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Tallow Tree

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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In botany, the popular name of a small tree, Stillingia sebifera, belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae, a native of China, but cultivated in India and other warm countries. The seeds are thickly coated with a white greasy substance - so-called vegetable tallow - from which candles are made, and which is also used in soap-making and dressing cloth. The butter tree or tallow tree of Sierra Leone is Pentadesma butyracea, a member of the family Guttiferae. The fruit, which is 4 to 5 in. long and about 3 in. in diameter, has a thick fleshy rind abounding in a yellow greasy juice.