96 JO URN A L, BOMB A Y NA TURA L TUB TOR Y SOCIETY, Vol. X. 



ancient introduction by the Portuguese into the Malay Archipelago 

 from America. The Malay name he gives, Cadjuj is American ; that 

 used at Amboyna means " Portugal fruit ;" that of Macassar was taken 

 from the resemblance of the fruit to that of the Jambosa. Kumphius 

 says that the species " was not widely diffused in the islands," in his 

 days. " Garcia ab Orto did not find it in Goa in 1550, but Acosta 

 afterwards saw it in Cochin, and the Portuguese propagated it in 

 India and the Malay Archipelago."* 



I have already observed that in describing the species Anacardium 

 oocidentale, the elder DeCaudolle mentions two varieties, namely, (1) 

 Americannm ; (2) Indicum. With reference to this the young 

 DeCandolle observes that " the existence of the same arborescent 

 species in Asia and America v/as so little probable that it was at first 

 suspected that there was a difference of species or at least of variety, 

 but this was not confirmed." This will be made clearer by giving 

 below a translation of the description, t originally given in Latin, of 

 the two varieties. It is as follows : — 



(a) The American variety has a thickened peduncle, about ten 

 times larger than the nut, the longer filament having an abortive 

 anther (antherd orhato), and being slightly dilated at the apex. 



(6.) The Indian variety has a thickened peduncle scarcely three 

 times longer than the nut, the longer filament being endowed with a 

 thick anther {antherd crassd donato), other anthers being slightly 

 dwarfed (or ill -developed) {cmteris subeff(Etis). 



It would appear from the above details that the differences are 

 chiefly in the development of the fleshy peduncle in relation to the 

 nut and in the abortive or thickened condition of the anther-lobe. 

 Judging from the various developmental peculiarities of the anthers in 

 the Indian flowers of this plant, one could hardly consider any chance- 

 arrest of development, or chance-increase in the size of the anther- 

 lobes a sufficient justification for the creation of a new species or even a 

 permanent variety. 



Apropos of Alphonse DeCandole's remarks on the historical aspect 

 of this question, let me here briefly refer to the latest utterances of 

 an erudite Botanist, Dr. Henry Trimen, f. e. s., Director of the 



* A. DeCandolle's Origin of Cnltivated Plants, pp. 199-200. 



t Pyrame DeCandolle, Prodromns Syst. Nat. Regni Veget., Pt. II, p. 62. 



