OLEACE. 7 
o. 
wardly tomentose; above a line in depth. Petals five, (perhaps connate at the base,) linear, obtuse, outwardly gray, 
with very fine down, four times longer than the calyx. Filaments ten, inserted into the receptacle, rather shorter 
than the petals, beneath connate into a cylinder of the length of the calyx, ciliated on the upper part below the anthers. 
Anthers linear, longitudinally adnate to the petals, and shorter by half than they. Ovary superior, ovate, tomentose. 
Style filiform, longer than the stamens. Stigma simple. (Dryander and Lindley.) 
The plant described is a native of Sumatra, Borneo, Siam, and Java, as well as some other portions of the Eastern 
Archipelago. It affords the product known as Benzoin or Gum Benjamin. The origin of this drug had not accu- 
rately been determined. prior to the publication of its source by Mr. Dryander in the Philosophical Transactions for 
1787. 
The tree grows in the plains and on the borders of rivers ; it furnishes for twelve years, by means of incisions, an 
abundant juice which, upon hardening, constitutes the article of commerce. This juice is at first white, then more 
coloured; a single tree furnishes about three pounds of balsam; the incisions are made when the plant is six years old. 
Marsden, in his History of Sumatra, and Crawford, in his History of the Indian Archipelago, have both noticed the 
article under consideration. The first and purest exudation is white, and termed head benzoin; that which flows later 
is termed Gelly, and the inferior sorts are called foot. Another means of designation is into firsts, seconds, and thirds. 
Benzoin of first quality occurs in tears and in lumps. The ¢ears are seldom met with alone, but are mixed with 
the lump. A very fine specimen found some years ago in the market, consisted almost entirely of tears, of a rounded 
or flattened form, reddish on the outside, but composed of a clear white uniform amygdaloid substance internally. It 
was connected with pieces of bark. The lump Benzoin is in masses consisting of the tears embedded in a shining 
reddish-brown substance ; upon fracturing this, the tears appear like broken almonds, giving a mottled appearance, 
hence the term Amygdaloid Benzoin. Both these kinds are imported from Siam. A very inferior kind, dark brown 
in appearance without tears, or with small white specks and mixed with impurities, comes from Calcutta, and is 
designated by the name of this port. It corresponds to the foot Benzoin of Crawford, which is said to be the scrapings 
of the tree, when nearly exhausted. 
Benzoin is hard, but fusible, has an agreeable balsamic odour, with a sweetish taste at first, but irritating the 
fauces if chewed. It has been analyzed by a number of chemists, and found to contain volatile ol, resin, benzotc acid, 
extractive, &c. “4 
Benzoin, in the older works on Pharmacy, is called Assa dulcis ; the term benzoin is said to be of Hebrew origin, 
from Ben Jaoy. It is a stimulant antispasmodic, and expectorant, used in diseases of the lungs and in torpid constitu- 
tions. It is administered in substance, or in the forms of emulsion and tincture. 
Pirate LV.—Represents the plant in flower, with the dissected and exposed organs of reproduction. 
. OLEACE SA. 
LINDLEY. 
THE OT VE PRIRE. 
OLEeINEZ.—R. Brown. 
EssentiaL Caar.—F lovers in terminal, or axillary racemes or panicles; the pedicels opposite, with single bracts. 
‘Flowers hermaphrodite, or dioecious. Calyx divided, persistent, inferior. Corolla hypogynous, monopetalous, four- 
cleft, occasionally of four petals connected in pairs by the intervention of the filaments, sometimes absent; estivation 
somewhat valvate. Stamens two (rarely four), alternate with the segments of the corolla or with the petals. Anthers 
two-celled, opening longitudinally. Ovary simple, without any hypogynous disk, two-celled, the cells two-seeded ; the 
ovules pendulous and collateral. The style one or none. Stigma bifid or undivided. Fruit drupaceous, berried, or 
capsular, often by abortion one-seeded. Seeds with dense, fleshy, abundant albumen. Embryo about half its length 
Straight. Cotyledons foliaceous. Radicle superior. Plumule inconspicuous. ( Lindley.) 
Trees or shrubs, branches usually dichotomous, and ending abruptly by a conspicuous bud. Leaves opposite, 
simple, sometimes pinnated. This tribe of plants inhabits temperate regions. The medical properties differ; in some 
they are tonic and astringent; in the ash a sweetish juice is found, in some species presenting the form of manna. 
