called, is another beautiful forest tree of Antigua. It attains the size of a large oak; the trunk is covered with a hard, brown bark, although the branches are of a greyish-ash colour. The foliage is magnificent, and of the sweetest green, while the beauty of the tree is enhanced by the clusters of cerulean flowers, which hang in loose umbels from almost every spray.
Perhaps the most beautiful and fragrant flower which grows in Antigua is the frangepanier, or plumeria. It rises to the height of from ten to fifteen feet, with a rough, greyish trunk, from whence start numerous fantastic-shaped branches, convolving and wreathing their long, naked arms on all sides. From the end of these branches start large, oblong leaves, standing upon three-inch footstalks, and forming a beautiful cluster. These leaves are deciduous, and as they fall off, are succeeded by bunches of flowers, which grow in umbels, rising from one centre stem, of about three or four inches in length. These flowers are of the most delicate pink, shaded off to white, and of a velvety surface, the lower part of the petals being yellow. They are divided into five or six segments, and the scent of them is so delicious, that it ravishes the senses while inhaling its odour. All parts of this tree abounds in a milky, acrid juice, which drops freely upon breaking off the least part, or making the slightest incision.
Guava Tree, psidium pomiferum, order monogynia, class icosandria, rises in the manner of a shrub, to the height of from two to twelve feet. The leaves are ovate, and of a dusky green; the flowers consist of five segments, produced in a circular form, with numerous stamens surrounding an ovary of an oblong form. This becomes a fleshy fruit, of the shape and colour of a lemon, surmounted by a crest of small leaves. The interior of the fruit is of a rose-colour, or a pure white, containing numerous small, yellow seeds; the flavour is exquisite, and the jelly made from it surpasses the whole world of confectionary. The celebrated Sir Hans Sloane is said to have been particularly fond of it; indeed, it is a universal favourite, and cattle and birds greedily eat the fruit in its crude form.
Bamboo, bambusa arundinacea, belongs to the order monogynia, class hexandria. It rises to a great height, sometimes fifty or sixty feet. The young stalks are almost solid, and are filled with a sweetish kind of liquid, which, as they progress in age and become hollow, falls to the bottom of the joint, where it is stopped by a woody membrane, and concretes into a kind of sugar, called tabaxir. This tabaxir is said to possess strong medicinal qualities, and was held in such esteem by the ancients, that it was often sold for its weight in silver. The bamboo is used in Antigua for spouts, fish-pots, or as posts for fences: it forms a pretty screen, and as the wind wantons through its lanceolated leaves, a pleasing melody ensues.
Physic Nut, jatropha curcas, belongs to the same order and class as the cassada, &c. It grows to the height of ten or twelve feet, with a knotty stem, and the leaves (cordate and angular) starting from the ends of the branches. The flowers are green, and hang in umbels; they are succeeded by nuts, with the outward covering green, and containing an oblong kernel, separated by two milk-white leaves, of a perfect shape. This plant is often used for fences, and according to old Ligon, is “of so poisonous a nature that no animal will approach it.” This is not correct in every point, for it produces no ill-consequences, unless taken to excess, when it acts as a violent cathartic.
The French Physic Nut, jatropha multifida, is another species of this tribe. It rises in a shrubby manner, from eight to ten feet in height, the main stem being covered with a silver-grey bark, and dividing into several branches at the top. The leaves are large and lobed, and the flowers, of a purple colour, grow from the extremity of the branches, in groups. They are succeeded by nuts, of the same size and appearance as those of the jatropha curcas.
Peppers, capsicums, genus of the monogynia order, class pentandria. There are twenty species of this tribe, the principal of which known in Antigua is the bonnet or bonny pepper, capsicum angulosum, of a bright yellow; the goat-pepper, or capsicum annuum, of an oblong figure, and red colour, not much esteemed for flavour; the cherry-pepper, or capsicum cerasiforme, also red, in form like a large Kentish cherry—from whence its name; and the bird-pepper, the most esteemed of all capsicums. This last is a most beautiful shrub; the leaves are of the deepest green, and the fruit, with all the rich glow of the coral, bursting from their light green cups, cluster upon every bough. It is from the bird-pepper the best cayenne is produced; when mixed with the yellow bonny, the colour becomes paler, and is less esteemed. The London adulterators, in order to keep up that bright red tinge, are in the habit of colouring their cayenne with red lead.
The Jasmines are of great beauty and variety in Antigua. The principal among them are the Arabian jasmine, jasminum sambac, and the Cape jasmine, jasminum fragrans. The leaves are large, and of a beautiful green, while the silvery blossoms, of a rose-like form, fill the air with their delicious fragrance. This shrub is a genus of the monogynia order, belonging to the diandria class of plants.
King of Flowers, lagerstrœmia indica, is a genus of the monogynia order, belonging to the polyandria class of plants. It is one of the ornaments of the Antiguan flower-garden—its rosy corolla peeping from its bright green leaves; still it is not near so worthy of praise as its fair consort, the lovely
Queen of Flowers, lagerstrœmia regina, which does not throw out her delicate pink petals until her slight limbs are bent down beneath her flowing burden.