OCR Text |
Show 150 The 1/ijlory of P L A N T S. Surinam, and other parts of America~ . It very rarely flowers with us. !he root, whe~ dried, is what is now univerfally received, under tH~ name of Co~u;, 10 the fhops: 1t is not, indeed, the Cofius of the antients, nor, unlefs t11e defcnpno~s of the Cofl~s of their time were more accurate, is it likely we {ho~ld ever know what was fo .; tlliS, h' d · d · of a yellow1'11... white of an aromattc tafie, and fomewhat acnd and w en ne , Is uJ ' . h" f h · 1 "" bitteriili : in fmell, it refembles the Florentine iris,. havt~g .fomet. mg. o t e v1o et 1cent in it. It is efteemed a peCtoral cephalic and ut~nne_; tt ts certamly a? attenuan:, and promotes urine and perfpiration. It is an ingredient !n many c~m.p6~t10ns, and I.s ufed in the theriaca, &c. inHead of the Coftus of the anuents, but 1t IS ltttle known 10 ex-temporaneous prefcriptions. ALP I N I A. T HE calyx of the Alpinia. is. a fmall perianthium, and confifis of a ?ngle leaf, divided into three parts: It ts placed upon the g.erm~n .. The corolla IS monopetalous, unequal, and, as it were, double; the ex tenor _IS tr.tfid? the uppe.r, fegme~t is hollow, the two fide ones flat, and it has a tube: the mtenor IS fhorter, Its edge JS trifid, and the lower fegment of the three hangs out beyond ~he la_teral parts o~ the exterior corolla; the other two are emarginated. The bafe IS bellied, or ven.tnco_fe. The flamen is a fingle filament, much rerembling one ~f the fegments of th~ mtenor corolla. The anthera is fingle, and of a lmear figure ; It adheres to the ~argm of the filament. The germen of the piflil is roundifh, and fiands below the rec~ptacle of the flower. The fiyle is fimple; the fiigma is obtufe, and fomewhat tngonal. . ~he fruit is a fleiliy capfu\e, of an ovated figure, compofed of three valves, and contammg three cells : the feeds are numerous, of an ovated figure, with a prominent, but tnm4 cated, apex, and with a caudated bafe; the receptacle is very large and pulpy. It is an American, defcrihed by Plumier. MAR ANT A. T HE calyx of the Maranta is a frnall perianthium, affixed upon the germen, of a lanceolated figure, and confifiing of three leaves. The corolla is m~nopetalous, and of the ringent kind. The tube is oblong, compreifed, crooked, and obhque. The limb is divided into fix parts: the alternate exterior fegments are of an ovated figure, equal in fize, and fmall; one {\:ands below, two above: ~he two alternate lateral fegrnents are very large, of a roundi(h figure, and reprefent a lower lip; the upper one is fmall, and bipartite. The fiamen is a fingle, membranaceous filament, extremely refembling a fegment of the coroBa. The antbera is of a linear figure, and affixed to the fide of the filament. The germen of the pifiil is roundifh, and is placed beneath the receptacle of the flower. The fiyle is fimple, and of the length of the corolla; and the fiigma is fomewhat trigonal and bent. The fruit is a roun.difh capfule, femewhat obfcurely trigonal, and compofed of three valves, in each of which there is a tingle, hard,. rugofe feed, of an ovated figure. It is an American, defcribed by Plumier; and is nearly allied to the canna, but cannot be joined with it. CURCUMA. T HE calyx of the Curcuma confifis of feveral partial, fimple fpathre, which £1U off very foon. The tube of the corolla is narrow, it's l'imb is divided into three fegments, which are of a lanceolated figure and patent. The nectarium is compofed of a fingle leaf, of an ovated, but pointed, figure; it is lal'ger than the fegments of the petal, and inferted into the larger finus, made by it's opening, The fiamina are five in number, but, as only one of them is of fervice in the oHice of generation, or is pro· perly organized for it, the plant fiill belongs to this clafs. Four of thefe filaments are ereCt, . linear in figure, and barren ; the fifth is alfo linear, and refembles a petal: it is placed within the neetarium, and it's apex is bifid. The germen of the pifiil is roundifh; the fiyle is qf the length of the fiamina; the fiigma is fimple and uncinated. The fruit is a roundi(h capfule, compofed of three valves, and contains three cells, in each of which there are a great number of feeds. Tournefort ?as erroneou£ly made the Curcuma a fpecies of canna; but this feems to have been owmg to Bontius, who has figured the common canna under the name of Curcuma. The Hijlory of P L A N T