13 



rain on the intruder at his first contact with the trunk. 

 On account of the almost absolute inviolability it owes to 

 this iiroteotion it is called in Panaaa vara santa (holy pole) 

 3ut it is also known in the same country at^ ^^alo hoi'miguero , 

 guayaoo hormiguero , and in Costa Rica as tabacc and hormigo . 

 I| is also the palo Liar la and iarrabas of the Venezueliana. 



Magnoliaceae 

 The Panaman Talauma 



Talauma sarabaensis Pittier 



Description of t he tree 



A large tree, 30 to 40 m. high, the trunk straight, the 

 crown elongate. Branchlets terete, rather thick, glabrous, 

 niarked with the annular scars of the stipules, and the large, 

 orbicular, white scars of the fallen leaves. Leaves coriaceous, 

 glabrous, crowded at the end of the branchlets, the petioles 

 1.5 to 4 cm. long, slightly thicker at the base, flattened 

 above, the blades ovate-elliptic, acute-cuneate at the base, 

 subacute or sometimes shortly obtuse-acuminate at the apex, 

 11 to 25 cm. long, 4.5 to 11 cm. broad, minutely reticulate, 

 concolorous, more or less lustrous on both faces; costa im- 

 pressed above, very prominent beneath; primary veins alter- 

 nate, ^jrcminalous en both faces, about 12 on each side of 

 the ccsta, arcuate-anastomosed; margin broadly sinxiate. oti- 

 pule^^ lanceolate, finely granular- reticulate, glabrous, ca- 

 ducous, about 2 cm. long. Flowers not known, iyncar^jium 

 pedunoulate, sabglobose, about 8 cm. lon^, and 7.6 cm. in dia- 

 meter, woody, squamose-areolate, the carpel- tips free, lan- 

 ceolate, obtuse at the apex. Seeds not known. 



Description of the ..'cod 



Sapwood thin, light brov/n or nearly v;hite; heartwood very 

 dark, nearly black and tinged with purple; wood moderately 

 soft, light, ataight and fine-grained, easily worked, taking 



