ACHRAS ELENGIOIDES. (Nat. order Sapotacese.) 



AcHRAS. linn.— GEN. CHAR. Calyx lobes, corol lobes, stamens and ovary cells 5 or rarely 6 or more (in the cultivated West Indian A. 

 sapota), the ovary cells twice as many, scales (or staminodia ?) in the throat of the corol alternating with the lobes, anthers extrorse, ovules laterally 

 attached, seeds solitary or few rarely all perfect; testa hard shining, hilum lateral linear or broad above half as long as the seed, albumen copious fleshy, 

 cotyledons broad flat usually thin. Trees or shrubs, glabrous or tomentose, flowers sessile or pedicellate clustered.— Sapota, A. DC. 



ACHRAS ELENGIOIDES. (DC.) A large tree with a very rough cracked bark, branches often spinous, spines 1-2 

 inches long, young parts ferrugineo-tomentoaej leaves subcoriaceous elliptic or lanceolate or somewhat obovate narrowed at the base 

 obtuse or acute at the apex, entire, glabrous in age, 2-3 inches long by 1^-lJ broad, petioles 2-4 lines long, flowers whitish rusty 

 pubescent axillary or from the old axils generally in clusters of 3-4 together, pedicels about as long as the petiole, calyx segments 5 

 ovate acute equal or the exterior 3 broader, corol nearly twice as long as the calyx, lobes erect ovate acute, tube externally pilose> 

 anthers apiculate, the filaments hairy, the alternate scales ovate to linear-lanceolate finely subulate as long as the stamens, the back and 

 margin pilose. — Sapota elengioides, DC. Prod. 8, 176. 



A very common tree on the higher ranges of the Nilgiris and other mountains on the west of this Presidency, is to be found in 

 every wood about Ootacamund in flower and fruit at all seasons, it is also found at lower elevations and it inhabits Ceylon ; the fruit is like a 

 small crab apple and is made into pickles, and the natives cook and eat it in curries; the wood is esteemed, it is of a dull red color, short but 

 straight in the grain and very dense, it makes good beams for houses, but splits too much to be used for planks ; if well seasoned it turns well and 

 it makes excellent carpenter's planes, The Burghers on the Nilgiris call the tree Holay, and the Tamil people call it Paid. 



Analysis. 



1. A flower bud. 



2. A full flower. 



3. The same, corol removed. 



4. The 5-lobed corol, showing the 5 extrorse anthers alternate with 5 linear scales. 



5. A petal. 



C. The scales, front and back view. 



7. Portion of a corol, showing ovate scales. 



8. Anthers, front and back view. 



9. A flower, corol removed and the calyx opened, to show the ovary. 



10. The same cut vertically, showing the ovules attached to the centre of the axis., 



11. Ovary cut transversely, showing 5 cells. 



12. Fruit cut transversely, showing 1 seed, 5 having aborted. 



13. A seed. 



14. The same cut transversely. 



15. Embryo. 



235 



