92 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 
Bija. See Bixa orellana. 
More often called Achiote. 
Bilimbi. See Averrhoa bilimbi. 
Bimbling. See Averrhoa bilimbi. 
Birch (West Indian). See Bursera simaruba. 
Biriji. See Hugenia monticola and EF. poiretii. 
Bitter wood. See Picrasma excelsa. 
Bixa orellana. AnatTtTo. ACHIOTE. 
Family Bixaceae. The achiote or anattoisa small tree of handsome appearance, 
with large. clean, cordate leaves and numerous pink flowers, followed by bur- 
like pods, at first green, but changing to deep red and becoming an inch in diam- 
eter. These contain the seeds, the arillus or fleshy covering of which is bright 
orange in color and constitutes the anatto of commerce. On drying. the arillus 
becomes dull orange. Quantities of dried seeds are to be found in Porto Rican 
markets for domestic use in soup and in coloring rice and other dishes yellow. 
In the English colonies the coloring matter is removed while fresh, and then dried 
and compacted into cakes, in which form it is exported to the United States 
for manufacture into butter-color. Supposedly for this purpose 726,269 pounds 
were imported into the United States in 1899, valued at $34.827 but recent analy- 
ses of butter colors show that they consist largely of analine dyes. 
The wood is nearly white, porous, light, and very soft, with a specific gravity 
of 0.399. It has no use whatever. When polished the wood is slightly yellow, or 
sometimes with a tendency toward red, and very uniform in color, although it 
retains narrow lines of a slightly darker color, which correspond to the concentric 
zones to be seen in a cross section. (Grosourdy, 2: 357.) 
Black bead. See Pithecolobium unguis-cati. 
Black mangrove. See Avicennia nitida. 
Blechum brownei. YERBA DE PAPAGAYO. 
Family Acanthaceae: an indigenous, annual herb, affecting dry situations and 
flowering continuously. (Stahl, 6: 244.) 
Bleeding heart. See Colocasia esculenta. 
Bledo blanco. See Amaranthus paniculatus. 
Blero. See Mesosphaerum capitatum. 
Blighia sapida. AKER. 
A beautiful tree of the family Sapindaceae, introduced from Africa to the West 
Indies by the same Captain Bligh who introduced the breadfruit, above which it 
is said to be valued by the people of Jamaica as a richly flavored and wholesome 
food. The bright yellow. fleshy arillus is the part eaten. In some islands, how- 
ever, the akee is avoided as poisonous, though the existence of any deleterious 
principle has yet to be demonstrated, and it is now suggested by Superintendent 
Hart, of the Trinidad Gardens, that the cause of injury in the reported cases of 
poisoning has been the use of decayed fruits. which seems the more probable in 
view of the recent discovery of the extremely poisonous nature of some of the 
products of organic decomposition. The following caution should be accordingly 
heeded by any who may wish to experiment with this fruit: 2 
‘It is prepared in Jamaica in many ways, a favorite method being to stew in 
milk and afterwards to brown ina frying pan with butter. Again it may be™ 
boiled or even baked. It is also commonly eaten boiled and mixed with salt fish, 
onions, and tomatoes as a breakfast dish. Although so commonly used it can not 
be denied that cases of poisoning have followed the consumption of it as an arti 



