670 



SAPINDACE^E. XIX. MATAYBA. XX. NF.PHELIUM. 



soil ; and ripened cuttings will root in sand under a hand-glass, 

 in a moist heat. 



XIX. MATA'YBA (Matabaiba is the name of M. Guianen- 

 sisin Guiana). Aubl. guian. 1. p. 331. t. 128. Matayba, D. C. 

 prod. 1. p. 609. Ernstingia, Neck. elem. Ephielis, Schreb. 

 gen. no. 647. 



LIN. SYST. Octdndria, Monogynia. Calyx 5-cleft. Petals 

 5, each furnished with a short appendage above the base on the 

 inside. Disk filling the bottom of the calyx, 8-crenate. Stamens 

 8, with villous filaments inserted between the margin of the 

 disk and ovary. Style none. Stigma subsessile, 3-toothed. 

 Ovary 2 -celled ; cells 1-ovulate. Capsule oblong, 1 -celled, 2- 

 valved, one of which is empty, the other 2-seeded on the inside 

 at the middle. Seeds arillate, reniform. Trees with exstipulate, 

 abruptly pinnate leaves, and racemose panicles of small white 

 flowers. 



1 M. GUIANE'NSIS (Aubl. guian. 1. p. 331. t. 128. Lam. ill. 

 t. 298.) leaves smooth, abruptly pinnate, with 3 or 4 pairs of 

 leaflets ; petiole not winged ; racemes panicled. Tj . S. Native 

 of Guiana and St. Domingo in woods. Ephielis fraxinea, Willd. 

 spec. 2. p. 328. Ephielis Guianensis, Pers. ench. 1. p. 413. 

 Panicle divaricate. The wood of this tree is considered usefid 

 for many purposes, being hard and durable. 



Guiana Matayba. Fl. Oct. Clt. 1803. Tree 60 feet. 



2 M. PATRISIA V NA (D. C. prod. 1. p. 609.) leaves impari- 

 pinnate ; leaflets 5, villous beneath ; petioles slightly winged ; ra- 

 cemes simple. ^ . S. Native of Guiana or Cayenne. Fruit 

 very like that of the first species, but differs from it in the 

 impari-pinnate leaves. 



Patris's Matayba. Clt. 1825. Tree 50 feet. 



Cult. These trees will thrive well in a mixture of loam and 

 peat; and ripened cuttings, not deprived of any of their leaves, 

 will root in sand under a hand-glass, in heat. 



XX. NEPHE'LIUM (one of the names given to the Bur- 

 dock by the ancients ; the present genus has rough fruit, which 

 has some resemblance to the Burdock). Lin. gen. no. 1425. 

 Euphoria, Comm. in Juss. gen. 247. Dimocarpus, Lour. fl. 

 coch. 1. p. 286. Scytalia, Gaert. fruct. 1. p. 197. Aporetica, 

 spec. D. C. Pometia, Forst. prod. 392. 



LIN. SYST. Octo-Dccandria, Monogynia. Calyx 5-6-toothed. 

 Petals 5-6, rarely wanting, densely pilose inside. Disk annular, 

 occupying the bottom of the calyx. Stamens 8-10, rarely 6, 

 inserted between the margin of the disk and the ovary. Style 

 crowned by a 2-lobed or bifid stigma. Ovary obcordate, didy- 

 mous, 2-celled. Fruit indehiscent, usually 1-lobed from abor- 

 tion, the other lobe being usually abortive, tubercled or muri- 

 cated, rarely smooth. Seeds thick, covered by a fleshy aril. 

 Embryo straight. Trees with abruptly-pinnate, exstipulate 

 leaves, rarely simple ; leaflets opposite or alternate. Flowers 

 disposed in racemose panicles or racemes. Fruit of all eatable. 

 1 N. LITCHI (Cambess. in mem. mus. 18. p. 30.) leaflets 3-4 

 pairs, tapering to both ends, lanceolate, glaucous beneath ; 

 racemes loose, forming a panicle ; berries cordate, scaly. 1? . G. 

 Native of the East Indies and China. Euphoria punicea, Lam. 

 diet. 3. p. 573. ill. t. 306. Euphoria Litchi, Desf. cat. 159. 

 Litchi Chinensis, Sonn. itin. t. 129. Scytalia Chinensis, Gaert. 

 fruct. t. 42. f. 3. Scytalia Loacan, Roxb. hort. beng. p. 28. 

 Dimocarpus Lychi, Lour. fl. coch. 233. Sapindus edulis, 

 Ait. hort. kew, ed. 1. vol. 2. p. 36. Dimocarpus Litchi, Willd. 

 spec. 2. p. 346. La-tji, Osb. itin. 192. english edition, 1. p. 

