glabra; segment:! linearia, 0-7 mm. lata, praesertim versus apices 
minmissime serrara : rhachis anguste alata. S»ri .piasi-axillares 
ad rhachin ; involucruin hroviter ovatum. integrum ve! minutis- 
Bime dentatum. 
British Central Africa. Mount Mlanji. -2 ion m.. Thonumet, 
XXVII -MIRACULOUS FRUITS OF WEST AFRICA. 
{Sideroxylon dulcificum, A. DC.) 
Travellers in tropical Africa in 
o the existence of a plant whose f 
he most acid substance into a del 
member of the natural order S< 
A full account of the plant is given in tin- /"' 
Journal Vol. XI. (JS.V2). pp. -Ur.-4-iS. by Dr. Daniell, under the 
name of Sun- In 1 »e ( "an« 1 < >1 1 • ■, I 'r« ><1 minus \ III., 
p. IS:;, it 'is described as S, : <1, r-.n/.'-.n dulriticum, DC, the name 
now adopted. It is a small tree or shrub with leaves four to live 
inches long, crowded at the ends of the branches. The llowers 
are small and numerous, produced in the axils of the leaves. 
The fruit resembles a small plum with the seed invested in a thin 
soft pulp, wherein lies the peculiar sweetening property. 
A somewhat similar propertv to that desrriU-d as existing in 
Sidfrn.ri/lnn rliih-ltkmn is also "said to exist in a plant belonging 
to the natural order Scitamineae. This is the katemfe or 
ludemphe of the Akoos and other Yoruba tribes, and is the 
•" miraculous fruit of the Soudan." It is described in the 
Ph'nnmreutiral Journal Vol. XIV. . 1 <>:• . p. 1 .'>'.'. as Vh,>,,,nyn 
Bun irll i, Bennet, the name under which it is now known being 
Thaumalococcus Da nielli, Benth. 
With regard to the Sideroxylon fruits Mr. W. II. Johnson, 
Director of Agriculture, Gold Coast, informs me that he has found 
them particularly useful when taking quinine for fever, ami that 
if a lemon be sucked within two or three hours of eating one ol 
the fruits its acid flavour is entirely counteracted. 
With the view of having the properties of these plants investi- 
gated plants w.-iv obtained :v<>n> Lagos in 1 ^ ■>'.'. are! distributed to 
India and several of the Colonies, but as yet no record concerning 
