COMMA RATI VK VIVW. \(\]
There seems no reason to doubt that this tree, whose |)rol)al)le place in the system 1 have stated in my remai'ks on Amyrideac, belongs originally to the west coast of Africa.
A7<^is Guincc/isis, of which the oil is distinctly described in the beginning of the sixteenth century by La Ca da Mosto, in his account of Senegal/ is withont doubt indige- nous to the whole extent of this coast ; as is Ttaplda vinifcra, of w^hich the remarkable fruit also very early attracted attention -^ and the supposed species of CorypUa.
Of Alimentary Plants, whether cultivated or indigenous, that are know'u or supposed to belong to the west coast of equinoctial Africa, but which were not seen on the banks of the Congo, a few of the more important may be men- tioned.
Among these are the Cocoa Nut and Rice, the former, according to the natives, not being found in the country. The absence of these two valuable plants is the more remarkable, as the Cocoa Nut is said to exist in the neigh- bouring kingdom of Loango ; and, according to Captain Tuckey, a certain portion of land w^as seen on the banks of the river well adapted to the production of Rice, which is mentioned as cultivated in some of the earlier accounts of Congo.
The Sweet Potatoe {Convolvulus Batatas), also noticed by the Portuguese Missionaries, was not met with.
The Butter and Tallow Tree of Afzelius, wdiich forms a new genus belonging to Guttifergc ; the Velvet-Tamarind of Sierra Leone (Codarium acutifolium ;^) and the i\lonkey Pepper, or Piper ^thiopicum of the shops {JJnona JEthiopica of Dunal), which is common on many parts of the coast, were not observed.
Tw^o remarkable plants, the Aliee^ and the Jamaica [^75
Bamusio \,p. 104. Gri/n. Nov. Orb. 28. ^ Palma-Pinus, Lobel. advers. p. 450. Afzel. Gen. Plant. Guineen. par. prim. p. 23. Codarium nitidum Htlily cnum. 1, /;. 302.
- Bligliia sapida, Konig in Annals of Bol. 2, p. 571. Uorf. Knn. ed. Ida.
vol. 2, ;;. 350.
At the moment that this slicct was about to liavn been scut to the |)rc.ss, Sir Joseph Banks received a small collection of specimens and fic^ures of plants,
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