 308. Li-tchi, Du Halde, chin. 2. p. 144. t. 154. Lechea, Rich, 

 hist, de Tonquin, 1. p. 60. /aim. hist. 147. t. 108. Flowers 

 pale. The berries grow in loose racemes ; they are heart- 

 shaped, covered with a scaly, hardish rind, which is red on one 



side and green on the other, containing a delicious white, sweet, 

 subacid pulp, and a large, somewhat obovate, brownish seed. 

 This delicious fruit is about the size of a date ; it is said to be 

 dangerous when eaten to excess, occasioning an eruption over 

 the whole body. The Chinese suffer it to dry till it becomes 

 black and shrivelled like prunes. Thus it is preserved all the 

 year, and they use it in tea, to which it communicates an acidity 

 which they prefer to the sweetness of sugar. Loureiro says, the 

 tree is cultivated in great abundance in the southern provinces of 

 China and the northern provinces of Cochin-china, being equally 

 abhorrent both of cold and heat in the extreme. To enjoy the 

 fruit in its full perfection of flavour and smell, it must be eaten 

 in the provinces of Fo-ki-en, Quan-tong, and Quan-si, where it 

 grows. As it will not bear the climate of Pekin, the fruit is car- 

 ried there for the emperor's use, inclosed in tin vessels, filled 

 with spirits mixed with honey, &c., and thus preserves an ap- 

 pearance of freshness, but loses much of its flavour. The trees 

 themselves are also transported by water from Quan-tong to 

 Pekin for the emperor at considerable labour and expense to 

 his subjects, and being embarked when they begin to flower, the 

 fruit is .commonly ripe by the time of their arrival at Pekin. 

 The fruit is called Li-tchi, Licht, or La-tji by the Chinese. 

 Litchi Nephelium. Fl. May, June. Clt. 1786. Tree 15ft. 



2 N. LONOA'NUM (Cambess. in mem. mus. 18. p. 30.) leaflets 

 3 pairs, with strong pinnate nerves beneath ; panicle loose ; ber- 

 ries globose, almost smooth. Tj . G. Native of China and 

 Cochin-china. Scytalia Longan, Roxb. hort. beng. p. 29. Di- 

 mocarpus Longan, Lour. fl. coch. 233. Euphoria Longana, 

 Lam. diet. 3. p. 574. Buchoz. icon. col. t. 99. This tree is 

 also cultivated in China and Cochin-china for its fruit, which is 

 in great esteem among the Chinese, and if not so agreeable to 

 the taste as the Litchi, it is however said to be more whole- 

 some. It is globular, has a yellowish, smooth skin, and its pulp 

 is white, tart, and juicy. This fruit is called by the Chinese 

 Longan, Lang-an, Long-yen, or Laong-uhan. 



Longan Nephelium. FJ. May, June. Clt. 1786. Tree 20ft. 



3 N. INFORME (Cambess. in mem. mus. 18. p. 30.) leaflets? 

 panicles few-flowered ; berries usually twin, irregular, tubercled. 

 Tj . G. Native of Cochin-china in woods. Euphoria informis, 

 D. C. prod. 1. p. 612. The leaves are almost like those of the 

 Longan. The fruit of this tree is also eaten in China. It is not 

 so good as those of the two preceding species, being much more 

 sour. The wood is good, hard, and heavy, of a reddish-brown 

 colour. 



E/nszgMj/-shaped-fruited Nephelium. Tree 20 feet ? 



4 N. LAPPA'CEUM (Lin. syst. 4. p. 236.) leaflets 5-7, oblong ; 

 berries subovate, hairy, J? . S. Native of the East Indies. 

 Lam. ill. t. 764. Marsd. sum. with a figure. Euphoria Nephe- 

 lium, D. C. prod. 1. p. 612. Dimocarpus crinita, Lour. fl. 

 coch. 234. Scytalia Rambootan, Roxb. hort. beng. p. 29. 

 Petals absent. Calyx 5-6-cleft. Stamens 5-8. The pulp of 

 the fruit is eatable, of an agreeable sub-acid flavour, though not 

 so good as the Longan or Litchi ; it is usually twin. This is the 

 Rambutan or Rampostan of Bont. jav. f. 109. 



.Burdock-fruited Nephelium or Rambootan. Tree. 



5 N. PINNA'TUM (Cambess. in mem. mus. 18. p. 30.) leaves 

 pinnate ; racemes supra-decompound, terminal, fj S. Native 

 of the Islands of Tanna and Namoka. Pometia pinnata, 

 Forst. prod. p. 392. 



Pinnate-leaved Nephelium. Tree. 



6 N. BENGALE'NSE ; leaves with 4-5 pairs of oblong-lanceo- 

 late leaflets, which are oblique at the base ; panicle terminal, 

 composed of many racemes. ^ . S. Native of Bengal. Scy- 

 talia Bengalensis, Roxb. in herb. Lamb. 



Bengal Nephelium. Tree. 



7 N. VERTICILLA'TUM (Lindl. bot. reg. 1059. under Euphoria,) 



