369. Rhizophora mangle.—This plant is known as the mangrove, possibly because no man can live in the swampy groves that are covered with it in tropical countries. The seeds germinate, or form roots before they quit the parent tree, and drop into the mud as young trees. The old plants send out aerial roots into the water, upon which the mollusca adhere, and as the tide recedes they are seen clinging to the shoots, verifying the statements of old travelers that they had seen oysters growing on trees. All parts of this tree contain tannin. The bark yields dyes, and in the West Indies the leaves are used for poulticing wounds. The fruit is edible; a coarse, brittle salt is extracted from the roots, and in the Philippines the bark is used as a febrifuge.
370. Rottlera tinctoria.—This plant belongs to the order Euphorbiaceæ, and reaches the size of a small tree in the Indian Archipelago and southern Australia. From the surface of the trilobed capsules of this plant, which are about the size of peas, a red, mealy powder is obtained, well known in India as kamala, and which is used by Hindoo silk-dyers, who obtain from it a deep, bright, durable orange or flame color of great beauty. This is obtained by boiling the powder in a solution of carbonate of soda. When the capsules are ripe the red powder is brushed off and collected for sale, no other preparation being necessary to preserve it. It is also used medicinally as an anthelmintic and has been successfully used in cases of tapeworm. A solution removes freckles and pustules and eruptions on the skin.
371. Ruellia indigotica.—This small bush is extensively cultivated in China for the preparation of a blue coloring-matter of the nature of indigo. The pigment is prepared from the entire plant by a process similar to that employed in procuring the common indigo. It is sold in China in a pasty state. The water in which the plant is steeped is mixed with lime and rapidly agitated, when the coloring deposits at the bottom of the vessel.
372. Sabal adansonii.—This dwarf palm is a native of the Southern States. The leaves are made into fans, and the soft interior of the stem is edible.
373. Sabal umbraculifera.—This is a West Indian palm; the leaves are used for various purposes, such as making mats, huts, etc.
374. Saccharum officinarum.—The sugar cane. Where the sugar cane was first cultivated is unknown, but it is supposed to have been in the East Indies, for the Venetians imported it from thence by the Red Sea prior to the year 1148. It is supposed to have been introduced into the islands of Sicily, Crete, Rhodes, and Cyprus by the Saracens, as abundance of sugar was made in these islands previous to the discovery of the West Indies in 1492 by the Spaniards, and the East Indies and Brazil by the Portuguese in 1497 and 1560. It was cultivated afterwards in Spain, in Valentia, Granada, and Murcia by the Moors. In the fifteenth century it was introduced into the Canary Islands by the Spaniards and to Madeira by the Portuguese, and thence to the West India Islands and to Brazil. The Dutch began to make sugar in the island of St. Thomas in the year 1610 and in Jamaica in 1644. Its culture has since become general in warm climates and its use universal.
375. Saguerus saccharifer.—The arenga palm, which is of great value to the Malays. The black horsehair like fiber surrounding its leaf-stalks is made into cordage; a large amount of toddy or palm wine is obtained by cutting off the flower spikes, which, when inspissated, affords sugar, and when fermented a capital vinegar. Considerable quantities of inferior sago and several other products of minor importance are derived from this palm.
376. Sagus rumphii.—This palm produces the sago of commerce, which is prepared from the soft inner portion of the trunk. It is obtained by cutting the trunk into small pieces, which are split and the soft substance scooped out and pounded in water till the starchy substance separates and settles. This is sago meal; but before being exported it is made into what is termed pearl sago. This is a Chinese process, principally carried on at Singapore. The meal is washed, strained, and spread out to dry; it is then broken up, pounded, and sifted until it is of a regular size. Small quantities being then placed in bags, these are shaken about until it becomes granulated or pearled.
377. Salvadora persica.—This is supposed to be the plant that produced the mustard seed spoken of in the Scriptures.
378. Sandoricum indicum.—A tropical tree, sometimes called the Indian sandal tree, which produces a fruit like an apple, of agreeable acid flavor. The root of the tree has some medicinal value.