THE ECONOMIC HOUSE 45 
From the seeds the Moors extract “‘argan oil,’ which they use with 
their food. 
Artocarpus integrifolia, or JACK Fruit, is a native of the East Indies 
that belongs to the Moraceae, the family to which our mulberry be- 
longs. The tree reaches a height of 30 feet and bears fruits weighing 
as much as 30 or 40 pounds, and very similar to the breadfruit. The 
fruit is eaten by coolies and natives. The seeds are boiled and eaten. 
Asparagus plumosa is a native of the Old World that belongs to the 
Liliaceae, or Lily family. It is important in the florist’s trade 
Asparagus Sprengeri is a native of Natal that is much planted in tubs 
as an ornamental. Under favorable conditions it reaches a height 
of 6 feet. It matures an abundance of red berries about Christmas 
time, hence is especially valued by florists. 
Averrhoa Carambola, or CARAMBOLA, belongs to the same family as 
our common oxalis—the Oxalidaceae. The tree reaches a height of 
30 feet, and is extensively cultivated in India, China, California, and 
the West Indies. The fragrant yellow fruit, about the size of a hen’s 
egg, is used for preserves. Half grown fruits are used for pickles. 
The trees are said to produce three crops a year. 
Berria Ammonilla is a native of India, the Philippines, and the Malay 
region, that belongs to the Tiliaceae, the family to which our bass- 
wood belongs. Its wood is smooth-grained, yellow, with a dark red 
heart, and is much used for houses, boats, oil-casks, and the like. 
Bertholletia excelsa, or BRazit-Nut, or CREAM-Nut, or NiGGER-TOE, 
is a native of the Amazon and Orinoco valleys that belongs to the 
Myrtaceae, a family with no local representatives. The trees reach a 
height of 100 to 150 feet. The nuts grow packed in heavy coverings 
that the Indians chop open. Tons of the nuts are annually shipped to 
our markets. The Indians express an oil from the nuts for burning 
The bark of the tree is used in caulking ships. _ 
Bixa Orellana, or ANNATTO-TREE, belongs to the Bixaceae, a family 
with no local representatives. The tree is grown extensively in both 
the East Indies and the West Indies. The fruit pulp yields the dye 
that is commonly used by farmers’ wives and others for coloring butter 
and cheese. It is also used in dyeing silk, in printing calico, and in 
coloring certain varnishes, plasters, and ointments. The natives of 
the Indies use it in a paint with which they cover their bodies to pro- 
tect themselves from mosquito bites. 
Blighia sapida, or AKEE TREE, is a native of Guinea that belongs to 
the Sapindaceae, the family to which belong our native soapberry and 
our horse-chestnut. The akee is naturalized in the West Indies and 
is cultivated in Florida. The tree bears showy, fragrant white flowers 
from which the native women distill a cosmetic. The fruit is the 
size of a goose’s egg, is eaten raw or cooked, and is little inferior to a 
nectarine in flavor. The fruit also possesses some medicinal value— 
a remedy for diarrhea being made from it. 
Bromelia Pinguin, or WiLD PINEAPPLE, is a native of the West Indies 
and Brazil that belongs to the Bromeliaceae, or Pineapple family. 
