438 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. VoL.XVIlI. No. 457 



materials collected by Professor H. Pittier at 

 ' Quebrado de Potrero Grande,' in soutbern 

 Costa Eica,* is quite distinct from tbe Belize 

 tunu. Tbe brancbes, leaves and fruits are 

 only sligbtly bairy, tbe fruits, fruit-clusters 

 and seeds are smaller, and tbe individual 

 fruits are distinct to near tbe base. Pro- 

 fessor Pittier also informs me tbat tbe babit 

 of tbe tree is different from tbat of C. costa- 

 ricana, and tbat tbe fruits do not become 

 flesby and soft witb maturity, but simply dry 

 up. Tbe milk does not yield an elastic gum, 

 but hardens into a substance wbicb tbe na- 

 tives call ' gutta-percba.' Since Hemsley re- 

 fers to previous figures and descriptions by 

 Hooker and himself as representing the Belize 

 tunu, and places British Honduras as the first 

 locality, it seems that the name Costilla tunu 

 belongs to the more northern tree; for that 

 of soutbern Costa Rica the name Costilla fal- 

 lax is suggested.-j- 



* Icones Plantarum, 7: pi. 2651. 1900. 



f The diagnostic characters of the several species 

 of Castilla are summarized in the following ana- 

 lytical key: 



Pistillate inflorescence with a thick stipe 18-25 

 mm. long; stigmas short, cushion-shaped; 

 pistils distinct to base. Ga-sHUa australis 

 Hemsley ; Peru. 



Pistillate inflorescence sessile; stigmas slender; 

 pistils coadnate, at least at base. 



Primary male inflorescence with a distinct 

 slender stipe 15-20 mm. long; deeply bi- 

 lobed and opening mdely with maturity. 

 Castilla nicoyen-sis sp. n. ; Nicoya Peninsula. 

 Primary male inflorescence broadly flabellate, 

 gradually narrowed to the short stipe; not 

 bilobed, opening only by a longitudinal slit. 

 Complemental inflorescence flabellate, broad 

 and flattened like the primary, and with 

 a broad longitudinal opening. Castilla 

 lactiflua sp. n.; Soconusco, Mexico. 

 Complemental inflorescence obconie or pyri- 

 form, with a central aperture. 

 Ripe fruits very large and prominent, with 

 numerous deep vertical grooves. Cas- 

 tilla elastica Cervantes; eastern Mexico. 

 Ripe fruits less prominent, the grooves shal- 

 low or wanting. 



Some of Hooker's figures * ascribed to Cas- 

 tilla elastica may possibly represent C. fallax, 

 but not those called tunu by Hooker and 

 Hemsley. It seems, then, that the flat-fruited 

 C. tunu Hemsley, from Belize, may be merely 

 a subspecies under the older name costaricana. 

 The Panama Castilla is also obviously related 

 to costaricana, but tbe sharply pointed fruits 

 may characterize a second subspecies, C. pana- 

 mensis, of wbicb Hooker published an elabo- 

 rate plate based on drawings made in Ceylon. t 

 Four other specific names have been used 

 under Castilla. C. marhhamiana Collins has 

 been assigned by Hooker and Hemsley to the 

 allied genus Perehea. Koscbny's C. alba, C. 

 ruhra and C. nigra, from northeastern Costa 

 Eica, seem likely to prove synonyms of C. 

 costaricana. Tbe bark characters relied upon 

 by Herr -Koschny X as diagnostic are explain- 

 able on other grounds than that they consti- 

 tute specific or even varietal differences. 



The existence of numerous species and va- 

 rieties of Castilla shows that careful discrim- 

 ination will be necessary in selecting the type 

 best adapted for cultivation in Porto Rico 

 and the other tropical islands of the United 

 States. It shows, too, tbat the rather ad- 

 Leaves not cordate at base; leaves, 

 • branches and fruits nearly glabrous ; 

 fruits becoming tough and dry with 

 maturity; seeds round, 6-7 mm. in 

 diameter, male flowers with t-wo sta- 

 mens adnate at base. Castilla 

 fallax sp. n.; southwestern boundary 

 of Costa Rica. 

 Leaves distinctly cordate at base; leaves, 

 branches and fruit densely hirsute, 

 fruits becoming soft and deep orange 

 or red with maturity; seeds oval or 

 flattened 8-12 mm. in diameter; sta- 

 mens 2 or 3, free. 

 Ripe fruits with prominent acute tips. 

 Castilla panamen-sis sp. n. ; Panama. 

 Ripe fruits with apices broadly rounded 

 or flattened. Castilla costaricana 

 Liebmann; eastern Costa Rica. 

 * Trails. Linn. Soc. London, 2d series, 2: 209, 

 pi. 28, flgs. 4-6. 1885. 



f Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 2d series, 2: 209, 

 pi. 27. 1885. 



t'Beihefte zum Tropenpflanzer,' 2: 124. 1901. 



