130 



ifom Arabia, and is obtained from a shrub that 

 grows in the province of Coquimbo^ to which I 

 have given the name of ihuraria, gen. nov. It 

 usually grows to the height of four feet ; the 

 trunk is of an ash colour, from whence proceed 

 a great number of branches loaded with ovai 

 leaves that are alternate, four inches^ long, rough, 

 very succulent, and of a pale yellow ; the flow- 

 ers are small, Auiiiel-shaped, and of a light 

 green; the capsule is spherical and divided into 

 two cells, containing as many elongated seeds of 

 a brown colour. In the summer the incense 

 exudes through the pores of the bark around 

 the limbs in the form of little drops or tears, and 

 is collected in great quantities in the autumn, 

 when the leaves begin to fall. The globules are 

 hard, white, transparent and shining, and hare a 

 bitter taste and a highly aromatic smell. In the 

 hills near Valparaiso is found a species of sun- 

 flower with a ligr.eous trMLsk, which produces a 

 resinous substance rc'cmbliiig incense. 



The trunk of the 'pyiia (puya. gen nov.) u 

 used for cork throughout Ciiili. This shrub 

 has a great resemblance to the auana. From its 

 loot issue three or four monstrous shoots of a 

 conical form, as large as a man's body, but not 

 e3,ceeding twenty inches in length ; these are 

 covered v/ith a spongy bark, disposed in the 

 manner of ^,ca]es; from the top of these shoots 

 ?r trunk? proceed the leave? ; these are four feet 



