Description of the Woods in the Collection. 811 



80. SIMARUBA AMARA. AUBL. (NOT OF HAYNE). 



Nat. Ord., SIMARUBE.E. 



Synonyms, S. GUYANENSIS. RICH. S. OFFICINALIS. D.C. (not of 



liacfad.) PICRAENA OFFICINALIS. LINDL. QUASSIA SIMARUBA. 



LINN., fil. (not of Blanco.) 



Alternative Names. "Acajou blanc in Guadeloupe" (28); 

 " Simarupa, Bitter wood, Bitteresche, Bitterash, Mountain 

 Damson, Bitter Damson, Stave wood in Jamaica" (18); " Pao 

 Pomba, Aruba, Maruba in British Guiana and the Amazonas 

 region, Gall-tree in Barbadoes " (ISa). "Not the Marupa or 

 Simarubaof Para" (21). 



Salient Features. A milk-white, light wood with a bitter taste. 



Physical Characters. Weight (so far recorded), 27-30 Ibs. per 

 cubic ft. Hardness, Grade 8, very soft; compare White Pine (P. 

 Strobus). Smell when dry none, when fresh "bad" (2). Taste 

 very bitter, but not intensely so as in Quassia, and not in specimens 

 that have been dried for a long time. Heartwood not denned from 

 Sapwood ; probably a Sapwood tree ; surface lustrous ; darkens little, 

 if at all, on exposure to the air. 



Bark.( ?) 



Uses, Qualities, etc. "Works of construction in Brazil" (21). 

 " Tanning " (28). " 50-60 ft. long, squaring 24 ins. ; is very useful 

 for inside boarding, and splits for matches " (2). " Splits seriously 

 in seasoning " (17a). Very easy to rend, saw, plane and turn, but 

 it polishes indifferently; takes nails well. Sometimes confused with 

 Quassia (Picraena excelsa. Lindl.) on account of similarity in colour, 

 appearance, taste, structure and local names. In fact it is not easy 

 to define the difference. Any one not familiar with the taste of 

 Quassia must rely upon the Soft Tissue in Transverse Section. In 

 Quassia the milk-white arcs of this tissue are strikingly prominent, 

 but in the present species are rarely apparent. 



Authorities. 1, Aublett, p. 27. 2. Bell, p. 9. 4a. Boulger, pp. 

 438, 439, 440. 5. Cat., Col., Fr., p. 29. 12. Hawtayne, p. 386. 

 12. Holmes, p. 20. "16o. Kew Guide, p. 41. 17 a. Laslett, p. 288. 

 18. Leman, p. 149. 18a. Lindley. 21. Miers. 26a. Smith, p. 342. 

 27a. Stone, p. 27. 28. Wiesner, p. 93. 



ANATOMICAL CHARACTERS. 



Transverse Section. Much duller and darker than the other 

 sections. 



2> res. Visible with the naked eye, very coarse; little varia- 

 tion; shortly oval in shape; evenly distributed; empty; few; sub- 

 divided, mostly pairs and even groups of as many as 23 Pores i 

 compact, irregular clusters. 



Rays. Just visible with the naked eye, fine; white; uniform;, 

 equi-distant, rather less than the width of a Pore apart. 



