189 



Thalictrum papillosum Rose, sp. no v. 



Stems low, somewhat hairy; leaves small, 3-ternate; rachis somewhat hairy; 

 leaflets nearly round, mostly cordate at base, somewhat 8-lobed, papillose above, 

 strongly nerved beneath and more or less hairy; inflorescence contracted; pedicels 

 strongly nodding in fruit; akenes 2 mm. long, hardly longer than broad, with a i'eiv 

 irregular ribs. 



Collected by J. N. Koso on the road between Huejuquilla and Mesquitec, Jalisco, 

 August 25, 18!)7 (No. 2586), and near Monte Escobedo, Zacatecas, August 27, 1897 

 (No. 2658). 



This species is near T. lanatnm, but with much shorter fruit, etc. 



CEDRELA OR SPANISH CEDAR. 



There is more or less confusion in the public mind regarding the 

 Spanish cedar. Jt is not a coniferous tree, as is sometimes stated, but 

 belongs to the order Meliaceae and the genus Cedrela. I have had 

 specimens of a Cedrela from the west coast of Mexico under consider- 

 ation for seven or eight years without being able to place it satisfac- 

 torily in any described species. I saw and collected specimens myself 

 in 1897, and after my return went over the material again, concluding 

 that it was an undescribed species. I then sent material to M. de 

 Candolle, who agrees with me and joins in describing as below. 



Mr. E, W. Kelson, who has seen much of the Spanish cedar of west- 

 ern Mexico, tells me that it is a common tree on parts of the coast 

 plains from Banderas Bay to Acaponeta, in the Territory of Tepic. It 

 is also very common on the two larger of the Tres Marias Islands, and 

 has long been the principal source of income for these islands, the 

 wood having been cut and exported from them, at least since 1805. 

 Although the readily accessible supply is now nearly exhausted, yet 

 Mr. Nelson tells me that he saw trees 24 meters (80 feet) high and with 

 trunks G to 9 dm. (2 and 3 feet) in diameter. During the dry season 

 schooners are loaded with the wood and carry it to San Francisco, 

 where it is manufactured into cigar boxes. On the mainland I found 

 that the wood was used by the Mexicans also for tables, doors, store 

 fittings, furniture, clothes chests, etc. The tree is planted in many of 

 the towns, especially along the streets and in yards, and is frequently 

 seen along the roadside. I have seen herbarium specimens from Tepic 

 (Palmer, 1891, 1892); San Bias and Bosa Morada {Nelson, 1897), and 

 Acaponeta {Bose, 1897). The species is found below 1,000 feet altitude 

 in the arid tropical zone. 



A second species is here described also, coming from north of Oaxaca 

 City. This species has heretofore been associated with C. montana, 

 from which, however, it must bo quite distinct. This .is a small tree 

 and is found at an altitude of 1,800 meters. 



From the east coast also a considerable quantity of " cedar" is shipped 

 to the United States. During the fiscal year of 1897-98, about $150,000 

 worth of the wood was shipped to the United States, the ports of ship- 

 ment being Tampico, Tuxpan, Vera Cruz, Coatzacoalcos, and Frontera; 



