38 EBENACEE. 
mens being double, &c., while the flowers of Oleine are her- 
maphrodite, and the stamens simple. 
Some of the order are hardy trees or shrubs, with deciduous 
leaves and white flowers, natives of woods, mountains, and banks 
of streams, in North America, Europe, and New Holland. 
Others are tropical evergreens. Of the latter, many of the 
Diospjri produce edible fruit; as, for example, the Mabola of 
the Philippine Islands, which is as large as a peach; and the 
Kaki of Japan, which resembles an apricot. All these fruits are 
remarkable for their extreme austerity before maturity, and the 
necessity of letting them decay like the medlars before they are 
fit for the table. These are also distinguished for the excessive 
hardness of their wood, and for the black colour it sometimes 
acquires when old, as the Ebony. The bark of D:spjros 
Virginiana is used in North America in intermittent fevers. 
Synopsis of the genera. 
1 Diospy‘ros. Flowers polygamous. Calyx deeply 4-cleft, 
sometimes 3-6 cleft. Corolla urceolate, with the same number 
of divisions as in the calyx. Stamens in the male flowers, twice 
the number of the segments of the corolla. 
2 Emseyértents. Allas in Diospjros, except in the stamens 
of the male flowers being 4 times the number of the segments of 
the corolla. 
3 Para Lea, Calyx 4-cleft. Corolla thick, with a short tube 
and a 4-cleft limb. Stamens in the male flowers 4 times the 
number of the segments of the corolla, with simple filaments ; in 
the hermaphrodite flowers about 8, and the ovarium 8-celled, 8- 
seeded. 
4 RovENa. This genus differs from Diospyjros in the flowers 
being hermaphrodite, and usually 5-cleft, in the filaments being 
simple, and in the ovarium being 4-6-8-celled. 
5 DirerowE Ma. Flowers polygamous; stamens in the male 
flowers 4 times the number of the segments of the corolla; fila- 
ments double; anthers bearded. Ovarium 4-6-celled. 
6 DicruipaNTHE'RA. Flowers hermaphrodite, pentamerous. Co- 
rolla funnel-shaped; anthers sessile, 2-valved from the base, 
probably double. Berry 5-celled; cells 1-seeded ; some of the 
cells abortive. i 
7 Cameíruia. Flowers polygamous. Calyx semi-4-cleft. Co- 
rolla with a 4-cleft limb. Stamens 8; filaments double. Ova- 
rium 4-celled. 
8 Ma‘sa. Flowers dioecious. Calyx semi-trifid. Corolla 
urceolate, 3-cleft. 
nate ones are twin. 
Stamens 3-6; filaments simple, or the alter- 
Ovarium 3-celled. 
I. DIOSPY'ROS (from 6c, dios, divine ; and «vpoc, pyros, 
wheat; divine wheat ; called by Pliny Granum Jovis, or Jupiter's 
Wheat.) Lin. gen. no. 1161. Juss. gen. 156. Gaertn. fruct. 
2. p. 478. t. 179. R. Br. prod. p. 525.—Ebénus, Comm.— 
Guaiacàna, Tourn. 371. 
Lin. syst.  Polygámia, Dioécia. Flowers polygamous. Ca- 
lyx deeply 4-cleft, sometimes 3 or 6-cleft. Corolla urceolate, 
4-cleft, sometimes 3 or 6-cleft. Male flowers having the sta- 
mens inserted by pairs into the base of the corolla, twice the 
number of its segments, with double or twin filaments, and the 
rudiment of a pistil. Hermaphrodite flowers, having fewer and 
sterile stamens. Ovarium 8-12-celled; cells 1-seeded. Berry 
I. Diospyros. 
globose, with a spreading calyx, which is at length reflexed. 
Albumen horny. Trees and shrubs. Flowers white, or pale 
yellow. 
* Leaves downy beneath. 
1 D. róros (Lin. spec. 1510.) leaves oblong, acuminate, 
downy beneath; leaf-buds hairy inside. b. H. Native of the 
southern parts of Caucasus, woods of Hyrcania, and the whole 
coast of the Caspian, Italy, and Mauritania. Willd. spec. 4. p. 
