BALANITES

(Lat.), n. m. (although treated by botanists as fem.). Ba?I(ba$l)-a?n(a8n)-i(e)'tez(tas). Gen, balani’tæ. From Bakavirns, acorn-shaped. Fr., balanites, balanite. 1. An unknown precious stone. [Pliny (A, 311, 312).] 2. Of Delile, a genns of shrubs and small trees, referred by Bentham and Hooker to the Simarubee (tribe Picramnieæ), by Planch on to the Meliaceæ, and Baillon to the Rulaceæ, It is distinguished by its alternate, bifoliate, usually epunctate leaves, its hermaphrodite, Bparted flowers, its 10 stamens inserted at the base of the disc and having non-glandulose anthers, its globose, quin que locular ovary having a short subulate style with 1 or 5 stigmas and with a solitary ovule [B, 42, 121.]—B. ægyptiaca {elie}. Syn,: Ximenia œgyptiaca [Linnaeus] (Seu ferox [Poiret]). A shrub be: g coriaceous, in cons pic no us leaves with entire leaflets and numerous pubescent greenish flowers of an aromatic odor. According to De Enndolie, it is the agihalid of Prosper Alpinus. The ellipsoidal, drupaceons fruit is the Egyptian myrobalan, the date of the desert and haledsch of the Arabs, and the soum of the negroes; and is edible, although slightly bitter and purgative. especially when unripe. An oil extracted from the seeds is used as a vuinerary, The seed is said to be the zucchone, or zachum. (H. Baillon (B, 46).] The B. cegyptiaca, var. indica, is the B. Roxburghii. (B, 172)—B. Roxburghii [Planch on].’ À tree 20 feet high, growing in the Deccan, distinguished by the hairy corolla, but otherwise closely related to B. œgyptiaca, of which some re- ‘ard it asa variety. The crue fruit is a violent purgative, but the ripe fruit is edible. The bark is used in veterinary practice. [B, 121, 172.]