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BOCCONIA

Volume 2 · 251 words · 1778 Edition

(so called from the Revd Paul Bocconi of Sicily, who published some curious books on botany,) GREATER TREE CELANDINE; a genus of the monogynia order, belonging to the dodecandra class of plants. Of this genus there is but one known species, viz. the fruticosa, which is esteemed for the beauty of its large foliage. It is very common in Jamaica and other warm parts of America, where it grows to the height of 10 or 12 feet, having a straight trunk as large as a man's arm, and covered with a white smooth bark. At the top it divides into several branches, on which the leaves are placed alternately. These leaves are eight or nine inches long, and five or six broad; are deeply sinuated, sometimes almost to the mid-rib; and are of a fine glaucous colour. The whole plant abounds with a yellow juice of an acrid nature; so that it is used by the inhabitants of America to take off warts and spots from the eyes. The singular beauty of this plant renders it worthy of a place in every curious collection: and it seems the Indians are very fond of it; for Hernandez tells us, their kings used to plant it in their gardens. It is propagated by seeds from America, sowing them in spring, in pots of light earth, which must be plunged in a hot-bed. When the plants come up, they are to be put in separate pots, which must always be kept in the stove.