Hymenxa LEGUMINOS^l 121 



ii. 186, t. 141, /. 4, 5. Courbaril Plum. Nov. PL Amer. Gen. 49. 

 Ceratia diphyllos &c. Pluk. Plujt. t. 82, /. 3. (Fig. 35.) 



Plukenet's specimen is in Herb. Sloane. A specimen named 

 by Linnaeus is in Herb. Linn. 



West Indian Locust Tree, Stinking Toe. 



Plukenet in Herb. Sloane xcv. 157 & xcix. 184 ! Sloane, pods ! 

 Liguanea, Browne; common in Liguanea and the plains of St. Elizabeth, 

 Macfadyen; St. Andrew, McNab \ Pur die ; Porus, Lloyd; near Kingston, 

 Campbell \ Hope grounds, Harris ! Fl. Jam. 6414. West Indies, tropical 

 continental America. 



Tree 30-60 ffc. high, with wide-spreading branches, and glabrous twigs 

 and leaves. Leaflets oblong to ovate, shortly acuminate, curved inwards, 

 the inner side only half as broad as the outer, 6-9 cm. 1. Receptacle 7-9 

 mm. 1. Calyx 1*5 cm. 1. Petals white, thin, with pellucid dots, scarcely 

 longer than the calyx. Stamens 3-3 '5 cm. 1., white. Pod thick, com- 

 pressed, chocolate coloured, rough, '5-1 dm. (-2*2) 1., 3-4-5(-10) cm. br., 

 with 2 or more seeds imbedded in thick mealy pulp. 



"The resin is frequently brought from Surinam on the main Continent 

 of America to Jamaica, where 'tis very much valued and prized for its 

 Virtues in curing Aches, &c." (Sloane). "A fine transparent resin exudes 

 between the principal roots. It is the Gum Animi of the shops. It 

 requires highly rectified spirits of wine to dissolve it, and makes the finest 

 varnish known, superior even to the Chinese lacca. It burns readily, 

 emitting a grateful and fragrant smell, and has been employed by way of 

 fumigation in attacks of spasmodic asthma and other ernbarassments of 

 respiration. In solution, it is given internally in doses of a teaspoonful, 

 as a substitute for Gum Guiacum, for rheumatic complaints, and employed 

 externally as an embrocation. A decoction of the inner bark is said to 

 act as a vermifuge. The wood is considered an excellent timber; is 

 extremely hard, of a close texture, taking a fine polish, and is well 

 adapted for making the cogs of wheels in machinery " (Macfadyen). 

 Browne and Macfadyen are doubtful whether the tree is a true native, 

 but we see no reason for declining to consider it indigenous. 



36. CRUDIA Schreb. 



Trees. Leaves imparipinnate ; leaflets alternate. Racemes 

 simple, terminal or lateral on last year's twigs. Bract and 

 bracteoles lasting as long as the flower in the Jamaican species. 

 Receptacle (calyx-tube) short. Sepals 4, imbricate. Petals none. 

 Stamens 10 (8, 9), free ; anthers versatile. Ovules few (about 4). 

 Pod sessile, woody or leathery, flat-compressed, obovate- roundish 

 or oblong, opening after some time at the margins. Seeds 

 large, 1 or 2. 



Species 10, mostly natives of tropical America, 1 of tropical 

 Africa, 1 of East Indian archipelago, and 1 of Ceylon. 



C. spicata Willd. Sp. PL ii. 539 (1799) ; Griscb. FL Br. W. Ind. 

 216. C. antillana Urb. Symb. Ant. vi. 10 (1909). Apalatoa 

 spicata Anil. PL Gun,,,, i. 383, t. 147 (cxd. f. 5 and 6) (1775). 

 Type in Herb. INI us. Brit, (Fig. 36.) 



