Sterculiaceae. 149 
STERCULIACEAE 
Cacao Family. 
Besides the species treated below, mention must be made of the 
Cacao, or Chocolate Tree, Theobroma cacao L., a native of tropical 
America and cultivated in Honolulu but not commercially since the 
early fifties. Specimens occur at Ahuimanu Ranch on Oahu, as 
well as in Dr. Hillebrand's garden on Nuuanu Avenue. 
A species of Pterospermiun is also in cultivation in Honolulu, 
but only in Mrs. Foster's grounds. One young seedling has been 
planted on the College of Hawaii Campus. It has a rather hand- 
some foliage which is white underneath. The tree in Mrs. Foster's 
grounds was cut down, but young ones have come up again, as well 
as shoots from the old trunk. As there are no flowers or fruits 
available, the species cannot be definitely determined, but will prob- 
ably prove to be Pterospermum suberifolium Lam., a native of In- 
dia. It was introduced by Dr. Hillebrand. 
Sterculia urens Roxb. 
Plates LX and LXI. 
Sterculia urens is a large deciduous tree, with smooth bark of a 
whitish or greenish-gray color, which exfoliates in large, thin, ir- 
regular scales, the outer bark is papery, the inner fibrous. The trunk 
is erect and soft-wooded. Its branches are wide spreading and 
marked with large scars. The leaves are terminal and palmately 
five-lobed, heart-shaped at the base, almost smooth above and tomen- 
tose underneath. The flowers are borne in crowded, erect, some- 
what pyramidal, panicles, and are densely clothed with glandular 
hair. The fruit consists of four to five radiating, thick, leathery 
carpels, about three inches long, which are red at maturity and cov- 
ered outside with stiff, stinging hairs; each carpel contains three to 
six seeds of a dark brown color. 
Sterculia urens is a native of both Indies and also Ceylon, occur- 
ring mainly in the northwestern part of India and Assam to Bur- 
mah. It yields a gum which is completely soluble in water, forms 
a colorless solution, and is equal to tragacanth as an emulsifying 
agent. It is used medicinally as a substitute for tragacanth in throat 
affections in its native home. 
The bark yields a good fibre which is used in rope-making. The 
seeds possess cathartic properties but are often eaten by the poorer 
