Bassia butyracea, Bassia latifolia, Bassia longifolia.

Bassia butyracea Roxb. Sapotaceae. Indian-Butter. Phoolwa-Oil Plant.

East Indies. The pulp of the fruit is eatable. The juice is extracted from the flowers and made into sugar by the natives. It is sold in the Calcutta bazaar and has all the appearance of date sugar, to which it is equal if not superior in quality. An oil is extracted from the seeds, and the oil cake is eaten as also is the pure vegetable butter which is called chooris and is sold at a cheap rate.

Bassia latifolia Roxb. Epie. Mahoua. Yallah-Oil Plant.

East Indies. The succulent flowers fall by night in large quantities from the tree, are gathered early in the morning, dried in the sun and sold in the bazaars as an important article of food. They have a sickish, sweet taste and smell and are eaten raw or cooked. The ripe and unripe fruit is also eaten, and from the fruit is expressed an edible oil.

Bassia longifolia Linn. Illupie-Oil Plant. Ilpa.

East Indies. The flowers are eaten by the natives of Mysore, either dried, roasted, or boiled to a jelly. The oil pressed from the fruits is to the common people of India a substitute for ghee and cocoanut oil in their curries.

Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.