CHAP. XXXVIII.

OF THE HARDY OR HALF-HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS OF THE ORDER

ANACARDIA'CEÆ.

Dec.

Identification. Lindley, in Introd. to N. S.
Synonymes. Terebinthaceæ, tribe 1. Anacardièæ R. Br., and tribe 2. Sumachineæ
Prod., 2. 66.

Distinctive Characteristics. Calyx in 5, occasionally in 3—4, or 7, divisions. Petals the same in number, inserted, in most, along with the stamens, into a perigynous disk: in some, not any. Sexes hermaphrodite, diæcious or polygamous. Stamens equal in number to the petals, and alternate with them, or twice as many, or even more. Ovary simple, superior. Seeds solitary. Leaves alternate. (Lindl. Introd. to N. S.) Low deciduous or evergreen trees, natives of Asia and Africa.

GENUS I.

PISTACIA L. The PistachIA Tree, Lin. Syst. Diæ'cia Pentándria.
Identification. Lin. Gen., 1108. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 64. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 61. and 65.
Synonyme. Terebinthus Juss.
Derivation. From the Greek word Pistakia, derived, according to some, from Psittalion, the name of
a city; and, according to others, from the Arabic word Foustaq, the Arabian name of Pistàcia

vèra.
Gen. Char. The sexes are diæcious, and the flowers without petals. In the

male plants, the flowers are disposed in racemes that resemble catkins; every flower is bracteated by a scale; the calyx is 5-cleft; and the stamens are 5, inserted into a calycine disk, or into the calyx, and have 4-cornered, almost sessile, anthers. In the female plants, the flowers are disposed in a raceme, less closely than in the male; the calyx is 3—4-cleft; the ovary is 1-3-celled; the stigmas are three, and thickish; and the fruit is a dry ovate drupe, the nut of which is rather bony, and usually l-celled, though sometimes it shows two abortive cells at the side; the cell contains a single seed, which is affixed to the bottom. The cotyledons of the seed are thick, fleshy, and oily, and bent back upon the radicle. The species are trees, with pinnate leaves. (Dec. Prod., ii, p. 64.)

* 1. P. ve'ra Lin. The true Pistachia Nut Tree. Identification. Lin Spec., 1454. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 64. ; Don's Mill. 2. p. 65. Synonymes. Pistacia officinarum Hort. Kew.; Pistachier, Fr. ; Pistacie, Ger. Pistacchio, Ital. Engravings. Blackw. Icon., t. 461. ; N. Du Ham., 4. t. 17., and our fig. 221. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves deciduous, impari-pinnate, of 3—5 leaflets, rarely of

1; the leaflets ovate, a little tapered at the base, indistinctly mucronate at the tip. (Dec. Prod., č. p. 64.) A tree, a native of Syria, growing to ii

, the height of 20 ft. Introduced in 1770. Varieties. The following are considered by some authors as species :: 1 P. v. 2 trifolia Lin. Spec., 1454., Bocc. Mus., ii. t. 93., has leaves

usually of 3 leaflets. P. v. 3 narbonensis Bocc. Mus., t. ï. 693.; P. reticulàta Willd, and Don's Miller ; has pinnate leaves, the leaflets having prominent veins. A plant of this variety, as a bush, in the open garden of the Horticultural Society, was, in 1834, 5 ft. high, after having been 6 years planted. According to the Nouveau Du Hamel, these sorts differ only in the size, shape, and consistency of the leaflets, and are by no means entitled to be considered as species.