407. Mill. icon. t. 116. Pall. fl. ross. 1. p. 20. t. 58.—Wangh. 
amer. 84. t. 28. f. 58. Ger. emac. 1495. f. 1.—Park. theatr. 
1523. f. 3. Flowers small, reddish white. Fruit size of a 
cherry, yellow when ripe, sweet with astringency ; it is recom- 
mended as a cure for diarrhoea. 
European Lotos, or Common Date Plum. 
1596. Tree 20 to 30 feet. 
2 D. rusE'sceNs (Pursh. fl. amer. sept. 1. p. 265.) leaves 
oblong, acute, downy beneath; petioles long; fruit few-seeded. 
h. H. Native of North America, in the lower counties of Vir- 
ginia, Carolina, and Georgia. "Though Michx. in his abr. for. 
makes this as only a variety of D. Virginiana; Pursh con- : 
siders it a distinct species, not only on account of the difference 
in the structure of the fruit, but in the shape and downiness of 
the leaves. 
Downy-leaved Date Plum. Fl. April. 
to 30 feet. 
3 D. Oxixze'ssrs (Klein. ex Willd. 1. c.) leaves oblong, obtuse 
at the base, acutish at the apex, glabrous above, and clothed 
with fine soft down beneath. h.S. Native of the East Indies. 
Orixa Date Plum. Tree. 
4 D. tomentosa (Roxb. fl. ind. 2. p. 532.) dioecious; all 
the tender parts downy ; leaves opposite and alternate, oval, 
entire; male peduncles 3-flowered: calyx and corolla gibbous, 
4-toothed: stamens 12; female flowers having the calyx and 
corolla 5-parted; berry 5-seeded. E .S. Native of the nor- 
thern parts of Bengal; and is the Ebony of that country. 
Kakindoo is the Sanscrit name; and Kyou is the Bengalese 
name. Leaves deciduous. Male flowers whitish. Styles 2. 
Berry size of a pigeon’s egg, yellow when ripe, and filled with 
a soft edible pulp. 
Tomentose Date Plum. Tree tall. 
5 D. uisu rA (Lin. syst. 918. suppl. 440.) branches and 
underside of leaves villous ; leaves elliptic, obtuse; flowers 
aggregate, sessile. h. S. Native of Ceylon. Hardly dis- 
tinct from Royéna. 
Hairy Date Plum. Cit. 1820. Tree 20 feet. 
6 D. cHLoréxyton (Roxb. cor. 1. p. 38. t. 49.) spiny; leaves 
oval, villous beneath. HL31S. Native of the East Indies, on the 
coast of Coromandel, among the Circars. Branches furnished 
with strong spines. Male flowers with about 12 stamens, and 
16 anthers ; and the hermaphrodite ones with 8 single filaments. 
Styles 4. Berry 2-3-seeded. The tree is called Nella-woolimera 
by the Telingas. 
Green-wooded Date Plum. Clt. 1822. Tree. 
7 D. cogprrüLrA (Roxb. l. c. t. 50.) spiny; leaves ovate- 
lanceolate, cordate, downy beneath. h.S. Native of the East 
Indies, every where. Spines strong, usually branched. Male 
flowers with 8 double filaments; hermaphrodite flowers with 
12 single filaments. Styles 4. Berry 8-seeded. Tumala is 
the Sanscrit name of the tree; Kok-moolimera is the Telinga 
name; and Bun Gaub the Bengalese name. 
Heart-leaved Date Plum. Clt. 1794. Tree. 
8 D. saricirFóLtA (Willd. spec. 4. p. 407.) leaves lanceolate, ob- 
tuse, acute at the base, downy beneath, hoary while young. 
h.S. Native of South America. 
Willow-leaved Date Plum. Tree. 
9 D. pzca'wpna (Lour. coch. p. 227.) leaves ovate-lanceo- 
Fl. July. Clt. 
Cit. 1812. Tree 20 
