THE PLANT WOELD 205 



Briefer Articles. 



THE WEST INDIAN CORKWOOD. 



Among the many species of trees known as corkwood, one of the 

 most interesting as well as one of the least known is Ochroma lagopus. 

 This magnificent tree is found more or less commonly throughout 

 tropical America, north of Brazil. It is a striking tree and I know no 

 other in Mexico or the West Indies that at all resembles it; but, like 

 many other " good things," it appears born to stay unknown. 



In Porto Rico it is one of our most important economic trees, for 

 the "wool " of its seeds is the " goano " or " guano " with which nearly all 

 of the native pillows and cushions are stuffed. Yet Watt does not give it 

 a line in his ten-volume dictionary of economic plants, and even Bailey 

 does not mention it among the 25,000 plant names of his invaluable 

 Cyclopedia of American Horticulture. Its closest relative (though the 

 relationship is by no means apparent), Eriodendron anfractuosura 

 DC, the silk cotton tree, is known all around the world, though its 

 home is here in tropical xAmerica. 



Damp, but not necessarily rich, soil in the hills is a preferred habitat, 

 but it grows well in sea sand or mountain clay. Twenty to forty feet 

 is the average height; the top inclines to be spreading and somewhat 

 open, though the leaf canopy is dense in a well grown tree. The branch- 

 es are few and thickish, but strong enough to resist any ordinary wind. 

 The leaves hanging from long petioles are frequently over one foot in 

 diameter, slightly pubescent, and more or less three-lobed. The wood 

 is exceedingly light and spongy and may be used for corks ; there is no 

 heart wood whatever ; the pith is very large, free from any fibre, and 

 firm enough to also be used for corks. The bark yields a good fibre 

 which may become a staple product some day. And the whole plant is 

 filled with a mucilaginous sap. 



The unique flower is brownish on the outside, vtdth a velvety surface, 

 and creamy yellow within ; its odor is heavy, but sickening. The sepal 

 lobes and petals are five. The monadelphous stamens have spirally 

 contorted and contiguous anthers, and the stigmas are twisted into a 

 cylindrical body which is protruded beyond the somewhat campanulate 

 corolla. The *' length over all " of the flower is from four to seven 

 inches and the ^ddth at the mouth is from three to five inches. These 

 huge flowers are borne near the tips of the branches and always main- 

 tain, from bud to fruit, an erect position. 



