AURANTIACEJE. 



319. C. Limonum Risso ann. mus. xx. 201. DC. prodr. 

 i. 539. (The Lemon.) 



Leaves ovate-oblong, usually serrulated, pale green, with a winged 

 stalk. Flowers middle-sized, purple externally. Fruit oblong, very 

 uneven, now and then almost round, with a pale yellow rind. Cysts in 

 the rind concave. Pulp juicy, very acid. Juice of the fruit yields 

 citric acid ; when properly diluted and slightly sweetened it is a most 

 agreeable and refreshing beverage. The essential oil of the rind is 

 recommended by Mr. Foote as a stimulant in various inflammations of 

 the eye. Med. hot. trans. 1834. p. 79. The peel itself is aromatic and 

 stomachic ; but it does not agree with all stomachs. 



SPONDIACE^E. 



Nat. syst. ed. 2. p. 106. 



SPONDIAS. 



Flowers sometimes unisexual. Calyx 5-cleft, coloured. Petals 

 5, oblong, spreading, somewhat valvate. Stamens 10, inserted 

 on a crenated glandular disk. Styles 5, distant. Drupe crowned 

 by the points left by the styles ; with a 5-celled fibrous nut. 

 Seeds by abortion solitary, without albumen ; embryo straight, 

 cotyledons fleshy ; radicle inferior. Trees with the leaves 

 unequally pinnated, rarely simple. Racemes axillary, simple 

 or panicled. 



320. S. Mangifera Pers. syn.i.509. DC. prodr. ii. 75. Roxb. 

 fl. ind. ii. 451. Sp. amara Lam. diet. iv. 245. Mangifera pin- 

 nata Linn, suppl. 56. Amarataca As. res. iv. 284. Ambalam 

 Rheede i. t. 50 Mountains of Coromandel. 



Trunk straight, 1-2 feet in diameter. Bark smooth, ash-coloured, 

 astringent. Branches nearly horizontal. Leaves alternate about the 

 extremities of the branches, pinnate with an odd one, 12-20 inches 

 long. Leaflets about 5 pairs, opposite, oval, pointed, entire, smooth, 

 veined ; 3-6 inches long, 2-2 broad ; petioles round, smooth. Sti- 

 pules 0. Panicles terminal, very large, diffuse and thin. Flowers very 

 numerous, small, white, mostly barren, though no male flower (appa- 

 rently so) is to be found. Calyx small, 5-toothed. Petals 5, oblong, 

 spreading. Disk a large, fleshy, notched ring surrounding the ovary. 

 Filaments 10, subulate, alternately shorter, incurved, scarcely half the 

 length of the petals ; anthers small. Ovary ovate, 5-celled, with 1 

 pendulous ovule in each cell ; styles 5, short, erect, distant. Stigmas 

 simple. Drupe oval, fleshy, smooth, the size of a pullet's egg ; when 

 ripe, yellow. Nut oblong, woody, very hard, outwardly fibrous, 

 5-celled, but seldom more than 1 , 2 or 3 of the cells produce seed. 

 Trunk when wounded yields large quantities of a mild insipid gum, 

 exactly like gum Arabic. Roxb. 



164 



