under that name with a note: “This is a very rare tree.” In Salvador, 
this is known as the Cortez Negro tree. It is a very fine hard wood 
used for furniture, but the tree has practically disappeared from its 
native Salvador. Down there it flowers in December and bears clus- 
ters of purple bloom. Mr. Stadler is the owner of a coffee plantation 
and wrote me that the only remaining mature trees of this variety 
with which he was familiar in Salvador are a few large specimens on 
his cofice plantation. I asked him for more information about it, par- 
ticularly in view of the confusion in connection with the name and I 
received from him the following very interesting reply: 
“The seed of Cortez Negro that I sent has purple flowers and 
the weod is so hard that it is known here as the ‘arbol de hierro’ — 
tree of iron. 
“Although the Cortez Negro has disappeared, except perhaps for 
a few trees in inaccessible places, I have produced 2,200 Cortez Negro 
this year and these are being handed out to responsible people who 
will cultivate them. Thus in a few years this tree once flowering and 
giving seed, will once again be of service to mankind. 
“My attention was drawn to the Cortez Negro some four years 
ago by an ex-President of El Salvador, Doctor don Alfonso Quinonez, 
but he admitted that he had never seen the tree. About three years 
ago, on a rough piece of mountainside owned by me, I spotted half a 
dozen trees flowering in December and being struck by the beauty of 
the clusters of purple flowers, I inquired from the peasants around 
and was informed that the tree in question is named Cortez Negro. 
Instructions were given to obtain for me a quintal of seed but due to 
the heavy winds at this time of the year only a small quantity was 
ever available, but I am happy to say that over 3,000 trees have been 
produced to date. 
“Strangely enough, the day before your letter arrived I presented 
Dr. Quinonez with three Cortez Negros and he then explained to me 
that he had recently read a book on Salvador trees by a man named 
Guzman and there he had found the Arbol de Hierro, which is Cortez 
Negro, described as bearing clusters of yellow flowers, which is untrue 
as these are purple. What a coincidence that your letter arrived the 
following day! 
“Since then I have discussed Cortez Negro with my plantation 
manager, a Guatemalan, who described this timber to me. When 
green the wood is the colour of toasted coffee with yellow veins, 
changing as it matures to patches of a very dark toasted coffee with 
the veins turning a very deep yellow. The timber has to be worked 
when green as it later becomes impossible to trim. It was used in 
the past for house construction and ox cart axles because of its hard- 
ness. He also advised that this tree still exists in a fair quantity in a 
spot in Guatemala, along the Pacific Coast. Now you have the whole 
story.” 
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