Hevea Spruceana ( Benth.) Mueller-Argoviensis in 
Linnaea 84 (1865) 204. 
In Everard im ‘Thurn’s widely consulted book 
‘*Among the Indians of Guiana’ (1883) 288, it is stated 
‘*one tree thus attractive [seed used as bait] to fish is the 
Hatie ‘india-rubber’ plant (4Zevea Spruceana).’’ It would 
seem advisable to point out that Hevea Spruceana has 
never been collected in the Guianas and is known only 
in the Brazil Amazonia along the Amazon River itself 
below the mouth of the Putumayo (Ica) and along the 
lower course of its affluents. 
In these earlier years, there was much confusion be- 
tween Hevea Spruceana and H. pauciflora (Spruce ex 
Benth.) Muell.-Arg. An attempt to clarify this confu- 
sion led me, during my stay at the Royal Botanic Gar- 
dens, Kew, in 1950, to the discovery of several points of 
bibliographic interest which, since they are apparently 
not widely known, would seem to bear discussion and 
repetition in this series of miscellaneous notes on Hevea. 
The confusion between Hevea pauciflora and H. 
Spruceana in British Guiana began in 1881 when Oliver 
(in Kew Rept. 1880 (1881) 37), assuming, for some un- 
stated reason, that the inflorescences of the type material 
of H. pauciflora were abnormal, stated categorically that 
this concept is referable to H. Spruceana and that all of 
Jenman’s collections likewise represented H. Spruceana. 
Oliver (l.c.) reported that this rubber had the following 
native names in British Guiana: Arawak—/aatie; Carib 
—po-muy; Ackawoi—sibisibi. 
G. S. Jenman, through whose extensive collections 
we know Hevea pauciflora var. coriacea as it occurs in 
British Guiana, took up Oliver’s identification of his 
material as H. Spruceana. In his fascinating article en- 
titled ‘‘A journey in search of ‘Hevea Spruceana’ with 
remarks on India rubber and gutta percha yielding plants 
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