205 



to grow not far from Papantla. This record is particularly 

 interesting, because there is a specimen at Kew from the Her- 

 barium of J. N. Eovirosa (n. 181), labelled " Caoba incolarain. 

 Habitat. Comun en las cercainas del pueblo de Tepitan 

 (Tabasco), Mexico, Feb. 14, 1888/' which enables Schiede's 

 "Caoba" to be definitely identified. Though labelled 

 Swietenia Mahagoni it is a specimen of S. macrophylla , King. 



-3. S. macrophylla, King.— In 1886 Sir George King figured 



and described a new species of Swietenia under the name of 

 S. macrophylla (Hook*. Ic. Plant, t. 1550). The tree had been 

 grown in the Botanic Garden, Calcutta, from seeds stated to 

 have been collected in Honduras in 1872. S. Mahagoni was also 

 grown at Calcutta, and it was pointed out that the Honduras 

 plant had leaves twice as large as the other, with still larger 

 leaflets, in 5 or 6 pairs, not in 4, and that both capsules and 

 seeds were larger. It also flowered a month earlier than S. 

 Mahagoni and seeded freely, whereas the other rarely seeded 

 there at all. The differences were observed as soon as the seed- 

 lings were a few inches high, they grew much more rapidly, 

 and were planted out as Swietenia species. They also grew 

 three times as fast as S. Mahagoni, and in their twelfth year 

 had attained a height of 20 ft. and had begun to flower 

 freely, and a year later produced capsules. S. Mahagoni, at 

 Calcutta, did not seed until 30 or 40 years old, and at all times 

 very sparingly. This is the species which is at present being 

 extensively planted in Trinidad and elsewhere. It now remains 

 to collect the threads of its earlier history. 



In P. Browne's History of Jamaica, published in 1789, we find 

 (p. 159) a Cedrela n. 3, Caroli foliolo ampliori, fructu pentagono, 

 Houst. apud Mill., of which it is remarked: " This plant does 

 not grow in Jamaica, and is only inserted here to show that 

 there is another species of the kind known: it was discovered 

 by Mr. Houston near the Gulf of Honduras, where it grows 

 very large." Whether this really represents Swietenia macro- 

 phylla, King, is not quite clear, for no trace can be found of 

 a Swietenia in Houston's MSS., and plants at the British Museum, 

 together with the absence of any mark to the Cedrelas in the 

 British Museum copy of Miller's Gardeners' Dictionary, would 

 indicate that no specimens were found in Miller's Herbarium 

 in the same establishment, for it is on record (Journ. Bot. 1897. 

 p. 225) w someone (probably Dryander) has marked off in the 

 Gardeners 1 Dictionary the species received from Miller. M It 

 is not quite certain that the species alluded to by Browne is 

 a Swietenia, for Miller's 3, Cedrus (Alaternifolius) foliis alternis 

 simplicibus cordato-ovatis acutis, which is said to have been 

 discovered by the late Dr. Houston at Campeachy, must have 

 been different. It is reiterated that the leaves are single, while 

 in the two preceding ones they are described as pinnate. The 

 trees are said to be eighty feet or upward, leafless on Houston's 

 first visit, but on his second visit clothed with verdure, but 

 with no appearance of flowers, so he was at a loss to know what 

 genus it belonged to." Miller, however, remarked: M As the 



