ON  THE  SOURCE  OP  BALSAM  OP  PEPtU. 
297 
being  identical.  My  specimen  differs  in  having  flowers  and  not 
the  fruit. 
Dr.  Pereira  did  not  describe  the  flowers,  as  they  were  not 
present  in  his  specimen  ;  my  own  specimen  with  his  would  have 
completed  the  materials  for  a  full  description,  and  I  much  regret 
that  such  did  not  fall  into  his  hands.  With  the  view  of  giving 
completeness  to  the  description,  I  shall  present  the  character- 
istics as  shown  by  careful  examination. 
The  flowers  spring  from  the  scars  of  the  young  branches  and 
from  the  axils  of  the  leaves,  in  single,  slightly  curved  racemes, 
six  or  seven  inches  in  length.  The  peduncle  virgate  and  very 
delicately  pubescent.  Florets  pedicellate,  with  a  small  ovate 
bract  at  base  ;  pedicels  curving  downwards,  4  or  5  lines 
in  length,  and  minutely  pubescent ;  they  are  placed  irregularly 
upon  the  peduncle,  somewhat  clustered  below.  Calyx  campanu- 
late,  ovoid,  2  lines  in  width,  and  2  or  3  lines  long,  minutely 
pubescent,  obscurely  dotted ;  margin  five-toothed,  the  teeth 
rounded,  and  the  inferior  a  little  broader  ;  the  toothed  appear- 
ance less  conspicuous  as  the  flower  advances.  Corolla  composed 
of  five  white  petals,  the  four  inferior  lanceolate,  nearly  twice  as 
long  as  the  calyx,  the  fifth  superior,  very  conspicuous,  banner- 
like, and  supported  on  a  narrow  claw  the  length  of  the  calyx. 
Stamina  ten,  slightly  exserted,  inserted  in  the  base  of  the  calyx. 
Anthers  elongated,  pointed  and  sulcated,  inclined.  Germ 
oblong,  on  a  curved  pedicel.    Stigma  simple. 
The  leaves  of  this  plant  are  similar  to  those  described  by 
Pereira,  (see  Am.  Journ.  Pharm.  and  Lond,  Pharm.  Journal.) 
The  opinion  was  entertained  in  the  first  paper  of  Pereira,  (Lond. 
Pharm.  Jour.  vol.  x.  No.  7,  p.  234,)  that  his  specimens  correspond- 
ed to  the  plant  described  by  Ruiz  and  figured  by  Lambert,  under 
the  name  Myroxylon  Peruiferum,  Linn.,  now  the  Myrospermum 
pubescens,  De  Cand.  From  careful  re- examination  of  the  speci- 
mens, in  his  second  paper  he  announced  an  alteration  of  his 
opinion,  and  surmises  that  the  species  is  a  new  undescribed  one, 
probably  identical  with  the  plant  spoken  of  by  Hernandez  as 
cultivated  by  the  Aztec  kings  of  Mexico,  and  called  Hoit- 
zilaxitl. 
As  in  the  notice  reprinted  in  the  American  Journal  of  Phar- 
macy,, the  botanical  history  of  the  drug  was  omitted,  it  may 
