68 BOTANY OF THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. HERALD. 
L 
L 
Linn.), Zarzaparilla {Smilax sp. pL), and Cabeza del negro {Bioscorea sp.). Cooling draughts 
are prepared from the Ferns, Calahuala {Goniopldehium attenuatum^ Presl) and Boradilla 
de palo {Goniopldehium incanwn, Swartz). Antidotes for the bites of snakes are found in 
the stem and leaves of the Guaco [Milcania Guaco, H. B. K.) and the seeds of the Cedron 
j {Simaba Cedron^ Planch.). Cutaneous diseases are cured by applying the bark of the Palo 
de huha {Jacaranda JiUcifolia, Don) and Nanci {Byrsonima cotinifolia, H. B. K.), and the 
leaves of the Malva [Malackra capitata, Linn.). 
The most dreaded of the poisonous plants arc the Amancay {Thevetia neriifoliaj Juss.), 
Cojon del gato [Thevetia nitida, De Cand.), Manzanillo de playa {Ilippomane Mancinella, 
Linn.), Florispondto {Batura sanguineOj Ruiz et Pav.), and Bala {Gliricidia maculata, Kunth). 
It is said of the Manzanillo deplaya that persons have died from sleeping beneath its shade ; 
and that its milky juice raises blisters on the skin, which are difficult to heal. The first of 
these statements must be regarded as fabulous, and the second be received with a degree 
of modification. Some people \\t11 bear the juice upon the surface of the body without 
being in the least affected by it, while others do experience the utmost pain j the difference 
seeming to "depend entirely upon a man's constitution. Great caution, however, is required 
in protecting the eyes, for if the least drop enters them, loss of sight and the most acute 
smarting for several days are the consequence. The smoke arising from the wood pro- 
duces a similar effect. While surveying on the coast of Darien, a boat's crew of H.M.S. 
Herald was blinded for some days from having kindled a fire with the branches of this 
tree. Whenever the natives are affected by the poison, they at once wash the injured 
part in salt water. This remedy is most efficacious, and, as the Manzanillo is always con- 
fined to the edge of the ocean, of easy application. It has been stated that the Indians of 
the Isthmus dip their arrows in the juice of the Manzanillo. There are, however, various 
reasons for doubting this assertion ; first, because the poison is, like that of all Euphor- 
biacece, extremely volatile, and, however virulent when first procured, soon loses its power ; 
secondly, because its effect, even when fresh, is by no means so strong as to cause the death 
of human beings, not even producing, as has been stated, the slightest injmy on some 
constitutions. The statement may therefore be considered as an inaccuracy, and it may 
rather be supposed that the Indians, Hke those of Guiana, obtain their poison from the two 
species of Strychnos common throughout Panama and Darien. The fruit of the Amancay 
{Tlievetia iieriifolia, Juss.) is also considered very poisonous, but its dangerous qualities have 
probably been overrated. There is a gentleman in Panama who, when a boy, ate four of these 
•fruits, without experiencing any other effect than mere griping. The leaves of the Bala, or, 
as it is also called,' i^at/^ra negra {Gliricidia maculata, Xth.), arc used to poison rats. The 
Florispondio {Batura sanguinea, Ruiz et Pav.) appears to have always played, and still con- 
tinues to play, a prominent part in the superstition of tropical America. The Indians of 
Darien, as well as those of Choco, prepare from its seeds a decoction, which is given to their 
children to produce a state of excitement in which they are supposed to possess the power 
