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The Torchwoods 



I. TORCHWOOD Amyris elemifera Linnaeus 

 Amyris maritima Jacquin 



This is a slender evergreen tree or shrub of sandy and rocky soil in southern 

 peninsular Florida and the Keys, the Bahamas and most of the other West 

 Indies. It attains a maximum height of about 17 meters, with a trunk diameter 

 of 3 dm. 



The bark is thin, slightly fissured and broken into small grayish scales. The 

 twigs are slender, round, brown, becoming gray. The winter buds are flattened, 



sharp-pointed, about 3 

 mm. long. The leaves 

 are 3- to 5-foholate, on 

 slender stalks 2.5 to 4 

 cm. long, slightly thick- 

 ened toward the base; 

 the leaflets are broadly 

 ovate, blunt, sharp or 

 taper-pointed, wedge- 

 shaped or rounded at 

 the base, entire or re- 

 motely round -toothed 

 on the margin. They 

 Fig. 531. Torchwood. ^^^e thick, dark green 



and shining on either side, prominently veined and black glandular-dotted be- 

 neath, 2.5 to 8 cm. long, the terminal leaflet often longer than the lateral ones. 

 The flower clusters are smooth, terminal, pedunculate or nearly sessile; they ap- 

 pear throughout the year, but are most abundant in August and September. The 

 fruit is globose, about 10 mm. long; the fleshy outer covering is black and cov- 

 ered with a glaucous bloom ; when fully ripe it is of an aromatic, oily and rather 

 agreeable flavor. 



Torchwood is hard, close-grained, very resinous, orange-colored; its specific 

 gravity is about 1.04. It is very durable, takes a fine pohsh, but in Florida it is 

 used only for fuel. The branches are used for torches in the West Indies. 



2. BALSAM TORCHWOOD Amyris balsamifera Linnaeus 



A small tree or shrub of sandy or rocky soils of southern Florida, the West 

 Indies and South America, attaining a height of 7 meters, with a trunk diameter 

 of about 2 dm. It is sometimes called Rosewood and Candle-wood. 



The twigs are slightly hairy, slender and dark gray, the leaves 3- to 5-foliolate 

 on slender petioles; the leaflets are ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 5 to 13 cm. long, 

 taper-pointed, narrowed or rounded at the base, entire or crenulate on the mar- 



