219. Geonoma schottiana.—A pretty Brazilian palm; the leaves are used for thatching huts, and other parts of the plant are utilized.
220. Gouania domingensis.—A plant of the buckthorn family, known in Jamaica as Chaw-Stick, on account of its thin branches being chewed as an agreeable stomachic. Tooth brushes are made by cutting pieces of the stem to convenient lengths and fraying out the ends. A tooth powder is prepared by pulverizing the dried stems. It is said to possess febrifugal properties, and owing to its pleasant bitter taste it is used for flavoring cooling beverages.
221. Grevillea robusta.—The silk oak tree of Australia; a tree that attains a large size, and is remarkable for the graceful beauty of its foliage.
222. Grewia asiatica.—This Indian tree represents a genus of plants of considerable economic value. This particular species yields a profusion of small red fruits which are used for flavoring drinks, having a pleasant acid flavor. The fibrous inner bark is employed by the natives for making fishing nets, ropes, twine, and for other similar purposes.
223. Grias cauliflora.—The anchovy pear of Jamaica. The fruit is pickled and eaten like the mango, having a similar taste.
224. Guaiacum officinale.—The wood of this tree is called Lignum Vitæ. A resin, called gum guaiacum, exudes from the stem, and is otherwise obtained from the wood by artificial means. It is of a greenish-brown color, with a balsamic fragrance, and is remarkable for the changes of color it undergoes when brought into contact with various substances. Gluten gives it a blue tint: nitric acid and chlorin change it successively to green, blue, and brown. The resin is used medicinally as also are the bark and wood.
225. Guazuma tomentosa.—This plant is nearly allied to the chocolate-nut tree, and yields fruits that abound in mucilage, as also does the bark of the young shoots. The mucilage is given out in water, and has been used as a substitute for gelatin or albumen in clarifying cane juice in the manufacture of sugar. The timber is light, and is employed for the staves of sugar hogsheads; it is known in Jamaica as bastard cedar. A strong fiber is obtained from the young shoots.
226. Guilielma speciosa.—The peach palm of Venezuela. The fruits are borne in large drooping bunches, and their fleshy outer portion contains starchy matter, which forms a portion of the food of the natives. They are cooked and eaten with salt, and are said to resemble a potato in flavor. A beverage is prepared by fermenting them in water, and the meal obtained from them is made into bread. The wood of the old trees is black, and so hard as to turn the edge of an ax.
227. Hæmatoxylon campechianum.—The logwood tree. This dyestuff is largely used by calico printers and other dyeing manufacturers. It is also used as an ingredient in some writing inks. The heart wood is the part used for dyeing. This is cut into chips which yield their color to water and alcohol. The colors are various according to treatment, giving violet, yellow, purple, and blue, but the consumption of logwood is for black colors, which are obtained by alum and iron bases.
228. Hardenbergia monophylla.—An Australian climbing plant of the leguminous family. The long, carrot-shaped, woody root was called, by the early settlers in that country, sarsaparilla, and is still used in infusion as a substitute for that root.