216 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL, HERBARIUM. 



turn and twist this way and that, and to handle the body like contortionists; 

 and it excites venery, it allays colics, applied as a plaster it relieves the 

 bowels, appeases thirst, and, burnt, it dissipates ulcers. This is that noble 

 gum with which the Indians once were wont to play the game called Bathei, 

 wonderful to see, which, by the agency of Cortes, the people of Spain alt^o were 

 enabled to witness years ago. The leaves of the tree, dried and bruised, are 

 said to destroy lions and other animals." 



According to Sahagtin, " hoarseness is cured by rubbing the throat with ulli, 

 drinking honey, and snifting a few drops of honey up the nose. * * * The 

 gum is very medicinal and is used for almost all diseases. It is a remedy for 

 the eyes, for abscesses, and for suppuration. It is taken with cacao. It is 

 useful for the stomach and intestines, internal putrefaction, and constipation." 

 The rubber was employed also for holding broken bones in place, and for similar 

 purposes. 



Sevei'al other species of Castilla are found in Central America. Some Mexi- 

 can specimens have been reported as C. guatemalensis Pittier,' but the pres- 

 ent writer has no reason for believing that more than one species occurs in 

 Mexico. 



8. SAHAGUNIA^' Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2: 316. 1851. 

 1. Sahagunia mexicana Liebm. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skrivt. V. 2: 31G. 1851. 



Mirador and Barranca de Santa Maria, Veracruz. 



Tree ; leaves oblong, acuminate, entire or nearly so ; flowers dioecious, the 

 staminate spicate, the pistillate capitate. "Arbol del pan" (Veracruz, Vil- 

 lada). 



9. CECROPIA L. Amoen. Acad. 5: 410. 1760. 



Refeuence: Miquel in Mart. Fl, Bras. 4': 139-154. 1853. 



Trees or shrubs, the stems simple or branched, the trunk whitish, hollow ; 

 leaves long-petiolate, the blades deeply lobed, usually white-tomentose beneath, 

 the lobes 7 to 13, entire ; stipules large, inclosing the young inflorescences ; 

 flowers dioecious, in very dense cylindric spikes, these clustered at the end of 

 a stout peduncle. 



All the species are much alike in general appearance, and they are not easily 

 separated upon examination of herbarium material. The specimens available are 



*Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 13: 272. 1910. The proper name for this species is 

 Castilla gummifera (Bertol.) Pittier; see Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 20: 34. 1917. 



* The genus is named in honor of Bernardo de Sahagtin, a Franciscan friar 

 of Spanish birth who came to Mexico as a missionary in 1529. Here, as Prescott 

 states, " he distinguished himself by his zeal, the purity of his life, and his 

 unwearied exertions to spread the great truths of religion among the natives." 

 He wrote a " Historia Universal de Nueva Espana," the material for which 

 he obtained directly from the native people with whom he was continually 

 associated. This work he composed in the Nahuatl language, which he could 

 both write and speak with great fluency. It was feared by the other members 

 of the order that the publication of the work would keep alive in the natives 

 too vivid an impression of the superstitions which it was the duty of the 

 Christian cliurch to eradicate, and consequently the permission to print the 

 manuscript was refused. It was not until 1830 that SahagQn's history was 

 actually printed. Besides the other matters of which it treats, the book con- 

 tains nmch information regarding the plants of Mexico. Sahagfiu's work is 

 one of the most important of those dealing with Mexican antiquities, and is 

 unique in the method of its preparation. The author lived to an advanced age, 

 and died in the capital in 1590. 



