This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1907 edition. Excerpt:... Order (Ficoideae). A tribe of succulent plants, remarkably characteristic of the hot desert plains of South Africa; their flowers are often very CASE beautiful. The Order is unimportant from an economic 59. point of view but several of its representatives are employed for medicinal purposes in South Africa. Umbellifer Order (Umbelliferae), so called from the arrangement of the flower-stalks in heads or "umbels." There are about 1,300 species, all herbaceous and abounding in temperate climates. The products of the group vary much in character. Some species are acrid and poisonous, some secrete gum-resins, others again are aromatic and useful as condiments. Celery, Fennel, Parsnip, Carrot, and Parsley, are all familiar esculents belonging to the Order. ' Observe leaves of the INDIAN PENNYWORT(Hyd1'oGot_?/l8 asiatica, L.), used in India, internally as a tonic, and externally as a local stimulant, being moreespecially useful in cutaneous affections. The drug is generally much mixed with grass and weeds and is occasionally imported into this country. N0. 294.-. BALSAM BOG (Asorella glebaria, A. Gray), a singular feature in the landscape of the Falkland Islands. forming huge. hard, and perfectly hemispherical hillocks, often 2 to 4 feet in height. It yields a gum which has been used in medicine. A " hillock " of the plant is exhibited in a glass case, opposite Case 49. Observe also tufts of plants of Azorella Selago, Hook. f., a very abundant plant in Kerguelens Land often covering the ground with dense masses of vegetation. N0. 295. Epidermis of the leaves of Hermas gigantea, L., separated from the veins and midrib by the Hottentots of South Africa. Used as a tinder, and made into miniature socks, gloves, &c....