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Show '!be Hiftory of P L A N T S. AMOMUM. THE calyx of the Amomum confifis of fe~eral fimplc, partial fp~thre, _difpofed in an imbricated manner. T he corolla IS monopetalous, confifb ng of a fho rt tube and a limb divided jnto three oblong fegments ; the middle fegment is larger than the ;efi and the linus oppofi te to it more open. The netlarium is monophyllous, and in fertel into the large finus jufi mentioned: it fcarce at all appears above the (egments of the corolla. The ftam en is a fingle filament, of an oblong figure, and like one of the fegmen ts of the corolla : the anthera is fimple, and affixed to this. 1 The germen of the pifiil is roundifi1, and ftands below the receptacl~ of t~e flower. The fiyle is fingle, £lender, and of the length of the ftamen. The fi1g_m~ IS obtu (e ; the fi·uit is coriaceous, of an oval figure, but fomewhat three-cornered : It IS compo!ed of three valves, forming as many cells ; the feeds are numerous and frnall. The Amomum comprehends the plant called Zingibe(. by other authors. 1. Amomum fcapo nudo, fpica ovata. '!be nahed-jlalked, ovai-Jpihed Amomum. The root of this fpecies is tuberous and nodofe, of the thicknefs of a man's finger, fomewhat flatti{h , arl'd divided into feveral ramifications, of a pale reddi{h colour on the outfide, and white within, and of an extremely acrid and fiery tafie. I t creeps under the furface of the earth, and does not grow to any great length fi ngly. Fl·om th is root arifes a ftalk of the thicknefs of a man's little finger; it is round and tender, fomewhat larger toward the root than any-where elfe, and in that part it is of a red difu colour, elfewhere it is green. It rifes to about ten inches high, and is terminated by a kind of clavated, or oval, fpike. It is covered with green fquammre, refembling rudiments of leaves, pointed, and reddiil1, at the extremity. The fpike is very beautiful: it is compofed of fcales of a .fine gold-yellow, and a bright fcarlet colour, or elfe of a fine lhining green, variegated with white. F rom the finus's of thefe fquammre, or fcales, the flowers come forth; they much refemble, in their general figure, thofe of our orchis's, and are of a mixt reddiili and whitiili colour, and variegated with yellow fpots. They are fmall , and but of very fhort duration, being fucceeded by others, after they have been but five or fi:x hours open. Thefe ftalks, or fcapi, on which the flowers are produced, have no perfeCt leaves on them; btit, befide thefe, there arife alfo, from diffe rent parts of the fame root, other fi alks, if they may be properly fo called; thefe are compofed wholly of the bafes of a multitude of leaves, furrounding one another : they grow to two feet, or more, in height. The leaves fepara~e at their tops, and. hang down loofe alfo from their fides. They are about fix or e1ght mches long, and an mch or more broad, foft to the touch and pointed at the extremities, and are of a bright green colour. ' ~his fpecies !s a native of the Eafi I~dies : it is frequent in many places there. It is culuvated alfo 111 feveral parts of Arnenca to advantage, but it does not feem a native th.ere. We have it in fame of our gardens in th~ fioves; it requires care to keep it altve, and never yet has been brought to flower With us. Plukenet calls it Zinziber ~~gu~iore folio, utriufque Indire alumna.' Alm. 317. C. Bauhine calls lt, fimply, Zmztber ; and Ray, and others, follow h1s example; Rhede calls it, J ufchi. 2 . Amomum Jcapo nudo, /pica oblonga obtz{a. The naked-jlalked Amomum, with an oblong, obtufi /pike. The r?ot of .this fpecies is tuberous, of the thicknefs of a man's finger, and of two or thr.ee mches 111 length, covered with frequent · protuberances, and divaricated in a ve.ry .Irregular manner. It is of a du:lky orange colour on. the fu r.face and white wtthm, fibrous,. and of an acrid tafte, but much lefs fo than that of the fo;mer fpcci es. T he fialks, wh1ch produce the flowers, arife from feveral parts of the root : they are te?