MELIACE^E. 179 



gative. The juice of the bark of Guarea trichiloides is also an active pur- 

 gative and emetic (Aublet. Guy, iii. 437). The bark of T. moschata has 

 the odour of musk, and is said by Hancock to be eminently febrifuge; it is 

 very bitter, and tinges the saliva of a red colour. The berry of T. spinosa 

 affords a stimulating, fragrant oil, employed in India in chronic rheumatism 

 and paralytic affections (Ai?tslie, ii. 71). The plant called jito, in Brazil, 

 which operates so violently upon the bowels as to be, in the opinion of Piso, 

 rather a poison than a medicine, is supposed by Lindley to be a species of 

 Guarea, perhaps the G. purgans, which Martius says acts powerfully on 

 the uterus, and in an over-dose will cause abortion. 



The root of Sandoricum indicum is aromatic, and is used in cases of leu- 

 corrhcea, combined with the bark of the root of Carapa obovata, which is 

 bitter and astringent. The bark of C. guianensis is eminently febrifuge, and 

 contains a peculiar bitter principle {Jour, de Pharm., vii. 348); the oil of its 

 seeds is bitter and anthelmintic, and is poisonous to insects (Perrotet, Ann. 

 Soc. Lin., 1824). An alliaceous odour is so marked in the fruits of some 

 species (Dysozylon, Epicharis, &c), that they are used in some parts of 

 Java as a substitute for garlic. Some of these plants furnish edible and plea- 

 sant fruits, especially those of the genus Lansium and Milnea (Royle, Illus. 

 141). 



Melia. — Linn. 



Calyx small. Sepals united below. Petals oblong, spreading. Stamens 10, united 

 into a tube, bearing the anthers in the orifice. Ovary on a short disk, 5-celled. Style 

 with a 5-lobed stigma. Drupe ovate, with a 5-celled bony nut. Cotyledons foliaceous. 



This genus derives its name from the resemblance of its principal species 

 to those of the ash, Melia of the Greeks. The species closely resemble each 

 other in their appearance and properties, and are all natives of Asia. They 

 have long been known, and were described by the earlier writers, under the 

 name of Azedarach, which was unnecessarily changed by Linnasus to that it 

 at present bears. 



M. azedarach, Linn. — Leaves deciduous, bipinnate ; leaflets smooth, obliquely ovate- 

 lanceolate, dentate, acuminate. Petals nearly glabrous. 



Linn., Sp. PL, 550 ; De Candolle, Prod., i. 621 ; Lindley, Fl. Med., 151. 

 Common Names. — Pride of India, Pride of China, Bead-tree, &c. 

 Foreign Names. — Azedarach commun, Fr. ; Pater Nostri di S. Dome- 

 nico, It. 



Description. — A tree thirty to forty feet high, with Fig- 97. 



spreading branches. The bark is scabrous on the trunk 

 and large branches. The roots are horizontal, rather 

 superficial, extending to a considerable distance. The 

 leaves are large, alternate, bipinnate, each pinnule with 

 five opposite, ovate-lanceolate, acute, dentate leaflets. The 

 flowers are odorous, of a light violet colour, forming a 

 drooping panicle, arising from the axil of the upper leaves. 

 The calyx is very small, and is formed of five obtuse, 

 slightly-pubescent sepals, united at base. The petals are 

 much longer than the calyx, spreading, oboval, and obtuse. 

 The stamens are united into a tube, which is rather shorter 

 than the petals, dilated at base, of a dark violet colour, and 

 10-toothed ; each tooth being bifid, it appears 20-toothed, 

 except on close inspection. The anthers are bilocular, M. azedarach. 



alternate with the dentures of the tube, and attached to its 

 inner surface. The ovary is globular, surmounted by a thick style, which is terminated 



