Bursera gummifera, 

 THE GUM-BEARING BURSERA. 



Synonymes. 



Bursera gummifera, 



Gommart gommilere, Gommier blanc, 



Gummitragender Bursere, 



Almacigo, 



West-India Birch, 



Gumbo-limbo, 



Von Jagquin, Stirpium Americanarum. 



LuNAN, Hortus Jaiiiaicensis. 



NuTTALL, North American Sylva. 



France. 



Germany. 



Spain and Spanish America. 



British West Indies. 



Southern Florida and Bahama Islands. 



Engravings. Nuttall, North American Sylva, pi. ; Loudon, Encyclopaedia of Plants, figure 14S39 ; and the fibres below 



Specific Characters. Leaves pinnate. Leaflets ovate-acute, entire, opposite, and slightly circinate. Ra- 

 cemes axillary. 



Description. 

 P^S^HE Bursera gummifera is 



iiJi I-] H M an evergreen tree, attaining 

 i>? LI ((i alieightoffiftyorsixtyfeet, 



^^H with a trunk from three to 

 five feet in diameter. In open situations its trunk is 

 often short, and divides itself into a number of large 

 limbs, so divergent that they form a spacious head. 

 The' bark of the trunk and branches is of a reddish- 

 brov/n, and has a loose epidermis, resembling that 

 of the yellow birch (Betula excelsa.) The leaves 

 are pinnate, from six to twelve inches in length, and 

 somewhat drooping. The leaflets are from three to 

 four inches long, ovate-acute, opposite, and are borne 

 on short footstalks. They are of a dark-green, and 

 shining on their n^per sides, and light beneath, with 

 numerous veins, connected in a singular manner. 

 The flowers, which appear in November or Decem- 

 ber, are of a yellowish colour, occur in clusters, and are situated on separate 

 stalks. The fruit, which ripens in January or February, is roundish, or slightly 

 oblong, with a sharp protuberance at the end, and is about one fourth of an 

 inch in diameter. It is of a purplish colour, hangs in clusters, and is joined to 

 the axil by a footstalk about one fourth of an inch long. Each berry contains 

 a hard, white seed, of a triangular form, which is surrounded by a clear, bal- 

 samic fluid, much sought after by various species of birds. 



Geography and History. This species is particularly abundant on the islands 

 of Cuba and Jamaica, and is also found in considerable quantities on the Baha- 

 mas and in southern Florida, and along the coast to the Spanish Maine. It was 

 introduced into Britain in 1690, and can only be reared there as a hot-house 

 plant. 



Several large trees are growing in the suburbs of Havana, in the island ot 

 Cuba, and in the town of Key West, in Florida. 



Soil., Culture., ^c. In its natural habitat, the Bursera gummifera prefers a 



