ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN BOTANV- 143 



ones three are found high on the Neilgherries, and one of them, Sapota Elcfigoides, near the 

 summit ; it is certainly very common about OotacamunJ at an elevation of 8,000 feet* Two 

 species of Isonandra occur, one in the forests about the Avalanche, the other on the slopes 

 below Sysparah. In the forest at the foot of that pass I found, but only in fruit, a species of 



tongifolia 



longifolia 



The leaves are nearly 



PRorERTiES AND UsEs. On this head a good deal might be said as almost every species 

 has had some useful property assigned to it. Several of the foreign species are said to be 

 endowed Avith properties resembling those of Cinchona. The seed of the Bassias furnish oil, 

 and a substance much resembling butter, in considerable quantities; that of the former \h 

 partly consumed for burning but more extensively in the manufacture of country soap which, 

 I believe, owes its peculiar heavy disagreeable smell to this ingredient. Roxburgh has pub- 

 lished an account of the Butter tree, Bassia butyraceae, in the Asiatic Researches, the 

 substance of which I quote from Royles"* Illustrations, not having the original at hand : "But 

 the most remarkable produce is that of the Fulwa or Phulwara, the Butter or Ghee tree 

 of the Almora and Nepaul hills, which is of a delicate white colour, and of the consistence 

 of fine lard, but without any disagreeable smell ; it is highly esteemed as a liniment in 

 Rheumatism, contraction of the limbs, &c., and when used by natives of rank is frequently 

 impregnated with some fragrant air. The tree very much resembles B. latifolia^ but may 

 be distinguished by its much less fleshy corols and more numerous stamens. It grows on 

 the southern ascent of the Almora hills, flowering in January and ripening its fruit in August, 

 The kernels, about the size and shape of almonds, are easily extracted from the smooth chesnut- 

 coloured pericarps, when they are bruised and rubbed up to the consistency of cream, and sub- 

 jected to a moderate pressure in a cloth bag. The oil concretes immediately it is expressed, 



and retains its consistency at a temperature of 95° (Roxb. As. Res. viii.) " In addition to these 



valuable products the timber of these trees is considered valuable; the fleshy corollas, which fall 

 in vast numbers when the trees are in flower, are picked up and used as esculents, either dried, 

 or at once stewed and made into curry. Others are fermented and a potent spirit extracted 

 by distillation. The fruit of Mimusops Elengi are eat by the natives, while the flowers are 

 prized on account of their delightful fragrance. The bark, which is astringent, is said by 

 Dr. Royle to be used in medicine, a fact which Dr. Ainslie seems not to have been aware of, 

 as it is not included among his medicinal plants. The fruit of Sapota Acras^ the sappodllla 

 plum, a tree introduced into India, is most justly prized as a great delicacy, while that of the 

 native species, Sapota Elengoides^ is more austere than the worst of crabs, which, by the way, 

 it a good deal resembles. On the Neilgherries, where it abounds, the natives pickle it, as 

 a condiment for their currys, a proof that they are easily pleased. The most valuable product 

 of the order is the recently discovered Gutta percha, the produce of a species of Isonandra^ 

 (J, Percha Hooker), a genus first estabhshed on two Indian plants in my collection, to which 

 three more, all Indian, have since been added, the properties, however, of none of which have 

 yet been investigated. The Indian division of the genus differs from the Phillipine one in 

 having tetramerous flowers while it has them hexamerous. In other respects they seem to 

 associate as members of the same genus, but their properties may equally differ like their 

 flowers. 



Remarks on Gexera and Species. De Candolle gives the following summary of the 

 generic characters, which seems very clear, and may prove useful in enabling readers who may 

 not have that work at hand to refer specimens to their proper genera. 



1- "No sterile stamens or appendices to the corolla. 4. Lobes of the coroUa in pairs before the lobes of 



Chrysophyllum. the calyx, stamens aU fertile, opposite the lobes of the 



2. Simple sterile stamens or appendices, opposite the corolla. . . r .. ■^<^^^'^- 

 divisions of the corolla and alternate with the fertile 5. Lobes of the coroUa m pairs before the lobes of 

 stamens. Sapota, Sideroxylon. the calyx, with an interior petaloid verticel opposite the 



3. Stamens all fertile, double the number of the lobes lobes of the calyx: fertile stamens opposite the mtenor 

 of the corolla. Jaonandra. petals and calyx, witli alternate stenle ones. Mimusops. 



