143 



with Pachylobus edulis, G. Don. Both trees yield an edible fruit 

 and bear similar or perhaps in some districts the same name, .and 

 the leaves are sufficiently alike to deceive a superficial observer. 

 The first-named is evidently very wide-spread, ranging from near 

 the West Coast, eastward to the lakes and northward to Uganda 

 (Hook. Ic. PI. tt. 2566, 2567). 



It seems probable that African Elemi is also obtained from other 

 species ; there are five other species of Canarium known from 

 Tropical Africa at the present time : C. Buettneri, Engl., and 

 C. velutinum, Guillaumin, from the Gaboon ; C. Liebertianum, 

 Engl., from E. Africa ; C. macrophyllum, Oliv. from Small Kobi 

 Island, Gulf of Guinea, and C. ThoUonicum, Guillaumin, from 

 Oubanghi (Modzaka) ; two of which are described as giving a resin. 

 — C. Buettneri and C. velutinum, the former, with an odour of 

 turpentine and camphor, and the latter a whitish resin (see 

 Guillaumin, Bull. Soc. Bot. France, viii. 1908, pp. 261 and 267). 

 The main source of Elemi is Canarium luzonicum, A. Gray, 

 " Manila Elemi " or " Brea," from the Philippine Islands. 



Elemi is used in medicine, in the preparation of ointment and 

 plasters, and in the manufacture of printing inks and varnishes. 

 In the Philippines it is used for caulking boats and for making 

 torches (Mus. Kew). In West Africa it is said to be used for 

 roofing (Monteiro, Mus. Kew) ; in Uganda it is used in the Roman 

 Catholic Churches as incense (Dawe, Rep. Bot. Mission, Uganda 

 Protectorate, 1906, p. 40), occasionally burnt for the sake of its 

 pleasant odour and as an illuminant (Mahon, Mus. Kew) ; the 

 Waganda (Victoria Nyanza) use it, ground down with fat, for 

 rubbing over the body (Engl. Pflan. Ost. Afr. B. p. 412), and the 

 natives of Cazengo employ the resin in the form of a plaster to 

 cure wounds (Hiern, Cat. Welw. Afr. PI. i. p. 127). The powdered 

 bark is used by the natives of Angola in the treatment of syphilitic 

 and scorbutic ulcers (I.e.). The Elemi is obtained by making 

 incisions in the trunk, and according to Mahon (Mus. Kew) it 

 exudes as a thin very oily fluid, almost transparent, but with a 

 grey tinge and having a rather acrid odour. Manila Elemi realises 

 on an average about £3 per cwt., but the demand is limited. 



Samples of Elemi from S. Nigeria and Uganda have been 

 examined at the Imperial Institute, and the data obtained go to 

 show that they resemble in properties the Manila Elemi, but 

 give a smaller yield of volatile oil. It has been suggested that 

 the African Elemi, if carefully collected and stored so that it 

 could be put on the market in a soft, clean condition, comparable 

 with that of Manila Elemi, would be equally serviceable as an 

 ingredient in the manufacture of printing inks and varnishes 

 (Bull. Imp. Inst. 1908, p. 255). 



A fragrant pleasant smelling oil is obtained from the outer 

 portion of the fruit. According to Cameron {see Engler, Pflan. 

 Ost. Afr. B. p. 474) it is extracted by soaking the fruits in water 

 in large receptacles for some days, the oil as it collects on the 

 surface being skimmed off. The fruit soaked in water is used as 

 a condiment with various foods (I.e. p. 199) ; a similar use is 

 attributed to the fruits in Angola (Hiern. Cat. Welw. Afr. PI. i 

 p. 127). 



