XYLOPIA 



XYLOPIA 



3527 



strigose hairs, and bearded at the tip: fls. small, in axil- 

 Ian.- clusters: berries punctate. This species, the type 

 of the genus Xylopia. was based by Linnaeus on a plant 

 growing in the mountains of Jamaica described and 

 figured by Patrick Brown in his Natural History of 

 Jamaica, and called by him Xylopicrum, on account 

 of the bitter taste of its wood. The vernacular name 

 was applied to it to distinguish it from X. glabra, Linn., 

 a species based on Plukenet's Xilopicron, or Lignum 

 amarum, of Barbados, commonly called bitter-wood. 



5. discreta, Safford (Unona discrete, Linn, f. Hab- 

 zelia discreta, A. DC.). PETRICOBOCM. A shrub or 

 small tree with privet-like, or willow-like Ivs. and 



4018. Xylopia. a-e, X. grandiflora, showing flower-bud and leaf at 

 a, section of flower with cavity in receptacle at b, fruiting branch at c, 

 four-seeded fruits, d, e: f, X. frutescens, fruiting branch; g, X. 

 muricata, type of the genus; h, X. obtusifolia, fruit and three leaves. 

 (6 nat. size; others X about %.) 



slender, flexible, virgate branches: Ivs. alternate, short- 

 petioled, 2-ranked, narrowly' oblong-lanceolate, about 

 1 in. long, clothed beneath with appressed silky hairs: 

 fls. resembling those of an Annona but with the carpels 

 distinct and stipitate, developing into a cluster of ber- 

 ries borne on the center of the indurated receptacle: 

 berries purple, aromatic, oblong -linear, 1-3-seeded, 

 more or less coT\stricted between the seeds; the latter 

 ovate-globose, smooth and glossy. This species was 

 first described by the younger Linnaeus from a tree 

 growing in Surinam, or Dutch Guiana, and proposed 

 by him as the type of a new genus Unona. It proved, 

 however, to be congeneric with Xylopia. The name 

 Unona was afterward applied to an Asiatic genus pre- 

 viously described by Loureiro as Desmos, but accord- 

 ing to the laws of botanical nomenclature, was not 



available for the name of a second genus. The generic 

 name Desmos is therefore valid, and must be used for 

 the Asiatic plants commonly called Unona. (See Des- 

 mos, Vol. II, p. 991 of this work.) 



6. aromitica, Baill. (Habzelia aromdtica, A. DC. 

 Wdria zeyldnica, Aubl.). MANIGUETTE. Bois D' 

 ECORCE. PorvRE DBS N EGRES. A tree with a trunk 20 

 ft. high or more, with a spreading crown and leafy 

 branches: Ivs. ovate or oblong-acuminate, glabrous, 

 subsessile: fls. axillary, solitary or in pairs; calyx- 

 divisions subrotund-ovate, acute, fleshy; petals 6, the 

 3 outer ones longer, ovate-oblong, on the outside vil- 

 lous, cinereous, on the inside glabrous, violet-colored, 

 the 3 inner ones smaller, glabrous, violet-colored: 

 berries reddish, numerous (12-25 in a cluster), 

 oblong, subterete, shortly stipitate, with a longitu- 

 dinal seam down one side; constricted between the 

 seeds; seeds 3-6, orbiculate, reddish. A species of 

 doubtful relationship, owing to its broad petals and 

 orbiculate seeds. It has been referred to Unona 

 concolor, Willd., and may possibly be congeneric with 

 Desmopsis or Unonopsis. The type, described by 

 Aublet under the name Waria zeylanica, was col- 

 lected in the forest of Timoutou, French Guiana, 



BB. Lvs. obtuse or rounded at the apex. 



7. obtusifdlia, A. Rich. (Habzelia obtusifolia, A. 

 DC.). GOMBA. GTJAVICA. GUAVICO DE SAVANA. 

 Pico DE GALLO. Fig. 4018. A shrub or small tree 

 with numerous crooked branches, the extremities of 

 which are ferrugineous-pubescent when young. It 

 differs from all other species here described in its per- 

 fectly glabrous Ivs., which are quite obtuse or rounded 

 at the apex and obovate or subspatulate in outline, 

 coriaceous, pale green and glossy above and paler 

 beneath, and about 1-1 % in. long: fls. axillary, soli- 

 tary, very shortly peduncled, subtended by small 

 scale-like bracteoles; calyx-divisions broad, subacute, 

 and ciliate along the margin; outer petals narrowly 

 linear, acutish, dilated and concave at the base, cov- 

 ered on the outside with rufous silky hairs; inner 

 petals shorter and narrower, triquetrous above, 

 expanded and concave at the base, covering the 

 essential parts; carpels included in the cup-like hol- 

 low of the receptacle, numerous, but usually only 

 2-8 developing into fr. ; the latter a cluster of terete 

 follicles more or less constricted between the 2-4 

 seeds, which have a whitish fleshy aril on each side 

 of the hilum. This plant is known only from the 

 Island of Cuba, where it is prized for its fine yellow 

 wood. Its local name Pico de gallo (cock's beak) is 

 suggested by the form of its sharp elongated fl.-buds. 



AA. Asiatic species. 



8. parvif dlia, Hook, f . & Thorn. (Patbnia parvifdlia, 

 Wight. Unona tripetaloidea, Moon). NETAWTJ. 

 ATTJKETIYA. A tall aromatic tree of Ceylon, with a 

 straight trunk, smoothish bark, and silky shoots and 

 young branches: Ivs. oval, acuminate, acute at the 

 base, 3-5 in. long, glabrous; petiole 34in., finely pubes- 

 cent: fls. axillary, solitary or in clusters of 2 or 3 on 

 very short peduncles bearing several short imbricated 

 scale-like bracteoles; calyx-divisions small, broad, 

 united half-way up, acute, pubescent; petals hairy, 

 the outer ones linear, strap-shaped, acute, hollowed at 

 the base; the inner a little shorter, thick, trigonous, 

 expanded and hollowed at the base, covering the 

 essential parts; stamens truncate; carpels 5, sunk in 

 the center of the receptacle; ovules 4-6 in two rows: 

 fruiting carpels 1^1 on very short thick stalks, broadly 

 ovoid, 1- 1 Yi in. long, containing several smooth brown 

 oblong seeds. This species is common in the moist 

 low country near Colombo, Ceylon. Its bark, especi- 

 ally that of the root, its yellow fls., and the fr. are 

 all delightfully sweet-scented and aromatic, and are 

 chewed by the natives with their betel. The wood is 



