4 2 WO n T U S J A M A I C E N SIS. tocas^, 



Cen. char. Oalvx a one-leafed, comc-' oiw pfcrianUi ; tube short, titvbinate, rom- 

 jiresscJ, peraianeiit, with an oblujpe Uiiutii; limb five- parted, alinost regular, 

 upright, deciduous';, segments. vi\te, blunt, two opposite, fluttish, a little 

 broader; two others concave, with o.ne side narrower; corolla five-petakd. in- 

 serted ini,o t.be neck of the calyx, "sub-papiHonyceoLis, with the petals almost 

 ecfiial ; the two upper petals of the banner obliquely ovate, oi-;tusc, sessile, at t"he 

 upper concave segment of the calyx ; \vings t.vo petuU, inmilur, lateral, a little 

 narrower; keel the lowest petal, chanaeiled and excavated, appmximatiiig to the 

 wingSj within the lower h-ol low of the segment of the calyx ; the stamens arr. ten 

 filaments, distinct, avvl-sha]3ed, erect, bent down above the middle, very long, 

 between the keei and the v^'i^g^, inserted into the neck of th-e calyx, wit'li linear 

 itnthers, fixed by the back ; the pistil has a sabre-shajied germ, compressed, pe- 

 diceded; stv'.e very long, bnstle-shaped, bent down ; stigma thickened, obli(|uely 

 trini'.ate ; the pericarp is a woody legume, very large, ovate-oblong, obtuse, 

 one-celled, filled with farinaceous pulp ; seeds several (four to eight), large, 

 ovikte, vvrap]>ed up in poilen and fibres. There is only one species. 



COUllBARII.. 



]le:una.pallide litt&a, odorata, giimmi.elcnii dic/a sunilis. Slcane, v. 

 2, p. 186. Folits gevimatis parallelis-, paginis i/itzquaiibus, racanin 

 tennvnairic'ibus. Browne, p. 221. 



This is a very large spreading tree in the V/est Indies, where it grows plentifully ; 

 IX has a large stem, covered with a rtwset bark, which divides into many spreading 

 branches, garnished with smooth stiff leaves, which stand by? pairs, their base jointing- 

 at the footstalk, te which tJiey stand oblique, one side being much broader t.han the 

 other, tlie tuv outer sides being rounded, and their inside siraight, so , that- they re- 

 semble a pair of sheep -shears ; they arc pointed at the top, and stand alternate'lj^Bon 

 the stalk. The iiowers are produced in loose spike.; at the end of the branches, some 

 of the short ligneous footstalks supporting twoj and others three, flowers, which are 

 composed of five yellow petals, striped with purple ; the petals are short, and spread 

 open ; the stamens are much longer, and of a purplish colour : these flowers a-re sue- 

 c-eeded by diid^, flesh}-, brown, pods, shaped like those of the garden bean ; tiify ara 

 six mciies long, -and two.and a half broad, of a purplish-brown colour, and a ligneous 

 cor.sistence, with a large suture on. both edges ; they contain three or four roundish, 

 COBipresseJ, seecis,- divided by transverse jjariitions, and inclosed in a. whitish sub- 

 stance, as sweet as honey, which the Indians eat with great avidity, though it is apt to 

 pursie when fresh oatliered ; but loses this quality as it becoLues old. 



^^'Tfefs'''frfefe''is not an iiidigcna ofthe island, but introduced j^robab'v from the southern 

 continent, and was first planted in Liguanea; the seeds obtained from it were after^ 

 wards sown in other pans, so that it is now common. I have been informed, that it was 

 generally brought into fiQP'feland; by the little colony removed fnjm Surinam ; who 

 planted a great varitfj^-W"^Anfi^%ltcf'(among others) of this tree-,, particularly at the 

 s-pot allotted to them, v&\\ei\ Su}-inain Suarters, in the parish of St Elizabeth, where 

 tlie species i; now groaing in vast afjuTiTtSTice. ' 



Bitween the prtncij) d t.iots ofthe tree exudes a. fine transparent. resin, yellowisli or 

 red, whirh is coiiprt3!vi1.I*:rf*fe Imips. is r-dh^' il;e '^^n^ niimi of the shops, and u-.-ikes 

 tlic finest'jatn'ishrtiial.-i&iaiD^MiV'^tipciiex^.e^RttQ the Chinese lacca -, for tlila latter -. ; 

 ^H20 ' ' it; : 



