this place, though the fait water is not felt 
higher than thirty leagues. The river is eafily navigable 
POD 
as far as Podor, being always at leaft from twenty to thirty 
feet deep. Lat. 17. 1. N. Ion. 14. 20. W. 
PODOSTE'MUM, f . [from the Gr. ttov?, afoot, and 
arv)p.uv, a ftamen ; fo named by Michaux on account of 
the ftamens being fituated on a bafe or foot, which is di¬ 
vided into two branches. Michaux Boreal.-Amer. ii. 164. 
Purjh , i. 3.] In botany, a new genus of the clafs mono- 
ecia, order diandria; (digynia, Purjh.) Generic charac¬ 
ters—Male. Calyx : perianthium none. Corolla : none. 
Stamina: filaments two, capillary, connefted at the bafe 
by a common ftootftalk; antherae fomewhat heart-fhaped, 
two-celled. Female. Piftillum: germen fertile, ovate, 
with two fcales at the bafe, between which fprings the 
foot of the ftamens; ftyle none; ftigmas two, fertile, 
fomewhat thread-fhaped, a little fhorter than the germen, 
fpreading. Pericarpium : capfule ovate, eight-ftreaked, 
with two cells and two valves; partition parallel to the 
valves, High fly opening, not fixed. Seeds numerous, 
almoft covering each fide of the tumid partition, fome- 
w'hat imbricated downwards, nearly oval.— EJJential Cha- 
rufter. Male. Calyx none ; corolla none; ftamens two, on 
a common ftalk. Female. Calyx none ; corolla none ; 
germen ovate; ftigmas two, feflije; capfule of two cells, 
and two valves, many-feeded. Only one fpecies. 
Podoftemum ceratophyllum. Native of rocks about the 
falls of the river Ohio. Stem a finger’s length, thread- 
fhaped, floating. Leaves pinnate, alternate; leaflets al¬ 
ternate, briftle-fliaped, much cloven. Flowers axillary, 
folitary, the malesanferted at the bafe of the females. 
PO'DRE, a fmall river of Brazil, in the flat country of 
the river Amazons, which runs into the Madera. 
PODREL'SKOI, a town of Ruffia, in the government 
of Viatka; thirty-two miles north-north-eaft of Viatka. 
PO'DRUS, a river of Walachia, which runs into the 
Syl about three miles eaft of Motril. 
PODSPUS’KNOI, a fort of Ruffia, in the government 
of Kolivan : 220 miles fouth-weft of Kolivan. Lat. 51. 
20. N. Ion. 78. 34. E. 
PODSTEP'NOI, a fort of Ruffia, in the government 
of Kolivan: 196 miles fouth-weft of Kolivan. Lat. 52. 
10. N. Ion. 77. 40. E. 
PODUL'LUNG, a town of European Turkey, in Mol¬ 
davia : twenty-eight miles fouth-weft of Jalli. 
PODU'RA,/. The Spring-tail: in entomology, a 
genus of inledis of the order aptera. Generic characters 
—Lip bifid; feelers four, fubclavate; eyes two, compofed 
of eight facets; antennae filiform; body fcaly; tail 
forked, bent under the body, and afting as a fpring; 
legs fix, formed for running. There are thirty-one fpe¬ 
cies enumerated by Gmelin. They are fmall iniefts; and, 
in general, are found in damp places, under ftones, on the 
bark of trees, &c. When ditturbed, they fuddenly fpring 
to a fmall diftance by the help of a long fork, which is 
doubled under the abdomen, and which is fuddenly 
thrown out during the aft of leaping. They feed on the 
leaves of various plants; the larva and pupa are fix¬ 
footed, nimble, and refemble the perfefl infeft. 
1. Podura fignata, the marked fpring-tail: fub-giobular, 
brown ; abdomen with fulvous fpots at the fides. 
2. Podura viridis, the green fpring-tail: fub-globular, 
green, with a yellowilh head : found on the leaves of the 
Polygonum fagopyrum. Fig. 3. on the preceding engra¬ 
ving, will give a tolerable idea of a Podura as frequently 
met with on the leaves of trees; it reprefents the viridis, 
fomew'hat magnified. 
3. Podura polypoda: fubglobular, black; antennae as 
long as the body, and tipt with white. Found on various 
plants, in this and other countries of Europe. 
4. Podura plumbea : oblong, brown, with a blue glofs. 
It is found on the bark of trees ; and is reprefented, con- 
fiderably magnified, at fig. 4. 
5. Podura minuta: ovate, yellow, with two ferruginous 
fpots on the back. This and the four following are 
found on plants in many parts of Europe. 
6. Podura nivalis: oblong, yellow', with two ferruginous 
fpots 
