302 FORESTRY OF WEST AFRICA. 



Sapindace^. 



Heart-seed, Heart-pea, or Winter Cherry {Cardio- 

 spermum Halicacabiim, L.).- — Stems annual. The root 

 is white and fibrous, with a disagreeable odour and 

 somewhat bitter taste ; it is described as emetic, 

 laxative, stomachic, rubefacient, &c. In the Moluccas 

 the leaves are cooked and used as a vegetable, and on 

 the Malabar Coast are used with castor-oil as an 

 internal remedy for lumbago, &c. They are also said 

 to be used externally to reduce swelling and tumours 

 of various kinds. — 'Vegetable Materia Medica of 

 Western India,' W. Dymock, p. 152; 'Treasury of 

 Botany,' Lindley and Moore, &c. 



Distribution : Upper Guinea, Nile Land, Mozam- 

 bique District, Cape de Verd Islands. 



Schmidelia africana, DC. — Tree, thirty to forty feet 

 high. Fruits used in Abyssinia as a remedy against 

 tape-worm. The dried fruits are pounded, mixed 

 with flour, and then made into cakes. — 'Treasury 

 of Botany,' Lindley and Moore, &c. 



Distribution : Upper Guinea, Nile Land. 



Akee Apple {Blighia sapida, Koenig). — Small tree, 

 thirty feet high. The flowers are fragrant, and the 

 distilled water from them is used as a cosmetic. 

 The fruit is fleshy, and contains three shining black 

 seeds with a white spongy aril, which is the edible part 

 of the fruit ; it is said to possess an agreeable sub- 



