IIIK DICOTYLEDONES 



1803 



Pig. 1696. — Litchi chinensis. Fruiting shoots. Photograph 

 supphed by courtesy of the Florida Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station. 



twenty-five Indo-Malayan species, which are cultivated for their fruits. 

 N. longana is the Longan, and A'^. lappaceiim the Rambutan. 



Many of the species of the family form large forest trees whose timber is 

 becoming increasingly used and 

 exported. Schleichera trijuga, the 

 Ceylon Oak, not only produces 

 good timber but its seeds are 

 edible, and oil may be pressed 

 from them. It furnishes Mirza- 

 pore Lac, a varnish which is 

 esteemed for its high quality. 

 Species of Sapindiis (P'ig. 1697), 

 which occur both in tropical Asia 

 and America, yield saponin which 

 produces a lather in water. S. 

 saponaria is the American Soap 

 Tree, in which only two segments 

 of the fruit develop. 



Compared with the last two 

 families the Aceraceae are quite 

 a small one, with only two genera 

 containing somewhat more than 

 150 species. These genera are 

 Dipteronia with one species in 

 central China, and Acer which 



includes all the rest. Fig. 1697. — Sapindus mariiinalis. Compound 



rr-ii /I • ^ 1 leaf and infrutescence. Photograph 



The genus Acer is not only supplied by courtesy of the Florida 



well known on account of the Agricultural Experiment Station. 



