774 



Mastic 



The name is Greek, in reference to the golden pubescence on the under side of 

 the leaves. 



11. MASTIC 



GENUS SIDEROXYLON [DILLENIUS] LINN.EUS 



Species Sideroxylon fcetidissimum Jacquin 



Sideroxylon mastic hodendron Jacquin 



LSO called Wild olive, this is a large tree of rich hammocks in penin- 

 sular Florida and the Keys, and is widely distributed in the Bahamas 

 and other West Indies. Its maximum height is about 25 meters, with 

 a trunk diameter of 1.5 m. 

 The tnmk is very thick, and straight. The branches are stout, spreading and 

 ascending. The bark is about 10 mm. thick, and splits into thick, scaly plates, 

 gray to hght reddish brown. The twigs are stout, round, smooth, finally brown 

 and bearing large round leaf scars. The leaves are alternate, thin, leather}^ ob- 

 long to oval, rarely ovate, 5 to 15 

 cm. long, blunt or short taper- 

 pointed, rounded or tapering at 

 the base, bright green, smooth and 

 shining above, sparingly hairy at 

 first, soon becoming smooth, shin- 

 ing and pale green beneath; the 

 broad midrib is impressed above, 

 prominent beneath; leaf-stalk pale, 

 slender, 2 to 7 cm. long. The 

 small flowers appear at almost any 

 season, in clusters in the axils of 

 the leaves, on slender stalks i cm. 

 long or less; calyx green, bell- 

 shaped, its 5 sepals suborbicular, 

 about 2 mm. long; corolla 6 to 7 

 Fig. 705. Mastic. mm. across, greenish yellow, longer 



than the calyx, with 5 rounded lobes; stamens equal the petals in length and 

 number, their anthers lanceolate; filaments slender; staminodes lanceolate, long- 

 pointed, about I mm. long, much shorter than the stamens; ovary 5-celled, or rarely 

 2- or 4-cellcd, oblong-ovoid, smooth, tapering into the stigmatic tipped style. The 

 fruit, of which there is usually but i produced by each flower-cluster, is a i -seeded 

 oval drupe about 2.5 cm. long, bright yellow with a smooth tough skin and thin 

 flesh of an agreeable acid taste; the seed is oblong-obovoid, rounded at top, nar- 

 rowed toward the base, hard, brown and shining, about 1.5 cm. long; the embr}'0 

 is enclosed in fleshy endosperm. 



The wood is very hard, strong, close-grained and dark yellow; its specific 



