165 



or balata of the commerce, bat also for its v/ood, vhich under 

 the names of nfspero or bully-tree , is used in conjunction 

 with riChras oaj^ota and at least one ajpecies of Sideroxylon 

 for railroad ties and other strong constructions. 



It seems to be one i..f the comiaonest trees in the forests 

 of the Atlantic watersh&d of Panama My to an altitude of 

 about 300 meters, and, according to the native balata-hunters, 

 it ejRtends far into the Atrato basin and the 3inu valley 

 in Colombia. The extraction of the g-um goes on without con- 

 sideration to the i^reservaticn of the tree. Indeed, one 

 rarely meets with an uninjured individual and the extermin?.- 

 tion of the Sj,)eciea is furthered at a ra^jid rate. 



xhe obovate 3reak.bill 



iumelid vjbovata a, ^.C. Prodr, 8:191. io<t^. 



Description of the tree 



A small tree, 6 m. high or leas, the trunk seldom over 

 20 cm. in diameter, branched frcm close to the base, the 

 bai-k brownish, more or less scaly, the branchleta usually 

 aculeate at the end. (^Leaves small, deciduous, glabrous, .-: 

 single or in clusters," the j..etioles about 8 ma. long, the 

 blades obovate-cuneate, roundel or emarginate at the a^ex, 

 lustrous above, about 4 cm. long and c cm. broad. Flowers 

 ^labr-vHis, 2 to 8-clustered on the foliar ziodes; jjedicels 

 3 $0 7 am. long-; sex^als 5, ovate, 2 to 2.5 mm. long, persis- 

 tent; corolla v/hite, a little ever 4 iom. long, deejply lobate; 

 exterior lobes 5, oblong, with smooth margin; interior 

 lobes 10, sublanceolate , acute or 2-Guspid, inserted in 

 ijairs between the exterior ones and partly covered by the 

 staminc'des; stamens 5, ox^vjosed to the larger lobes, the 

 anthers exserted; jistil 3.5 mm. long, the ovary globose, 

 5-Gelled, surrounded with a crov/n of stiff hairs; the style 

 slender, persistent, ending in a minute stigma. 3erry otroid, 

 1-seeded, with thin mesocarp; seed ovoid, lustrous, brown, 

 the small umbilical area near the apexo 



o 



