91. Caryocar nuciferum.—On the river banks of Guiana this grows to a large-sized tree. It yields the butter-nuts, or souari-nuts of commerce. These are of a flattened kidney shape, with a hard woody shell of a reddish-brown color, and covered with wart-like protuberances. The nuts are pleasant to eat, and yield, by expression, an oil called Piquia oil, which possesses the flavor of the fruit.
92. Caryophyllus aromaticus.—This myrtaceous plant produces the well-known spice called cloves. It forms a beautiful evergreen, rising from 20 to 30 feet in height. The cloves of commerce are the unexpanded flower-buds; they are collected by beating the tree with rods, when the buds, from the jointed character of their stalks, readily fall, and are received on sheets spread on purpose; they are then dried in the sun. All parts of the plant are aromatic, from the presence of a volatile oil. The oil is sometimes used in toothache and as a carminative in medicine.
93. Caryota urens.—This fine palm is a native of Ceylon, and is also found in other parts of India, where it supplies the native population with various important articles. Large quantities of toddy, or palm-wine, are prepared from the juice, which, when boiled, yields very good palm sugar or jaggery, and also excellent sugar candy. Sago is also prepared from the central or pithy part of the trunk, and forms a large portion of the food of the natives. The fiber from the leaf stalk is of great strength; it is known as Kittool fiber, and is used for making ropes, brushes, brooms, etc. A woolly kind of scurf, scraped off the leaf stalks, is used for calking boats, and the stem furnishes a small quantity of wood.
94. Casimiroa edulis.—A Mexican plant, belonging to the orange family, with a fruit about the size of an ordinary orange, which has an agreeable taste, but is not considered to be wholesome. The seeds are poisonous; the bark is bitter, and is sometimes used medicinally.
95. Cassia acutifolia.—The cassias belong to the leguminous family. The leaflets of this and some other species produce the well-known drug called senna. That known as Alexandria senna is produced by the above. East Indian senna is produced by C. elongata. Aleppo senna is obtained from C. obovata. The native species, C. marylandica, possesses similar properties. The seeds of C. absus, a native of Egypt, are bitter, aromatic, and mucilaginous, and are used as a remedy for ophthalmia. C. fistula is called the Pudding-Pipe tree, and furnishes the cassia pods of commerce. The seeds of C. occidentalis, when roasted, are used as a substitute for coffee in the Mauritius and in the interior of Africa.
96. Castilloa elastica.—This is a Mexican tree, which yields a milky juice, forming caoutchouc, but is not collected for commerce except in a limited way.
97. Casuarina quadrivalvis.—This Tasmanian tree produces a very hard wood of a reddish color, often called Beef wood. It is marked with dark stripes, and is much used in some places for picture frames and cabinetwork. This belongs to a curious family of trees having no leaves, but looking like a gigantic specimen of Horse-tail grass, a weed to be seen in wet places.
98. Catha edulis.—This plant is a native of Arabia, where it attains the height of 7 to 10 feet. Its leaves are used by the Arabs in preparing a beverage like tea or coffee. The twigs, with leaves attached, in bundles of fifty, and in pieces from 12 to 15 inches in length, form a very considerable article of commerce, its use in Arabia corresponding to that of the Paraguay tea in South America and the Chinese tea in Europe. The effects produced by a decoction of the leaves of Cafta, as they are termed, are described as similar to those produced by strong green tea, only more pleasing and agreeable. The Arab soldiers chew the leaves when on sentry duty to keep them from feeling drowsy. Its use is of great antiquity, preceding that of coffee. Its stimulating effects induced some Arabs to class it with intoxicating substances, the use of which is forbidden by the Koran, but a synod of learned Mussulmans decreed that, as it did not impair the health or impede the observance of religious duties, but only increased hilarity and good humor, it was lawful to use it.
99. Cecropia peltata.—The South American trumpet tree, so called because its hollow branches are used for musical instruments. The Waupe Indians form a kind of drum by removing the pith or center of the branches. The inner bark of the young branches yields a very tough fiber, which is made into ropes. The milky juice of the stem hardens into caoutchouc.
100. Cedrela odorata.—This forms a large tree in the West India Islands, and is hollowed out for canoes; the wood is of a brown color and has a fragrant odor, and is sometimes imported under the name of Jamaica cedar.