Flora Medica

SAPOTACEJE.Nat. syst. ed. 2. p. 225.BASSIA.Sepals 4, coriaceous, permanent. Corolla campanulate, witha ventricose tube ;limb 8-parted, nearly erect. Stamens halfinsertedinto the orifice and half into the tube of the corolla;anthers linear, sagittate, shaggy internally. Style subulate,longer than the corolla. Berry fleshy, 5-celled ;seeds solitary.791. B. longifolia Linn. mant. 563. Willd. sp. pi.ii. 842.Goertn. carp. ii. t. 104. ? Roxb. fl.ind. ii. 523. Peninsula ofIndia.(Illupie tree.)A tree. Branches numerous, spreading far, and forming a very extensive,shady head ; young shoots downy. Leaves crowded about theends of the branchlets immediately above the peduncles, lanceolate,smooth, entire. Petioles from 1 to 2 inches long, round, slightlyvillous. Stipules ensiform, downy, very early caducous. Pedunclescrowded round the base of the young villous shoots, 2-3 inches long,drooping, 1-flowered. The bractes, if any, fall so soon, and are sosmall, that I have not detected them. Cafyx of 2 opposite pairs ofovate-oblong, rather acute, somewhat villous leaflets. Corolla ; tubelength of the calyx, gibbous, of a thick, firm, fleshy texture ; border8-cleft ; segments sub-lanceolate. Filaments scarcely any. Anthersfrom 16 to 20, attached to the inside of the tube of the corolla. Ovaryfrom 6 to 8-celled, with 1 seed in each cell, attached to the inner andunder side. Style twice as long as the corolla. Stigma contracted,but evidently from 6 to 8-toothed. Berry oblong, the size of a largeplum, villous, pulpy, when ripe yellowish, seldom more than 3-celled,1-celled is more common ; cells in the ovary, always from 6 to 8. Seedssolitary, oblong, of various shapes according to the number in theberries, attached to the lower half of the axis. Albumen 0.Embryoerect. Cotyledons conform to the seed. Radicle roundish, inferior.Roxb. The fruit when pressed yields a large quantity of oil used inIndia for lamps, soap-making, and also for food. It is also employedmedicinally to cure the itch, and other cutaneous disorders. The leavesboiled in water as well as the milk of the green fruit and bark are usedin rheumatic affections.792. B. butyraceae Roxb. in as. res. viii. 477. and793. B. latifolia Roxb. corom. i. 2a t. 19, the Madhuca tree,also yielda large quantity of oil, but they do not appear to beemployed medicinally.794. The Shea or Butter tree of Mungo Park is a species of387 c c 2