114 



leaf stalks and young wood are also covered in a similar manner, 

 which gives the whole tree, when looked at from below, a 

 brownish tint, by which it may generally be recognised. The upper 

 surface of the leaf is dark green, and the veins are not prominent. 

 The calyx consists of six sepals, three of which are superior to the 

 others and alternate with them. They are coated, like the backs 

 of the leaves, with silky brown hairs. The corolla is white, and 

 is divided into six petals. The style, which is simple, is some- 

 times persistent, and may be seen on the ripe fruit. There are 

 six ovules, but one or two seeds only arrive at maturity. 



" On the apex of the young fruit the six carpels of which it is 

 formed can be distinctly traced. The fruit is coated like the 

 backs of the leaves, with brown down ; its flesh is soft, and it is 

 sweet, but it has a disagreeable flavour of gutta percha. 



" The seeds are very oily, and they are, together with some of 

 the seeds of nearly allied species, collected by the Malays and 

 the Sekais, who dry them in the sun for some days, and then 

 express the oil by putting them between two flat pieces of wood, 

 and applying pressure by clamps and wedges. 



" T he . oil '. wnicn is 80n( i at the ordinary temperature (that is up 

 to 90°), is highly esteemed for cooking purposes. Birds, squirrels, 

 monkeys, &c, are very fond of the fruit and of the seeds, which 

 adds to the difficulty of obtaining them. 



" It flowers in the month of March and ripens its fruit in June, 



but the Malays assert that it only fruits once in three or four 

 years. 



" The gutta of this variety is red, and the colour is not due to 

 an admixture of bark as is frequently stated. It is probable that 

 other varieties of gutta may be sometimes mixed with bark to 

 make them look like « Taban Merah ' and so command a higher 

 price than they otherwise would; but the true 'Getah Taban 

 Merah is red per se, and the water in which it is cleaned, although 

 changed many times, still becomes deeply dyed with that colour. 

 Specimens of this, in fruit, together with wood, bark and gutta, 



Mayloth, 18H3/'° M at KeW ' ° alCUtta &nd Ceyl ° n ' ° n 



fn^T L S - 1 f ° rm 0f Pala Wium Gutta known as var. oblongi- 



w w^ 1C i WaS c ° nsidered by Dr ' Burck *o be a distinct species, 



1 J* lch the A a »tbors °* the « Malay Materials " as well as 



mt. Kicliey and others agree in making a varietv onlv It is a 



&7JZ S Vr e t\™f' in8 ?° feet in hei ^ and two feet in 

 the tvnJ' Zt \ h l S ai ? er leaveS and rather lar S er fl owers than 

 Wra/Sf™ ? 1Ch !t ™ ?? im P° rt ant yielder Sf gutta percha. 



Srs g Ihe wTV** Getah Taban Sutra >" and wye that it 

 600 -feet h! fl ! !v, S r !t m8 at an Nation of about 500 to 



Drown and ,? lif J f ^ ^ * Utta P ercha is of a P ale 'eddish 

 brown and is collected in the same way as that of -Taban Merah." 



covered wiL^f' Mm , ? Utta and havin & the leaves beneath 

 V>M»d£ 1^2/ & 0lde ?x PUbescence - is R Oxto/anum, Pierre 

 provfnt oT tt l p p a ' Hei f L) ' a common species found in'all the 



Sutler "Taban Put* » or flo^^T^ Malays a8 " Taban 

 and gives a «rt£ ™tl I (according to Wray) "Taban Chaia," 

 aua gives a gutta percha of rather inferior quality. Mr. Derry 



