BURSERACEJE. 



336. P. Kataf. Amyris Kataf Forsk. 80. Balsamodendron 

 Kataf. Kunth 1. c. DC. prodr. ii. 76. Balsamodendron Myrrha 

 N.and E. handb. iii. 122. PL med. t. 357. Arabia, near 

 Beit el fakih ; Gison on the borders of Arabia Felix. 



A white-wooded tree without spines. Leaflets ternate, blunt or 

 acute, serrated at the end. Peduncles corymbose at the ends of the 

 branches, filiform, for the space of an inch simple, afterwards dichoto- 

 mously branched. Teeth of calyx lanceolate, the length of the tube. 

 Fruit globose, with a depressed umbilicus at the point, Forsk. short- 

 stalked, smooth, brown, ovate, rather larger than a pea, N. and E. 

 According to Ehrenberg this is the plant that yields myrrh, which 

 exudes from the bark, like gum from the bark of a cherry tree ; it 

 promotes the appetite, creates an agreeable warmth in the stomach, 

 and occasions slight constipation. 



It is supposed that the Indian Bdellium, a gum resin resembling 

 Myrrh, is obtained from some tree of this genus. For African Bdellium 

 see Heudelotia africana. 



CANARIUM. 



Flowers polygamous- dioecious. Calyx campanulate, 3-lobed ; 

 lobes unequal. Petals 3, inserted under the disk, twice as long as 

 the calyx, oblong, concave : aestivation imbricative. Stamens 6, 

 inserted under the disk, shorter than the petals, unequal. 

 Torus an urceolate disk at the bottom of the calyx. Ovary 

 sessile, ovate-globose, 3-celled. Style very short, or wanting. 

 Stigma 3-lobed. Fruit a drupe : sarcocarp thin, somewhat fleshy : 

 nut very hard, 3-angled, 3-celled (2 of the cells often abortive). 

 Seed solitary in each perfect cell. Cotyledons intricately folded, 

 deeply 3-cleft. Trees. Leaves unequally pinnated, upper 

 ones with large deciduous stipules. Flowers panicled bracteo- 

 lated. W. and A. 



337. C. commune Linn. mant. 177. Konig. in ann. lot. 

 i. 260. t. 7. f. 2. Roxb. fl. ind. iii. 137. DC. prodr. ii. 79. 

 W. and A. i. 175. Amyris zeylanica Retz. obs. iv. 25. Bal- 

 samodendron zeylanicum DC. prodr. ii. 76. Colophonia mauri- 

 tiana DC. prodr. ii. 79. Bursera paniculata Lam. encycl. ii. 768. 

 Continent of India ; Indian Archipelago and islands. (Bois 

 de Colophane in the Isle of France.) 



A small tree. Leaflets 7-11, on long stalks, ovate-oblong, acute or 

 shortly acuminated, quite entire, smooth; stipules oval. Panicle 

 terminal, divaricating. Flowers 2-3 together, almost sessile, when 

 young covered over by broad ovate concave silky bracteola?. Calyx 

 externally silky. Drupes oblong, black. The bark yields an abun- 

 dance of limpid oil, with a pungent turpentine smell, congealing in a 

 buttery camphoraceous substance; it has the same properties as 

 balsam of copaiba. Raw fruit eatable, but apt to bring on diarrhoea. 

 Said to yield East Indian Elemi. 



170 



