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G. A. C. HERKLOTS
This small tree is one of those which belong to the Mangrove swamp flora though in Hong Kong it may be found growing on the shore above high tide mark a long way removed from the tidal mud flats. Probably the fruits are better known than the white sweet scented flowers. When unripe they are green and globular, two to three inches long, later they turn red. These fruits may be carried many miles by ocean currents; they are softened during this process and subsequent rubbing on sandy or rocky shores soon removes the outer skin. The brown fibrous covered fruit is a
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The Flowering Shrubs and Trees of Hong Kong
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1. INCH
Figure 3. Melodinus fusiformis,
very common object amongst the flotsam and jetsam on sea beaches in the tropics. The tree has a white milky sap; one species is called C. lactaria because of this character. The word Cerbera is derived from the word Cerberus, the three-headed dog which guarded the entrance to Hades, and implies that the plant is harmful.
ECONOMIC USES. In the Malay archipelago and the Philippine Islands the plant is put to a variety of uses. Rubbing with the fruit is said to ease rheumatism. The seeds contain a medicinal oil which can also be used as
The Hong Kong Naturalist.
May 1932.
LINCH
Figure 4.
Cerbera odollam.
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