181 . ^ 



seeds having a bony seed-coat and a large scar occupying the whole of one 

 of their sides. • 



Anomalies. 



Essential Character. — Flowers hermaphrodite. Calyx divided, regular, per- 

 sistent. Corolla monopetalous, hvpogynous, regular, deciduous, its segments usually equal 

 in number to those of tlie calyx, selddm twice or thrice as many. Stamens arising from the 

 corolla, definite, distinct, the fertile ones etjual in number to the segments of the calyx, 

 and opposite those segments of the corolla which alternate with the latter, seldom more. 

 Anthers usually turned outwards ; the sterile stamens as numerous as the fertile ones, with 

 which they alternate, simietimes absent. Ovarium 1, with several cells, in each of which 

 is 1 erect ovulum. Style 1. Stigma undivided, occaiiionally lobed. Fruit baccate with 

 several 1-seeded cells, or by abortion with only 1. Seeds nut-like, sometimes cohering into 

 a several-celled putamen. Testa bony, shining, its inner face opaque and softer than the 

 rest. Embryo erect, large, white, usually enclosed in fleshy album.en. Cotyledons, whea 

 albumen is present, foliaceous; when absent, fleshy and sometimes connate. Radicle short, 



straight, or a little curved, turned towards the hilum. Plumula inconspicuous Trees or 



shrul/s, chieflv natives of the tropics, and abounding in milky juice. Leaves alternate, 

 without stipula?, entire, coriaceous. Inflorescence axillary. 



Affinities. This order is certainly near Ebenacese, with which it 

 agrees in habit, arborescent stem, alternate entire leaves, and axillary in- 

 florescence ; and moreover in its monopetalous regular hypogynous corolla, 

 the absence of a hypogynous disk, an ovarium with several cells, and 

 definite ovules and stamens. They, however, differ in several points. Sa- 

 poteae have usually a milky juice, and therefore their wood is among the 

 softer kinds ; their flowers are always hermiiphrodite, the segments of the 

 calyx and corolla are often placed in a double row ; their stamens are always 

 in a single row, the fertile ones rarely more numerous than" the segments of 

 the calyx, and opposite the divisions of the corolla; their style is undivided ; 

 the cells of the ovarium are always 1-seeded, with erect ovules; the testa is 

 thick and bony; the embryo is large with respect to the fleshy albumen, 

 which is sometimes deficient ; the radicle is very short, and inferior. In 

 Ebenacese there is no milk, and the wood is very hard-; the flowers are 

 usually unisexual, the segments of the calyx and corolla are almost always in 

 a single row; the stamens are usually doubled, and either twice or four times 

 as numerous as the segments of the corolla, or, if equal to them, alternate 

 with them ; the style is generally divided, the cells of the ovarium sometimes 

 2-seeded, the ovules always pendulous, the testa thin and soft, the embryo 

 middle-sized or small in respect to the cartilaginous albumen, which is 

 always present ; the radicle is of middling length, or very long and superior. 

 R. Brown Prodr. 529. ' It is worth remarking, that the woody shell of the 

 seed of Sapotese is certainly testa, and not putamen, as is proved by the pre- 

 sence of the micropyle upon it. 



Geography. Chiefly natives of the tropics of India, Africa, and Ame- 

 rica ; a kvf are found in the southern parts of North America, and at the 

 Cape of Good Hope. 



Properties. The fruit of many is esteemed in their native countries 

 as an article of the dessert : such are the Sappodilla Plum, the Star Apple, 

 the Medlar of Surinam, the Mimusops Elengi, and others ; they are described 

 as having generally a sweet taste, with a little acidity. The seeds of Achras 

 Sapota are aperient and diuretic ; those of some others are filled with a 

 concrete oil, which is used for domestic purposes. A kmd of thick oil, 

 like butter, is obtained from the fruit of Bassia butyracea, the Mahva or 

 Madhuca Tree. The flowers of the same tree are employed extensively 

 in the distillation of a kind of arrack*. Ed. P. J. 12. 192. The juice 

 of the bark of Bassia longifolia is prescribed by the Indian doctors in 

 rheumatic aflections. Ainslic, 2. 100. The Butter Tree of Mungo Park 

 was also a species of Bassia. The bark of 4 species of Achras is so astriu- 



