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XI. A Commentary on the Fourth Part of the Hortus Malabaricus. By 

 (the late) Francis Hamilton, M.D., F.R.S. and L.S. 



Read February 21st, and November 7th, 1826. 



Mao, seu Mau, p. 1. tab. 1 et 2. 



X HE word Mange, which, the author says, is the name of this tree among 

 the Indians, is of Malay origin, and was introduced by Garcias ab Horto, 

 Acosta, and other early writers. These absurdly applied the Mangka, or 

 Manga, of the Malays to the fruit, and called the tree Mangifera, which has 

 been copied by modern botanists, although Rumphius properly called the 

 genus Manga. His specific name domestica has been changed with equal 

 want of propriety ; for the name indica is equally applicable to every species 

 of this genus. The Sanscrita name Amra, corrupted in the vulgar dialects of 

 Gangetic India into Am, is the source of the word Ambo, used by the Brah- 

 mans of Malabar. 



For one circumstance in Rheede's description I cannot account ; and, as 

 there can be no doubt that he knew the tree perfectly, and meant to describe 

 it, this circumstance must be attributed to one of those errors into which 

 even the most accurate are liable to fall. He says, "folia bina, terna, aut 

 quatema simul ex eodem pediculo ramulis inhaerent" This, converted into Lin- 

 nsean language, would imply that they are folia composita ; but this is per- 

 fectly erroneous. Another error, respecting the stamina, induced Linnaeus to 

 place this tree in the class Pentandria. Rheede says, flores — quinque intiis 

 alhicantibusjibris,jlavescentibus apicibus dotatis — prcediti. Now in ninety-nine 

 flowers out of a hundred only one filament has an anthera, and I have never 

 observed one flower in which all the five stamina were complete. 



Ada maram, p. 5. tab. 3 et 4. 

 Maram annexed to Ada signifies tree ; the Malabar name therefore is Ada, 



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