v

221

a

a

Description, &c. The trunk of this tree is
clothed with grey bark. The branches are
spreading, but not very numerous ; and they
are furnished with winged alternate leaves, on
long petioles. The fruit is oval, about the
size of an olive: it is reddish and furrowed,
and it contains a kernel, oily and mild to the
taste. It is a native of Syria, Barbary, Persia,
and Arabia. It was brought from Syria to Italy
by the Emperor Vitellius, whence it found its
way to the south of France, where it is so far
naturalised as to appear, in some places, like a
native. (See 134.) It is cultivated in the south
of France, and in Italy, for its fruit, which is
sometimes eaten raw, but more frequently in a
dried state, like almonds. They are most ge- +
nerally used on the Continent as sugar-plums,
being covered with sugar, or with chocolate, under the name of diablotins :
creams and ices are also composed of them, coloured green with the juice
of spinach. Generally, the fruit is said to be a fortifier of the stomach, and
to diminish coughs and colds. There is a nut imported from the West
Indies, under the name of pistachia nut, which is the produce of quite a
different plant, probably a palm. In British gardens, the tree is not much
planted, from its being generally supposed to require a wall; but, in fa-
vourable situations, it will grow as a standard or a bush ; as is proved by a
plant in the garden of the London Horticultural Society, which has stood
there for 5 or 6 years without any protection. It will grow in any common
garden soil, and may be propagated, either by nuts procured from abroad, or
even from the Italian warehouses in England, or by cuttings. Miller says,
if planted against high walls, with a warm aspect, or as standards in a shel-
tered situation, they will bear the cold of our ordinary winters very well ; but,
in severe frosts, they are often destroyed. The tree, he says, flowers, and pro-
duces fruit freely in England; but the summers are not warm enough to ripen
the nuts. He mentions a tree, in the Bishop of London's garden at Fulham,
upwards of 40 years old, planted against a wall; and another, which had been
planted as a standard, in the Duke of Richmond's grounds, at Goodwood,
in Sussex, where it had stood many years without the slightest protection.
Till lately, there was a very fine specimen at Syon. The foliage of the tree is
so ornamental, that no conservative wall ought to be without one.
? 2. P. TEREBIʼNTAus Lin. The Turpentine Pistachia, or Venetian, or Chian,

Turpentine Tree.
Identification. Lin. Spec., 1455. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 64.; Don's Mill, 2. p. 65.
Synonymes. T. vulgaris Tourn. Inst., 579. ; P. vera Miu. Dict., No. 4.; Pistachier Térébinthe, Fr.;

Terpentin Pistacie, Ger. ; Terebinto, Ital.
Engravings. Woodv. Med. Bot., 415. t. 153. ; Blackw, t. 478. ; Duh. Arb., ed. 1. vol. 2. t. 87.
Spec. Char., fc. Leaves deciduous, impari-pinnate, of about 7 leaflets, that
are ovate-lanceolate, rounded at the base, and at the tip acute and mucro-
nate. (Dec. Prod., ii

. p. 64.) A tree, growing to the height of 30 ft. in the
south of Europe and north of Africa. Introduced in 1656.
Variety.
* P. T. 2 sphærocárpa Dec. Prod., ii. p. 64. The round-fruited Tur-

pentine Pistachia Tree.--Its fruit is larger and rounder than that of
the species. (J. Bauh. Hist., i. p. 278. ic.) It is said to be a native
of the East. Requien has seen a cultivated plant of this variety in

a garden at Nismes. (Dec. Prod., č. p. 64.)
Description, &c. The general appearance of the tree is that of P. vèra, but
the leaves are larger, and the fruit only a third of the size ; the leaflets are,
also, lanceolate, instead of being subovate. The fruit is round, not succulent,

1

and somewhat furrowed; at first green, and afterwards reddish; but black, or of a very dark blue, when ripe. The leaves and flowers emit a very resinous odour, which spreads to a considerable distance, more especially at sunset, when the dew is falli after a very warm day. Gerard, in describing this tree, says that its kernel is “ clammie, full of fat, and oilous in substance, and of a pleasant savour. This plant beareth an empty cod, or crooked horne, somewhat reddish, wherein are found small flies, wormes, or gnats, bred and ingendered of a certaine humorous matter, which cleaveth to the inner sides of the said cods or hornes; which wormes have no physicall use at all.” (Johnson's Gerard, p. 1434.) Exceedingly good figures of the male and female trees are given by Gerard, in which the pods, or horns, produced by the insect (a species of Cynips) when depositing its eggs, are exhibited as about the same length as the leaves. Oliver states that these excrescences contain a small portion of very limpid and odoriferous resin. The turpentine is procured from the P. Terebinthus, by making numerous slight incisions in the trunk and principal branches, from the ground as high up the trunk as a man can reach, from the 15th to the 20th of July, according to the Greek calendar. The terebinth oozes out of the wounds made in the bark, and, in a few days, becomes hard and dry by exposure to the air ; as in the case of the resins produced by the pine tribe, and with resins generally. The colour is a bluish or greenish white. It is collected every morning from the wounds in the trees with a spatula ; and is purified from any extraneous matters that may have stuck to it, by liquefaction by solar heat, and by passing it through a sieve. The largest trees, of 50 or 60 years' growth, with trunks 4 ft. or 5 ft. in circumference, do not yield above 10 oz. or 12 oz. annually : hence the high price of the article, and its adulteration with Venice turpentine, which is produced from the larch; or with common turpentine, which is drawn from the Scotch pine. The terebinth which is pure is called the Chian, or Cyprus turpentine (from Chios, the ancient name of Scio); and, when unadulterated, it is known from the common turpentine by being thicker, and possessing a far more agreeable odour; it is also destitute of bitterness and acridity.

