412 



[May 1908, 



GUMS, RESINS, SAPS AND EXUDATIONS. 



JEQUIE MANICOBA AND ITS 

 ALLIES. 



(Manihot dichotoma, Ule, axd other 

 Species.) 



The first intimation to reach Kew of 

 the existence of rubber-yielding plants 

 closely related to the commonly cultiva- 

 ted Manihot Olaziovii took place in the 

 early part of 1906. Mr. J. A. Davy, 

 manager of the Dumont Coffee Company, 

 Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil, called 

 at the Gardens in March and left some 

 seeds of the Jequie or Jiquie Manihot. 

 On his return to Brazil he sent us a 

 supply of seeds together with the follow- 

 ing information :— " At present we have 

 two kinds of rubber trees growing here, 

 the Manihot Olaziovii or Common Ceara 

 Manitoba, and the other Manihot Jequie, 

 which is a native of the State of Bahia." 

 In a subsequent letter (dated June 30th, 

 390(5) Mr. Davy writes :— " As regards the 

 Jequie variety of Manihot, this plant 

 originates in the municipality of Jequie, 

 State of Bahia, and is at present looked 

 upon as a better latex producer than the 

 Manihot CUaziovii or Ceara. I am send- 

 ing you the seed of this plant and even- 

 tually will forward some dried herbarium 

 specimens. We have at present about 

 3,000 young sturdy Jequie plants grow- 

 ing. In appearance they are similar to 

 the Ceara except that the ribs of the 

 leaves have a red tinge, while those of 

 the Ceara are whitish. Again, in itself, 

 the Jequie shows differences in the form 

 of the foliage of the young plants, which 

 you will understand when 1 forward the 

 dried specimens."' 



Unfortunately no flowering specimens 

 have as yet reached Kew from Mr. 

 Davy, but that they are very necessary 

 will be clear from the letter of our next 

 correspondent on the subject. 



In October, 1906, Mr, J. P. Rowe (since 

 deceased) of Messrs. Anderson and Rowe, 

 Bahia, wrote for information as to the 

 tree which yielded Manicoba rubber, and 

 later presented a large consignment of 

 seeds which appeared to be identical 

 with those sent by Mr. Davy. At the 

 same time the following particulars were 

 furnished by Mr. Rowe : — 



" I have much pleasure in sending you 

 particulars of the different varieties of 

 Manicoba rubber trees which are found 

 in great numbers in the district of 

 Jequie. 



" According to my agent in that dis- 

 trict, who has studied.the subject there 



for three years, there are seven varieties 

 which he has examined. In my opinion, 

 however, there are more. 



" Of the seven varieties my agent has 

 selected for cultivation and is planting 

 largely, two vary but very slightly, 

 both being of most vigorous growth, 

 developing very quickly, flowering and 

 seeding at an early age, with bark Very 

 smooth, soft and easy to tap. 



"Of one (A) called by the natives 

 ' Manicoba blanca ' (white Manicoba) the 

 leaves (three lobed) are pale green on the 

 under surface with ribs of greenish- 

 white, the contrast of the ribs with the 

 leaf being sufficiently well marked to 

 enable this variety to be identified at a 

 glance by the natives, who have only to 

 stand beneath the tree and look upwards 

 through the foliage to distinguish the 

 species with certainty. The latex is 

 pure white, flows freely, and coagulates 

 immediately without the use of any 

 agent. 



"The seeds you have sown at Kew 

 ought to be all of this variety, 



" Of the other (B) the ribs of the leaves 

 on the under side are of a purplish 

 colour, the leaf itself being of a darker 

 hue than the ' white ' Manicoba. This 

 variety is called by the natives ' Mani- 

 coba rouxa ' (purple). It is as vigorous iu 

 growth as the ' white ' variety, and the 

 latex is equally white and flows and 

 coagulates as readily. 



" A third variety (C) also grows vigor- 

 ously in cultivation, being while still 

 young very similar to those before 

 mentioned, but as it increases in age the 

 bark, which is silvery, hardens, roughens, 



and peels in flakes like that of the birch. 



The latex is white and coagulates 

 readily. 



" Two other va rieties (D and E) have 

 also rough barks, but marked with 

 small brownish patches. These have not 

 been cultivated by us, as the bark is 

 harder to cut, and the flow of latex is 

 scanty. 



" In addition to the foregoing species 

 there are two others, both inferior, for 

 the reasons that the latex, which is pale 

 green in colour, is scanty, and, when 

 coagulated, the rubber contains a high 

 percentage of resin. 



Of the ' A ' and ' B ' varieties we have 

 cultivated trees the trunks of which at 

 14 months old were 4 inches in diametei 

 at 3 feet from the ground, and 10 feet 



