Diospyrus. polyandria monogynia. 629 



abounding in edible yellow, fleshy pulp, covered with a 

 firm but soft skin, eight-celled. Seeds one in each cell, 

 when all come to perfection, which is uncommon, from 

 semi-orbicular to linear-oblong, compressed, attached 

 from the apex to the top of a soft central receptacle. 

 Integuments single, firm, pretty thick, brown, polished, 

 two-valved, with a slender, lighter coloured groove run- 

 ning down the back, or convex edge. Perisperm con- 

 form to the seed, cartilaginous, pearl-coloured. Embryo 

 inverse, half the length of the perisperm. Cotyledons 

 two, ovate-oblong. Radicle subcylindric; straight, su- 

 perior, with its apex close to the umbilicus. 



This tree is now pretty common about Calcutta, and 

 I find it is not only a native of Japan but of China, and 

 the mountains of Nepal, to the northward of Bengal. 

 The fruit is tolerably pleasant, though by no means equal 

 to a good apple, but what is worse, the trees about Cal- 

 cutta are uncommonly unproductive. 



1. D. Ebenum. K'un. in. Suppl. pi. 440. 



Leaves short-petioled, alternate, bifarious, oblong, en- 

 tire, polished. Male Flowers sub-racen.ed, with about 

 twenty anthers ; Hermaphrodite solitary, octandrous. 

 Style single. Stigma four-cleft. 



D. Ebenum. Suppl. p. 440. 



Hebenaster. Rump. Amb. vol. 3. p. 13. t. 6. appears 

 to be the same. 



2. D. Ebenaster. Willd. 4. 1109. 



This species is a tree of considerable magnitude, a 

 native of Ceylon. There are many young trees in this 

 garden, they grow slowly, and flower during the hot sea- 

 son, but have not yet produced Iruit. 



Leaves short-petioled, bifarious, alternate, oblong, en- 

 tire, of a firm texture, and smooth on both sides ; from 

 two to four inches long. Male Flowers on a separate 



Goo 



