94 
Lasiopetalea are exclusively from New Holland. 
Properties. These, like the orders most nearly related to them, are 
chiefly remarkable for the abundance of mucilage they contain. The seeds of 
Sterculia acuminata aflbrd the Kola spoken of by African travellers, which, 
when chewed or sucked, renders the flavour of water, even if half putrid, 
agreeable. The seeds of the Chicha, Sterculia Chicha, are eaten as nuts 
by the Brazilians. PI. Usuelles, 46. The Gum Tragacanth of Sierra Leone 
is produced by a species of Sterculia {St. Tragacantha Mihi). Sterculia urens 
of Coromandel yields a gum which is exceeding like Tragacanth, and has 
been imported as such into England. Hoyle. The pod of Sterculia foetida is, 
according to Horsfield, employed in gonorrhoea in Java. The leaves are con- 
sidered repellant and aperient. A decoction of the fruit is mucilaginous and 
astringent. Ainslie, 2.119. The bark of a species of Sterculia is employed 
in the Moluccas as an emmenagogue ; and the seeds of all that genus are 
filled with an oil, which may be expressed and used for lamps. There is a 
slight acridity in the seeds of Sterculia. The Waltheria Douradinha is used 
in Brazil as a remedy for venereal disorders, for which its very mucilaginous 
nature renders it proper. PI. Usuelles, 36. The fruit of Guazuma ulmifolia 
is filled with a sweet and agreeable mucilage, which the Brazilians suck with 
mucK pleasure. In Martinique the young bark is used to clarify sugar, for 
which the copious mucilage it )delds when macerated qualifies it. In the same 
island the infusion of the old bark is esteemed as a sudorific, and useful in 
cutaneous diseases. Ibid. 47. The bark of Kydia calycina is applied in India 
to the same purpose. Royle. The buttery, slightly bitter substance, called 
Cocoa, is obtained from the seeds of Theobroma Cacao, and from this Choco- 
late is prepared. The fibrous tissue of the bark of many species is so tough 
as to be well adapted for manufacturing into cordage ; this is more especially 
the case with Sterculia guttata, Microlsena spectabilis, and Abroma augustum. 
Royle. Bombax pentandrum, the Cotton Tree of India, yields a gum, which 
is given in conjunction with spices in certain stages of bowel complaints. 
Ainslie, 2. 97. The largest tree in the world is the Adansonia, or Baobab 
Tree, the trunk of which has been found with a diameter of 30 feet ; but its 
height is not in proportion. “ It is emollient and mucilaginous in all its parts. 
The leaves di'ied and reduced to powder constitute Lalo, a favourite article 
with the Africans, which they mix daily with their food, for the purpose of 
diminishing the excessive perspiration to which they are subject in those cli- 
mates ; and even Europeans find it serviceable in cases of diarrhoea, fevers, 
and other maladies. The fruit is, perhaps, the most useful part of the tree. 
Its pulp is slightly acid and agreeable, and frequently eaten ; while the juice 
is expressed from it, mixed with sugar, and constitutes a drink, which is va- 
lued as a specific in putrid and pestilential fevers.” Hooker Bot. Mag. 2792. 
The dried pulp is mixed with water, and administered, in Egypt, in dysentery. 
It is chiefly composed of gum, like Gum Senegal, a sugary matter, starch, and 
an acid which appears to be the malic. Delile, Cent. 12. The fruit of the Durian 
is considered one of the most dehcious productions of nature ; it is remarkably 
foetid, and therefore disagreeable to those who are unaccustomed to it, but it 
universally becomes in the end a favourite article of the dessert. It is found 
in the islands of the Indian Archipelago, where it is cultivated extensively ; 
see Hort. Trans. 5. 106. The seeds of many of the species are enveloped in 
long hairs, like those of the true Cotton : it is found, however, that they can- 
not be manufactured, in consequence of no adhesion existing between the hairs. 
The woolly coat of the seeds of the Arvore de Paina (Chorisia speciosa), and 
several species of Eriodendron and Bombax, is employed in dififerent countries 
for stuffing cushions, aud for similar domestic purposes. PI. Us. 63. Helic- 
teres Sacarolha, called by the latter name only in Brazil, is used against vene- 
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