68 



Hotter parts of India, especially near the sea. Natur- 

 alized from America 



A sraall tree ; trunk short, thick, crooked. Leaves 4-0 

 ty 3-5 in., hard ; nerves about 10 pair, nearly horizontal, 

 petiole 1/4 to I/2 in. Panicles 6-10 in. pubescent ; branches 

 long, naked to the tips v&isre the flowers are collected ; 

 bracts lanceolate, gibbous, hoary. Plowers l/?> in, diameter, 

 yellow with pink stripes. Stamens usually 9, all fertile, one 

 larger than the rest. Pruit 1 in., on a pyriform fleshy 

 receptacle 2-3 in. long. 



The tree is indigenous to Ceylon and is only to be seen 

 in a wild state, althoiigh very worthy of being c^^ltivated for 

 the valuable properties it possesses. Its astringent bark 

 contains a great proportion of tannin, and yields a beautifully 

 Ijransparent gum in large masses from its trunk and branches. 



The fruit has an unpleasant small, similar to that of 

 garlic ; it is juicy aiid of rather a spongy nature. The 

 apples that are not exposed to the sun are smaller and quite 

 yellow, without the slightest tinge of red ; their juice is a 

 pwerful acid but custom soon reconciles one to its use, not- 

 withstanding the temporary contraction of the skin of the mouth 

 consequent upon eating the fruit, 



Scynos of the old Dutch families at Ceylon manufactvire a 

 superior wine and spirit from the cashew apple, and they pre- 

 fer it as a liquor, but not for diluting with water to the 

 best brandy. . , . Its juice stains linen, and iriay be used 

 for marking it, and by the application of a solution of lime 



