The dried and powdered leaves are occasionally added to coca in 
the belief that they are beneficial for sores of the mucous mem- 
brane of the mouth and gums. 
Vochysia laxiflora Stafleu in Acta Bot. Neerl. 3 (1954) 407. 
COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés; Rio Apaporis, Raudal de Jirijirimo. 
‘Flowers yellow. Large tree. Puinave: po-ho-glo.’’ November 25, 1951. R. 
E. Schultes et 1. Cabrera 14542. Rio Kananari, Cerro Isibukuri. ‘‘Flowers 
yellow. Leaves erect. Tree 80 feet tall. Large crown. Bark grey-brown.”’ 
September 29. 1951. R. E. Schultes et I. Cabrera 14678. — Same locality. 
‘*Medium sized tree. Flowers yellow. Leaves erect.’’ December 4, 1951. R. 
E. Schultes et 1. Cabrera 14707. — Rio Apaporis, Jinogojé. ‘‘ Flowers yellow. 
Small tree 35 feet tall.’” June 8, 1952, R. E. Schultes et I. Cabrera 16676. 
Comisaria del Amazonas; Rio Apaporis, Soratama. ‘‘Flowers yellow. 
Height 90 feet.’ February 4, 1952. R. E. Schultes et I. Cabrera 15146. — 
Same locality and date. R. E. Schultes et I. Cabrera 15149. 
The Puinave Indians call Vochysia laxiflora by the same name 
that they use for V. ferruginea, although they easily recognize 
the two as different. They do not use it medicinally. 
The several Indian tribes (Taiwanos, Barasanas, Makunas) 
resident in the middle Apaporis, on the contrary, value this tree 
for several therapeutic purposes. Its leaves are boiled with the 
leaves of coca(Erythroxylon Coca Lam.) to prepare a tea ‘‘when 
urination is painful or impossible.’’ The bark, dried and finely 
powdered, is rubbed into skin sores which will not react to more 
usual treatments with various washes. The bark is likewise 
thrown on fires, and the acrid smoke thus produced is vigorously 
inhaled to relieve asthmatic and other respiratory ailments. 
Vochysia lomatophylla Standley in Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. 
Bot. Ser. 22 (1940) 150. 
COLOMBIA: Comisaria del Vaupés, Rio Pacoa. ‘‘Gigantic tree. Flowers yel- 
low. Barasana: ka-kwee-gaw-ya.’’ February 7-12, 1952. R. E. Schultes et I. 
Cabrera 15234. 
PERU: Departamento de Junin, Mazamari to Satipo. ‘‘Sacha-alfaro. Tree 25 
m. high; fruit green; bark like ‘capirona’ — paler (beige). Perhaps used by the 
Campa tribe as contraceptive.’’ September 14, 1960. F. Woytkowski 6021. 
The Barasana Indians indicate that, when pulverized leaves 
and bark of Vochysia lomatophylla are given to pregnant women 
in warm chicha, the effect is abortifacient and that is ‘twas 
formerly used for this purpose.’’ In view of this report, the 
indecisive annotation on the Peruvian collection cited above 
may assume added significance. 
117 
