Inany event, virtually all of the substances isolated and charac- 

 terized in this study are new to the genus Quararihea and to the 

 Bombacaceae, and some of them are new to the plant kingdom 

 itself. Inasmuch as the 7-butyrolactones can act as convulsants 

 and anticonvulsants, and since Q. funehris flowers are used 

 medicinally as a sort of anti-anxiety folk remedy — a common side 

 effect of all anticonsulvant drugs is sedation — it seems reasonable 

 to suggest that the lactones isolated in this study may act in a 

 similar way, corroborating once again the wisdom of the early 

 meso-American peoples in their use of biodynamic plants. 



Wc are indebted to Dr. R. Gordon Wasson and Prof. Richard 

 Evans Schultes for making available bulk samples of the flowers 

 of Quararihea funehris: representative material of both collec- 

 tions have been deposited as voucher specimens in the Botanical 

 Museum of Harvard University. Dr. Jose Luis Vivaldi, Depart- 

 ment of Natural Resources, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, has 

 helped us in collecting and identifying the leaves of Q. turhinata. 

 To Dr. Schultes we are grateful for his sustained interest in our 

 research. 



The voucher specimen on which the final chemical studies were 

 made consisted of dried flowers purchased in the marketplace in 

 Oaxaca, Mexico. Samples have been deposited in the Economic 

 Products Collection in the Botanical Museum of Harvard Uni- 

 versity. The material was collected by /?.£'. Sehultes s.n. in 

 August, 1981. 



LITERATURE CITED 



AUcrson, B. 1982. Personal Communication. 

 Bohannen, M. B. and Klciman, R. 1978. Lipids 13(4): 270-273. 

 Fowdcn, L.eial. 1973. Phytochcm. 12: 1707-1711. 

 Garcia-Barriga, H. 1959. Mutisia 2:1. 



Gibbs, R, D. 1974. Chemotaxonomy of Flowering Plants, Vols. II, III. 



Hcgnaucr, R. 1964. Chenwta.xononiie tier Pflanzen 3: 284-288. 



Hodge, W. H. 1960. Econ. Bot, 14(3): 203-206. 



Hutchinson, J. 77?^ Genera of Flowering Plants Vol. II: 522-531. 



Klunk, W. E. 1982. Science 217: 1040 1042 



Morris. L. J. and Hall. S. W. 1967. Chemistry and Industry, Jan. 7, 32-34. 



Record, S. J. 1939. Trop. Woods 59; 19. 



Rodin, J. O. et ai 1965. J. Food Science 30: 280 285. 



156 



