spar maker (sparma"ker)

A carpenter whose special busine is the making of masts, yards, etc. Sparmannia (spär-man'i-ä), n. [NL. (Linnæus filius, 1781), named after Ändreas Sparmann or Sparrmann, a Swedish naturalist of the 18th century.] A genus of polypetalous plants, of the order Tiliaceæ, the linden family, and of the tribe Tilieæ. It is characterized by the outer stamens being without anthers, the numerous inner ones perfect, and by a globose or ovoid capsule which is echinate with rigid bristles. There are three species, natives of tropical or southern Africa. They are shrubs or trees with soft stellate pubescence, bearing toothed or lobed heart-shaped leaves and white flowers in small terminal umbelliform cymes which are surrounded by an involucre of short bracts. S. Afri can a is a handsome greenhouse-shrub reaching from 6 to 12 feet high, with ornamental long-stalked leaves and downy white flowers with yellow and brown sterile stamens. It produces a fiber of very fine texture, known as African hemp, and recommended for its strength and beautiful silver-gray color.