Page:Illustrations of Indian Botany, Vol. 1.djvu/158

 ———Byttneriaceae calyx persistent. Petals with the claws concavely vaulted, ( concavofornicatis ) sometimes aborting. Anthers 2-celled. Seeds often albuminous.

———Hermanniaceae calyx persistent. Stamens 5. Anthers 2-celled extrorse. Albumen between farinacious and fleshy. Embryo curved. ———Dombeyaceae calyx persistent. Petals flat. Stamens monadelphous, some definite multiple of the number of the petals. Anthers adnate, 2-celled extrorse. Albumen fleshy.

———Malvaceae.— Calyx persistent. Stamens monadelphous. Anthers 1-celled. Under this last the Bombaceae are arranged on account of their 1-celled anthers.

To this class Von Martins adds Depterocarpeae, and Lindley Lythrarieœ. In so large an assemblage presenting so few and so slight modifications of structure, it is not to be wondered at that Botanists should have found it difficult to determine the limits of each of its subdivisions, since in truth the peculiarities of the above orders are scarcely greater than we meet with in sections of other orders, and yet, the varieties of habit met with in each are such as renders it in every way desirable that they should be distinguished ; while the number of species referable to each subdivision, makes it preferable to distinguish them under a separate name rather than to unite the whole under a single denomination. This has successfully accomplished, by classing them under one common name, and distributing the minor groups under so many others.

The Bombaceae properly so called constitute but a small order. They are all tropical plants, for the most part large trees, and most abound in America : those of Asia being limited to a few genera, with rarely more than two species to each — three or four only are found in Africa, among which however, is that most extraordinary of trees, the Colossus of the vegetable kingdom, the Adansonia digitata, a tree, which has been estimated to live thousands of years, and the trunk of which is said sometimes to attain the astonishing circumference of 80 or 90 feet, and to afford in its hollow, when decayed by age or disease, accommodation for several families. The cotton trees of this country afford the most genuine examples of the order. Helicleres lsora, a very common shrub in India, readily distinguished by its curiously twisted fruit, I look upon, as above remarked, as less meriting a place here, though generally referred to the order. The Durian so celebrated on account of its fine flavoured but excessively fœtid fruit, is a representative of the order peculiar to the eastern shores of the Bay of Bengal, but totally unknown on the western, though our genera are all found on the other coast, and more or less copiously scattered all over India.

Musilagenous and emollient properties are common to the whole of theColumniferae. The juice of the roots of Bombax ceiba, an American tree, is said to be aperient, while the bark of the tree is emetic. Blume (medical plants of Java) states that the bark of the root of B. Malabarica is emetic, and is employed as such in Java. The Eriodendron anfractuosum or Bombax pentandrum, produces a gum which is esteemed for its medicinal properties in this country, but being usually administered in combination with aromatics, it is probably indebted to them for much of its supposed virtue. The woolly cotton which envelopes the seed of both these species is remarkable for its softness, and is much and deservedly esteemed for making cushions and bedding, owing to its freedom from any tendency to become lumpy and uneven by getting impacted into hard knots. Various attempts have been made to fabricate it into cloth, but hitherto without success, except a sort of very loose texture, which the committee of the Society of Arts, to whom some specimens were sent, pronounced only fit for quilting Lady's muffs and boas, but thought, that for such purposes it was superior to woollen or common cotton stuffs, the looseness of its texture rendering it an excellent non-conductor, while its extreme lightness supplied the other desiderata required in an article employed for such a purpose.

The Adansonia digitata is in high esteem among the Africans — all its parts abound with a thick mucilaginous juice, which they draw by tapping, and use in various ways. The wild bees perforate and form cavities in its young wood, which is very soft and tender, for the purpose of lodging their honey, which is much sought after. The young leaves dried and powdered constitute the Alo of the negroes, which they use as a condiment, and suppose that it moderates excessive perspiration. The fruit, which somewhat resembles a citron in shape, is filled with a redish spongy pulp, of a sweetish acid taste, enveloping the seed, of which agreeable and refreshing acidulous drinks are prepared, and employed as a cooling beverage in the fevers