180 



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FORESTRY 



the ground. In 1903 Hermann von to tlie queer baobab family {Bom- 



Sehrenk of the Missouri Botanical Gar- baceae) of tropical Africa and Australia 



dens measured the circumference at with absurdly swelled trunks (described 



breast height as 126 feet. The trunk later under No. 4). 

 appears to be made of several stems, Tlie silk-cotton tree {Ceiba pen- 



and there is no indication of any de- tandra) is also of the baobab family, 



c^y- Kapok, an excellent, white cotton-like 



(3) Central and South America '^"^"g. ^^f/^"^ P'^^^^ ^^^ mattresses, 



- „ , . . IS obtamed from the seed pods. 



In South America are many notable The rain tree [Samanea saman or 



species. A brazilian tree of enormous Pithecolobium saman) is remarkable 



size is the lequitiba vermelho of the for its wide spread of crown. The 



myrtle family, which yields excellent branches of a single tree sometimes 



saw-hmber of a red color. The species cover half an acre of ground. It be- 



is said to reach a diameter of over 22 longs to the Leguminosae and on ac- 



feet and a height of 148 feet count of its large pods is called mon- 



The monkey-pot family {Lecythi- key-pod (not to be confused with the 



daceae) contains many curious trees, "monkey-pot"). See account in Scien- 



mcluding the familiar Brazil-nut {Ber- tific American, April 1926. "The Myth- 



tholletia) and the barringtonias with ological Rain Tree " 

 strange square sectioned fruits. The 



natives grind these fruits and throw (^) A/n'ccz and Adjacent Islands 



them into the water to stupefy or kill The dragon tree of Orotavia (Dra- 



fishes. Another tree of the monkey-pot caena Draco) in the Canary Islands has 



family is the cannon-ball tree {Cou- already been mentioned for its great 



roupita guianensis). The huge fruits age. 



are as large and round as old-time can- The baobab tree (Adansonia) al- 

 non balls, borne in a tangle of crooked ready mentioned, is common in north- 

 branches at the base of the trunk, while em Africa. Their absurd-appearing, 

 the foliage is high above. They are swelled stumpy trunks sometimes are 

 said to explode with a loud noise when wider than high, even looking like 

 "pe. some big fat animal. They measure up 



I have already mentioned the ivory to 34 feet in diameter and are not over 



nut from the tagua palm (Phytelephas 60 feet high. 



macrocarpa) of Peru and Ecuador. The Of all queer trees in the world, the 

 hard smooth nuts the size of hen's eggs welwitschia {Welwitschia mirabilis) 

 are composed of a dense white sub- is perhaps the most curious. It was dis- 

 stance much like ivory. They grow in covered on Cape Negro on the south- 

 immense round clusters weighing up west coast by the explorer Welwitsch 

 to 25 pounds. about 90 years ago. Geologically it is an 



The cohune oil palm {Attalea extremely ancient type of plant of the 



cohune) of Central America has prob- family Gnetaceae or joint-firs of the 



ably the largest leaves of any plant, the gymnosperms. The queer thing is that 



midrib of the pinnate leaf reaching 30 the only foliage it has is the two orig- 



feet or more in length. Tlie leaves arise inal cotyledons from the seed, which 



from near the ground. grow to six feet in length spreading 



Balsa [Ochroma) and quipo or over the ground. Thev are flat and 



bongo (Cavanillesea) are well known leathery and remain during the entire 



trees of South America on account of life of the tree, for a hundred years or 



their light-weight wood, and belong more. The trunk seldom grows more 



