OCR Text |
Show 'lhe Hiflory of P L A N T S. c 1 N c a o N A. 3tbe ~erubtan::;batk 'lttet. The Cinchona is a moderately large tree. lt's r.oot is very lar~e an? f.preadin~, and covered with a thick b~rk, greyilh on the outfide, and yellowtlh wtthm, whtch the s artiards firefer fdr medidhal purpofes ~efore that of the ot~et parts of the t~ee. The tfunk grows to a foot in diam~ter, and ts covered w.Ith a thtck, rough, reddtlh-brown b k . the branches with a thmner and fmoother ; tt fends out a number of branches, a~~ grows to about eighteen or twenty feet high. The le~ves ftand oppo~~e one. ano-h · · s. they are of an oblong-oval figure fharp-pmnted, and undivtded at the t er' 10 ed es . thpe•uy.r ar' e three inches long, two inches br'o ad, moderate 1y t h · I d ffi d IC <., an a xe to ~· ( from which a large rib · extends along the middle, and fends off a humber of ~~li~u~~amifications to the .J,ldes. The flowers fiand in tufts, at the tops of the branches~ they are fm~ll, and, before they are open, much refemble the flowers of I~ vender, both in lhape and colour: the tommon peduncle of the ~hole tuft of flowers nfes from.the ala of fame leaf, and foon ldivaricates into a number. of fmaller 1peduncles, each of which fuftains on it's top a fingla flower. The flow.er IS of a du~y red col~m~· on the ?utfide, with a whitiil1 down on it, but of a very bnght and beautiful red wtthm! efpectally toward the center, for it is fotnewhat paler about the edges. The ftamma are yellow, the fiyle \Vhite, the ftigma gree.niih.. . , . The tree is· a native of Soutl~ Amenca, and ts no where fo plenttful as on the moun .. tains about Loxa. l.-.Auth9r\:; have called it, Qginquina, Ch~na-china, and Gannaperide. Linnreus has name'd it Cinchona, from the name of the vtceroy of Peru who firft occafioned it's being bro~ght 'into repute in Europe. The virtue's of the ~bark of this tree; in the cure of intermittent fevers, are fo great~ that th~y have thrown all the other febrifuges into negleCt: it is alfo an excellent aftrin- 1 . t _gent a'nd. ftomac uc.' . ' { ' C 0 F F E A. T HE calyx is a very fmall perianthium, divided into !our fegments at the edge, and placed on the germen ::the corolla confifis of a fingle petal, of an in fundibuliform lhape: the tube is cylindri~ and fiender, and many times longer than the cup: the limb is plane, longer than the .tube, and divided into five fegments of a lanceolated figure, with thdr edges bent backward. The ftamina are five fubulated filaments, placed on the tube of the corolla: the antherre are incumbent, of a linear figure, and of the lengtH of 'the filaments. The germen is roundiili, the ftyle is fimple, and of the length of the corblla :l the 1ftigmata are two, reflex, fubulated, and thick. The fruit :is. a roundilh ,berry, with an1Umbi1icated point: 'the feeds are two, of an ellipticohremifpheric figure, gibbofe on one fiBe, ' plane on the other, and wrapped in 'a membrane. , , • Of this genus there is only one 1 known fpecies, the feeds of which are the Coffee we ufe. ( [ C 0 F F E A. The root is compofed of a number of long, and not very thick, ramifications. The ftem is round, two or three inches thick, when well grown, and the tree ten, twelve, or fourteen high. It fends out branches from near the bottom, and thence all the wa~ to the top; thefe ~and two ~ogether, on the oppofite fides of the trunk; they are, w~ule young, very flexile, ·and covered with a whitilh bark, but, as they grow older, thts becomes of the fame brown colour with that of the trunk. The leaves ftand two at a joint; they are, in lhape, much like the common bay-leaf, but larger, thinner, and ~ofter, and of a paler g.reen col?ur : they ftand on ihort pedicles, and are four or five mches long, and two mches w1de, broadeft in the middle narrow at the bafe and terminate in a very long, narrow point; and they are 'fomewhat undulated~ they are of a ~ale. green colour on the upper fide, and whitilh underneath. The flowers fiand 1~ ltttle clufiers, .four or five together, in the alre of the leaves ; they .have a iliort pedicle, and are whtte, or a little reddilh moderately