Carolina alba, a large tree of the Caribbean and America, a species close to the...

Carolina alba, a large tree of the Caribbean and America, a species close to the Adansonia of Senegal, one of the finest and oldest varieties ever discovered, the French naturalist Adanson estimated this species aged at least 5000 years. It produces fruit in the shape of a bottle, used as a boat, the bark is a material for making of furniture, dried and reduced powdered leaves are consumed by the inhabitants of the eastern coast of Africa, mixed with food to reduce perspiration. Illustration by Sara Maund, in The Botanist, series by Benjamin Maund in five volumes, published between 1836 and 1842. This work is renowned for its finely detailed engravings.