China Wax is a sort of wax deposited by insects on a deciduous tree with light-green ovate, serrated leaves, cultivated in the province of Sichuen in South-western China. The insects, a species of Coccus, are bred in galls which are formed on a different tree, an evergreen (a species of Ligustrum or privet), and these galls are transported in great quantities to the districts where the wax trees are grown, to the branches of which they are suspended. Having emerged from the galls the insects spread themselves over the branches, which gradually become coated with a white waxy substance, reaching in 90 or 100 days the thickness of a quarter of an inch. The branches are then lopped off and the wax removed. It is white in colour and is chiefly made into candles; it melts at 160 degrees whereas tallow melts at about 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Research China Wax
Angular Solomon's seal (Polygonatum odoratum) is a poisonous perennialherb of the family Liliaceae native to Britain, occurring in northern and western England and rarely in Wales. It has a thick, white, creeping rhizome and angled, arched stems, which bear numerous alternate, ovate to elliptic leaves in two rows. The flowers are white in colour, drooping, fragrant and tubular and grow singly or in pairs from the leaf axils. The fruit is a dark-blue berry. Research Angular Solomon's Seal
Apple (Pyrus Malus), is the fruit of a well-known tree of the natural order Rosaceae, or the tree itself. The apple belongs to the temperate regions of the globe, over which it is almost universally spread and cultivated. The tree attains a moderate height, with spreading branches; the leaf is ovate; and the flowers are produced from the wood of the former year, but more generally from very short shoots or spurs from wood of two years' growth. The original of all the varieties of the cultivated apple is the wild crab, which has a small and extremely sour fruit, and is a native of most of the countries of Europe. The apple was probably introduced into Britain by the Romans, and there are now six thousand recorded varieties of English apple, divided into three categories: eating, cooking and cider.
To the facility of multiplying varieties by grafting is to be ascribed the amazing extension of the sorts of apples. Many of the more marked varieties are known by general names, as pippins, codlins, rennets, etc. Apples for the table are characterized by a firm juicy pulp, a sweetish acid flavour, regular form, and beautiful colouring; those for cooking by the property of forming by the aid of heat into a pulpy mass of equal consistency, as also by their large size and keeping properties; apples for cider must have a considerable degree of astringency, with richness of juice. The propagation of apple-trees is accomplished by seeds, cuttings, suckers, layers, budding, or grafting, the last being almost the universal practice. The tree thrives best in a rich deep loam or marshy clay, but will thrive in any soil provided it is not too wet or too dry. The wood of the apple-tree or the common crab is hard, close-grained, and often richly coloured, and is suitable for turning and cabinet work. The fermented juice (verjuice) of the crab is employed in cookery and medicine. Apples are largely imported into Great Britain from the Continent and the United States and Canada. The designation apple, with various modifying words, is applied to a number of fruits having nothing in common with the apple proper, as alligator-apple, love-apple, etc Research Apple
Arrowroot (Maranta arundinaceae) also known as Araruta, is a herbaceousperennial of the family Marantaceae, native to the West Indies and Central America. It has a creeping rhizome with upward-curving, fleshy, cylindrical tubers covered with large, thin scales that leave rings of scars. The flowering stem reaches a height of two metres and bears creamy flowers at the ends of the slender branches that terminate the long peduncles. They grow in pairs. The numerous, ovate, glabrous leaves are from five to 25 centimetres long with long sheaths often enveloping the stem. A starch is extracted from the rhizomes and used in cooking and in herbal medicine for treating scorpion and spiderstings. Research Arrowroot
Balm or lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a perennialherb of the family Labiate with a short rhizome and an erect, much-branched square stem. The leaves are opposite, stalked, ovate, yellow green and crenate. The flowers are small, two-lipped and grow in whorls in the upper leaf axils. The flowers change colour as they mature from pale yellow through white to pale blue. The fruit consists of four smooth nutlets. All parts of the plant are finely hairy and have a strong lemon scent. Research Balm
Basil are various herbaceous plants of the family Labiatae. Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) is a native of India, and is an aromatic annual herb with a square branched stem, and numerous opposite, stalked, ovate, slightly toothed and glabrous leaves, often reddish in colour. The flowers are small, white, yellow or pink in colour and arranged in whorls in the upper leaf axils. The young leaves are used in cooking. Research Basil
Bird Cherry (Prunus padus) is a deciduous shrub or small tree of the family Rosaceae, native to Europe and Asia, with peeling brown bark and alternate, stalked, ovate and finely serrate leaves with flattened petioles. The flowers are white in colour and arranged in long, loose racemes which are erect at first and then later drooping. The fruit is a globose, shiny, black, bitter-sweet drupe. Research Bird Cherry
Birthwort (Aristolochia clematitis) is a creeping, evil-smelling plant of the family Aristolochiaceae. It has numerous upright stems, the leaves are alternate, broadly ovate and finely toothed. The flowers are dull yellow, are borne four to eight together in the leaf axils, and are cylindrical with a swollen base. Research Birthwort
Common bistort (Polygonum Bistorta), adder's-wort or snakeroot, is a perennialherb of the buckwheat family, family Polygonaceae, found in Britain. It has a stout, snake-like twisted rhizome and an erect, unbranched stem. The basalovate to lanceolate leaves with undulate margins and winged petioles are arranged in a rosette. The smaller stem leaves are triangular, sessile and clasp the stem. The flowers are pink in colour, and arranged in a dense terminal spike. The fruit is a three-sided achene surrounded by a persistent perianth.
Common bistort contains a lot of tannin, which gives it astringent properties and led to its use in medicine. The young leaves can be eaten in salads or cooked like spinach and the root is edible after it has been soaked and roasted. In northern England it is commonly called Easter Giant and around Manchester it is called Patience Dock. Research Bistort
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research China Wax
