BURSERACEJE. 



Nat. syst. eel. 2. p. 110. 



PROTIUM. 



Flowers polygamous. Calyx campanulate, 4-toothed, persist- 

 ent. Petals 4-, linear-oblong, inserted under the margin of the 

 torus ; aestivation valvular, the margin curved in. Stamens 8, 

 shorter than the corolla, glabrous, inserted under the margin of 

 torus. Torus cup-shaped, fleshy, deeply crenated. Ovary ses- 

 sile, 2-celled ; ovules 2 in each cell, collateral, suspended from 

 the middle of the axis. Style very short: stigma obtuse, 

 4-lobed. Drupe globose or ovate ; nut thick and very hard, 

 bony, 2-celled (one of the cells by abortion often obliterated,) 

 at length divisible into 2 nuts. Seed solitary in each perfect 

 cell. Trees giving out balsam. Leaves unequally pinnated : 

 leaflets 3-7, without dots. W. and A. 



334-. P. gileadense W. and A. i. 177. Balsamodendron Gile- 

 adense DC.prodr. ii. 76. Amyris gileadensis Linn. mant. 65. 

 Vahl. symb. i. 28. 1. 11. Amyris Opobalsamum Forsk. descr. 79. 

 BaXo-a/>wv SEV&-JO;/ Tlieoph. BaXo-a,M,oy Dioscorides. Arabia ; neigh- 

 bourhood of the Caravanserai of Oude, not far from Haes Forsk. 

 East Indies Wight. Beder in Ethiopia Bruce. 



A middle-sized tree, with divaricating branches and a smooth ash- 

 coloured bark. Leaves ternate ; leaflets smooth, flat, entire, the lateral 

 ones ovate, the middle ones obovate. Flowers monoecious. Pedun- 

 cles solitary or several together, terminal, filiform, 1-flowered. Calyx 

 campanulate, 4-toothed. Petals 4, linear, erect, obtuse. Stamens 8, 

 shorter than the corolla. Disk annular, cup-shaped, fleshy, with an 

 elevation on the outside between each stamen. Fruit, fleshy, ovate, 

 acute, smooth, with 4 sutures, 1-2-celled, with a tenacious viscid pulp. 

 Seed solitary. The wounded bark yields opobalsamum according to 

 Forskal. This, which is also called Balsam of Mecca, is reckoned by the 

 Orientals a perfect panacea ; being according to them stomachic, vul- 

 nerary, alexipharmic, &c. &c. According to Prosper Alpinus its 

 different qualities depend upon its mode of preparation. I have taken 

 up an abridgment of Forskal's account of this plant ; but it is thought 

 by some that the Indian and Arabian species may be different. A 

 supposed variety from Mecca is mentioned with bipinnate leaves. 



335. P. Kafal. Amyris Kafal Forsk. 80. Balsamodendron 

 Kafal Kunth. gen. tereb. 16. DC. prodr. ii. 76. Arabia. 



Young leaflets villous, acute, serrated at the point, old ones smooth, 

 often obtuse. Branches slightly spiny. Fruit compressed, with an 

 elevated ridge on each side, and a black prominent point at the apex. 

 A very fragrant balsam is obtained from the fruit of this tree. The 

 gum resin is purgative. Forsk. 

 169 



