Chap. I. AROMATIC TREES. 23 



tities, to make a drink or " wine " as it is called, 

 which is considered a remedy in certain cutaneous 

 disorders. The kernels are roasted and eaten. Another 

 wild fruit-tree is the Murishi (Byrsomina), which yields 

 an abundance of small yellow acid berries. A decoction 

 of its bark dyes cloth a maroon colour. It is employed 

 for this purpose chiefly by the Indians, and coarse 

 cotton shirts tinted with it were the distinctive badges 

 of the native party during the revolution. A very 

 common tree in the Ilhas do Mato is the Breio branco, 

 which secretes from the inner bark a white resin, 

 resembling camphor in smell and appearance. The 

 fruit is a small black berry, and the whole tree, fruit, 

 leaf, and stem, has the same aromatic fragrance. 

 By loosening the bark and allowing the resin to flow 

 freely, I collected a large quantity, and found it of great 

 service in preserving my insect collections from the 

 attacks of ants and mites. Another tree, much rarer 

 than the Breio branco, namely the Umiri (Humirium 

 floribundum), growing in the same localities, distils in 

 a similar way an oil of the most recherche fragrance. 

 The yield, however, is very small. The native women 

 esteem it highly as a scent. To obtain a supply of the 

 precious liquid, large strips of bark are loosened and 

 pieces of cotton left in soak underneath. By visiting 

 the tree daily, and pressing the oil from the cotton, 

 a small phial containing about an ounce may be filled 

 in the course of a month. One of the most singular 

 of the vegetable productions of the campos is the 

 Sucu-uba tree (Plumieria phagedaenica). It grows in 

 the greatest luxuriance in the driest parts, and with its 



