i 
X. Description of the Mora Tree. By Mr. RokERT H. ScHomBurGek. Com- 
municated by GEORGE BzNTHAM, Esq. F.L.S. 
Read March 20th, 1838. 
PROMINENT among the trees which adorn the forests of Guiana, and 
which astonish by their profuse verdure and gigantic size, stands the majestic 
Mora, the king of the forest. Rising to the height of from sixty to ninety feet 
before it gives out its branches, it towers over the wall-like vegetation which 
skirts the banks of the rivers of Guiana, forming a crown of the most splendid 
foliage, overshadowing numerous minor trees and bushes, and hung with Lianas 
in the form of natural festoons. The trunk, rugged and clothed with epiphytes, 
juts towards the base into tabular buttresses or excrescences (resembling in that 
property the silk-cotton tree, Bombax Ceiba). These buttresses are subjected to 
an early decay, and they sometimes form a cavern, which would afford room and 
protection against the inclemency of the weather to several persons ; and I have 
often wondered, when I considered the heavy mass which these half-decayed 
excrescences had to support, how they were able to withstand the tornado that 
so frequently sweeps through the forest, shaking the crown like a reed. 
The Mora, of all other trees of the forests of Guiana, is peculiarly adapted 
for naval architecture; and it is to be found in such abundance, that if once 
introduced for building material into the dock-yards, there can never be any 
apprehension that there would be a want of that timber which could not be 
supplied. The wood is uncommonly close-grained, and gives scarcely room 
for a nail when driven into it: when clear of sap, it is durable in any situation 
whether in or out of the water. 
With this property it unites another of equal consideration to builders ; it is 
strong, tough, and not liable to split, and has never been known to be subjected 
to dry rot, and is considered, therefore, by the most competent judges to be 
2E2 
