110 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



ceding trees, and which is used by the Ceylonese for cuhnary 

 purposes. The "butter-tree" of Africa, the seeds of which 

 produce the "galam butter" or "shea butter" mentioned by 

 Mungo Park in his travels, is a species of the same genus, 

 B. Parkii. The fruit when ripe is of the size of a peach, and, 

 after being dried in the sun, is pounded in a mortar until re- 

 duced to flour. It is then mixed with water and boiled for a 

 short time, when greasy particles become detached and rise to 

 the surface, whence they are then skimmed. When cold the 

 oil is of the consistency of butter and will keep fresh for two 

 years. It has an agreeable taste, is used as food, and is an 

 article of considerable trade with the natives of western Africa. 

 The "butter and tallow tree" of Sierra Leone and other parts 

 of west tropical Africa is Pcntadesma butyracea, the "kamoot 

 tree," or "kanya tree." From the seeds of this, the natives ex- 

 tract an oil called "kanya butter," which is used by them for 

 cooking. The butter is extracted by drying and parching the 

 seeds, then pounding and boiling them, and skimming ofif the 

 supernatant oil. A yellow greasy juice is given out freely 

 when the fruit is cut or opened. The oil has a terebenthene 

 flavor, and is therefore not relished by the English settlers. It 

 is sold as butter in the markets of Freetown. 



Garcinia pictoria, a tree abundant in Mysore and the 

 western coast jungles, yields the pigment gamboge, but is more 

 important for the oil obtained from the fruit and called "gam- 

 boge butter." An allied species, G. purpurea, furnishes a 

 similar oil called "cocum butter." These oil butters are ob- 

 tained by pounding the seeds, boiling them, and skimming off 

 the floating grease. They are used as substitutes for butter 

 as well as oil for lamps. 



Combrctum butyraceum, called by the Kaffirs "chignite," 

 a climbing shrub or tree of the Myrobalan family, and a native 

 of southeastern Africa, yields (whether from the fruit or bark 

 is not known) a w^hite, butter-like aromatic substance which 

 is taken to Mozambique as an article of commerce. 



