pear-shaped fleshy fruits 2
or 3 inches long, and of a rich carmine color when ripe. It is
cultivated for rearing the cochineal insect. The fruits are sweet
and juicy; sugar has been made from them. The juice is used as a
water-color and for coloring confectionery.

319. OREODAPHNE CALIFORNICA.--The mountain laurel, or spice bush, of
California. When bruised it emits a strong, spicy odor, and the
Spanish Americans use the leaves as a condiment.

320. OREODOXA OLERACEA.--The West Indian cabbage palm, which sometimes
attains the height of 170 feet, with a straight cylindrical trunk.
The semicylindrical portions of the leaf-stalk are formed into
cradles for children, or made into splints for fractures. Their
inside skin, peeled off while green, and dried, looks like vellum,
and can be written upon. The heart of young leaves, or cabbage, is
boiled as a vegetable or pickled, and the pith affords sago. Oil
is obtained from the fruit.

321. ORMOSIA DASYCARPA.--This is the West Indian bead tree, or necklace
tree, the seeds of which are roundish, beautifully polished, and
of a bright scarlet color, with a black spot at one end resembling
beads, for which they are substitutes, being made into necklaces,
bracelets, or mounted in silver for studs and buttons. It is a
leguminous plant.

322. OSMANTHUS FRAGRANS.--This plant has long been cultivated as _Olea
fragrans_. The flowers have a fine fragrance, and are used by the
Chinese to perfume tea. It appears that they consider the leaves
also valuable, for they are frequently found in what is expected
to be genuine tea.

323. PACHIRA ALBA.--A South American tree the inner bark of which
furnishes a strong useful fiber, employed in the manufacture of
ropes and various kinds of cordage. The petals of the flowers are
covered with a soft silky down which is used for stuffing cushions
and pillows.

324. PANDANUS UTILIS.--The screw pine of the Mauritius, where it is
largely cultivated for its leaves, which are manufactured into
bags or sacks for the exportation of sugar. They are also used for
making other domestic vessels and for tying purposes.

325. PAPPEA CAPENSIS.--A small tree of the soapberry or sapindaceous
family, a native of the Cape of Good Hope, where the fruit is
known as the wild