152 CONTRTBUTTOXS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 



In littoral woods near Kio Grande, at I.a Estaiu'ia; near Ceiba; near \ai^ual)o in 

 the wooden at Guyaoan; near Guanira in tho woods of La Boca, at Darinas and at 



La Plata. 



The strong wood of thiri tree i^; much used iu the manufacture of household furniture. 

 Local names cohana, poUsandro. 



16. HYMENAEA L. 



Ilymenaea L. Sp. PL 2: 1192. 1753. 

 Courhari Adaxs. Fam. 2: 317. 1703, 

 Tanro}fjov Jrss. Gen, 351. 1789. 

 Courharil Plum.; Endl. Gen. 1317, 1841. 



Calyx with thick, cauipanulate receptacle, its segments 4, imbricate; petals 5, 

 sessile, oblong or olxivate, subequal or the pos^terior one often larger, glandular; 

 stamens 10, free, glabrous; anthers glandular; ovary subsessile; stylo fdiform; stigma 

 terminal, small; legume obliquely obovato or (>])]ong, thick and often almost terete, 

 coriaceous or subligneous, indehiscent; seeds few, exalbuminous, without aril. — 

 Unarmed trees; leaves paripinnate; leaflets coriaceous, glandular-punctate; flowers 

 usually large, white, in ])aniculate racemes; bra<'ts and bracteoles ovate or orbicu- 

 lar, concave, caducous. 



1. Hyraenaea courbaril L.a 



(Urban, 270.) 



Tree 10 to 20 meters high; leaves bifoliate; leaflets leathery, polished, falcate-ovate 

 or oblong, 6 to 10 cm. long, 2.5 to 4 cm. wide, shortly petiolate; flowers white, in 

 many-flowered terminal cymes; calyx segments ovate, obtuse, leathery, 15 mm. 

 long; petals nearly equal, as long as the calyx segments; legume ligneous, thick, 

 7.5 to 10 cm. long, 5 to 6 cm. wide, indehiscent, filled with mealy pulp. 



Near Bayamon; in the Sierra de Luquillo at Mavi; near Juncos in tho woods of 

 Mount Santo de Leon; near Maunabo, at Emajagua; near Mayaguez; near Manati, — 

 Cuba (Grisebach), Jamaica, St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John (Eggers), St. Bartholo- 

 mew (Stockholm Herbarium), Antigua (Grisebach), Gaudeloupe, Domini<'a, Mar- 

 tinique, St. Lucia (Grisebach), St. Vincent, Bequia (Kew Bull. no. 81, p. 240), Mus- 

 tique (do,), Brazil, Guiana, Colombia. 



From the trunk of Ih/menaea courharil (locust tree, quapinole, jutahy, jatahy, or 

 jatoba) a clear balsam drops to tho ground, where iL hardens. It is found in pieces 

 weighing sometimes several pounds. ,This resin is known as American copal, resina 

 copal, or courbaril, and is used by the Brazilian physitnans and by the Indians as a 

 medicament. The red wood is hard and lu^avy and is known in trade as courbaril 

 wood. Among the Indians the sweetish pulp is a favorite food. They understand 

 how to polish the rosin most beautifully, and they use it for all kinds of ornaments, 

 especially for the well-known lip decorations, tcmbcta (of the Amazon near Parana), 



Local name, ahjarroho. 



17. TAMABINDUS L. 



Tamnrindus L. Sp. PI. 1: 34. 1753, 



Calyx with a narrowly turbinate receptacle and 4 strongly imbricated membranous 

 segments; petals 3 (1 posterior, 2 lateral), oblong or obovate-oblong, subequal, shortly 

 clawx^d; 2 anterior petals minute, setaceous or squammiform; fertile stamens 3^ the 

 anterior connate nearly half their length, alternating with minute or rudimentary 

 staminodia; ovary stipitate, multiovulate; style elongated; stigma terminal, truncate, 

 capitate; legume oblong or oblong-hnear, thick, curved or nearly straight, compressed, 



^For illustration of fruit see Cook and Collins, pL 41, facing p, 164, 



