gather specimens from a nearby tree which had been felled that 
very day for its ripe fruit. A duplicate of that collection 
(Zarucchi 2487) was sent to the Smithsonian Instititution, where 
it was determined as the second known collection of Dacryodes 
belemensis Cuatr.2 Dr. José Cuatrecasas, who made the identifi- 
cation, has said that my voucher collection “coincides perfectly 
with the type specimen [Pires s.n. holotype US] in outlines, 
texture, size and color” (Cuatrecasas, pers. comm.). He also 
mentioned that the use of the fruits by indigenous peoples 
“indicates that the species is less rare than the scarcity of 
botanical specimens might suggest.” Conversations with several 
botanists (R.E. Schultes, J. Cuatrecasas, and H. Garcia-Barriga), 
familiar with the Rio Kubiyt and/or adjacent areas of the 
Colombian Vaupés, have failed to turn up specimens or additional 
observations regarding the food use or occurrence of Dacryodes. 
Dacryodes is a pantropical, dioecious member of the 
Burseraceae which was first described by Vahl in 1810, based 
upon a collection from Puerto Rico (Cuatrecasas, 1957; Lam, 
1932). The majority of the species, as the genus is presently 
accepted, occur in Africa and Asia (sections Pachylobus and 
Tenuipyrena). The twenty neotropical species are assigned to the 
wholly American section Dacryodes. The most recent revision of 
this section by Cuatrecasas (1957) comprises fifteen species and 
two varieties; five additional species have been described since 
Cuatrecasas’ publication (fide: Gray Herbarium Cards). Species 
of sect. Dacryodes are known from widespread areas in tropical 
America: from the Caribbean Islands to scattered localities in 
northern South America. Most species are known from only a 
few collections; some are represented solely by fruiting 
specimens. 
My collection (2487) appears to represent the second one of 
Dacryodes belemensis and was found some 2450 km. from the 
type locality: “Brazil: Belém em terras do Inst. Agron. de Norte 
(Reserva de floresta nativa), Horto Mucambo, arvore no. /0-/8, 
2 Specimens of Zarucchi 2487 have been deposited in the herbarium of the Instituto de 
Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogoté (COL); the Gray 
Herbarium of Harvard University (GH); and the United States National Herbarium 
(US). Additional duplicates will be distributed from COL and GH. 
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