detarium

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A genus of leguminous trees of western Africa, of which only two species are known, D. Senegalense and D. microcarpum. The former is a tree from 20 to 35 feet high, bearing a somewhat oval, fleshy, one-seeded fruit about the size of an apricot, of which there are two varieties, the one bitter and the other sweet. The sweet fruit is sold in the markets, and prized by the negroes, as well as eagerly sought after by monkeys and other animals. The bitter fruit is regarded as a violent poison. The wood of the tree is hard, and resembles mahogany.