This tree is a native of the East Indies, and was introduced into this island in the year 1784 by Mr. East; since which it has been generally cultivated on account of its beauty and quick growth, and has thriven well in almost every situation. It has a thick root of a soft substance, the young parts of which are scraped, and used in the manner of horse-raddish, for which it is considered a very good substitute, having much the same sharp taste, as have also the seeds. It grows about twenty feet high, and has an ash-coloured bark, with numerous, rather erect, branches. The leaves are irregularly triplicate, pinnate, with an odd leaf; the leaflets small and oval, standing on slender purplish pedicels, waving beautifully in the wind. The flowers grow on the wings of the stalks, in long, axillary, round, pubescent, sub-divided, many-flowered racemes, of a white colour, tinged lightly with yellow at the base; the sub-divisions branched, directed one way, bent down, having under them minute deciduous scales. Being of quick growth, this pretty little tree is frequently planted in Jamaica for fences and along garden walks, and is generally known by the name of moringa. The wood dyes a blue colour, and sheep are said to be fond of the seeds; from which a fine oil may be extracted, in the manner it is from oil nuts.
Transcribed from the paragraph that describes the tree in Jamaica; the botanical characters printed before it (pp. 385–386) are not transcribed.