COLLECTED BY MR. SPRUCE IN BRAZIL. 195 
and they are then ground to a fine powder, which, mixed with a little 
water, or exposed to the night dew, is kneaded into a dough. In this 
dough are mixed a few seeds, either whole or broken into two or three 
pieces, and the whole is made up into sticks or cakes of the requisite 
form, usually cylindrical or spindle-shaped, containing from twelve to 
fifteen ounces of the paste, and from five to eight inches long ; it is 
more rarely compounded into balls. These sticks are then dried in the 
sun, or in the smoke of the huts, or by the fire, till they become so hard 
and tough that it requires an axe to break them. They are now 
packed among the broad leaves of Scitaminee into baskets or sacks, 
and when not exposed to much damp, will keep uninjured for several 
years. In the province of Para, the Guarana is grated for use on the 
jawbone of the Piracurü fish, which is covered with bony asperities, 
and which, kept in a basket made of Uarumà stalks (Maranta Tonchat, 
Aubl.), is a common article of household furniture. An inferior paste 
is prepared by mixing powdered cocoa or mandiocca flour with the 
true Guarana: this is less hard and tough, and is whitish when broken.” 
(Mart., ibid. p. 1098, in a note which concludes with some medical and 
chemical observations, the result of the experiments of Dr. Theodore 
von Martius, the traveller’s brother, and with the expression of his 
belief that it would make a valuable addition to our Materia Medica.) 
2. Paullinia interrupta, sp. n. ; ramulis petiolisque ferrugineo-puberulis 
glabratisve, foliis pinnatis, petiolo non alato, foliolis 5 ovatis ob- 
longisve acuminatis integerrimis v. obsolete sinuato-dentatis utrinque 
viridibus glabris v. ad venas marginesque pilosulis, racemis sessilibus 
v. breviter pedicellatis, floribus interrupte fasciculatis, sepalis 5 ex- 
terioribus duplo minoribus, capsula breviter stipitata globoso-tri- 
quetra ferrugineo-tomentosa.—#rutex scandens; rami teretiusculi, 
juniores leviter angulato-striati, nune uti petioli dense ferrugineo- 
tomentosi, nunc fere glabri. Stipulæ oblongo-lineares, caducæ. Pe- - 
tioli communes 3-6 poll. longi. Foliola majora (3 superiora folio- 
tum majorum) 5-6 poll. longa, 2-3 poll. lata, inferiora cujusve folii 
et omnia foliorum superiorum minora, et hzc sepius proportione : 
augustiora, terminale basi cuneatum et ima basi in petiolulum con- ; 
tractum, lateralia basi rotundata et brevissime petiolulata, omnia 
rigide chartacea v. subcoriacea, penninervia, rete venarum subtus 
prominula supra vix conspicua, preter pilos nunc rarissimos nunc 
copiosores ad venas marginesque glabra, utrinque punctis minutis 
