236 THE SABICU WOOD OF CUBA. 



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tensively imported into this country for its excessive hardness, which 

 renders it so valuable for ship-building and other purposes. It was re- 

 ferred by Achille Eichard, in his 'Flora of the Island of Cuba/ to the 

 Acacia formosa of Kunth ; but that is a species of Calliandra^ from 

 Mexico, with very numerous stamens, and differing also from the 

 Cuban tree in many points in habit and foliage, as appears on a com- 

 parison of the characters given by Kunth and A. Eichard respectively, 

 and still more so of the specimens themselves. Those before me of 

 the Sabicu were communicated under that name by Eamon de la Sagra 

 to the elder De CandoUe, and are consequently derived from the same 

 source as those described by Eichard ; and the inspection of an original 

 specimen of Humboldt and Bonpland's, in the Paris Herbarium, has 

 proved to me that I was con-ect in identifying with this Acacia formom 

 the Calliandra of that name I described in the third volume of the 

 •London Journal of Botany/ The main point in which De la Sagra s 

 specimens of the Sabicu do not quite agree with A. Eichard*s character, 

 is in the presence of a small gland on the petiole, below the lower pair 

 of pinnae, which however the latter botanist may easily have overlooked, 

 copying Kunth's expression, "petioUs eglandulosis/* without any very 

 close verification. 



We may therefore consider the Sabicu as a new species of Lysiloma^ 

 with the following character : — 



Lysiloma Sabicu; glabra, stipulis (caducis) oblique ovatis, petiolis tenui- 

 bus, glandula parva, pinnis 2-3-jugis, foliolis 4-5-jugis oblique ob- 

 ovalibus v, late oblongis obtusissimis, capitulis globosis, ovario sub- 

 sessili glabro, legumine longe stipitato. — Arbor pulchra. Stipule 

 fere semipoUicares, membranacese, venosse. Petioli tenues, com- 

 munes partialesve 1-3-pollicares. Glandula petiolaris parva, scu- 

 tellata, infra pinnas inferiores, jugales perpaucae minutae. Foliola 

 subsemipollicarin, penninervia, rigidule membranacea, subtus pallen- 

 tia. Pedunculi axillares, saepius solitarii, l-l|^-pollicares. Capitula 

 globosa. Bractem inconspicuse. Calyces sessiles, tubulosi, 5-den- 

 tati, lineam longi, glabri. Corolla tubulosa, 5-fida, calyce duplo 

 longior, lobis apice villosis. Stamina 15-20, corolla duplo longiora, 

 filamentis fei'c ad medium coalitis in tubum basi corollse breviter 

 adhserentem. Ovarium subsessile, glabrum, Legunien 4-5 poll, 

 longum, \—\\ poll, latum, planum, glabrum, margine incrassato, sti- 

 pite polliccmlongOj valvulis circumcirca arete connatis, medio solutis, 

 dcmum circa seraina deliquesceutibus. 



