288 XLVII. MYRSINE^). [Reptoma. 



nearly sessile, in dense axillary clusters with minute, ovate, scaly per- 

 sistent bracts. Calyx rusty tomentose, lobes ovate, obtuse, imbricate in 

 bud. Stamens inserted on the corolla-tube ; anthers short lanceolate, on 

 long exserted slender filaments. Ovary hairy, with long subulate style, 

 exserted in the bud ; ovules 5. Drupe sessile, globose, supported by the 

 persistent base of calyx, J in. diam. or more, glabrous, greenish, with a 

 fleshy sweet pericarp in a coriaceous rind. Seeds 1, globose, or 2 hemi- 

 spherical; testa smooth, osseous, albumen white, cartilaginous, deeply 

 ruminate. Embryo arcuate. 



Common in the western part of the Panjab Salt range, and abundant on the 

 hills trans- Indus from Peshawar to Dera Ishmael Khan, ascending to 4700 ft. 

 According to Griffith common in Eastern Afghanistan. Also in Arabia. One 

 of the characteristic plants of the trans-Indus territory, growing mostly on dry 

 rocky hills. Evergreen ; fl. Feb. -April ; fr. May and onward, often remaining 

 long on the branches. Attains 15-20 ft., often with a short straight trunk at- 

 taining girth of 2-3 ft., with numerous spreading divergent branches, forming 

 a close rounded head. Young shoots clothed with delicate pubescence, bark 

 of stem ash-coloured or blackish, tesselated into small irregularly quadrangular 

 pieces by deep longitudinal and transverse furrows and cracks, resembling that 

 of Fraxinus Moorcroftiana. Wood beautifully variegated, light brown and 

 whitish, with slender medullary rays, and indistinct annual layers, compact, 

 even-grained, hard and strong. The fruit is much esteemed, and during the 

 season is sold in most bazaars ; the pulp is sweet, but there is not much of it. 

 The hard seed is uneatable, it is strung in rosaries. 



Order XLVIII. SAPOTACE^]. 





Trees or shrubs, frequently with milky juice. Leaves alternate, entire, 

 usually coriaceous, without stipules. Calyx free, lobes 4-8. Corolla 

 hypogynous, regular, divided into the same number of lobes, or a larger 

 number in 2 or 3 series. Stamens inserted on the corolla-tube, as many 

 as corolla-lobes, or as the lobes of the inner circle, and opposite to them, or 

 numerous. Staminodes often alternating with the fertile stamens, or with 

 the divisions of the corolla. Ovary superior, 2 or more-celled, 1 ovule in 

 each cell ; style simple, stigma entire or slightly lobed. Fruit a berry 

 or drupe, usually indehiscent. Seeds either with a fleshy albumen and 

 foliaceous cotyledons, or without albumen and with fleshy cotyledons. 

 Testa hard, generally shining. Eoyle 111. 262 ; Wight 111. ii. 142. 



Leaves with prominent lateral nerves. Corolla campanulate or 

 ovoid ; limb with 5-14 lobes. Stamens 20-40 without sta- 

 minodes. Seeds without albumen 1. Bassia. 



Leaves with numerous fine parallel veins. Corolla rotate ; limb 

 with 15-24 lobes in 2 rows. Stamens 5-8, alternating with 

 staminodes. Seeds albuminous 2. Mimusops. 



Isonandra Gutta, Hook. Journ. Bot. vi. (1847), t. 16, the tree which yields the 

 gutta-percha of commerce, has 6 corolla-segments, 12 stamens without stam- 

 inodes and penniveined leaves. Singapore, Borneo, and other islands of the 

 Indian Archipelago. 



Achras Sapota, Linn. (Sapota Achras, Mill.), is a large tree with reddish- 



