BLUE MAHOE 



per cu. ft. Hardnes Grade 8, compare White Pine but of a brittle 

 nature. Taste or smell none. Burns well with little aroma : 

 embers glow in still air. Solution colourless, not changed by 

 potash. 



Grain. Rather coarse and open. Surface coarse and dull 

 excepting that of the silver-grain. 



Bark. Light coloured, smooth, about 3 V~i inch thick, whitish 

 or yellowish-brown with many exquisite thin layers of lace-like 

 bast riddled with spindle-shaped perforations caused by the 

 continuation of the rays through to the bark. 



Authorities. The Agent-General for New Zealand (A.G.), 

 Boulger (12). 



Colour. Brown as to the ground-tissue, white as to the 

 silver-grain. 



Anatomical characters as those of Plagianthus betulinus except 

 the size of the elements, the rays in particular being much 

 bolder. Pores, size 3-4 and 35-60 per sq. mm. : Rays, size 2, 

 and i or at most two per mm. 



Type specimen authenticated by the Forest Officer to the 

 Government of New Zealand. 



No. 9. BLUE MAHOE. Hibiscus elatus. Sw. 

 PLATE I. FIG. 9. 



Natural Order. Malvaceae. 



Synonyms. Paritium elatum. Dow. (The Hibiscus elatus of 

 De Candolle is H. tiliaceus, Linn, and not this species.) 



Alternative Names. Majagna in Cuba. Maubo do Mato in 

 N. Prov. Brazil (76). Mountain Mahoe : Tulip Tree in West 

 Indies (64) : Tall Hibiscus : Grand Mahot : Bois de Liege in 

 Barbadoes (105) ? Mahoe do mer in Brazil (76). The Mahoe of 

 Trinidad is Sterculia caribaea. R. Br. 



Sources of Supply. The West Indies, Jamaica, and tropical 

 America generally. This wood is easily mistaken for that of 

 H. tiliaceus, which is however lighter and less compact. The 

 confusion is increased by the similarity of names and synonyms. 

 The word " Mahoe " meaning mallow (compare French " mauve") 

 is very wide-spread and is applied to many Malvaceous plants 

 both herbaceous and woody. 



Physical Characters. Weight, 44^-49^ Ib. per cu. ft. Hard- 

 ness Grade 3, compare Blackthorn. Smell faintly aromatic, 

 peppery when worked, giving rise to sneezing. Taste faint, if 

 any. Burns well, highly inflammable : no smell : embers glow in 

 still air. Solution with water olive-green. 



Grain. Moderately coarse and open. Surface lustrous : the 

 rays and pores shining, the ground bright. 



