474 



A TEXT-BOOK OF BOTANY. 



fixed oil. They ako contain 3 other alkaloids: arecaine, arecai- 

 dine, and guvacine, but these do not seem to give the drug its 

 properties. 



Carnauba-wax is obtained from the Carnauba-palm of Brazil 

 {Copernicia cerifera). The wax exudes from the surface of the 

 young leaves and is obtained by boiling them with water. Dragon's 



Fig. 258. Vegetable Ivory, the endosperm of the seeds of a Central American palm 

 {Phytelephas macrocarpa). The fruits are produced near the ground, are nearly globular, 

 measuring about i meter in circumference, and weigh about 14 pounds each. They are 

 covered with- a woody spinose wall (A), and enclose a number of drupes (B), each of which 

 contains a single hard seed (C). The latter contains a hard, white, fine-grained endosperm 

 (D); it is used in making small articles of turnery, as buttons, etc. — Reproduced by permis- 

 sion of The Philadelphia Commercial Museum. 



BLOOD, a bright red resinous substance, is obtained from the juice 

 of the fleshy fruit of Calamus Draco. It consists chiefly of resin, 

 some tannin, and about 3 per cent, of benzoic acid. 



The Oil palm (Elo^is guineensis) of equatorial West Africa 

 yields a drupe with an oily sarcocarp, from which, by means of 

 pressure or boiling with water, palm oil is obtained. The Cocoa- 

 nut palm (Cocos nucifera) yields the cocoa nut of the market, 



