BOTANY. 389 



A. aciculatwn. Sandwich Isles. 



POLYGAMIA. TRICECIA. 



Ficus religiosa et Indica. Banian Tree. The leaf 

 of the Polynesian Banian Tree is small, narrow, and 

 lanceolate, and has a smooth or polished surface ; while 

 that of the common Banian Tree of Bengal is broad, 

 ovate, and rough, and green on the upper surface and 

 downy beneath ; in other respects the two kinds re- 

 semble each other. The fruit is globular, about the 

 size of a small cherry, and of a scarlet colour when ripe ; 

 it is wholesome to eat, and is often used as food by the 

 natives of the East Indies ; it is borne in great profu- 

 sion ; and grows in clusters, supported upon a stout 

 footstalk. 



The tree seldom attains a very lofty stature, but 

 shows a great disposition to extend itself in a hori- 

 zontal direction. The inferior surface of its branches 

 sends down a vast number of fibrous roots, which some- 

 times become fixed in the ground, and assume the form 

 of stout cylindrical props, or vicarious trunks. It has 

 been supposed that this economy is a mode of propa- 

 gation, and that the roots thus sent down from the 

 branches produce an endless succession of trees; but 

 such is not the precise fact : they must rather be con- 

 sidered as a provision for the adequate support (both 

 mechanical and nutrimental,) of the otherwise too heavy 

 and extensive branches of the parent tree. When 

 the branch-roots are implanted in the soil and assume 

 the function they are destined to perform, they resemble 

 the straight and smooth trunk of a young tree, and 

 are incorporated above with the parent-bough they 

 support ; but in no instance that has come under my 

 observation, have they ever produced branches or foil- 



