SAPOTACEJE. 



Nat. syst. ed. 2. p. 225. 



BASSIA. 



Sepals 4, coriaceous, permanent. Corolla campanulate, with 

 a ventricose tube ; limb 8-parted, nearly erect. Stamens half- 

 inserted into the orifice and half into the tube of the corolla; 

 anthers linear, sagittate, shaggy internally. Style subulate, 

 longer than the corolla. Berry fleshy, 5-celled ; seeds solitary. 



791. B. longifolia Linn. mant. 563. Willd. sp. pi. ii. 842. 

 Goertn. carp. ii. t. 104. ? Roxb. fl. ind. ii. 523. Peninsula of 

 India. (Illupie tree.) 



A tree. Branches numerous, spreading far, and forming a very ex- 

 tensive, shady head ; young shoots downy. Leaves crowded about the 

 ends of the branchlets immediately above the peduncles, lanceolate, 

 smooth, entire. Petioles from 1 to 2 inches long, round, slightly 

 villous. Stipules ensiform, downy, very early caducous. Peduncles 

 crowded round the base of the young villous shoots, 2-3 inches long, 

 drooping, 1-flowered. The bractes, if any, fall so soon, and are so 

 small, that I have not detected them. Cafyx of 2 opposite pairs of 

 ovate-oblong, rather acute, somewhat villous leaflets. Corolla ; tube 

 length of the calyx, gibbous, of a thick, firm, fleshy texture ; border 

 8-cleft ; segments sub-lanceolate. Filaments scarcely any. Anthers 

 from 16 to 20, attached to the inside of the tube of the corolla. Ovary 

 from 6 to 8-celled, with 1 seed in each cell, attached to the inner and 

 under side. Style twice as long as the corolla. Stigma contracted, 

 but evidently from 6 to 8-toothed. Berry oblong, the size of a large 

 plum, villous, pulpy, when ripe yellowish, seldom more than 3-celled, 

 1-celled is more common ; cells in the ovary, always from 6 to 8. Seeds 

 solitary, oblong, of various shapes according to the number in the 

 berries, attached to the lower half of the axis. Albumen 0. Embryo 

 erect. Cotyledons conform to the seed. Radicle roundish, inferior. 

 Roxb. The fruit when pressed yields a large quantity of oil used in 

 India for lamps, soap-making, and also for food. It is also employed 

 medicinally to cure the itch, and other cutaneous disorders. The leaves 

 boiled in water as well as the milk of the green fruit and bark are used 

 in rheumatic affections. 



792. B. butyraceae Roxb. in as. res. viii. 477. and 



793. B. latifolia Roxb. corom. i. 2a t. 19, the Madhuca tree, 

 also yield a large quantity of oil, but they do not appear to be 

 employed medicinally. 



794. The Shea or Butter tree of Mungo Park is a species of 



387 c c 2 



