BOTANY or FERNANDO NOEONHA. 61 



seen the flowers : flowering specimens were by no means easy 

 to obtain, as tlie plant had hardly any flowers when we left the 

 island ; they only appear on trees which have shed their leaves 

 at the approach o£ the hot season. The Burra is one of the largest 

 trees on the island, attaining a height of about 30 feet and a very 

 considerable thickness. It has wide spreading branches, which, 

 in old trees are but thinly covered with leaves. The bark is 

 smooth and grey. Every portion of the plant, except the wood, 

 exudes when wounded an abundant white latex of very acrid 

 nature. This is so poisonous, that it is said to burn off* the liair 

 of horses and cattle where it touches the skin; and care is taken 

 not to tie a horse up to a burra-bush. As the twigs are very 

 brittle, persons pushing through a bush are liable to get the milk 

 thrown in the eye, when it is stated to cause blindness. Mr. Lea 

 met with this accident on one occasion on Sella Giueta, a drop of 

 the milk entering one of his eyes, creating a bad inflammation 

 which lasted for some hours. Human milk aud urine are re- 

 commended as lotion in such an accident. Some of the convicts 

 planted hedges of it round their gardens in order to deter thieves 

 from breaking in at night. 



The leaves of the plant resemble those of the Portugal Laurel, 

 which resemblance is increased by the strict habit of the branches 

 of the young plants. They are deep shining green, with a red 

 petiole, aud rather thin in texture, unlike those of Sapium hi- 

 glanduJosum. On the upper part of the petiole are two little 

 conical red glands ; and similar glands occur also not rarely upon 

 the margins of the blade. The racemes are very short, not more 

 than 1| inch long, with one or two sessile female flowers at the 

 base, the upper portion being covered with the male flowers in 

 little clusters of four. The female flowers are single, and just 

 below them are a pair of oblong succulent pinkish glands. The 

 perianth of three lobes is very minute, and often hardly visible on 

 account of the glands ; the pistil is green and conical, but con- 

 stricted towards the apex ; the styles are recurved, thick aud red. 

 Below each cluster of male flowers is a pair of glands like those 

 of the female flower. There are usually four flowers in a cluster, 

 opening one after another ; each consists of a pair of small 

 perianth-segments, alternating with which are a pair of stamens. 

 The capsules are small, subglobose, and bluntly 3-augled ; and 

 contain a single grey seed a quarter of an inch long, broad and 

 rounded at the base and more acute at the apex. 



