N. 0. SAPOTACE*. 
745 
tened. Pedicels J-Jin , densely umbelled, glabrous or mmute- 
l . 
ly puberulous ; buds Jin. long. Flowers small, Calyx teeth, Jgin., 
elliptic oblong ; petals Jin. ; s^yle Jin., much longer than the 
Corolla. Berry Jin., globose, smooth, deep-red to black. 
Use : — Said to be the dan of Ceylon, the bark of which is 
used as a febrifuge in fever and in diarrhoea, and also applied 
externally to ulcers (Watt’s Dictionary, I. 290). 
N. 0. SAP0TACE2E. 
720 . Achras sapota, Linn ., h . f . b . i ., hi. 534 . 
Vern. : — Chikku (the fruit) (Bomb.) ; Sapotci (H. and B.) ; 
Shimai-eluppai (Tam.) ; Sima-ippa (Tel ) ; Kumpole (Kan.) ; 
Chakchakoti-kajh&r (Duk.). 
Habitat : — Cultivated in many parts of India. 
A native of Tropical America, much cultivated in lndiau 
gardens, most excellent luscious fruit, which should be eaten 
when slightly overripe, as says Gamble, in which I quite agree 
with him (K. R. K.). C. B. Clarke says that fruiting bran- 
chlets, communicated by Mr. Cantley from Perak, of a tree 80-100 
ft. high, yielded gutta plentifully: The wood is reddish brown, 
hard, with radial groups of pores in oblique patches, fine medul- 
lary rays and irregular narrow, wavy, transverse lines (Gamble). 
Leaves crowded near the ends of thick branchlets, shining, 
elliptic-lanceolate ; blade 3-6in. Petiole slender, J-lin. long. 
Flowers 6-merous, whitish ; stamens 6, alternately with lanceo- 
late staminodes, resembling the corolla-lobes. Ovary 12-celled. 
Fruit as large as an orange, rind rough, brown, thin. Seeds 
5 or more, some undeveloped ones sharp as needles. The fruit 
must, therefore, be carefully eaten, to avoid the sharp needle-like 
abortive seeds, at times about Jin. long, hurting the mouth or 
getting into the throat. Seeds black, shining, about Jin. long 
when mature. 
Uses : — In the West Indies, the seeds are known to be aperi- 
ent and diuretic, and the bark is reputed to be tonic and febri- 
fuge. In the Concan, the fruit soaked in melted butter all 
