84 BYTTNERIACE^. 



The Byttneriaceae belong to the intertropical regions of both worlds, to 

 Australia, and to the Cape of Good Hope. Two plants of the family, how- 

 ever, both of the tribe Hermannieae, extend northward to lat. 30^ in Texas, 

 and therefore claim a place in this work. 



In their sensible properties these plants accord with Malvaceae, both as to 

 the mucilaginous juice and the toughness of the fibrous bark. The greater 

 part are also pervaded, more or less, by a bitter and somewhat astringent 

 extractive substance ; and the seeds yield a fatty oil. By far the most im- 

 portant product of the order is chocolate, one of the most nutritious of vege- 

 table substances, which is made from the roasted seeds of Theobroma Cacao 

 (a tree which forms whole forests in Equatorial America). The shells, or 

 crustaceous integuments of the seed, partake of the same qualities, and are 

 used as a substitute for chocolate itself or for coffee. 



