67 



giv^^ Its liabitat as ' m calidis Novae Hispaniae regioiiibus." 

 sLiieir description of the plaut agrees with that of B, EbennHer. 

 lii^mirez, m his " Smonimia de las Plantas Mexicanas," p 94 

 gives the ^^ernacular name as " Tlilzapotl " and the locality a^ 

 Morelos. Hernandez (who explored Mexico between 1571 and 

 W^°^ ? .«^P^^^*e occasions in his ''Opera" (p. 129 and 

 p. Ib4 ot vol. 1.), speaks of the medicinal properties of the tree, 

 but tJie hgure of TLlzapotl " in Eecchus' edition of Hernandez 

 p. 4dU, does not agree with D. Ehenaster in that the fruits are 

 somewhat pointed at the apex. Hemsley ("Biologia Cent. 

 Americana, vol. n. p. 300), states that the tree is only found in 

 cultivated places, and is of the opinion that it has been 

 introduced. 



From Brazil, Glaziou 7747 is cultivated, and it may be noted 

 that Martius m the "Flora Brasiliensis " is very vague as to the 

 exact locality of D. hrasiliensis (= D. Ehenaster according to 

 Hiern), only stating that it grows in the interior! Part at 

 least, if not all, of the material from Dominica is from the 

 Botanic Gardens, so that the tree may be introduced there; but 

 the fact that it is popularly called " bambarra " by the natives 

 in the island suggests that it may be indigenous and more common 

 than our specimens indicate. 



From the evidence we have collected;' therefore, we must 

 conclude that the natural habitat of Diospyros Ehenaster, Eetz., 

 IS in the West Indies. With regard to Mexico, it is evident from 

 the references quoted above that the tree must have existed there 

 for at least three centuries. As the native name • ' Tlikanotl " is 



m 



IS very probable that the tree was introduced into Mexico by the 

 Spaniards, but if this be correct, the introduction must have taken 

 place at a very early date. 



It rnay be fitting to conclude these remarks with a note on the 

 narcotic or poisonous properties of the fruit of this interesting 

 tree. The fruit is large, reaching three inches in diameter: it 

 IS globose m shape and of an olive- or yellowisli-green colour, 

 while the pulp is dark. The fruit (including the seeds) is 

 pounded and thrown into the rivers by the natives of the West 

 Indies in order to stupefy the fish and so facilitate their capture. 

 Some observers — Greshoff being the most recent of them^ 

 declare that the fish are killed by partaking of this fruit. 



v.— THE SOUTH AFRICAN SECTIONS OF 



LORANTHUS. 



4 



T. A. SPRAGITE. 



The genus Loranthus* has been divided into a large ntimber of 

 groups, which have been treated by Von Tieghem as independent 

 gonera, by Engler as subgenera, sections and series.f 



As defined in Engler & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam, vol. iii., 1, p. 183 



t See Kew Bull. 1914, pp. 362-367. 



A 2 