large and of a fweet fmell. The ber:ies are green at fufi, afterwards ;ed, and, when f~ll ripe, black: they are of the b~gnefs of a fmall cherry., and have within them a mucilaginous, flefhy matter, furroundmg the two feeds, wh1ch, when feparated from this pulp, and fro~ the1r Tbe Hi.flory of P L A N T S. their membranes, are what we call Coffee, and, after roafiing, drink the decoCl:ion, or infu.lion, of. , The tree is a native of Arabia Fcelix and Ethiopia, and flowers all the year round. The fruit is gathered three times a year, in great abundance. Juffieu calls it, Jafminum Arabicum lauri folio cujus femen, apud nos, Coffe dicitur, but very improperly: it has not even the claffical charaCter of the jafmines. The people of the eaftern nations are as fond of Coffee for a drink as we are, but the great people among them make it only of the membranes furrounding the feeds, not of the feeds themfelves, as we do. A decoCl:ion of the raw or unroafted feeds is a powerful diuretic and fudorific. I I M 0 RIND ·A. 'I T HE common recel?tacle o~ the fruCtifications is roundilh, and. for~s the. flowers, which are feffile, mto a kmd of globular clufter. The penanthmm IS placed on the germen, and is divided into five fegments, but it is fo fmall as to be fcarce perceptible. The corolla confifts of a fingle petal, of an infundibuliform ihape: the tube is cylindric: th~ limb divided into five fegments, acute, and ere0o-patent. The ft~mina are five cornpreffed filaments, ihorter than the coJolla, and mferted under the dtvjfures of it: the anthera:! are fimple: the germen is fituate under the perianthiurp. : the ftyle is fimple : the ftigma is bifid, and thick. The fruit is a berry of a fubovate, angular figure, truncated, containing only one cell, and every-where compreffed by the adjoining ones: the feed is fingle, offeous, angular, ~nd truncated. . . This genus comprehends the Phyllereafirum of Vaillant, and the RoJOC of Plum1er. It is a native of South America. J' C 0 N 0 C A R P U S. T HE calyx is a very fmall, ereB: perianthium, ·formed of one leaf, and divided, ~t the extremity, into five fubulated fegments; it is' placed on ~he germen, and 1s permanent. There is no corolla: the ftamina are .five: the germen IS large, compreffed, obtufe, thickeft toward the point, and placed under the receptacle of the flower : the il:yle is fimple. There is no fruit, but .the feed is naked and fingle, . and has on each fide a prominent, membranaceous margm. A number of the ~ermma are arranged together, in an imbricated manner, and form a lhort and round1!h cone; they appear like fo many reflex fquammre. - · This genus comprehends the Rudbeckia of Houfion. I. Conocarpus foliis obveife ovatis. Tbe obveifely oval-leaved Conocarpus. 3tbe l5ut::: ton 3ttte. The root is large and fpreading : the tree grows thirty feet high : it's trunk is often a foot in diameter. The bark is tolerably fmooth, and of a ·pale grey colour. · The branches are numerous and fpreading: the leaves fiand in pairs ; they have ihort pedicles, and are of an oval figure, but with the broadeft part at the extremity, and famewhat too narrow for their length: they are an inch and a half long, and about three quarters of an inch broad, fmooth, and of a pale yellowilh-green: the leaves toward the extremities of the branches differ from thefe, in that they are narrower, and pointed. The extremities of the branches divide into feveral twigs, on which itand oval clufl:ers of flowers, which are fmall and red: when they are fallen, the head affumes a more conic figure. The tree is frequent in Jamaica, and other of the American iflands, principally about the coafl:s. Sir Hans Sloane calls it, Alni fruCl:u laurifolia arbor maritima; Breynius, Alno affinis Americana liguftri folio, flare rubro. · 2. Conocarpus Joliis lanceolatis. Lanceolate-leaved Conocarpus. The root is large and fprea,ding : the .tree grows to forty feet high, and .it's trunk to fifteen inches in diameter. The leaves ftand alternately, and are three mches long, of a lanceolatcd figure, and placed on pedicles of half an inch; they are broadeft at 4 C the |