Mr. Schomburgk on the Snuke-nitt Tree, 20* 



glandice^ . All the buds which I opened consisted apparentl}^ 

 of 3 stamens and 1 pistil ; the calyx was imbricated, and this 

 might have induced me to consider it a Carya or Juglans ; but 

 the leaves of the tree in question are smooth and entire, while 

 those of the others, with the exception of two species, are 

 serrated. 



It is not a Carya^ the nut of which is 4-angulated and 4- 

 valved, while the nut of Juglans, as well as the snake-nut, is 

 2-valved. I had requested Mr. Richardson to procure me 

 some of the flowers of the Snake-nut tree when perfectly open, 

 but he did not succeed in drying them, which unfortunately 

 prevented him from sending any, and I am thus obliged to 

 wait for another opportunity of correctly describing this re- 

 markable plant. I offer the following description meanwhile 

 provisionally. 



Order. Terebinthace^.. 



Calyx imbricatus. Corolla 3-petala. Drupa bivalvis. 1-sperma. 



Vulg. Snake-nut tree. 



Arbor excelsa, truncus glaber, cortice laevi cinereo. Folia pinnata ; fo- 

 liola petiolata 3 — 6-juga cum imparl, lanceolato-ovata, acuminata, in- 

 tegerrima, sifbcoriacea, venosa, glabra, nitida. Petioli universales supra 

 canaliculati, glabri, articulati, partiales breves. Flores paniculati; 

 paniculae in ramulis terminales subinde axillares; ramosas; floribus 

 brevissime pedicellatis, numerosis confertis. Calyx imbricatus. Co- 

 rolla 3-petala, ovata, concava. Drupa coriacea unisperma, unilocu- 

 laris, glabra, sphaerica, Nux dura, glabra, bivalvis, unilocularis ; nucleo 

 albo. 



Hah. in sylvis Guianse prope fluvium Essequibo. Floret ApriJi. 



It is a tree of the first magnitude ; its bark is gray, rather 

 smooth, dividing in a few branches at a height of from 40 to 

 60 feet, adorned with pinnated leaves, consisting generally of 

 four to six pairs with an odd one ; the common foot- stalk as 

 well as the petioles are articulated, the former channeled; 

 the leaves entire, lanceolate, ovate, acuminate, lucid, coria- 

 ceous, their colour between light and dark green, with a 

 shade lighter below. The flowers appear in panicles, are 

 pendulous, and the flower-stalks of red-brown colour, almost 

 farinaceous, chiefly the smaller flower-stalks ; verticillate and 



* It stands perhaps between the Anacardice and Juglandice. 

 P 2 



