496  The  Botanical  Source  of  Araroba.     { ^™-J7h9*rm 
ing  a  very  full  and  detailed  description  of  the  plant,  with  illustrations 
of  the  leaves  and  flowers,  a  copy  of  which  has  recently  been  placed  at 
our  disposal  by  Mr.  T.  Christy. 
According  to  Dr.  de  Aguiar  the  flowers  and  fruit  which  have  been 
obtained  show  that  the  araroba  plant  is  more  nearly  allied  to  Centrolo- 
blum  than  to  Ccssalpinia,  having  truly  papilionaceous  flowers,  and  that 
it  belongs  to  the  genus  Andira  of  the  sub-tribe  Goeffraeeae,  which  is 
characterized  by  having  a  hard  drupaceous  one-seeded  fruit,  sweet- 
smelling  violet  or  purplish  flowers  arranged  in  panicles,  a  calyx  with 
short  teeth,  and  five  distinct  petals.  From  Centrolobium  it  is 
distinguished  by  the  fruit,  which  in  that  genus  resembles  a  samara  and 
is  furnished  with  prickles  at  its  base. 
The  araroba  plant  is  therefore  nearly  allied  to  dndira  inermis,  the 
bark  of  which  was  formerly  a  well  known  remedy  in  this  country  for 
intestinal  parasites,  under  the  name  of  cabbage-tree  bark  or  worm 
bark.1 
The  following  description  is  a  precis  made  from  the  information  con- 
tained in  Dr  J.  M.  de  Aguiar's  pamphlet : 
The  plant  from  which  araroba  is  extracted  is  one  of  the  larger  inter- 
tropical trees  which  are  met  with  between  130  and  150  of  latitude, 
south  of  Bahia,  especially  in  the  forests  of  Camamu,  Igrapiuna,  San- 
torem,  Taperoa  and  Valencia,  and  rivals  in  height  the  tree  commonly 
known  under  the  name  of  Oleo  (Myrocarpus fastigiatus  or  Myrospermum 
erytkroxylum2),  and  sometimes  attains  even  greater  dimensions.  The 
ordinary  height  of  the  tree  is  80  to  100  feet;  the  trunk  is  straight, 
cylindrical,  and  in  the  two  specimens  which  were  measured  in  the 
thickest  part  one  was  41  and  the  other  48  centimeters  in  diameter. 
The  tree  commences  to  branch  at  more  than  a  third  of  its  whole 
height,  and  forms  a  not  very  leafy  head,  having  the  form  of  a  segment 
of  a  spheroid.  The  bark  of  the  tree  is  not  very  thick  and  appears  to 
contain  scarcely  any  of  the  active  principle  of  the  plant.  The  wood  has 
a  yellow  color,  and  is  very  porous,  having  numerous  longitudinal  canals 
visible  to  the  naked  eye,  although  these  are  more  distinctly  seen  under 
a  lens.  The  trunk  in  a  transverse  or  tangential  section  presents 
lacunae,  more  or  less  large  according  to  the  age  of  the  tree,  and  in 
these  a  pulverulent  substance  (araroba)  is  found,  which  in  trees  recently 
1  Lewis,  '  Materia  Medica,'  p.  320. 
2Almeida  Pinto,  "  Diccionaria  de  Botanica  Brasileira,"  p.  335. 
