612 BRITTON: PISONIA 
The Pisonia obtusata of Swartz has been referred, together with 
P. coccinea Sw., which came from Haiti, to P. zxermis Jacq., origin- 
ally from Cartagena on the mainland of South America, but with- 
out the present opportunity to examine type-specimens I am 
unable to verify this reference; Heimerl places P. coccinea Sw., in 
the related genus Meea. FPisonia Pacurero H.B.K. is referred by 
Grisebach and by the Index Kewensis to P. imermis, and plants 
from the Windward Islands, Porto Rico and Jamaica, as well as 
numerous South American specimens, certainly appear to be con- 
specific with the one figured on plate 24 of the Botany of the 
Herald; if Herr Heimerl had stopped to compare the plate of 
Jacquin illustrating P. ob‘usata with this illustration, I think he 
could not have failed to have noticed that they represent two 
entirely different species, although he cites them both under F. 
obtusata Sw. 
I have a further criticism to make of current generic references 
of these trees to the genus Pisonia L., the type species of which is 
P. aculeata L., a woody vine with recurved prickles and clavate 
gland-bearing fruit; the trees under consideration being wholly 
unarmed and with red drupe-like fruits, the smooth fleshy or juicy 
exocarp completely enclosing the hard ribbed anthocarp ; that 
they can be congeneric with P. aculeata it is quite impossible to 
believe after seeing them growing in proximity with it in the 
Bahamian coastal thickets, and from an examination of the litera- 
ture bearing on Pisonia I conclude that the generic name Torrubia 
Vell. Fl. Flum. 139 (1825), is the first one available for them, 
having as its type 7. opposita Vell. loc. cit., from maritime woods 
at Santa Cruz, Brazil. The Floridian and West Indian species 
known to me are as follows: 
1. Torrubia obtusata (Jacq.) 
Pisonia obtusata Jacq. Hort. Schoenbr. 3: 36. pl. 374. 1825 
Pisonia calophylla Heimerl, Bot. Jahrb. 21: 625. 1896. 
Leaves oval or elliptic, thick, rounded at the apex, 6-9 ™ 
long, about twice as long as wide, often revolute-margined, — 
upper ones subcordate, the lower sometimes rounded or 4 litte 
narrowed at the base ; petioles stout, 3~5 mm. long; fruit bright 
red, shining, juicy, the anthocarp 5~8 mm. long. 
Low coppices and scrub lands, mostly near the sea, island of 
