480 



DOMESTIC BOTANY. 



5 large, hard-shelled, flat nuts (seeds), which when dry are 

 brown and warty. They are frequently imported to this 

 country, and contain a nutty kernel, which is eaten, and from 

 which an oil is expressed. 



C. huti/rosum, the Butter Nut, is a tree similar to the 

 last, also producing eatable nuts, but they are too oily to be 

 much in favour. 



The Gamboge Family. 



(GUTTIFER^.) 



Trees or shrubs, sometimes adhering by their roots to 

 other trees {Clusia). Leaves opposite, often thick, entire, 

 with parallel veins running from the midrib to the margin. 

 Flowers usually several together on short footstalks, axillary 

 or terminal. Petals variable in number, generally of a firm 

 texture. Stamens numerous, distinct or united in one or 

 more parcels. Stigma often sessile, rayed. Fruit dry, 1- or 

 many-celled, with the seeds embedded in the pulp. 



This handsome family is represented by 150 or more 

 species, widely spread throughout the tropics. The whole 

 contain a resinous yellow juice, and some are of high im- 

 portance for their fruits. 



Gamboge {Garcinia Morella). A small tree, common in 

 Siam and Cambodia. The fruit is a pulpy drupe, about 

 2 inches in diameter, of a yellow colour, and is esteemed as a 

 dessert fruit. The most important product, however, is the 

 gum which exudes on incisions being made in the stems, and 

 when hardened, is collected and made into cakes, forming 

 the gamboge of commerce ; the best comes from Siam and 

 Cambodia, and is believed to be obtained from a variety 

 of the above species. 



Mangosteen {Garcinia Mangostana). A native of Molucca, 

 and other spice islands, and has become indigenous in Java, 

 Singapore, and other parts of the East. It is a tree about 

 20 feet high, with opposite horizontal branches, and firm, 

 smooth, elliptical leaves. The fruit is about the size of a 

 small apple, of a yellowish-brown colour, crowned with the 



