200 CHINESE ECONOMIC; TREES 



BURSERACEAE 



Resinous trees or shrubs. Leaves generally alternate, odd pinnate, 

 3 foliate or rarely si«iple; stipules absent. Flowers small and mostly 

 numerous, regular, perfect or polygamous; sepals 3-5, more or less 

 united; petals 3-5. Stamens as many as, but more often twice as many 

 as the petals, inserted on the edge or at the base of the disk ; disk annular, 

 cup-shaped or rarely absent. Ovary superior 2-5 celled; ovules, usually 

 2 in each cell. Fruit drupe-like, indehiscent with a 3-6 celled hard 

 stone, or dehiscent into valves with several stones.. Seeds exalbuminous. 



A family containing 16 genera and about 270 species widely dis- 

 tributed throughout the tropics. The bark yields a fragrant resin of 

 commercial importance. 



CANARIUM 



Evergreen, resinous trees. Leaves alternate, odd pinnate with or 

 without stipules. Flowers perfect or polygamous in terminal or axillary 

 panicles. Calyx cup-shaped or campanulate, usually 3 (rarely 5) parted 

 or lobed; petals 3-5; stamens 6, rarely 10, distinct, inserted on the 

 margin or outside of the disk, or connate by their filaments into a tube. 

 Ovary 2-3 celled; ovules 2 to each cell. Fruit drupe-like, ovoid, 

 slightly 3 sided, with a 1-3 celled, 1-3 seeded stone. 



About 50 species in the tropics of Asia and th,e Malay Archipelago. 

 Represented in'China by 2 species cultivated as fruit trees and generally 

 known as Chinese Olives, although the true olive of the Mediteranean 

 regions belongs to another family. 



Canarium album Raeuschel. 

 Bah Lam. " Chinese Olive." 



Tree sometimes attaining a height of 20 m., usually 6-9 m. high with 

 whitish bark and rounded crown. Leaves odd pinnate; leaflets 11-13, 

 oblong-lanceolate, 6.5-10 cm. long, about 4 cm. wide, finely reticulated 

 above. Flowers in simple racemes, small, short stalked. Fruit ovoid, 

 slightly larger than round, greenish-white when ripe, about 3.5 cm. 

 long, sessile. Stone pointed, slightly angled and grooved. 



This tree produces the Bah Lam of commerce in its various forms. 

 Canarium pimela Konig is the so-called Chinese Black Olive. Both 

 species occur in a wild state in the Island of Hainan. Hitherto unknown 

 except under cultivation. 



