Flora Medica

BURSERACEJE.Nat. syst.eel. 2. p. 110.PROTIUM.Flowers polygamous. Calyx campanulate, 4-toothed, persistent.Petals 4-, linear-oblong, inserted under the margin of thetorus ;aestivation valvular, the margin curved in. Stamens 8,shorter than the corolla, glabrous, inserted under the margin oftorus. Torus cup-shaped, fleshy, deeply crenated. Ovary sessile,2-celled ;ovules 2 in each cell, collateral, suspended fromthe middle of the axis. Style very short: stigma obtuse,4-lobed. Drupe globose or ovate ; nut thick and very hard,bony, 2-celled (one of the cells by abortion often obliterated,)at length divisible into 2 nuts. Seed solitaryin each perfectcell. Trees giving out balsam. Leaves unequally pinnated:leaflets 3-7, without dots. W. and A.334-. P. gileadense W. and A. i. 177. Balsamodendron GileadenseDC.prodr. ii. 76. Amyris gileadensis Linn. mant. 65.Vahl. symb.i. 28. 1. 11. Amyris Opobalsamum Forsk. descr. 79.BaXo-a/>wv SEV&-JO;/ Tlieoph. BaXo-a,M,oy Dioscorides. Arabia ;neighbourhoodof the Caravanserai of Oude, not far from Haes Forsk.East Indies Wight. Beder in Ethiopia Bruce.A middle-sized tree, with divaricating branches and a smooth ashcolouredbark. Leaves ternate ; leaflets smooth, flat, entire, the lateralones ovate, the middle ones obovate. Flowers monoecious. Pedunclessolitary or several together, terminal, filiform, 1-flowered. Calyxcampanulate, 4-toothed. Petals 4, linear, erect, obtuse. Stamens 8,shorter than the corolla. Disk annular, cup-shaped, fleshy, with anelevation on the outside between each stamen. Fruit, fleshy, ovate,acute, smooth, with 4 sutures, 1-2-celled, with a tenacious viscid pulp.Seed solitary. The wounded bark yields opobalsamum according toForskal. This, which is also called Balsam of Mecca, is reckoned by theOrientals a perfect panacea ; being according to them stomachic, vulnerary,alexipharmic, &c. &c. According to Prosper Alpinus itsdifferent qualities depend uponits mode of preparation. I have takenup an abridgment of Forskal's account of this plant but ; it is thoughtby some that the Indian and Arabian species may be different. Asupposed variety from Mecca is mentioned with bipinnate leaves.335. P. Kafal. Amyris Kafal Forsk. 80. BalsamodendronKafal Kunth. gen. tereb. 16. DC. prodr.ii. 76. Arabia.Young leaflets villous, acute, serrated at the point, old ones smooth,often obtuse. Branches slightly spiny. Fruit compressed, with anelevated ridge on each side, and a black prominent point at the apex.A very fragrant balsam is obtained from the fruit of this tree. Thegum resin is purgative. Forsk.169