84 PAEA. Chap. II. 



the nature of the fruit. They belong to the order 

 Leguminosge : the pods are woody and excessively 

 hard ; inside they contain a number of beans, enveloped 

 in a sweet yellowish floury substance, which is eaten by 

 the inhabitants. The shell burns with a clear flame. 

 Some of the species have large pods, others small oval 

 ones, containing only one bean. The trees are amongst 

 the largest in the forest, growing from 150 to 180 feet 

 in height : the bark is similar to that of our oak. 

 The leaves are in pairs, whence arises the botanical 

 name of the genus, H3rmen8ea. The resin which the 

 various species produce exudes from wounds or gashes 

 made in the bark : but I was told that the trees secrete 

 it also spontaneously from the base of the trunk within, 

 and that large lumps are found in the earth amongst 

 the roots when a tree is uprooted by storms. In the 

 resin, ants and other insects are sometimes embedded, 

 precisely as they are in amber, which substance the 

 Jutahi-sica often resembles, at least in colour and 

 transparency. 



During these rambles by land and water we increased 

 our collections considerably. Before we left the mills 

 we arranged a joint excursion to the Tocantins. Mr. 

 Leavens wished to ascend that river to ascertain if the 

 reports were true, that cedar gre^v abundantly between 

 the lowermost cataract and the mouth of the Araguaya, 

 and we agreed to accompany him. Whilst we were at 

 the mills, a Portuguese trader arrived with a quantity 

 of worm-eaten logs of this cedar, which he had 

 gathered from the floating timber in the current of 

 the main Amazons. The tree producing this wood, 



