Independent gardening advice for real gardens, balconies and windowsills.
A growing reference library of gardening terms, techniques and climate concepts explained in plain language.
The nutmeg tree. The seed of this plant is the nutmeg of commerce, and mace is the seed cover of the same. When the nuts are gathered they are dried and the outer shell of the seed removed. The mace i...
This plant yields the drug known as balsam of Peru, which is procured by making incisions in the bark, into which cotton rags are thrust; a fire is then made round the tree to liquefy the balsam. The...
A South American tree, also called Myroxylon, which yields the resinous drug called balsam of Tolu. This substance is fragrant, having a warm, sweetish taste, and burns with an agreeable odor. It is u...
native of western Asia, but now grows abundantly in Italy, Spain, and the south of France. Among the ancients the myrtle was held sacred to Venus and was a plant of considerable importance, wreaths of...
A shrub belonging to the family of berberries. It is a native of China and Japan, where it is extensively cultivated for its fruits. It is there known as Nandin.
A native of the Malayan Islands, which yields the Gambir, or Terra Japonica of commerce. This is prepared by boiling the leaves in water until the decoction thickens, when it is poured into molds, whe...
The greenheart, or bibiru tree of British Guiana, furnishing bibiru bark, which is used medicinally as a tonic and febrifuge, its properties being due to the presence of an uncrystallizable alkaloid,...
This pitcher plant is a native of Ceylon. The pitchers are partly filled with water before they open; hence it was supposed to be produced by some distilling process. In Ceylon the old, tough, flexibl...
This sapindaceous tree produces one of the valued indigenous fruits of China. There are several varieties; the fruit is round, about an inch and a half in diameter, with a reddish-colored, thin, britt...