COMPARATIVE VIEW. 161 



There seems no reason to doubt that this tree, whose 

 probable place in the system I have stated in my remarks 

 on Amyridese, belongs originally to the west coast of 

 Africa. 



Mais Guineensis, of which the oil is distinctly described 

 in the beginning of the sixteenth century by Da Ca da 

 Mosto, in his account of Senegal,^ is without doubt indige- 

 nous to the whole extent of this coast ; as is Baphia vinifera, 

 of which the remarkable fruit also very early attracted 

 attention -^ and the supposed species of Corypha. 



Of Alimentary Plants, whether cultivated or indigenous, 

 that are known or supposed to belong to the west coast of 

 equinoctial Africa, but which were not seen on the banks 

 of the Congo, a few of the more important may be men- 

 tioned. 



Among these are the Cocoa Nut and Rice, the former, 

 according to the natives, not being found in the country. 

 The absence of these two valuable plants is the more 

 remarkable, as the Cocoa Nut is said to exist in the neigh- 

 bouring kingdom of Loango ; and, according to Captain 

 Tuckey, a certain portion of land was seen on the banks of 

 the river well adapted to the production of Rice, which is 

 mentioned as cultivated in some of the earlier accounts of 

 Congo. 



The Sweet Potatoe {Convolvulus Batatas), also noticed 

 by the Portuguese Missionaries, was not met with. 



The Butter and Tallow Tree of Afzelius, which forms a 

 new genus belonging to Guttiferse ; the Velvet-Tamarind 

 of Sierra Leone (Codarium acutifolium f) and the Monkey 

 Pepper, or Piper ^thiopicum of the shops ( TJnona jEthiopica 

 of Dunal), which is common on many parts of the coast, 

 were not observed. 



Two remarkable plants, the Akee^ and the Jamaica W5 



Ramusio 1, p. 104. Qryn. Nov. Orb. 28. 

 ^ Palma-Pinus, Label, advers. p. 450. 



' Jfzel. Qeu. Plant. Quineen. par. prim. p. 23. Codarium nitidum Fakl, 

 enum. 1, p. 302. 



■• Blighia sapida, Konig in Annuls of Bot. %, p. 571. Hort. Kew. ed. Ma. 

 vol. 2, p. 350. 



At the moment that this sheet was about to have been sent to the press, Sir 

 Joseph Banks received a small collection of specuneus and figures of plants, 



11 



