GUTTIFERjE. VIII. MAMMEA. IX. PENTADESMA. X. RHEEDIA. XI. GARCINIA. 



619 



among the best timber trees ; that the fruit is large and agree- 

 able, but too strong and gross for a weakly stomach, leaving 

 a bitterness behind it, that continues for a considerable time 

 upon the palate, containing 4 large, oblong, angular seeds, 

 having as many kernels of the same shape. 



American Mammee-apple. Clt. 1739. Tree 60 feet. 



2 M. EMARGINA'TA (Moc. et Sesse, fl. mex. icon, ined. 

 D. C. prod. 1. p. 561.) leaves obovate, very blunt, emarginate, 

 at the apex ; fruit globose, 2-seeded. I? . S. Native of Mexico. 

 Fruit like that of the preceding, but smaller, eatable. Flowers 

 whitish. 



Emarginate-leaved Mammee-apple. Tree 40 feet. 



3 M. HU'MILIS (Vahl. eel. 2. p. 40.) leaves acute ; peduncles 

 longer than the petioles ; berry 3-seeded. fj . S. Native of 

 Montserrat. Fruit eatable ? 



Dwarf Mammee-apple. Tree. 



4 M. AFRICA'NA (Hort. trans, lond. vol. 5. p. 457.) leaves 

 oblong, acuminated ; fruit large, round. Tj . S. Native of 

 Sierra Leone on the mountains. A large tree, with long, shining, 

 dark-green leaves, abounding in a yellow resinous gum. The 

 wood is applied to many useful purposes. The fruit is twice 

 the size of a man's fist, the rind is brown and thick, the pulp is 

 yellow, of equal excellence to thatof the American Mammee-apple, 



African Mammee-apple. Tree 60 feet. 



Cult. Mammea is a genus of fine fruit-trees. They will 

 grow freely in sandy loam, or a mixture of loam and peat ; ripe 

 cuttings, with the leaves not shortened, will root in sand under a 

 hand-glass, in a moist heat. They all require a strong heat to 

 thrive well. 



IX. PENTADE'SMA (from TTCVTC, pente, five, and 

 desme, a bundle ; in allusion to the stamens being disposed in 

 5 bundles). Hort. trans, lond. vol. 5. p. 



LIN. SYST. Polyadelphia, Polydndria. Calyx of 4 to 5 

 permanent sepals. Petals deciduous. Stamens numerous, con- 

 nected into 5 bundles. Style 1. Berry large, fleshy, crowned 

 by the rudiment of the style. Seeds 3-5, large, angular. A 

 lofty tree, abounding in yellow greasy juice, with long, lan- 

 ceolate, coriaceous leaves. 



1 P. BUTYRA'CEA (Hort. trans, lond. vol. 5. p. 457.). tj . S. 

 Native of Sierra Leone in the low lands. This tree grows to 

 the height of 40 or 60 feet, but produces its flowers when 20 

 feet high. The leaves are entire, lanceolate, coriaceous, smooth, 

 shining. The fruit is about the size of the common Mammee- 

 apple, inversely pear-shaped, being pointed at the apex, it con- 

 tains from 3-5 large, angular, brown seeds ; the rind is rough, 

 coarse, and of a dark-brown colour. The yellow greasy juice, 

 from which the tree derives its vernacular name, is given out 

 copiously when the fruit is cut or opened ; it is mixed by the 

 natives of Sierra Leone with their food, but it is not used by 

 the settlers on account of a strong turpentine flavour which 

 belongs to it ; we believe that the juice is that which the country 

 butter brought to the market of Freetown is made of. The 

 flowers are very large and shewy, and probably reddish. 



Butter and Tallow-tree. Fl. Jan. Clt. 1822. TreeGOfeet. 



Cult. The tree is extremely difficult to transplant, on ac- 

 count of the long tap root, which, if broken or cut, will kill it. 

 The root must have sufficient depth of mould to enable it to 

 descend- or the plant will not live. It requires a strong moist 

 heat to flourish well. A mixture of loam and peat suits it best, 

 and ripened cuttings, with their leaves not shortened, will pro- 

 bably root in sand under a hand-glass, in a moist heat. 



X. RHEE'DIA (in honour of Henry Rheede Van Draaken- 

 stein, once governor of a Dutch establishment on the coast of 

 Malabar ; author of Hortus Malabaricus in 10 vols. folio). Lin. 



gen. 641. Juss. gen. p. 258. D. C. prod. 1. p. 564. Van 

 Rheedia, Plum. gen. 45. 



