178 

 CLXIX SAPOTEiE. The Sappodilla Tribe. 



Sapotje, Jusb. Gen. 151. (1789).— Sapoteje, R. Brown Prodr. 258. (1810.) 



Diagnosis. Monopetalous dicotyledons, with a superior several- ceiled ova- 

 rium, regular flowers, definite erect ovules, an imbricated corolla, with seeds 

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

 sides. 



Anomalies. 



Essential Character. — Flowers rnonoclinous. Calyx divided, regular, persistent. 

 Corolla monopetalous, hypogynous, regular, deciduous, its segments usually equal in number 

 to those of the calyx, seldom twice or thrice as many. Stamens arising from the corolla, 

 definite, distinct, the fertile ones equal 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 alter- 

 nate, sometimes absent. Ovarium 1, with several cells, in each of which is 1 erect ovulum. 

 Style 1. Stigma undivided, occasionally 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 albumen. Cotyledons, when albumen is present, foliaceous; 

 when absent, fleshy and sometimes connate. Radicle short, straight, or a little curved, turned 

 towards the hilum. Plumula inconspicuous. — Trees ar shrubs, chiefly natives of the tropics, 

 and abounding in milky juice. Leaves alternate, without stipula;, entire, coriaceous. Inflo- 

 rescence axillary. 



Affinities. This order is certainly near Ebenaceae, with which it agrees 

 in habit, arborescent stem, alternate entire leaves, and axillary inflorescence ; 

 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. Sapotere have usually a 

 milky juice, and therefore their wood is among the softer kinds ; their flowers 

 are always rnonoclinous, 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 Ebenaceae there is no milk, and the 

 wood is very hard ; the flowers are usually diclinous, 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 pen- 

 dulous, 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. It. Brown Prodr. 529. It is worth 

 remarking, that the woody shell of the seed of Sapotea; is certainly testa, and 

 not putamen, as is proved by the presence of the micropyle upon it. 



Geography. Chiefly natives of the tropics of India, Africa, and America; 

 a few 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 con- 

 crete oil, which is used for domestic purposes. A kind of thick oil, like butter, 



