Bi"to (?), n., Bi"to tree. [Etym. uncertain.] (Bot.)
A small scrubby tree
(Balanites ægyptiaca) growing in dry regions of tropical
Africa and Asia.
The hard yellowish white wood is made into plows in
Abyssinia; the bark is used in Farther India to stupefy fish; the ripe
fruit is edible, when green it is an anthelmintic; the fermented juice
is used as a beverage; the seeds yield a medicinal oil called
zachun. The African name of the tree is hajilij.
© Webster 1913.