kokoona

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A genus of large tropical trees growing on the islands of Ceylon and Borneo, belonging to the polypetalous order Celastrineæ, distinguished from related genera by a 3-celled ovary and winged seeds destitute of aril or albumen. These trees have a yellow bark, opposite coriaceous leaves, and small yellowish-lurid flowers with twisted petals, arranged in axillary panicled cymes. The fruit is a 3-sided and 3-celled capsule, 1 to 3 inches long. K. Zeylanica, the kokoon or kokoona-tree of Ceylon, is used by the inhabitants, who make a kind of snuff from the bark for the cure of headache, and express an oil from the seeds which they burn in lamps. The only other species is a native of Borneo, and is little known.