~er.' fu~~~ent, and, throughout, of a pale greeniili colour. Their furface is covered Wl\ .Itt eh 0 dow fquamrnre, or_fcales, refembling rudiments of leaves, which terminate eac 1 111 a ar ' pale, brown pomt. At the, top of this fialk ftands a fpike, of near two inches Tbe Hiftory of P L A N T S. 149 inches in length, of the thicknefs of a man's thumb in the middle, and fomewhat fmaller at each extremity. This fpike confifis of [mall brownifh leaves, variegated with purplifh; and, from the fin us's of thefe, appear the flowers, which are fmall, and of a ale flelh colour, fpotted with a deep red. P The leaves of this fpecies grow, like thofe of the former, in clufters, from other parts of the root ; they incircle one another with their bafes, fo as to form a kind of ftalk. They are about ten inches in length, and three in breadth, and are rough to the touch. The fpike of flowers in this fpecies has a very fragrant and aromatic fmell, but the root is lefs aromatic, as well as lefs acrid, than that of the other fpecies. This is a native of Malabar, and of the Hland of Ceylon, where it grows in vail: abundance. We keep it alive in our fioves, but it never flowers with us. The roots of the former fpecies, or common Ginger, are taken up, after the flowers are decayed : the exterior bark is then taken off, and they are dried for exportation. The Indians eat the leaves, as well as the roots, frefh taken up, in many of their dia1es, and they give the freil1 root alone in cholics and flatulencies; we ufe it as a fiomachic and carminative. C 0 S T U S. TH E calyx of the Cofius is a fimple fpadix; the fpathre alfo are fimple. The perianthium is very fmall, compofed of a fingle leaf, tridentated as; the edge, and fiands on the germen. The corolla confifis of three petals; they are of equal fize, of a lanceolatcd figure, hollow, and placed erect. The netlarium is very large; it confills of a fingle leaf, and is of an oblong figure, tubulofe, and divided at the extremity into two labia; the lower labium is broad, and longer than the corolla, it's extremity being divided into three fegments; and the upper labium is fhort, of a lanceolated figure, and performs the office of a filament, fupporting a fingle anthera, which is divided into two parts. The germen of the pifiil is of a roundilh figure, and fiands below the receptacle of the flower. The ftyle is capillary, of the fame length with the filam ent. The fiigma is capitated, compreffcd, and emarginated. The fi-uit is a roundiilJ, coronated capfule, compofed of three valves, and formed into three cells. The feeds are numerous and triangular. Of this genus there is only one known fpecies, and, therefore, there needs no dif .. tinction, or fpecific name, for it. C 0 S T U s. T he root of the Cofius is tuberous and creeping. It runs under the furface of the earth for feveral yards; it's general thicknefs is about an inch, but it fwells out into large protuberances, at difiances from one another ; thefe are of the bignefs of an egg, ?r more. I~'s colour is. white, it's texture fibrous, but it is very fucculent, and of a fweet.Iili tafie, w1~h f~~eth1ng of the flavour of ginger with it. From feveral parts ~f this root there nfe d1fimB: plants; each grows to be five or fix feet high. The ftalk IS round, three quarters of an inch in dia~eter, of a blood-red colour, and ex~ remely gloffy furface, jointed in the manner of a reed, and full of a fpungy pi th withm. The lea~es fiand al~ernate!y, and have no pedicles. They are of an oblong figure, and narrow, e1ght or ten mches mlength, and not more than three in breadth, broadeft in the middle, and terminated in a point: the middle rib is very prominent on the under furface; above there is a furrow at it, and feveral lateral ribs are difiinguifhable. The ~~lou r is a pale green, the furface fmooth and gloffy. There £lands one leaf at every JOmt of the ftalk, and they are foft to the touch, and fucculent. The fialk i<> terminated by an imbricated head, compo~ed of a number of obtufe, concave fquamm~, of an oval figure, each fquamma proclucmg a fingle flower, and they all remain, after the flo wers are fa!len : thef~ fquammre, when the plant flowers in the Indies, are red a .. . coral ; when 1t flowers m our fioves, they are green. The flowers are fmall, an of a pale red with us, much deeper in the Indies. The feeds are preifed d ofely a•T._ti rifi one another; they are, at fidl:, bluilh, afterwards brown and when broke1~ are found to be w~ite within. They have a ftrong aromatic fm;ll, lik~ that of ginger,' and yet have very little tafte. This plant is a native both of the Eafi and Weft Indies ; Malabar and the Ifland of Ceylon are the places where it is moft abundant, but it is common enough in the Brafils, Q_ q Surinam1 |
