THE BEAN AND MIMOSA FAMILY. 427 



valuable timber, also a red dye, and the red seeds are made 

 into necklaces and bracelets. (This must not be mistaken 

 for the true Sandalwood tree, which see.) 



Moreton Bay Chestnut (Castanospermum australe). A 

 large timber tree, native of Moreton Bay (now Queensland). 

 It attains the height of from 70 to 100 feet, having glossy 

 winged leaves a foot or more in length, and racemes of 

 showy red and yellow flowers. The pod is of cylindrical 

 form, 6 to 7 inches in length, containing seeds something 

 like chestnuts, which, though tempting to look at, are un- 

 palatable to Europeans. 



Mora Tree (Mora excelsa). A large tiee, attaining the 

 height of from 100 to 150 feet, having glossy winged leaves 

 like the preceding, but larger, the leaflets being elliptical, 3 

 to 4 inches in length. It is a native of Guiana, and of late 

 years extensive forests of it have been found in Trinidad. 

 Its timber is now extensively imported to this country for 

 ship-building, and is considered superior to oak. The pods 

 are about 1 foot in length, and 3 inches in breadth, contain- 

 ing several convex seeds 3| inches long, and from 1 to 2 

 inches thick ; but these are exceeded by the seeds of a species 

 from Central America, which are about 6 inches long and 

 2 1 inches thick, and may be considered the largest seed of 

 any exogenous plant. 



Locust Tree of the West Indies, or Courbaril {Hymencea 

 Courharil). A tree, native of tropical America and the West 

 Indies. In Brazil and other parts it grows to an immense 

 size, the diameter of the true stem being from 6 to 9 feet, 

 surrounded by buttresses measuring round the base above 

 80 feet in circumference ; some trees are supposed to be 

 more than a thousand years old.. Its timber is hard, and is 

 sometimes imported for ship-building. The pods are hard 

 and woody, 3 to 4 inches in length, and 2 inches in breadth, 

 containing several bean-like seeds embedded in white spongy 

 matter, and were likened by the early Spaniards to the pods 

 of the Locust Tree of Europe. It yields a gum copal that 

 collects in lumps under and amongst the roots of the tree, 



