70 



auphorblacpae . 

 '£hB Hieronyiaa-Jree 



Hieronym^a alQhorneoides ^'r. Allemao^ Dissert, in 'Jrab.Soc. 

 Velloz. SebastianOiJ. 1848, with plate. 



Description of the tree 



A large dioecious tree, the trunlc covered with scaly, ^ 

 grayish bark, the crown flat or rounded, more or less ( 



spreading, the branchlets covered with iiinate, peltate scale^. 

 Leaves alternate, simple, oblique, coriaceous, the petioles 

 slender, 2 to 5 cm. long, canaliculate, minutely scaly; 

 blades ovate or ovate-elliptic, more or less rounded at the 

 base, briefly acuminate, 8 to 16 cm. long, 4*& to 10 cm. 

 broad, olive green and sparsely scaly above, paler and den- 

 sely scaly, v/ith the costa and veins very ^^rominent, be- 

 neath; stipules foliaceous, petiolulate, scaly, Ini'lores- 

 cences x-ai^iiU-latQ ^'^ ^^® ©ii^ o^ ^^6 branchlets, the rachis 

 densely scaly, the brachlets spicifcrm, oracteolate, I to 

 7 cm. long, blowers nuaeroas either .nale tr female, the 

 calyx cupuliform, 4-lobalate, pubescent, the lobules rounded 

 obtuse; petals none; disc thick, torulose. Hale flov/ers: 

 stamens usually 4, exserted; the anthers 8-loculate, -.vith 

 diverging cells; pistil rudimentary, SJemale flov/ers: no 

 stamens; ovary ovoid, sessile, 2-celled, each cell 2-ovu- 

 late; stigmas usiially 4, sessile, terete, recurved. Drupe 

 small, 1 or 2-celled, surrounded by a reddish pericarp; 

 seeds 1 or 2, pendulous. 



Descrii-tion of the wood 



Sapwood thick, light pink; heartwood slightly darker 

 resembling light colored mahogany. iVood hard, moderately 

 heavy, tough, fine grained, taking a good polish. Annual 

 rings of growth not visible; the alternating porous and 

 less porous layers visible under hand lens on a smooth 

 transverse section are not indicative of annual rings of 

 growth, but re^^resent ijeriods of accelerated grov/th 

 brought about by favorable conditions. 



