262 



B, making very little air enclosed in the space under E. An 

 inverted vessel rarely sits firmly when inverted over water and 

 a bent tube may be used to draw out some of the air under E. 

 This will make E more steady, and will also make the water 

 rise in E and lessen the air space. If too much air is drawn out, 

 and the water around B rises too high, it will be difficult to remove 

 E at the end of the experiment without the risk of causing an 

 overflow into B and breaking the heavy film that forms on the 

 surface of the lime water. 



The control is exactly the same, except the leaf is omitted. 



The air space under E is so small that in the control but a partial, 



delicate film is formed on the lime water, contrasting strongly 



with the heavy one formed in 12 to 24 hours by one green leaf. 



Teachers College 



NOTES ON RUTACEAE — VI. SPECIES OF SPATHELIA* 



By Percy Wilson 



The species of Spathelia L. are confined, in so far as known, to 

 the West Indies, with a very doubtful species reported from 

 Mexico. 



Of the five recognized species of Spathelia, S. simplex and 

 5. glabrescens are endemic in the island of Jamaica, while 5. 

 cuhensis is known only from the province of Oriente, Cuba, and 

 S. Brittonii from the province of Pinar del Rio. 6'. vernicosa, 

 originally described from specimens collected in eastern Cuba, 

 is also found on Cat Island, Bahamas. 



They are slender unarmed trees one to twenty-four meters 

 tall, with simple unbranched trunks conspicuously marked with 

 leaf-scars, and bearing pinnate leaves, and large panicles with 

 showy purplish or scarlet flowers at the summit. The ovary is 

 usually 3-celled, and the fruit normally 3-winged. 



It is apparent from observations made by several students of 

 West Indian plants, that wherever species of Spathelia are found 

 there are always present, in a dead or dying condition, a few speci- 



* Notes on Rutaceae — V was published Bull. Torrey Club 38: 295-297. 6 Jl 

 1911. 



