142 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



Hesperian, April, 1860, is not vvith(3ut interest, though his 

 dimensions are somewhat larger than those of any subse- 

 quent observer. It must be remembered that these descrip- 

 tions apply to trees growing in poor soil and exposed to the 

 sharp sea-winds. 



DoDON^A viscosA L. "Grenadina." Not common. — 

 Jesus Maria, San Pablo. 



Cardiospermum Halicacabum HBK. Plants glabrous 

 throughout; not uncommon on the mainland in the south. 

 — San Gregorio, Comondu. 



CARDiObPERMUM TORTUOSUM Benth, Not seen upon the 

 mainUmd. — Magdalena Island. 



This epidermis, wheu removed, exposes tlie smooth, greenish-colored surface 

 of the spoDgy inner bark, which is from one to two inches in thicknes-*. 

 When this bark is cut through, a milky juice exudes, that soon hardens into 

 a compact mass of gum and resin. The quautity furnished from a single cut 

 is considerable. Whether the exuded matter be of any value I have had no 

 means of testing as yet ; but as the tree belongs to a natural order that fur- 

 nishes our most valuable and expensive gum-resinous products, it is not 

 improbable that it may prove worthy of attention in that regard. The wood 

 is light and porous and soon decays, and is not likely to be of any economi- 

 cal utility. 



" The branches of the larger trees often shoot out to a horizontal distance 

 of twenty feet from the trunk, thus covering an area of forty feet in diam- 

 eter, i^maller subordinate limbs spring upwards from the upper side of the 

 large boughs, and in this way give a neat oval appearance to the outline of 

 the tree. When loaded with its bright red flowers, the effect is strikingly 

 beautiful, particularly where hundreds of the trees stand near each other, 

 intertwining their huge boughs, and forbidding ingress to the mysterious 

 space they cover and protect. The leaves are minute, and fall off before the 

 blooms are fairly developed. The young tree looks a good deal like a huge 

 radish protruding from the ground, with but a slight root and a few twig like 

 branches expanding from the top. 



" On the mountain sides, from a little above the sea-shore to an elevation 

 of fifteen hundred feet, these trees grow scatteriugly, singly and in small 

 clumps; but in the narrow vales of the ravines, they sometimes form groves 

 of several acres in extent, presenting the impenetrable and compact form 

 *\bove described. From June till August seems to be their blooming season. 

 It is to be regretted that none of the ripe seeds could be procured during my 

 visit to Cerros." 



