20 COMMERCIAL BOTANY. 



the Guinea trade for its production of caoutchouc." He 

 •further describes the fruit as having a sourness exceeding 

 that of the citron, ,in consequence of which the natives 

 of Djur-land prepare from it a " beverage refreshing as 

 lemonade." 



L. florida. — This species is widely distributed over tlie 

 whole of Central Tropical Africa, and yields a portion of 

 the rubber obtained both from the East and West Coasts, 

 irrespective of its commercial interest. Sir Joseph Hooker 

 says : " Its heads of large, sweet-scented, jasmine-like 

 flowers would render it a desirable introduction, from 

 merely a horticultural point of view, in stove cultivation." 

 The jJant flowered at Kew in 1887. The fruits, which 

 are about the size and shape of a pomegranate, are very 

 acid, and are eaten by the natives on the Niger. West 

 African rubber, which comes into the English market in 

 masses composed of more or less agglutinated small cubes, 

 is collected in the following peculiar manner : — When 

 wounded, every part of the plant exudes a milky juice, 

 which, however, does not flow, but dries quickly, so as to 

 form a ridge over the wound and to prevent the further 

 flow. Long cuts are made in the bark by the native 

 collectors, and as the milky juice flows out it is continually 

 wiped ofi' with the fingers and smeared over the arms, 

 shoulders, and breast till a thick covering is formed, when 

 it is peeled off their bodies and cut into small squares, 

 which are said to be afterwards boiled in water. 



Regarding the produce of rubber from this species on 

 the East Coast of Africa, Sir John Kirk, reporting to the 

 Foreign Office from Zanzibar in 1879, says : " It has been 

 for many years known that the jungles on the mainland 

 contained almost anywhere an abundance of rubber-pro- 

 ducing lianas, and on my first arrival at Zanzibar an 

 attempt was made, at my representation, to induce the 

 people of Dar Sajam to collect it ; at that time, however, 



