In the rich and well cultivated collection of tropical fruits 

 at Syon House, which has so long engaged the attention of 

 the noble proprietor, this rare and very little known plant 

 has produced ripe fruit, which is the more interesting, 

 since, in the Calcutta Botanic Garden, whence it has been 

 sent to Europe, Dr. Roxburgh informs us that, though it 

 grows most luxuriantly, and blossoms in the hot season, it 

 has never perfected its fruit. The Syon plant was received 

 from Mr. Loddiges, who had it direct from the Calcutta 

 Botanic Garden, and, as he informs me, under the name of 

 edulis. There is, however, no such name in Wallich's 

 Catalogue, nor among the many specimens of Diospyros 

 sent by Dr. Wallich to this country : but I find it identical 

 with Dr. Wallich's specimens of D. Sapota (Roxb.) in my 

 Herbarium : — and this at once leads us to a knowledge of 

 the history and native country of the plant. Dr. Roxburgh 

 himself appears to have erred in this latter particular : for 

 he states it to be a native of the Mauritius, because it was 

 thence introduced, by the late Hyder Ally, into his garden 

 at Seringapatam ; from whence, in 1804, Dr. Berry of 

 Madras sent Dr. Roxburgh good specimens and the entire 

 ripe fruit. Dr. Roxburgh most correctly refers it to the 

 little known Sapotte-negro of Sonnerat's learned voyage, 

 where the admirable figures of the flowering specimen 

 and fruit, given in three separate plates, leave not a doubt 

 on the subject. Again, on referring to Bojer's " Hortus 

 Mauritianus," I find the " Sapotte-negro" is mentioned as 

 an introduced plant. He calls it, indeed, D. decandra, Lam. 

 (which can have nothing to do with it) ; but the name, in 

 conjunction with his description of the fruit, " rond, un peu 

 depnme, de la grosseur d'une pomme, noir a sa parfaite 

 maturity et d'un g6ut assez agreable," clearly shows what 

 plant he had in view. We must look, therefore, to Son- 

 nerat tor the native country, and for the best, and, indeed, 

 the only history of this plant. He had arrived at Lucon, the 

 principal of the Philippine Islands, on which Manilla is 

 situated, and his vessel had come to an anchor at Cavite, 



S V tl ^ te -,. at tl ^ L head of a b ay three leagues distant S. E. 

 ot Manilla. Thence he made excursions to a small settle- 

 ment near Culamba, where was a hot spring (69° of Reau- 

 mur), m which were fish and aquatic animals, and where 

 certain shrubs, whose roots penetrated the water, while the 

 branches were saturated with the steam, were growing 

 vigorously. « Quitting," he continues, « the villlge, tra- 

 versed by the stream of hot water, as mentioned above, I 



pursued 



