66 THE BITTER COLA. 



• • In a former communication I think I stated that in a long and 

 tempestuous voyage from the United States to the Gambia in 1851, 

 during which I suffered much from sea-sickness, I found the Bitter 

 Cola a grand restorative. My appetite returned almost immediately 

 after nibbling a portion of one I found in my valise. 



*' In the hope that these specimens may, as you express it * render a 

 real service to science and give us the means of discovering what is the 

 precise tree furnishing the Bitter Cola !Sut.' — I have, &c., &c., 



''W. Melton." 

 The specimens sent by Mr. Melton were kindly placed in my 

 hands for examination. They had been tightly wrapped in the leaf 

 of some Scitamineous or Musaceous plant, and were partly rotted. The 

 leaves were detached from the branches, but the fruits were in excel- 

 lent condition. With them were inclosed some samples of the ordinary 

 Cola with a-4-5 cotyledons (probably two, each more or less divided). 

 It was quite evident from the leaves and fruit that the Bitter 

 Cola was, as had been previously supposed, Guttiferous. The mate- 

 rials are not sufficient, however, in the absence of flowers, to allow of 

 the certain identification of the genus, though it would seem most 

 probable that it is a species either of Garcinia or of X.anthochymus. I 

 have not been able to match the leaves with those of any West African 

 Guttifer in herbaria, though they are very like those of G. flori- 

 hinda* 



Under these circumstances, it is better to wait for further material 

 before giving the plant a specific name, and merely to place on record 

 its more prominent characteristics as follows: — Bami subteretes 

 glabri ad nodos oppositos tumidos cicatrisati ; ramuli virides ascen- 

 dentes. Folia distantia opposita petiolata circa 6 poll, long., 3 poll, lat., 

 subcoriacea glabra supra nitentia subtus pallidiora ovato-oblonga 

 integra utrinque angustata breve acuminata, basi subcuneata, costa 

 media superne depressa subtus prominens, nervi laterales approximati 

 paralleli indivisi prope marginem arcuati, venae intermediae minutae 

 dense reticulatimque rauiuise. Petioli-|-|poll. suberoso-incrassati. Fruc- 

 tus maturus baccutus obscure 4-locularis circa 3 poll, long., 2 J poll, lat., 

 oblongo-ovoideus, sen obovoideus apice obtusus, stylique vestigiis coro- 

 natus, basi sepalorum 5 quincunciatim imbricatorum coriaceorum ves- 

 tigiis suffultus umbilicatus ibique obscure 4-lobus. Cortex subcoriaceus 

 pubescens armeniacus intus resinifluus pulpam succosam aurantiacam 

 acidulam obtegens. Placenta ut videtur axilis. Fructus immaturus 

 cuboideus utrinque obtusissimus profundeque 4-lobus. Semina in 

 quovis loculo solitaria ex his duo abortientia. Semtna matura 1^ poll, 

 long. |- poll. lat. tereti-oblonga utrinque obtusa testa pergamenea 

 brunnea vasculari induta. JEmhryo exalbuminosus e tigillo crasso 

 carnoso amaro resinifluo indiviso extus tuberculato constans. Cotyle- 

 dones et radicula desunt. 



To these descriptive characters it may be of some interest to add, 

 that the stomata on the under surface of the leaf, as observed by Mr. 

 Worthington Smith, consist of oval apertures bounded by four 



* They also closely agree with specimens in the British Museum of Rheedia 

 Smeathmanniana, PI. & Triana [Garcinia ?, Oliv.), which however are more 

 coriaceous, and have the main lateral veins more closely placed. 