In consequence of the small quantity of terebinth produced by the trees in Scio, a correspondent of Du Hamel's suggests the idea of grafting the P. vèra, or edible-fruit-bearing species, on the upper parts of trees of P. Terebinthus, in order to render them more profitable. He states that he has seen this done in a garden at Naples, and that the fruit was much larger and better than it was on those trees which had not been grafted; while the stocks produced as much resin as the ungrafted plants of the same species. In British gardens, the tree is not very common: the largest specimen that we know of it is a female plant, in the north-east corner of the Chelsea Botanic Garden, 22 ft. high, that flowers every year, and produces fruit, which, though not fecundated, attains the size of small peas. This species is generally considered as the hardiest of the genus, and, with P. vèra, may be planted in warm sheltered situations in the open border.

1 3. P. LENTI'Scus Lin. The Mastich Tree. Identification. Lin. Spec., 1455. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 65. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 66. Engravings. Woodv. Med. Bot., t. 152. ; Black, t. 195.; Duh. Arb., ed. nov., 4. t. 18.; and our Spec. Char., &c. Evergreen. Leaves abruptly pinnate; the leaflets 8, lan

ceolate; the petiole winged. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 65.) A native of Southern

Europe, Northern Africa, and the Levant. Varieties. 1 P. L. 2 angustifolia Dec., P. massiliensis Mill. Dict., P. angustifolia

massiliensis Tourn., has leaflets almost linear, and the tree seldom

exceeds 10 ft. in height. + P. L. 3 chìa N. Du Ham, iv. p. 72, P. chìa Des. Cat. Hort, Par., 8 native of Scio, where it produces the mastich.

a

fig. 222

Description, $c. The species bears a general resemblance to the two preceding ones, in summer, when they are clothed with foliage; 222 but it differs from them in being evergreen, and in having the leaves much smaller. Fabricius has observed that the male plant sometimes produces hermaphrodite flowers, with three stamens and five styles. Gouan has remarked that the buds in this species are different from what they are in the other sorts; the branchbearing buds being terminal, and the flower buds axillary. The leaves have sometimes 5 leaflets on each side; and the petioles are so much winged as to appear like pinnæ. The tree is a native of the south of Europe, and the north of Africa. It grows to the height of 20 ft., and is cultivated in gardens, as well as being found in a wild state. Desfontaines, who travelled in Barbary, states that the tree in that country, though punctured as it is in the Island of Scio, yet does not yield mastich; but that the wood gives out an aromatic smell when burned, and the berries yield an oil fit both for the lamp and for the table. The great source of the mastich of commerce is the Island of Scio, where it is obtained from the trees in the same manner as the Chian turpentine. The quantity produced there averages, according to Olivier, 125,000 lb. annually: but, according to Macculloch, the annual produce is 1500 cwt. The tree was introduced into British gardens in 1654; but it is not very common there. It is not so hardy as P. Terebinthus, and should always be planted against a wall.

1 4. P. ATLA'ntica Desf. The Mount Atlas Mastich, or T'urpentine Tree. Identification. Desf. Atl., 2. p. 364. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 64. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 66. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves deciduous, impari-pinnate. The leaflets about 9, lanceolate, a little tapered at the base. The petiole between the terminal pairs of leaflets somewhat winged. (Dec. Prod.,

ii. p. 64.) A native of sandy places in Barbary and about Constantinople. Variety. 1 P. a. 2 latifolia Dec. Prod., 2. p. 64, has leaflets rounded, broader at the base than those of the species. It was found in the Ísle of Scio by Olivier.

Description, fc. The species is a deciduous tree, with a large roundish head, growing to the height of 40 ft. in Barbary, near Coffa, not far from Mount Atlas; where, from being found in rows, it appears to have been in a state of cultivation. The variety with broad leaves is found in the Island of Scio, and also about Constantinople. The drupe of this tree is about the same size as that of the Pistàcia Terebinthus ; but the tree seems to be rather more prolific of resin. Desfontaines, who discovered this species, and first described it, says that the resin oozes from the trunk and branches at different seasons of the year, but especially in summer; and that, in property, in smell, and in taste, it is scarcely to be distinguished from Oriental mastich. The Arabs collect it in autumn and winter, and chew it to improve their breath, and give brightness to their teeth; and the Moors eat the fruits, and bruise them to mix with their dates. This tree is rarely to be met with in British gardens.

GENUS II.

