Canella do Mato, Linharia aromatica:—Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern.
Catinga Branca, Linharea tinctoria:—Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern.
Of the first of these plants the leaves and bark have a pleasant smell, which is like that of cloves. It is not as yet used, being unknown. I have made use of the leaves and bark of this plant in distilling rum, and have obtained a pleasant liqueur. I have learnt by experience that the extract of the leaves is not only pleasant to the taste and smell, but that it likewise strengthens the stomach. It is to be found in the greatest abundance upon the taboleiros, which bound the captaincies of Paraiba and Searà, upon the borders of Pinhancò, and I have likewise seen it in Piauhi.[277]
The second of these plants is a shrub which grows abundantly upon the skirts of the mountains, and upon the banks of the rivulets of the Sertoens of Pernambuco, Paraiba, and Seara. It yields by boiling a yellow dye, which is sufficiently durable upon skins. It is probable that some means might be found of fixing the colour upon cotton cloth, as is the case with the tatajuba (morus tinctoria). Besides this use, it is applied to that of curing sarnas, an eruptive complaint; the patient being washed in a decoction of the leaves. As I could not arrange these plants in any of the known genera, I have formed one for them to which I have given the name of Linharea, in memory of D. Rodrigo de Souza Coutinho, Conde de Linhares, the cultivator and protector of letters.
Carnauba or Carnaiba, Corypha cerifera:—Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern. This palm is one of the most useful plants of the Sertoens; it rises to the height of thirty feet and more; the varzeas or low lands upon the borders of the rivers and rivulets of Pernambuco, Paraiba do Norte, Searà, and Piauhi, and principally the banks of the rivers Jaguaribe, Apodi, Mossorò, and Açu, are covered with these trees. When the fruit of it has attained the size of a small olive (which when green it resembles in form), it should be boiled several times in different water to take off its astringent properties; and then a sufficient boiling being given it becomes soft and has the taste of boiled maize. In this state it is eaten with milk, and is a wholesome food. The pith of the stem of the young plants, being bruised in water, affords a nutritive fecula, as white as that of mandioc. The plant should not much exceed the height of a man when used for this purpose. It is of great service to the inhabitants of those parts in times of drought and famine. The leaves of the young plant are of two feet in length, and are doubled after the manner of a fan, whilst they are yet young; afterwards they open, and become of little less than two feet in breadth. If they are cut in this state, and are allowed to dry in the shade, a considerable quantity of small light coloured scales will be loosened from the surface. These will melt by the heat of a fire into white wax, of which it possesses the properties; it is however more brittle, but this may be remedied by mixing it with the common wax, which is more oily. In 1797 I made known this discovery to the R. P. M. Fr. Joze Marianno da Conceiçam Vellozo, who published the account of it in the Paladio Portuguez; but at that time I was not so well aware as I am now of the importance of the wax.
The fruit of this tree when ripe is black and shining, and of the size of eggs of tame pigeons. The kernel is covered with a layer of sweet pulp, which is eaten by cattle, as are also the dry leaves which fall, when other food fails. The leaves are used for covering houses, and although thus exposed to the weather, they last for twenty years without requiring to be renewed. The stem is made use of for building houses, for fences, pens, &c.[278]
Anil de Pernambuco, Koanophyllon tinctoria:—Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern.
This is a shrub which grows to the height of twelve feet or more. It is of the class syngenesia; the leaves are from two to three inches in length, and of proportionate breadth; it is enough to soak a piece of cotton cloth in its juice for it to become green, and from this colour it is changed to blue by the absorption of the oxigen of atmospheric air. The colour becomes so fixed, that it resists the action of soap and the lye of potash, and it rather brightens than fades after it has undergone these experiments. It is probable that by fermentation and beating, it may yield blue fecula, like the common indigo (indigofera tinctoria). I know that it may be cultivated with ease, for I have sown the seeds which are like those of the lettuce; they come up in a few days. The land which is adapted to it is varzea fresca, or marshy land composed of maçape, or stiff clay.
Anil trepador, Cissus tinctorius:—Arrud. Cent. Plant. Pern.