LIN. SYST. Polydndria, Monogynia. Calyx none. Petals 

 4. Stamens numerous, with oblong anthers. Style 1. Srigina 

 funnel-shaped. Berry ovate, 1 -celled. Seeds 2-3, ovate-oblong, 

 fleshy, thick, imbedded in the pulp. Tree with opposite, blunt, 

 stalked leaves. 



1 R. LATERIFLORA (Lin. spec. 719.). Tj . S. Native of Mar- 

 tinico. Burm. amer. t. 257. Leaves large, oblong ; peduncles 

 axillary, 3-flowered. 



Lateral-lowered Rheedia. Tree. 



2 R. JAVA'NICA (Hort. kew. Loud. hort. brit. p. 214.). ^ S. 

 Native of Java. Leaves large, obovate, blunt. 



Java Rheedia. Clt. 1820. Tree. 



Cult. These fine broad-leaved trees will thrive well in a 

 mixture of loam, peat, and sand ; and ripened cuttings will root 

 in sand under a hand-glass, in a moist heat. 



XI. GARCI'NIA (in honour of Laurence Garcin, M.D. a 

 French botanist, and traveller in India, author of numerous bo- 

 tanical memoirs). Lin. gen. 594. Juss. gen. 256. Garcinia and 

 Cambogia, Lin. and Juss. Mangostana, Gsert. Garcinia species, 

 Chois. in D. C. prod. 1. p. 566. 



LIN. SYST. Polydndria, Monogynia. Calyx bractless, of 4 per- 

 manent sepals. Petals 4, deciduous. Stamens 1 2-20, free, de- 

 ciduous ; filaments short ; anthers adnate, 2-celled, bursting 

 lengthwise behind. Style short, crowned by a 4-8-lobed stigma. 

 Fruit fleshy, 4-8-celled ; cells 1-seeded, crowned by the perma- 

 nent stigmas. Trees with hermaphrodite or monoecious flowers, 

 usually solitary at the tops of the branches. 



1 G. MANGOSTA'NA (Lin. spec. 635.) leaves elliptic-oblong, 

 acuminated; flowers terminal, solitary ; corolla red; stigma 6- 

 8-lobed ; berry very beautiful and eatable ; pericarp spongy. 

 Tj . S. Native of the Molucca Islands, whence it has been trans- 

 planted to Java and Malacca. Plench. icon. t. 360. Rumph. 

 amb. 1. p. 132. t. 43. Garc. phil. trans, vol. 38. p. 232. abr. 8. 

 p. 755. t. 8. Mangostana Garcinia, Gaert. fruct. 2. t. 105. The 

 Mangostan rises with an upright stem near 20 feet high, sending 

 out many branches on each side, which are opposite. The trunk 

 is full of cracks. The leaves are entire, about 7 or 8 inches 

 long, and about half as much in breadth at the middle, gradually 

 tapering to both ends, of a shining green above, but of an olive 

 colour beneath. The flower resembles a single rose, composed 

 of 4 roundish petals, which are thick at the base, but thinner to- 

 wards the margins ; they are of a dark-red colour. The fruit 

 is round, about the size of a middling orange, and is crowned by 

 the broad peltate-lobed stigma ; the rind is like that of the po- 

 megranate, but softer, thicker, and fuller of juice ; it is green at 

 first, but changes to a dark-brown, with some yellowish spots ; 

 the inside is of a rose-colour, and is divided into several cells 

 by their partitions, as in oranges, in which the seeds are lodged, 

 surrounded by a soft juicy pulp, of a delicious flavour, partaking 

 of the strawberry and the grape, and is esteemed one of the 

 richest fruits in the world. The trees naturally grow in the form 

 of a parabole, and the branches being well garnished with large 

 shining green leaves, they have an elegant appearance, and 

 afford a kindly shade in hot countries, therefore are worthy of 

 cultivation in all those countries where there is warmth enough 

 to ripen the fruit. 



It is esteemed the most delicious of the East Indian fruits, 

 and a great deal of it may be eaten without any inconvenience ; 

 it is the only fruit which sick people are allowed to eat without 

 scruple. It is given with safety almost in every disorder, and 

 it is said that the late Dr. Solander, in the last stage of a putrid 

 fever at Batavia, found himself insensibly recovering by sucking 

 this delicious and refreshing fruit. The pulp has a most happy 

 4 K 2 



