40 



tile base, the anthers hardly exserted; ovary briefly sti^;!- 

 tate, glabrcaa, the style filiform, red, lender than the 

 stamens. Legume obliquely dblong, many- seeded, glabrous, 

 incurved laterally and more or less concavo-convex. 



■Desori^)tion; of the treat y 



Sapwood thin, light orange yellow; heartwood dark or 

 sometimes nearly blaoii resembling rosewood ( Dalber^ia nigra 

 Allem.). ./ood very hard, heavy, tough, very close-grained, 

 talcing an excellent polish. Annual rings of growth usually 

 not visible under high power microscope. 



Pores ( Bransverse section) numerous, small (.12 mm. in 

 diameter), round, oj^en in sapwood and closed in heartwood, 

 and arranged chiefly singly, in small groups or in short 

 radial, ro.vs of from S to 3. vVhen 3 together usually 1 large 

 and 2 small ones. Vessel walls (longitudinal section) with 

 numerous, small, bord-.red pits. Perforations simple, 

 Wood fibers about 1.01 mm. long, with very thick walls, 

 obscured cell cavities and pits minute, barely visible 

 under a magnification of 125. (Vood-parenchyma fibers very 

 highly developed and arranged in numerous tangential lines 

 which alternate with slightly broader lines of wood fibers. 

 These alternating lines of tissue cf different density can 

 be readily seen imder hand lens on a smooth transverse sec- 

 tion. Pith tays very inconsijicuous and barely visible 

 under hand lens from 1 to 3 cells v;ide and from a few to 12 

 or lo cells high. 



Distribution, common names and uses 



The dividivi-tree grows in open, semi-arid country, 

 preferably on the dry outskirts of the tide belt, along the 

 coasts of Venezuela, northern Colombia and Central America, 

 Although it l^ardly can be called a gregarious tree, it is 

 usually found in clusters, mixed v;ith Ather arboreous spe- 

 cies of lov; grov/th. It is mostly known commercially as 

 dividivi , which seems to be derived from the name libidibi 

 used somewhere along the northern coast of oouth America. 

 In Venezuela it goes, however, under the name of guatao£n, or 

 guatapaiiare . while in southern Mexico it is called cacalote , 

 in Guatemala nacascalote , and in Ilicaragua and Costa i\ioa 

 nacascol. 'Jhese last three names are derived from the na- 



