COMMA RATI VK VIVW. \(\] 



There seems no reason to doubt that this tree, whose 

 |)rol)al)le place in the system 1 liave stated in my remai'ks 

 on Amyrideac, belongs originally to the west coast of 

 Africa. 



A7<^is Guincc/isis, of which the oil is distinctly described 

 in the beginning of the sixteenth century by La Ca da 

 Mosto, in his account of Senegal/ is withont doubt indige- 

 nous to the whole extent of this coast ; as is Ttaplda vinifcra, 

 of w^hich the remarkable fruit also very early attracted 

 attention -^ and the supposed species of CorypUa. 



Of Alimentary Plants, whether cultivated or indigenous, 

 that are know'u or supposed to belong to the west coast of 

 equinoctial Africa, but which were not seen on the banks 

 of the Congo, a few of the more important may be men- 

 tioned. 



Among these are the Cocoa Nut and Rice, the former, 

 according to the natives, not being found in the country. 

 The absence of these two valuable plants is the more 

 remarkable, as the Cocoa Nut is said to exist in the neigh- 

 bouring kingdom of Loango ; and, according to Captain 

 Tuckey, a certain portion of land w^as seen on the banks of 

 the river well adapted to the production of Rice, which is 

 mentioned as cultivated in some of the earlier accounts of 

 Congo. 



The Sweet Potatoe {Convolvulus Batatas), also noticed 

 by the Portuguese Missionaries, was not met with. 



The Butter and Tallow Tree of Afzelius, wdiich forms a 

 new genus belonging to Guttifergc ; the Velvet-Tamarind 

 of Sierra Leone (Codarium acutifolium ;^) and the i\lonkey 

 Pepper, or Piper ^thiopicum of the shops {JJnona JEthiopica 

 of Dunal), which is common on many parts of the coast, 

 were not observed. 



Tw^o remarkable plants, the Aliee^ and the Jamaica [^75 



Bamusio \,p. 104. Gri/n. Nov. Orb. 28. 

 ^ Palma-Pinus, Lobel. advers. p. 450. 

 Afzel. Gen. Plant. Guineen. par. prim. p. 23. Codarium nitidum Htlily 

 cnum. 1, /;. 302. 



* Bligliia sapida, Konig in Annals of Bol. 2, p. 571. Uorf. Knn. ed. Ida. 

 vol. 2, ;;. 350. 



At the moment that this slicct was about to liavn been scut to the |)rc.ss, Sir 

 Joseph Banks received a small collection of specimens and fic^ures of plants, 



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