STANDLEY TREES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO 1371 



21. POSOQUERIA Aubl. PI. Guian. 1: 133. 1775. 

 1. Posoqueria latifolia (Lam.) Roem. & Schiilt. Syst. Veg. 5: 227. 1819. 



Tocoyena latifolia Lam. Tabl. Encycl. 2: 259. 1793. 



Posoqueria coriacea Mart. & Gal. Bull. Acad. Brux. 11': 240. 1844. 



Oaxaca; reported from Tabasco. Central and South America; Cuba (?). 



Glabrous tree, sometimes 6 meters high; leaves short-petiolate, oval to oblong, 

 8 to 25 cm. long, acute or short-acuminate, obtuse or rounded at base, coriaceous; 

 flowers white, in terminal corymbs; calyx with 5 short rounded lobes; corolla 

 salverform, the slender tube 12 to 16.5 cm. long, the 5 lobes oblong, 1.5 to 2.5 

 cm. long, obtuse; fruit baccate, globose, 4 to 5 cm. in diameter, yellow; seeds 

 numerous, irregularly angulate, black, about 1 cm. long. "Palo de peine bianco" 

 (Tabasco ?); "jazmin de arbol" (Nicaragua); "boca vieja" (Panama); "guayaba 

 de mico" (Costa Rica); "fruta de murcielago," "fruta de mono," "huevo de 

 mono" (Panama).. 



The fruit is sometimes eaten, but its flavor is poor. 



22. GENIPA L. Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 931. 1759. 



Reference: Standley, N. Amer. Fl. 32: 155-157. 1921. 

 1. Genipa americana L. Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 931. 1759. 



Genipa caruto H. B. K. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 3: 407. 1818. 



Genipa americana caruto Schum. in Mart. Fl. Bras. 6^: 352. 1889. 



Guerrero to Chiapas. West Indies; Central and South America. 



Tree, sometimes 15 meters high; leaves short-petiolate, obovate to oblong, 

 14 to 35 cm. long, acute or obtuse, attenuate to base, pubescent or glabrous 

 beneath; flowers in few-flowered, axillary or terminal cymes; calyx truncate or 

 shallowh' crenate; corolla salverform, yellowish white, 2 to 4.5 cm. long, the 

 5 or 6 lobes longer than the tube; fruit baccate, subglobose, 6 to 7 cm. in diameter; 

 seeds numerous, compressed, 6 to 12 mm. long, dark brown. " Maluco " (Oaxaca) ; 

 "jagua blanca," "jagua azul" (Tabasco); "jagua" (Oaxaca, Tabasco, Veracruz, 

 Panama, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, Porto Rico); "caruto" (Venezuela); 

 "irayol" (Guatemala, El Salvador); "tapaculo," "yigualti," "gigualti" (Nica- 

 ragua); "tifie-dientes" (El Salvador). 



The typical form of the species is glabrous. The form occurring in Mexico is 

 G. a?nericana caruto, which is distinguished by its copious pubescence. 



The wood is said to be soft but strong and resistant, flexible, fibrous, whitish 

 tinged with gray; its specific gravity is reported as ranging from 0.73 to 0.87. 

 It is used for carts, gun-stocks, axe handles, and other articles. The bark is 

 said to be rich in tannin and it has been employed for tanning. A gum is pro- 

 duced from incisions in the trunk. The leaves are eaten by cattle. 



The fruit is brown or green tinged with brown, with a leathery skin and scant 

 acid pulp. The copious juice colors everything it touches brownish or blackish 

 violet. The pulp is eaten by domestic animals and also by human beings, and 

 is used in the preparation of a refreshing drink, and has been fermented to 

 produce an alcoholic beverage. The juice was much used by the early inhabit- 

 ants of tropical America for coloring cloth and utensils and for painting the 

 skin. A decoction of the roots was formerly employed in the West Indies as a 

 remedy for gonorrhoea, and in El Salvador the fruit is considered a remedy for 

 jaundice. 



The earliest account of the tree is that of Oviedo (Lib. VIII, Cap V), who 

 speaks of it as follows: "The Xagua is a handsome large tree, and I have seen 

 made of it fine lance handles, as long and thick as were wanted; it is a heavier 

 wood than ash, and very common in Hispaniola and other islands and in the 

 Spanish Main. They are high straight trees like the ashes, beautiful to see, and 

 the handles made from them are of pretty complexion, and in color pale brown 



