300 CONTBIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 



2. Bocconia arborea S. Wats. Proc. Amer. Acad. 25: 141. 1890. 



Durango and Sinaloa to Puebla and Oaxaca ; type from Lake Chapala, Ja- 

 lisco. Guatemala. 



Tree, 4 to 8 meters high, the trunk sometimes 60 cm. in diameter, covered 

 with corky bark; leaves clustered at the ends of the branches, 10 to 45 cm. 

 long or larger, with few or numerous narrow lobes, glabrous above, beneath 

 pale and tomentose or glabrous. " Chicalote," " chicalote de arbol " (Tepic) ; 

 " llora-sangre " (Michoac^n, Oaxaca, etc.); " palo amarillo " (Michoacan) ; 

 "arbol de Judas," "palo de Judas" (Durango, Patoni) ; " sauco " (Durango, 

 Palmer) ; " enguande," " inguande," " enguemba " (Michoacan. Tarascan, Ra- 

 mirez) ; " mano de leon " (Oaxaca); " cocoxihuitl" (Jalisco, Ramirez): 

 " tlacoxihuitl " (Jalisco, Michoacan, Ramirez) ; " guachilli " (Ramirez); 

 " ahuacachilli " (Morelos) ; "palo del diablo " (Durango, Sinaloa) ; " palmilla " 

 (Sinaloa). 



The bark yields a yellow dye which was used by the early inhabitants of 

 Mexico for coloring plumes and other objects. The plant contains several alka- 

 loids similar to those obtained from the poppy plant (Papaver somniferum 

 L.). These, when injected beneath the skin, cause local anesthesia, and for 

 this purpose they have been used by surgeons in the City of Mexico, while 

 performing operations. The wood is useless for timber or fuel, but is some- 

 times employed in tanning. 



The species is illustrated by Hernandez,' and described in a chapter headed 

 *' De Enguamba." He states that the plant grows about Uruapam, and that 

 an oil extracted from the fruit is employed for dissolving tumors and cleans- 

 ing ulcers. On page 158 of the Thesaurus Hernandez figures and describes an- 

 other plant under the heading " De Cocoxihuitl. seu herba acri." The figure 

 may represent either Bocconia arborea or B. frutescens. Hernandez's de- 

 scription is based upon a plant in the gardens of the King of Texcoco, where, 

 he says, he " studied the plant for some days." He gives the meaning of the 

 Nahuatl name as " hot-herb," but it may be that it should be translated rather 

 " yellow-herb," an allusion to the color of the juice. He gives the following 

 account of the names and medicinal properties of the plant : " The plant is 

 hot and dry in the fourth degree, and possesses a certain astringency. The 

 jshoots, deprived of the bark, dissipate films and ulcers of the eyes. The 

 juice relieves wind on the stomach, cures eruptions (as does the fruit also), 

 and alleviates pains of cold origin. The leaves, crushed and applied as a poul- 

 tice, heal old wounds and dissolve warts. Some call this tree Quauh chilli, 

 because of its acrid and burning flavor, like that of the peppers called Chilli 

 by the Mexicans. It grows in temperate or hot regions, as well as in gar- 

 dens. Some call it also TotoUnyzochtl, or pigeon-flower, and some Tlacoxihuitl, 

 [rod-herb]." 



3. Bocconia frutescens L. Sp. PI. 505. 1753. 



Bocconia frutescens cernua Moc. & Sesse; DC. Reg. Veg. Syst. 2: 90. 1821. 



Tamaulipas, San Luis PotosI, and Veracruz. Central America to Peru; West 

 Indies. 



Shrub or tree, 1 to 7.5 meters high, the stems with large white pith, covered 

 with smooth pale bark ; leaves 12 to 40 cm. long or larger, petiolate, usually with 

 numerous lobes, tomentose or sometimes glaucous beneath ; flowers purplish ; 

 fruit usually glaucous. " Gordolobo " (Veracruz); " cuatlataya " (Ramirez); 

 " calder6n " (Tamaulipas); "llora-sangre" (Veracruz); " guacamayo," " taba- 

 quillo " (Costa Rica) ; "palo amarillo," "palo amargo " (Cuba) ; "palo de pan 



'Thesaurus 97. 1651. 



