460 Account of the Edible Fruits of Sierra Leone. 



vian bark. The pods grow together, from two to five in num- 

 ber, they are rarely single, and each pod contains one or two 

 seeds, somewhat resembling the seeds of the Horse Chestnut. 



Two varieties were seen by Mr. Don, one producing white 

 and the other red seeds, the latter is the only one before 

 noticed. The Sterculia acuminata is common along the whole 

 African coast; it was found* by Professor Smith on the 

 Congo, and is figured in the Flore d'Owaref by the Baron de 

 Beauvois, who gives in that work long details respecting its 

 history, and its property of giving an agreeable flavour to 

 water. The tree is of considerable magnitude, with oblong 

 pointed entire leaves standing on long petioles, and bearing 

 its flowers in terminal and axillary panicles. 



Tola. 



Seeds the produce of a tree are brought to the markets 

 from a distance, under this name, and are used in the same 

 manner as the Cola ; they are long and narrow, somewhat 

 pointed at each end. The plant was not seen. Afzelius, in his 

 Remedia Guineensia,X briefly notices the Tola seed, which 

 he supposes to belong to a leguminous plant. 



Codarium. Vahl. 

 Velvet Tamarinds. Codarium acutifolium. Afoelius.§ 

 This fruit is called the Velvet Tamarind, on account of the 

 dark glossy surface of the pods ; the farinaceous substance 

 contained in them is used as food generally, and has an 

 agreeable acid taste. The trees grow plentifully in low-places 



* See Brown on the Congo Plants, page 467. 



f Flore d'Oware, Vol. i, page 41, plate 24. J Page 61, 



§ See Afzelius'* Genera Plantarum Guineensium, Part I. page 23. 



