Jli;tOC(tipns. MONOECIA MONANDRIA. 523 



late, pretty siiioutli, eiiibraciiig like a spatlie the next inner 

 leaf and ainent when present, falling as soon as they begin 

 to expand, Male flowers. Ainent single, short-pednncled, 

 the size ofa man's thumb, or more ; generally on small, recent 

 branchlcts which issue froni the trunk and larger branches, 

 every where most closely covered with the small sessile co- 

 rollets. Spathe no other than the above mentioned stipules. 

 Perianf h ])roper,ov coro/ two-leaved ; /eq/Ze/s wedge-formed, 

 equal, a little hairy. Stamens, filament single, thick, club- 

 shaped, rather larger than the perianth. Anthers two-lobed ; 

 lobes oval, and grooved in the middle. Female flowef^s 

 on the same tree, and mixed with the male on the same 

 branchlcts. Caii/x ;spal/te, no other than the male has, viz. 

 the stipules. Ainent oblong, closely covered with innumer- 

 able, small, sessile germs, perforated at the apex for the style 

 to pass. Germs numerous, their exterior coverings uniting 

 near the base; above they are from four to six-angled, and 

 throughout solid, except where the germ proper and style is 

 lodged. Germ proper, ovate, lodged in the bottom of the 

 last described covering. Stt/le single, rather longer than the 

 envelo|)e of the germ. Slir/ina single, recurved, clubbed, 

 grooved on the outside. Fruit compound, oblong, murexed, 

 from twelve to thirty inches long, from six to twelve in dia- 

 meter, weighing from ten to sixty pounds. Seeds reniform, 

 one in each germ, were all to come to maturity, w hich never 

 can happen; they are about the size ofa nutmeg, enveloped 

 in a thill, smooth, leathery sheath, lodged within the fleshy 

 eatable part o( the fruit, which formed the exterior coverings 

 of the germ, already noticed. 



For a more particular account of the fruit, see Gcertner on 

 Seeds, vol. \.paye 344. 346. tab. 71. and 72. all that is intend- 

 ed by this description, is to give a tolerable idea of the parts 

 of fructification. 



The fruit of this tree is so universally known, that it is un- 

 necessary for me to say any thing respecting its excellence, 

 as well as that the seeds, when roasted, are not inferior to the 



:4 N •> 



