329. Parkinsonia aculeata.—This leguminous plant is called Jerusalem Thorn. Although a native of Southern Texas and Mexico, it is found in many tropical countries, and is frequently used for making hedges. Indians in Mexico employ it as a febrifuge and sudorific and also as a remedy for epilepsy.
330. Parmentiera cereifera.—In the Isthmus of Panama this plant is termed the Candle tree, because its fruits, often 4 feet long, look like yellow candles suspended from the branches. They have a peculiar, apple-like smell, and cattle that partake of the leaves or fruit have the smell communicated to the beef if killed immediately.
331. Passiflora quadrangularis.—The fruit of this plant is the Granadilla of the tropics. The pulp has an agreeable though rather mawkish taste. The root is said to possess narcotic properties, and is used in the Mauritius as an emetic.
332. Paullinia sorbilis.—The seeds of this climbing sapindaceous plant furnish the famous guarana of the Amazon and its principal tributaries. The ripe seeds, when thoroughly dried, are pounded into a fine powder, which made into dough with water, is formed into cylindrical rolls, from 5 to 8 inches long, becoming very hard when dry. It is used as a beverage, which is prepared by grating about half a teaspoonful of one of the cakes into about a teacup of water. It is much used by Brazilian miners, and is considered a preventive of all manner of diseases. It is also used by travelers, who supply themselves with it previous to undertaking lengthy or fatiguing journeys. Its active principle is identical with theine, of which it contains a larger quantity than exists in any other known plant, being more than double that contained in the best black tea.
333. Pavetta borbonica.—This belongs to the quinine family. The roots are bitter, and are employed as a purgative; the leaves are also used medicinally.
334. Pedilanthus tithymaloides.—This euphorbiaceous plant has an acrid, milky, bitter juice; the root is emetic, and the dried branches are used medicinally.
335. Pereskia aculeata.—The Barbadoes gooseberry, which belongs to the family Cactaceæ. It grows about 15 feet in height, and produces yellow-colored, eatable, and pleasant-tasted fruit, which is used in the West Indies for making preserves.
336. Persea gratissima.—The avocado or alligator pear, a common tree in the West Indies. The fruits are pear-shaped, covered with a brownish-green or purple skin. They are highly esteemed where grown, but strangers do not relish them. They contain a large quantity of firm pulp, possessing a buttery or marrow-like taste, and are frequently called vegetable marrow. They are usually eaten with spice, lime-juice, pepper, and salt. An abundance of oil, for burning and for soap-making, may be obtained from the pulp. The seeds yield a deep, indelible black juice, which is used for marking linen.
337. Phœnix dactylifera.—The date palm, very extensively grown for its fruit, which affords the principal food for a large portion of the inhabitants of Africa, Asia, and southern Europe, and likewise of the various domestic animals—dogs, horses, and camels being alike partial to it. The tree attains to a great age, and bears annually for two hundred years. The huts of the poorer classes are constructed of the leaves: the fiber surrounding the bases of their stalks is used for making ropes and coarse cloth; the stalks are used for the manufacture of baskets, brooms, crates, walking sticks, etc., and the wood for building substantial houses; the heart of young leaves is eaten as a vegetable; the sap affords an intoxicating beverage. It may be further mentioned that the date was, probably, the palm which supplied the "branches of palm trees" mentioned by St. John (xii, 13) as having been carried by the people who went to meet Christ on his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and from which Palm Sunday takes its name.
338. Phormium tenax.—This plant is called New Zealand flax, on account of the leaves containing a large quantity of strong, useful fiber, which is used by the natives of that country for making strings, ropes, and articles of clothing. The plant could be grown in this climate, and would no doubt be largely cultivated if some efficient mode of separating the fiber could be discovered.