Sappadilla, achras sapota, of the monogynia order, class pentandria. The calyx is a perianthum, with six erect concave leaves; the corolla bears one petal, the full length of the cup; the germen is globular, and becomes a pulpy fruit of a similar form, having twelve cells, each containing a glossy oblong black seed. The fruit is very luscious to the taste, and ranks among one of the first at an Antiguan table. The tree is about the size of the oak, and continues to bud and blossom throughout the year: there are three species of this tree.
Sugar Apple, annona squamosa, another genus of the polygynia order, polyandria class. The flower is insignificant, and nearly scentless; the pointal changes to a cone-shaped fruit of a dead green colour, divided into oblong compartments, each one cellular, and furnished with a flat glossy seed. The fruit abounds in saccharine juice, from whence its name. It grows to the height of about fifteen feet, and is thickly covered with oblong leaves, the upper part of a dead green, the underneath approaching to white.
Sea-side Grape, coccoloba uvifera; of the order trigynia, and octandria class of plants. The calyx is divided into five segments, of a velvety texture; there is no corolla, but the berry, containing one seed, is formed from the calyx. It luxuriates most freely in a sandy soil, where it sometimes attains the height of from eight to fifteen feet. The trunk, or rather trunks, for it sends up from the root several stems, is covered with a smooth brown bark. The leaves are orbicular, and are from five to six inches in circumference; they are of a bottle-green, and deeply veined, and stand upon short, thick foot-stalks. The fruit is of a red colour, but when quite ripe, approaches to black; it contains one seed, in form, like a cocoa-nut. There are fourteen species of this shrub, of which the chigery grape, coccoloba nivea, is another denizen of Antigua. It is not, however, much esteemed for the flavour. The flowers, which afterwards turn to the fruit, come out at the wing of the stalk, in racemi of about the length and appearance of white currants.
The Shaddock, citrus decumana, order polyandria, class polyadelphia, is a native of China; it was brought first to the West Indies by Captain Shaddock; hence its name. It is another species of the tribe citrus, belonging to the same class and order as its sister shrubs, the lime and orange. The fruit is of two kinds—the one with a white pulp, the other of a reddish colour; the latter is the most esteemed. The fruit is of much larger dimensions than the orange, with a thick rough rind, which is capable of being manufactured into a very superior kind of bitters. This tree grows to the height of from eight to twelve feet, with thick broad leaves, slightly serrated.
Lime-tree, citrus limonum, of the polyadelphia order, class polyandria. The calyx is divided into five segments, the corolla is quinquefid, and of the most delicate white, and with numerous antheræ tipped with yellow farina. The scent of the flowers is most delicious; and their silvery whiteness, contrasted with the glossy green of the foliage, renders it one of the most beautiful of shrubs. The lime-tree is said to resemble the holly of England in appearance; it sometimes attains the height of fifteen feet. Oldmixon, speaking of this shrub, says—“Fifty years ago, the planters made hedges of them about their houses; their prickles served for a fortification against the naked negroes.” The fruit is very fragrant, of the colour and shape of a lemon, and about the size of a hen’s egg; the juice is a strong acid. Galisco mentions that it was the lime-tree and the box which Harpalus found so much difficulty in cultivating at Babylon.
The Orange, citrus aurantium, is of the same class and order as the foregoing. The trunk rises smooth and straight, from six to ten feet in height, when it divides into several branches, forming a green canopy. The leaves are oval-shaped, and of a glossy green; and its beautiful and fragrant flowers spring forth from numerous flower-stalks at the side of the branches. The fruit, when gathered, is in a green state, which afterwards attains a yellow colour. An orange-bough just severed from the tree, bending gracefully from the weight of its fruit, and shewing its clusters of pearly blossoms, is a very lovely picture.
Avocada Pear, persea gratissima, order trigynia, class Enneandria, is a lofty tree, crowned with a dense foliage, and bearing one of the best fruits the island produces. The shape is that of a quince, covered with a tough, ligneous rind, and containing one large, compressed globular seed. In flavour, it somewhat resembles a broiled vegetable marrow. It is sometimes eaten with wine and sugar, but more generally with pepper and salt.
Black Cherry, cerasus occidentalis, is a genus of the natural order rosaceæ. It rises to about the height of 20 or 30 feet. The wood is much used by the negroes in their wattled houses, as it is of a flexible nature. The leaves are obovated, and the delicate-looking flowers hang from every branch.
The Acacia rises to about twenty feet in branching stems, armed with long and sharp thorns. The flowers are globular, and of a bright yellow; they hang from every spray, and load the air with their fragrant odours. The pointal afterwards becomes a legume, containing several flat brown seeds, like those of lupins; these seeds have been found useful in setting dyes, and the gum produced from the trees is the best that can be used in calico printing; formerly the flowers were made use of in the materia medica, but this age of wisdom has expelled those various conserves which once loaded the shelves of an apothecary’s shop.
Lignum Vitæ, guaiacum, or pack wood, as it is sometimes