452 DECANDRIA PENTAGYNIA. Spoildias. 



Trunk straight, in our gardens from one to two feet in 

 diameter. Bark smooth, ash-coloured, astringent. 

 Branches nearly horizontal. Leaves alternate about the 

 extremities of the branches, pinnate with an odd one, 

 from twelve to twenty inches long. Leaflets about five 

 pair, opposite, oval, pointed, entire, smooth, veined; 

 from three to six inches long, and two or two and a 

 half broad. Petioles round, smooth. Stipules none. 

 Panicles terminal, very large, diffuse, and thin. Flowers 

 very numerous, small, white, mostly barren, though no 

 male flower (apparently so) is to be found- Calyx be- 

 low, small, tive-toothed. Petals five, oblong, spreading. 

 Nectary a large fleshy notched ring surrounding the germ. 

 Fiiaments ten, ciwlei], alternately shorter,incurved, scarce- 

 Ij half the length of the petals. Anthers small. Germ 

 ovate, five-celled, with one orw/a in each, attached to the 

 top of the axis. Styles five, short, erect, distant. Stigmas 

 simple. Drupe oval, fleshy smooth, the size of a pullet's 

 egi:, when ripe, yellow. Nut oblong, woody, very hard, 

 outwardly fibrous, five- celled, but seldom more than one, 

 two or three of them produce seed. Seed lanceolate. 

 Embryo inverse, without perisperm. 



The wood of this tree is soft, and of little or no use. 

 From wounds made in the bark, about the beginning of 

 the hot season, very large quantilics of a transparent 

 juice issues, which soon hardens into a mild insipid gum, 

 exactly like gum-arabic. 



The fruit is eaten raw when ripe, and before ripe is 

 pickled, put in curries, made into tarts, &c. &,c. 



2. S. dulcis. Willd. 2. 752. 



Leaves from six to seven pair, oblong, serrulate. Pa- 

 nicles terminal. Nut round, armed. 



S. cytheria. Lamark. Encycl. 4. 245. Gcert. sem. 2. 101. 

 1. 103. Sonnerat. 2. 222. 1. 123. 



A native of the Society Islands, and now common in 



