JAMAICA DOGWOOD-PISCIDIA ERYTHRINA, 



F k OR a long time all that was known regarding this plant, was 

 the fact that the natives employed the bark of the root for tak- 

 ing fish in some of the larger rivers ; hence its name piscidia eryth- 

 rina from piscis, a fish. A certain quantity of the powdered bark 

 of the root would be thrown into the water with the certainty of 

 stupefying or narcotizing a large number of the fish. These would 

 float on the top of the water, and so were easily caught. It killed 

 the smaller fish and sometimes even the larger ones. Fish caught 

 in this manner were eaten without hesitation and were not con- 

 sidered unwholesome. 



The common name is Jamaica Dogwood ; at one time it was 

 called Linne Erythrina Piscipula the "fish-catching coral-tree," 

 and it has been sold quite extensively in Brazil under the name of 

 mulungu or murungu. It belongs to the natural order Legumino- 

 se?e. It is found in the islands of the West Indies, and is indige- 

 nous in the Antilles, where it is extensively distributed, flourishing 

 chiefly in the lowlands, and on calcareous and volcanic soil in the 

 vicinity of the coast. It is found most frequently in Jamaica. It is 

 a small tree, of about twenty feet in height, of very irregular 

 spreading branches, with long compound leaves. The leaflets are 

 opposite, three or four paired, with an odd one. They are oblong 

 or elliptical, rounded at the base, entire, somewhat coriaceous, about 

 two inches long and quite pointed. When young the leaves are 

 covered on 1 both surfaces with minute hairs, but when old they are 

 nearly smooth. The lower surface is paler than the upper, and cov- 

 ered with minute white dots. The leaves are shed early in the year, 

 and previous to the development of the new foliage the flowers 

 make their appearance. The wood is considered valuable, being 

 very heavy, and resembling our English oak in durability and firm- 

 ness. 



The pulverized bark of the root is the part employed in catch- 



I0 5 



