FORESTRY OF WEST AFRICA. 279 



GUTTIFER/E. 



Hog or Doctor's gum, Gamboge tree {Symphotiia 

 globulifera, L.). — Tree 20 to 80 feet high. The 

 yellow resin found at the roots of old trees is used 

 as a vulnerary and diuretic, in topical applications to 

 wounds, in gout plasters, and as a substitute for 

 copaiba. In British Guiana, under the name of 

 " Karamani," the natives use it for fixing arrow heads 

 to spears, coating ropes, &c. — Kew Museum. 



Distribution : Upper Guinea, Lower Guinea. 



Butter or Tallow tree of West Africa [Pentadesma 

 butyracea, Don). — Fruits yield a yellow greasy juice 

 when cut, which is mixed by the Negroes with their 

 food ; they are also said to be eaten. — Sierra Leone. 

 Kew Museum. 



Distribution : Upper Guinea. 



Bitter Kola (Garciiiia Kola, Heckel). — A tree of 

 variable aspect, 10 to 12 feet in height. The fruit is 

 about the size of an apple, containing three or four 

 seeds, which are covered with an abundant sourish 

 pulp ; these seeds have a strongly bitter, astringent, 

 and aromatic taste, and differ in this respect from 

 the true kola. They are chewed by the Negroes, and 

 esteemed by them for their aromatic flavour, which 

 approaches that of green coffee. They also believe 

 these seeds to have an aphrodisiac action, and as a 



