176 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
and inconspicuous flowers. The fruit is a three-valved cap- 
sule containing three seeds. The stems contain a milky 
juice which is obtained by making deep vertical and slant- 
ing incisions in the bark. The juice is caught in receptacles, 
thickens by exposure to the air, and becomes a creamy paste. 
The paste is dried over a fire upon molds, and upon comple- 
tion 1s the raw india-rubber of commerce. This substance 
did not come into general use until 1842, when the discovery 
was made that it possessed the power of absorbing sulphur, 
which rendered it unaffected by extremes of temperature and 
made it possible for any degree of texture to be obtained. At 
the present time innumerable articles are made from it. 
Landlophia owariensis. Apocynaceae. African rubber 
plant.—A more or less climbing shrub or tree, widely dis- 
tributed in tropical Africa, and one of the rincipal sources 
of African palbae The fruits of some of the species, which 
are known as aboli, are eaten by the natives of the west 
African coast. 
Mimusops sp. Sapotaceae. Monkey’s face.—Trees native 
to northern Africa, possessing a niliey juice which is ex- 
tracted by making incisions in the bark. Upon exposure to 
the air the juice thickens and forms an adhesive glue similar 
to gutta-percha. The fruit is the size of an apple, juicy, and 
edible. The timber is hard and used for many purposes. 
Mimusops Elengi, Africa. 
Piptadenia rigida. Leguminosae. Angico gum.—A native 
tree of South America. it furnishes the angico gum similar 
to gum arabic. The wood is used in the building of ships. 
Pistacia Lentiscus. Anacardiaceae. Mastich.—A tree 20 
feet high, native of the Mediterranean region. It yields a 
balsamic sap, which is obtained by making incisions in the 
stems and branches. It hardens and is the mastic of com- 
merce. Mastic has a sweet, resinous smell, and is chewed by 
the Turks to preserve the gums and teeth. It is also used in 
the preparation of a liquor called raki, as a varnish for pic- 
tures and maps on paper and canvas, and as a tooth cement. 
Pistacia chinensis, China. P. K hinjuk, Egypt. 
Schinus M olle. Anacardiaceae. California pepper tree.— 
A native of tropical America, where it is known also as the 
Peruvian mastic tree, owing to the gum which it exudes. 
In California it is extensively used as a shade tree, and in 
the southern nee attains a height of 50 feet. The tree 
is graceful, clothed with ; pendulous branches, and _ bears 
feathery panicles of greenish or yellowish white flowers, fol- 
lowed by pendant clusters of rose or red fruit. It is owing 
