379. Sanseviera guineensis.—Called the African bowstring hemp, from the fibers of the leaves being used for bowstrings.
380. Santalum album.—This tree yields the true sandalwood of India. This fragrant wood is in two colors, procured from the same tree; the yellow-colored wood is from the heart and the white-colored from the exterior, the latter not so fragrant. The Chinese manufacture it into musical instruments, small cabinets, boxes, and similar articles, which are insect proof. From shavings of the wood an essential oil is distilled, which is used in perfumery.
381. Sapindus saponaria.—The soapberry tree. The fruit of this plant is about the size of a large gooseberry, the outer covering or shell of which contains a saponaceous principle in sufficient abundance to produce a lather with water and is used as a substitute for soap. The seeds are hard, black, and round, and are used for making rosaries and necklaces, and at one time were covered for buttons. Oil is also extracted from the seeds and is known as soap oil.
382. Sapium indicum.—A widely distributed Asiatic tree which yields an acrid, milky juice, which, as also the leaves of the plant, furnishes a kind of dye. The fruit in its green state is acid, and is eaten as a condiment in Borneo.
383. Sapota achras.—The fruit of this plant is known in the West Indies as the sapodilla plum. It is highly esteemed by the inhabitants; the bark of the tree is astringent and febrifugal; the seeds are aperient and diuretic.
384. Sapota mulleri.—The bully or balata tree of British Guiana, which furnishes a gum somewhat intermediate between India rubber and gutta-percha, being nearly as elastic as the first without the brittleness and friability of the latter, and requiring a high temperature to melt or soften it.
385. Schinus molle.—The root of this plant is used medicinally and the resin that exudes from the tree is employed to astringe the gums. The leaves are so filled with resinous fluid that when they are immersed in water it is expelled with such violence as to have the appearance of spontaneous motion in consequence of the recoil. The fruits are of the size of pepper corns and are warm to the taste. The pulp surrounding the seeds is made into a kind of beverage by the Mexican Indians. The plant is sometimes called Mexican pepper.
386. Schotia speciosa.—A small tree of South Africa called Boerboom at the Cape of Good Hope. The seeds or beans are cooked and eaten as food. The bark is used for tanning purposes and as an astringent in medicine.
387. Seaforthia elegans.—This palm is a native of the northern part of Australia, where it is utilized by the natives. The seeds have a granular fibrous rind, and are spotted and marked like a nutmeg.
388. Selaginella lepidophylla.—This species of club moss is found in southern California, and has remarkable hygrometric qualities. Its natural growth is in circular roseate form, and fully expanded when the air is moist, but rolling up like a ball when it becomes dry. It remains green and acts in this peculiar manner for a long time after being gathered. Of late years numbers have been distributed throughout the country under the names of "Rose of Jericho" and "Resurrection Plant." This is, however, quite distinct from the true Rose of Jericho, Anastatica hierochuntica, a native of the Mediterranean region, from Syria to Algeria. This plant, when growing and in flower, has branches spread rigidly, but when the seed ripens the leaves wither, and the whole plant becomes dry, each little branch curling inward until the plant appears like a small ball; it soon becomes loosened from the soil, and is carried by the winds over the dry plains, and is often blown into the sea, where it at once expands. It retains this property of expanding when moistened for at least ten years.