RHU'S L. Tue Ruus, or SUMACH. Lin. Syst. Pentándria Trigynia and

Diæ'cia Pentándria. Identification. Lin. Gen., 369. ; Lam III., t. 207. ; Kunth Gen. Tereb., p. 5.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 66.

Don's Mill., 2. p. 61. and p. 69. Derivation. From rhoos, or rhous, Greek, which is derived from rhudd, a synonyme of rud, Celtic, red ; in allusion to the colour of the fruit and leaves of some of the species in autumn. (Don's Mill., ii. p. 69.) Donnegan has given the following explanation of the word rhous: -"A species of small tree, the rind of which was used for tanning, and the fruit as a spice (Theophrast. H. Pl., & 18.); supposed to be some variety of the Rhús Cótinus." And others derive Rhús from the Greek verb rheo, I run, from the habit of the roots running and spreading under ground to a considerable distance from the tree. Sumach is derived from Simaq, the Arabic name of the plant. Gen. Char. Seres hermaphrodite, diecious, or polygamous. Calyx small,

5-parted, persistent. Petals ovate, and inserted into a calycine disk, or into the calyx. Stamens 5, inserted into a calycine disk; all of them in the flowers of the male and hermaphrodite sexes bearing anthers. Ovary single, perhaps from_defect, subglobular, of 1 cell. Styles 3, short, or not any. Stigmas 3. Fruit an almost dry drupe of 1 cell, with a bony nut, which includes a single seed; and, in some instances, 2—3 seeds : when one, perhaps, by defect. Each seed is pendulous by a thread (the raphe), that arises from the bottom of the cell. Cotyledons leafy, their edges, on one side, and the radicle, in contact. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 66., and Wats. Dend.) -Deciduous shrubs, generally with alternate compound leaves; natives of Europe, Asia, and North and South America. The leaves vary much, both in form and magnitude; and they generally die off, in autumn, of a dark red, or a bright scarlet, or yellow; on which account, at that season, they are very crnamental. Most of the species are poisonous, some of them highly so; and they all may be used in tanning, and dyeing yellow or black. They are all easily propagated by cuttings of the root, and some of them by cuttings of the branches.

g i. Cótinus Tourn. Sect. Char. Leaves undivided. Flowers hermaphrodite.

1.R. Coʻtinus L. The Cotinus Rhus, or Venetian Sumach. Identification. Lin. Spec., 383. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 67.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 69. Synonymes. Cótinus Coggýgria Scop. Carn., ed. 2 No. 368.; Mænch Meth., 73. ; Cótinus coriácea Duh. Arb., 1. t. 78- ; Venus Sumach, Venice Sumach, wild Olive; Sumach Fustet, or Arbre aux

Péruques, Fr.; Perücken Sumach, Ger. ; Scotino, Ital. Derivation. The term Cútinus is derived from cotinos, a name under which Plinys speaks of a tree

with red wood, which is supposed to grow in the Apennines. (Don's Mill., 2. p. 69.)
Engravings. Jacq. Aust., t. 210.; Mill. Icon., t. 270. ; Lob. Icon., t. 99. ; Dub. Arb., t. 178.; and our

fig. 223.
Spec. Char., fc. Leaves obovate. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 67.)
A native of sunny places in the south of Europe and

223 Asia, from Spain to Caucasus. The flowers are disposed in loose panicles, and have the sexes hermaphrodite. The drupe is half-heart-shaped, smooth, and veiny; its nut is triangular. Many of the flowers are abortive, and their pedicels, after the flowering, lengthen, and become hairy: (Ibid.)

Description, &c. The Rhús Cótinus, though seldom found higher than 5 ft. or 6 ft. in a wild state, yet grows to double that height in gardens, where it forms a highly ornamental shrub, more especially when covered with its large loose panicles of elongated hairy pedicels, very few of which produce fruit. It is easily known from all the other species by its simple, obovate, smooth, stiff, lucid, + green leaves, rounded at the points, and supported by long footstalks, which remain on till they are killed by frost, so that the plant is almost a sub-evergreen.

The fowers are produced at the ends of the branches, and are of a pale purplish or flesh colour. Each flower is composed of 5 small oval petals, which spread open, but are seldom succeeded by seeds in England. In Greece, and in the south of Russia, the whole plant is used for tanning, and for dyeing leather, wool, and silk yellow. In Italy, about Venice, it is used for dyeing black, and is called by the Italians scotino, from skotios, dark. Sir James Edward Smith found it cultivated under this name for tanning, on a little hill at the back of the inn at Valcimaca, between Rome and Bologna. (Corresp., i.p. 325.) The plant appears to have been known to

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