THE ORDEAL POISON-NUT OP MADAGASCAR. 
603 
of the vegetable cell absorbs carbonic acid_, so does its colour¬ 
less protoplasm absorb oxygen, and this corresponds com¬ 
pletely to the absorption of oxygen by the blood-cell in the 
lungs. 
THE ORDEAL POISON-NUT OE MADAGASCAR. 
A description of the Tangliinia veneniflua, which is now natu¬ 
ralised in New South Wales, is given by Dr. Bennett in the 
Journal of Botany. The largest and finest tree in the Sydney 
Botanic Gardens is twenty feet in height, with a circumference 
of the branches full fifty feet. It flowers in November and 
December, and is often observed at the same time covered 
with fruit in different stages of maturity produced from the 
blossoms of the preceding year. The flower-buds are of a 
beautiful crimson colour; and, when expanded, the corolla is 
white, with the edges and under surface tinged with crimson; 
the flowers are very fragrant, and their odour is retained for 
some time after they are withered. The fruit is oviform and 
•/ 
about the size of a hen’s egg; it contains a hard stone or nut, 
enveloped in a dense fibrous substance. On this fibrous part 
being removed, there is seen a dark-brown shell, which, on 
being opened, is found to contain a* white kernel, in size and 
appearance like an almond, and of a slightly bitter flavour. 
The fruit is at first of a green colour, then changes to a 
purplish-red tint on one side, but when fully ripe becomes 
wrinkled, and the entire fruit assumes a deep purplish-red 
colour. The whole of the tree yields a quantity of milky 
juice, very adhesive, and of a sw'eet creamy taste. 
