450 
Mexican  Lign  Aloes. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Sept.,  1887. 
in  question.  It  seems  desirable,  therefore,  to  place  on  record  in  this 
Journal  an  abstract  of  that  paper. 
M.  Poisson  was  led  to  inquire  into  the  botanical  source  of  the  pro- 
duct through  seeing  specimens  of  the  wood  and  oil  at  the  Paris  Ex- 
hibition of  1878,  where  these  products  were  exhibited  by  Messrs. 
Ollivier  and  Rousseau,  of  Paris.  These  gentlemen  obtained  speci- 
mens of  the  leaves,  flowers  and  fruit  from  their  correspondent  in 
Mexico,  M.  Delpech,  in  whose  honor  the  tree  has  been  named  by  M. 
Poisson.    The  description  he  gives  of  the  tree  is  as  follows : — - 
l(  Bur  sera  Delpechiana. — Foliis  apice  ramulomm  congestis,  tenui- 
bus  novellis  utrinque,  imprimis  subtus,  costis  et  nervis  tenuiter  pilosis, 
3  jugis  ;  foliolis  ellipticis,  utrinque  acutis,  crenato-serratis ;  interstitiis 
inter  juga  anguste  alatis ;  paniculis  folia  aequantibus  breviter  pilosis, 
compositis,  laxifloris,  bracteolis  angustissime  linearibus,  pedicellis  ten- 
uissimis,  calycis  lobis  brevibus  deltoideis  atque  petalis  oblongis  5  poll, 
longioribus,  sparse  et  longe  pilosis,  staminibus  quam  petala  paullo 
brevioribus,filamentisquam  antherse  oblongo-ovatse  4  poll,  longioribus; 
drupis  ovoideis  glabris." 
"  Folia  5-6  cent,  longa,  interstitiis  interjugalibus  7-8  mill,  longis, 
1-1  \  mill,  latis;  foliola  lj-2  cent,  longa,  8-10  mill,  lata,  nervis  late- 
ralibus  1J-2  mill,  distantibus.  Paniculse  (e  cymis  composite)  axillares 
numerosse  5-7  cent,  longa?,  ramulis  secundariis  1 J-2  cent,  longis,  pedi- 
cellis 3-4  mill,  sequantibus,  bracteolis  tenuissimis  2-4  mill  longis. 
Calycis  lobi  vix  1  mill,  longi.  Petala  (sestivatione  valvata)  4  mill, 
longa,  1  mill.  lata.  Staminum  filamenta  3  m.  longa,  antherse  vix  1 
mill,  aequantes.  Drupse  fere  1  cent,  longa?.  Mexico  circa  urb.  diet. 
Cuantla  Morelos." 
The  species  is  characterized  by  the  excessive  brevity  of  the  calyx, 
of  which  the  lobes  are  not  wTell  marked.  It  belongs  to  the  set  of 
species  peculiar  to  Mexico,  including  B.  Aloexylon,  Engl.,  and  B. 
penicillata,  Engl.  The  tree  is  of  medium  height.  According  to  M. 
Delpech,  the  wood  in  a  fresh  and  healthy  state  is  almost  devoid  of 
odor,  and  it  is  only  where  a  branch  has  been  broken  otf  or  insects 
have  pierced  the  wood  that  the  oil  becomes  developed. 1  He  states 
that  old  trunks  may  afford  as  much  as  10  to  12  per  cent,  of  oil.  This 
difference  in  the  wood  is  not  recognized  by  the  native  Indians  who 
collect  it,  and  consequently  the  tree  is  felled  in  a  reckless  manner,  so 
1  The  section  of  wood  in  the  Museum  of  the  Society  is  about  6  inches  in 
diameter,  but  shows  no  sign  of  insect-boring. 
