150. Cubeba officinalis.—A native of Java, which furnishes the cubeb fruits of commerce. These fruits are like black pepper, but stalked, and have an acrid, hot, aromatic taste; frequently used medicinally.
151. Curcas purgans.—A tropical plant cultivated in many warm countries for the sake of its seeds, known as physic nuts. The juice of the plant, which is milky, acrid, and glutinous, produces an indelible brown stain on linen. The oil from the seeds is used for burning in lamps; and in paints. In China it is boiled with oxide of iron and used as a varnish. It is also used medicinally.
152. Curcuma longa.—A plant belonging to the Zingiberaceæ, the roots of which furnish turmeric. This powder is used in India as a mild aromatic, and for other medicinal purposes. It also enters into the composition of curry-powder, and a sort of arrowroot is made from the young tubers.
153. Curcuma zedoaria.—This plant furnishes zedoary tubers, much used in India as aromatic tonics.
154. Cyathea medullaris.—This beautiful tree fern is a native of Australia, where it attains a height of 25 to 30 feet, having fronds from 10 to 15 feet in length. It contains a pulpy substance in the center of the stem, of a starchy, mucilaginous nature, which is a common article of food with the natives. The trees have to be destroyed in order to obtain it.
155. Cybistax antisyphilitica.—A plant of the order of Bignoniaceæ, called Atunyangua in the Andes of Peru, where the inhabitants dye their cotton clothes by boiling them along with the leaves of this plant; the dye is a permanent blue. The bark of the young shoots is much employed in medicine.
156. Cycas revoluta.—The sago palm of gardens. The stem of the plants abounds in starch, which is highly esteemed in Japan. A gum exudes from the trunk of the old plant, which is employed medicinally by the natives of India.
157. Cycas circinalis.—A native of Malabar, where a kind of sago is prepared from the seeds, which are dried and powdered; medicinal properties are also attributed to the seeds.
158. Dacrydium franklinii.—Called Huon pine, because of its being found near the Huon River, in Tasmania. It belongs to the yew family. It furnishes valuable timber, very durable, and is used for ship and house building; some of the wood is very beautifully marked, and is used in furniture making and cabinetwork.
159. Dalbergia sissoo.—A tree of northern India, the timber of which is known as Sissum wood. This wood is strong, tenacious, and compact, much used for railway ties and for gun-carriages.