666 ARTOCARPACEA, 
ceptacle. Male flowers (fig. 1039, b) achlamydeous, or with 
a 2—4-lobed or 2 — 4-sepaled calyx. Stamens opposite the 
Fie, 1039, lobes of the calyx or to the 
sepals ; anthers erect. Female 
jlowers arranged on a fleshy 
receptacle of varying form 
(fig. 1039, a, c). Calyx infe- 
rior, tubular, 2—4-cleft or 
entire. Ovary superior, 1- 
celled. Fruit commonly a 
sorosis. Seed erect or pendu- 
lous, with little or no albu- 
men; embryo straight, with a 
superior radicle. 
Distribution and Numbers. 
—Exclusively tropical plants. 
Illustrative Genera :— Antiaris, 
Leschen.; Artocarpus, Linn. 
There are about 60 species. 
Properties and Uses.—The 
milky juice of several species 
Fig. 1039. Branch of the Bread-fruit yields India-rubber. This juice 
tree (Artocarpus incisa). a,c. Heads jg jn certain cases poisonous, 
of female or pistillate flowers. 6. Head : a A 
Giasiem ante eraidle sawere while in others it forms a nu- 
tritious beverage. A few yield 
valuable timber. The fruits of some are edible, and the seeds 
generally of plants of this order are wholesome. 
Antiaris.—A. toxicaria is the celebrated Antsjar or Upas poison tree of 
Java, but most of the stories related concerning it are fabulous. The 
milky juice is the poisonous product. This poison owes its activity to a 
peculiar principle named by Pelletier and Caventou antiarin—Antiaris 
saccidora, a native of the East Indies, has a very tough inner bark, which is 
used for cordage, matting, &c. Sacks also are made from it as follows :—‘ A 
branch is cut corresponding to the length and diameter of the sack wanted. 
It is soaked a little, and then beaten with clubs until the liber separates from 
the wood. This done, the sack formed of the bark is turned inside out, and 
pulled down till the wood is sawed off, with the exception of a small piece 
left to form the bottom of the sack.’ These sacks are commonly used to 
carry rice, and other substances. The seeds have a very bitter taste. 
Artocarpus.—The fruit of A. incisa is the important Bread-fruit of the 
Moluccas and islands of the Pacific. It supplies the place of corn to the 
natives of those regions. It is also used to some extent in the West Indies, 
but is not so much valued there for food as the Plantain. In the South 
Sea Islands the juice is employed as glue, the wood as timber, and the bark 
for making a course kind of cloth.—A. integrifolia vields the Jak or Jack- 
fruit, which is largely used for food by the natives in Ceylon, Southern 
India, and other warm parts of Asia. The roasted seeds are likewise much 
esteemed. The inner wood is also employed to dye the Buddhist priests’ 
robes of a yellow colour. 
Brosimum.—B. Gulactodendron is the celebrated Palo de Vaca or Cow- 
tree of South America. It is so named from its milky juice being nutritious 
like milk from the cow. It is the Massaranduba tree of Brazil, and its juice 
