Flora Medica

STAGMARIA.narcotic smell. Calyx tubular, deciduous, bursting into 2 or 3 irregularsegments. Corolla much longer than the calyx, spreading, somewhatreflexed, 5-petaled ; petals oblong, rather obtuse, adnate at the base tothe column which supports the ovary. Stamens 5, inserted on thesame column above the petals, alternating with them, and nearly of thesame length filaments; thread-shaped ;anthers short, oblong, 2-celled.Carpels on a pedicel or column, sometimes 3, but more frequentlythere is only 1, whose position on the pedicel is rendered oblique bythe abortion of the other 2; each carpel contains a single ovuleattached to the inner angle. Styles terminal, shorter than the stamens.Stigmas obtuse. Berry as large as a fresh walnut, reniform or somewhatspheroidal, but rather irregular in shape, generally furrowed onone side ;the rind is rough and brownish, of a spongy texture, oftenexhibiting on the surface the appearance of varicose veins, and whencut, exuding an acrid juice j it contains a single seed, similar in form tothe fruit, and equally abounding with a corrosive gum or resin. Embryoexalbuminous, erect. Cotyledons united, having a fissure on oneside ; radicle at the base of the fruit, short, incurved upon the cotyledonsat the lower part of the fissure. Jack. Resin copious, extremelynoxious and acrid, causing excoriation and blisters when appliedto the skin ;the exhalations from the tree are so deleterious as to renderit unsafe to remain beneath its shade. It yields one of the celebratedhard black lackers or varnishes of China. See Camp. B. M. 1. c.SCHINUS.Flowers dioecious. Calyx 5-parted. Petals 5. $ . Stamens10. ?. Filaments sterile. Ovary 1, sessile ;style 0; stigmas3-4, capitate. Drupe small, with a thin epicarp, a moderatelyfleshy sarcocarp, and a 1 -seeded bony stone, having 6 emptycavities in its circumference. Seed suspended by a cord originatingin the side of the lining, compressed, without albumen ;cotyledons flat ; radicle inferior. American balsamiferousshrubs or trees with a peppery flavour. Flowers in axillary racemesor panicles. Leaves unequally pinnated.595. S. Molle Lin. sp. pi 1467. Lam. illustr. t. 822. DC.prodr. i. 74. Bot. t.Mag. 3339. Mexico and Peru.A small graceful tree. Leaves evergreen, pinnated. Leaflets linearoblongin 4-9 pairs, coarsely serrated, the terminal leaflet generally thelongest and quite sessile. Flowers small, in axillary and terminalpanicles. Calyx bluntly 5-cleft. Petals 5 obovate-lanceolate, spreading,pale yellow-green. Ovary globose. Styles 3, each tipped with alarge capitate stigma. Bark and leaves filled with a resinous matterwhich exudes from the trunk when wounded and concretes into asubstance resembling Mastich. A white odoriferous substance, resemblingGum Elemi is also procured from the leaves, and, dissolvedin milk, is used in diseases of the eye. Of the bark boiled in water,lotions are made for healing tumours and reducing inflammations.Hooker.S. Aroeira Linn. sp. pi. 1467. is in the opinion of Sir WilliamHooker, a variety with the leaflets entire. It is said by Aug. de St.Hilaire, to cause swellings in those who sleep beneath its shade. The287