Independent gardening advice for real gardens, balconies and windowsills.
A growing reference library of gardening terms, techniques and climate concepts explained in plain language.
A native of New Grenada, where it attains the size of a small tree, and bears a large fruit containing one seed; this seed, which looks like a blanched almond, is known in commerce as the cedron. As a...
This tree yields the drug known as Simaruba bark, which is, strictly speaking, the rind of the root. It is a bitter tonic. It is known in the West Indies as the mountain damson.
The South American rubber plant, from which a great portion of the caoutchouc of commerce is obtained. There are several species of siphonia which, equally with the above, furnish the India rubber exp...
This plant yields _Mexican_ sarsaparilla, so called to distinguish it from the many other kinds of this drug. The plant is a climber, similar to the smilax of our woods.
This yields an eatable fruit called hog plum in the West Indies. The taste is said to be peculiar, and not very agreeable to strangers. It is chiefly used to fatten swine. The fruit is laxative, the l...
A plant of the Musa or banana family. The flowers are very beautiful for the genus. It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope. The seeds are gathered and eaten by the Kaffirs.
This is a native of the Coromandel coast and Cochin-China. It bears an orange-like fruit, containing seeds that have an intensely bitter taste, owing to the presence of two most energetic poisons, _st...
This South American plant furnishes the timber known in commerce as mahogany. The bark is considered a febrifuge, and the seeds prepared with oil were used by the ancient Aztecs as a cosmetic. The tim...
This is sometimes called South Sea arrowroot. The tubers contain a great amount of starch, which is obtained by rasping them and macerating four or five days in water, when the fecula separates in the...