74 



about the same general breadth and colour as the medullary rays. The 

 rings themselves vary very much in breadth. 



Vessels. — Appearing in the cross section as minute dots, requiring a 

 lens to see them, numerous and evenly dispersed in the rings. The rays, 

 rings, circles of denser tissue and vessels are shown in the accompany- 

 ing illustration which is magnified from a portion of wood measuring 

 about \ inch long, and \ to \ inch broad. 



Fig. I. 



PORTION OF CROSS SECTION 

 OF WOOD, MAGNIFIED. 



Grain. — Even-grained, of a satiny lustre in longitudinal section* 

 capable of receiving a beautiful polish. 



Odour — Aromatic, like the true Satin-wood of the East Indies, when 

 first cut. 



Weight. — Heavy. " The specific gravity of the absolutely dry wood 

 is 0.9002, a cubic foot of the dry wood weighing 56 . 10 pounds,". 

 (Sargent). 



The Leaves are composed of 2 to 4 pairs of leaflets and a terminal 

 leaflet. The leaflets are ovate-lanceolate in outline. But the charac- 

 teristic which will enable any one to determine this species by the leaf 

 alone from other species in Jamaica, is that when the leaflet is held up 

 to the light, it is seen that it is very numerously dotted with pellucid 

 glands. 



The Flowers in terminal panicles are either staminate or pistillate 

 and these occur on separate trees. The petals are greenish-white and 

 are turned back over the minute calyx-lobes. (The details in the illus- 

 trations of the flowers and seeds are taken from Sargent.) 



Staminate floxcers. — The Stamens are 5 in nnmber, and there is a 

 rudimentary ovary. See Fig. II. 



Pistillate flowers. — The pistil is composed usually of 2 carpels with 

 short style and spreading entire stigma, each cell with 2 ovules side by 

 side. There are no stamens. See Fig. III. 



Seed-ressel. — Only one carpel, as a rule, ripens into fruit with a single 

 black lustrous seed. See Fig. IV. 



This species is found in, Bahamas, St. Domingo, Porto Rico, Mont 

 eerrat, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Lucia, and Florida besides Jamaica 