s. Curcuma. The root of Curcuma is fometimes long, fometimes rotmdiih, and~ from this difference of figure, has been fuppofed to belong to two fpecies of plants; nay, the long-rooted and round-rooted Curc?ma are figured as t':"o plants, in the Hortus Malabaricus, under the names of Manjella Kua, and ManJa Kua; but later obfervations -confirm the fufpicion of their being the roots of the fame fpecies, which is indeed; the only fpecies of this genus. C U R C U M A. Jruttneticlt. The root of the Curcuma is tuberous and creeping: it is of the thicknefs of a man1s finger, frequently knotted and geniculated. It runs juft under the furface, and has a great number of fibres, tolerably thick and :fhong, defcending from the joints. On the outfide it is of a pale colour, or of a mixt white and brown, and yellow: within it is of a fine yellow colour. It is rough on the furface, and compaCt within, con:fiderably heavy, and of a fragrant fmell, and a bitter, acrid tafie, with fomewhat fatty in it. From every joint of this root there arife three, four, or more leaves; they are very like thofe of the canna, about feven inches long, and four or five broad, largefi in the middle, and terminate in a point: they are of a btight green colour, and firm texture. From other parts of the roots, and efpecially from the more healthy and robuft ones, there arife feparate flowering fialks: thefe are tender, fucculent, round, and of the thicknefs of a goofe-quill, and are of a pale green colour. Each grows to feven or eight inches high; it's lower half is naked, but the upper part is formed into a thick fpike: this is compofed of a multitude of little leaves, green at the firfi, but afterwards of a fine yellow, or of an orange colour, or reddiili. Each leaf is half an inch broad at the bafe, and gradually diminia1es thence, till it terminate in a point, which is ufually bent downwards. Thefe leaves are placed in a fquammous manneri over one another, and, in the bafe of each, there is lodged a tough, thick, vifcous matter: from the hollows between thefe fquammce there are produced oplong flowers; fomewhat refembling ~hofe of the canna in fhape, but not more than a third part as large. They are fometimes yellowifl1, fometimes of a pale purple, but the colour is very uncertain. Herman fays that the flowers confift of four petals each, but .he errs extreamly in this. The feed veifels, which fucceed thefe, are finall and membranaceous: the feeds are fmall al(o and round. The Curcuma is very common in Malabar, in the Ifland of Ceylon, and in many other parts of the Eaft Indies. Breynius calls it, Curcuma foliis longioribus et acutioribus ; and, in the Hortus Malabaricus, it is called, Manjella Kua. The roo~ of t?e Cu~-cuma is ta~en up for ufe, as foon. as the flowering fialks are faded. It IS cut mto pteces of an mch or two, or more, m length, and dried in the !un. The Indians themfelves are very fond of it, in foups, and other dillies. We ufe It ~uch as a~ a~tenua?t and deobfiruent : in all obftruClions of the vifcera it is of great f~~v1ce ; but It IS parttcularly famous in jaundices : the dyers alfo ufe it in great quantities for a yellow colour. K 0 E M P F E R I A. T HE ~alyx of the Kcempferia is a fimpl<i: fpatha, confifting of only one leaf, and . opem~1g 01: one .fide. . T?~ cor~Ha confifis of a fingle petal1 the tube is long and thm ; the ltmb IS plam, and dlVtded mto fix parts; three of the fegments are lanceoJated in figure, and equal.in ~~e ; t~o other of the fegments are of an ovated figure, and the fingle lower one IS divtded mto five parts, which are each vertically cordated : all the fegments are equal in length. The fiamen is a fingle filament, of a membrana~ eous ftruB:ur~, and fomewhat ovated figure, and is emarginated. The anthera is of a lmear figure; It grows to the filament all ies length, and fcarce emerges out of the tube of the corolla. ~he g~rmen of the pifiil ~s ~oundifh. The fiyle is of the length of the tube, and the fitgma IS obtufe. The fr?tt ts a roundiili;_ and fomewhat trigonal capfule, compofed of three valves, and contammg three cells m each of which there are a great number of feeds. ' . There is but one known fpecies of this genus, lt is defcribed by Burman in his Ceylon, ~~der t_he name of Ar?~rebis, and ,by Kmmpfer in .his Japan. It very rarely .produces lt s frutt, nature contnvmg to propagat€ it by germma placed near the root. K OE M P F E R I A. |