oo'me. This ‘‘salt’’ is the residue from the filtrate of ashes of 
one of two plants: one, known as pee-ve-ee-pa-a in Bora, an 
epiphytic species of the cyclanthaceous genus Carludovica , 
the leaves and stump of which are burned; the other a large 
palm, Scheelea sp., the leaves of which are reduced to ashes. 
The ashes of these plants are placed in a funnel made of a 
pliable piece of bark. Hot water is slowly poured into the 
funnel, passing through the ashes and dripping out into a recep- 
tacle placed under the funnel. The filtrate is then evaporated by 
heating, leaving the solid powder or “‘salt”’. 
Another contrast with the Karaparana Witoto preparation of 
Virola pellets lies in the much larger number of plants em- 
ployed by the Witotos as sources of the “‘salt”’ for coating the 
paste. 
It is of interest to note in passing that a ‘‘salt’’ from ashes of 
the leaves and stems of alow palm of the genus Chelyocarpus 1s 
similarly prepared by the Boras on this region for mixing with 
the thick syrup of tobacco, known in Bora as am-pl'-ree, 
applied to the tongue frequently during the use of the powdered 
coca, a narcotic characteristic of the region. The same tobacco 
preparation — with ‘‘salts’’ prepared from other plants — Is 
made by the Witotos of the Rios Karaparana and Igaraparana 
(Schultes, 1945). 
The Bora group at Brillo Nuevo recognized several species 
of Virola but pointed out as the “‘best’’ tree a species that 
occurs abundantly along the banks of the Rio Yaguasyacu. 
This ‘‘best’’ tree has been identified as Virola elongata (Benth.) 
Warburg (Plowman, Schultes et Tovar 7263). It is a stout, 
columnar tree up to 75 or 80 feet tall, with a diameter of two to 
two and a half feet, standing in deep water during most of the 
rainy season. The crown is not extensive for a tree of such 
height. The leaves are narrowly lanceolate-elliptic, greyish 
brown on the nether surface, bright green above: their consis- 
tency is firmly chartaceous. The bark ts hard, externally 
greyish black, light reddish brown within, about one quarter of 
an inch thick; when stripped from the trunk for use, an almost 
colourless resin-like liquid accumulates on the innermost sur- 
face and rapidly — within four or five minutes, some times even 
263 
