The fruit of the water lemon is of a similar flavour, but of smaller growth, in size and shape more resembling a lemon—from whence its name—and with a covering more ligneous. The conch nut is the most acid, and of an inferior quality. It is of a globular form, with a smooth woody shell. All these varieties form an elegant arbour, with their glossy green leaves, and their lovely blossoms, of the same fair form and colour as the passion-flower—a genus of their own tribe.
Aloe, a genus of the order monogynia, class hexandria: there are thirteen species of aloes, the most common of which found in Antigua is the aloe plant, aloe vulgaris. The leaves are broad and thick, and about from two to three feet long; they are full of strong fibres, which can be manufactured into cordage, &c. The aloe plant is commonly used for fences, its long sharp-pointed leaves proving an excellent repellant to any intruder. From the centre of the plant rises a smooth green stem, or column, of about twenty or thirty feet high, broad at the base, and tapering to the top, where it branches out into numerous pedunculuses, or flower stalks. This plant has no calyx; the corolla is monopetalous, and of the colour of the brightest gold, which produces a splendid appearance when in bloom. They are very hardy plants, and can scarcely be destroyed even if wished.
Spanish Needle, bindens leucantha; of the natural order, compositiæ oppositifoliæ. The leaves are composed of strong fibres, which are capable of being manufactured into a ship’s cable or a skein of lace thread, a sail for a man-of-war or the finest cambric handkerchiefs.
Cactus, cacteæ, is an order of plants that abounds in all parts of the island. They consist of a calyx adhering to the ovary, the corolla divided into several segments, and the petals variously coloured. The fruit is a succulent seedy berry, in some species of a beautiful red colour. The stems are covered with small tubercles, containing tufts of sharp spines, varying in size. The “Turk’s cap,” melocactus communis, is one of the handsomest of its tribe. It rises in a globular-shaped stem, deeply channelled, of a green colour, and covered with long spines. The top is surmounted by a spherical spinal crest, of a beautiful rose colour, with fleshy seeds of the same glowing tinge. It grows wild in all the sun-dried plains of Antigua, and forms a singular contrast to the withered-looking herbage. The prickly pear is another member of this family; the leaves are thick and oblong, covered with long spines, and filled with a muculent substance. The fruit is in form like an English pear, and of a slightly acid flavour; the rind is thick, and of a red colour, marked near the base with streaks of yellow; the pulpy interior is of the finest crimson, and of the consistence of syrup, which is sometimes used to colour sweetmeats, and affords at times a rich treat to the little negroes. The fruit starts from the leaves without any footstalks, and leaf succeeds to leaf, until it attains the height of from five to six feet. It loves a sandy soil, but on every bank, or in every pasture, it may be met with; while from its formidable spines, and thick fleshy leaves, it forms an excellent fence. There is another species, called the French prickly pear, the succulent leaf of which is sometimes used as a vegetable.
The Egg-Plant, solanum melongena, or ovigerum, is a curiosity in the vegetable kingdom. It attains the height of from two to three feet, and is covered with downy leaves of an ovate form. The fruit is of a globose fleshy berry, of the size, shape, and colour of a hen’s egg, from whence its name.
There are three species of lilies indigenous to the country, the most common of which is the Lily-asphodel, amaryllis equestris, a genus of the monogynia order, hexandria class of plants. The flower rises from an oblong emarginated spatha; the corolla consists of six lance-like petals, of a clear white, with long slender stamens. The seed-bag, or capsule, is composed of three valves, and contains numerous seeds.
Cotton Shrub, or gossypium, rises to the height of six or seven feet. The flower is bell-shaped, and consists of one leaf deeply cut into several segments, enfolding one another, and of a pale primrose. From the centre of the flower rises a kind of hollow cylinder, adorned with chives or filaments. The pointal becomes a globular fruit, or pod, composed of five cells, containing small, hard, black seeds, closely enwrapped in the wool, (or cotton, as it is more generally termed,) which, when ripe, bursts open at the apex, and discloses the snowy interior.
Castor Plant, or palma Christi, is a very pretty shrub, rising to the height of about fifteen feet. It expands into numerous branches, from which spring dark green leaves, deeply lobed, and standing upon long footstalks. The flowers are insignificant in appearance; the germen becomes a three-celled, globular pod, covered with slender spines, and contains three beautifully-polished, oblong seeds, of a black and silver-grey colour. The best castor oil is obtained from these seeds, by pressure; but the common practice in use among the negroes is to boil them in water, and skim off the unctuous matter as it rises to the top.
Cassada, or cassava, is made from the roots jatropha, or janipha manihot. This plant belongs to the natural order euphorbiaceæ, and abounds in a juice, the smallest dose of which is highly dangerous from its poisonous qualities. It, however, forms a nutritious food after the juice is well expressed, when it is baked in the form of thin cakes, and supplies the want of bread. Farina and tapioca are other preparations from this root, half a pound of which, per diem, is said to be sufficient to support the strongest man.
Arrow-root, and tout-les-mois, is the fecula obtained by a similar process from those several roots, the nutritious qualities of which are too well known in the sick chamber to call for further mention. The petals of the arrow-root are of a clear white, while those of the tout-les-mois are of a fine crimson, and start from long sheath-like leaves. The French gave the name to this latter plant, from the fact of its flowering every month.