28 



is considered as a kind of cinchona ; and we 

 were assured, that some Arragonese monks, 

 who had long resided in the kingdom of New 

 Grenada, recognised this tree from the resem- 

 blance of it's leaves with those of the real Peru- 

 vian bark-tree. This assertion, however, is un- 

 founded ; since it is precisely by the disposition of 

 the leaves, and the absence of the stipulse, that 

 the cuspa differs totally from the trees of the 

 rubiaceous family. It perhaps resembles the 

 family of the honey-suckle, or caprifoliaceous 

 plants, one section of which has alternate leaves, 

 and among which we find several cornel-trees, 

 remarkable for their febrifuge properties*. 



The taste, at once bitter and astringent, and 

 the yellow colour of the bark, have alone led to 

 the discovery of the febrifuge virtue of the cus- 

 pa. As it blossoms at the end of November, 

 we did not see it in flower, and we know not to 

 what genus it belongs ; and I have in vain for 

 several years past asked our friends at Cumana 

 for specimens of the flower and the fruit. I 

 hope, that the botanical determination of the 

 bark-tree of New Andalusia will one day fix the 

 attention of travellers, who visit this region af- 

 ter us ; and that they will not confound, not- 



* Cornus florida, and c. sericea of the United States. 

 (Walker on the Virtues of the Cornus and the Cinchona 

 compared. - Philad. 1803.) 



