Tabernaemontana catharinensis A.DC.

T
Tabernaemontana australis, Muell. Arg. in Mart. FI. Bras., vi, pt.
1, 84. Ex descr.
Trinidad (2TB). December-January. = Balansa 1358.
A small tree 6-8 m. in height, very interesting on many accounts, j
It has a milky juice, and smooth, light-colored bark Flowers rather
small, as white as snow, fragrant, the tube of the corolla of a yel-
lowish tint, 5-angled, bulging outwardly near the centre, the snowy
lobes large, rounded at apex, oblique at base, and curving around I
each other convolutely from left to right like a boy’s paper wind- !
mill. .Ovary of 2 closely united carpels, forming in fruit" 2 follicles, 1
firmly attached at the base. Follicles large, very milky when young,
one-eelled, with a thick rind which is rough on the outside with
knobby protuberances. Seeds when young with an egg-shaped,
pellucid, striped body on orie side, and a crumpled body looking
like the meat of an English walnut on the other side. In fruit the
follicles dehisce laterally in 2 valves, spreading wide open, the
crumpled body spoken of above becoming a red aril, which finally
drops off, leaving in the shell many dark seeds which resemble the
| coffee berry in appearance. The people show their appreciation of
this handsome tree by planting it in their flower-gardens. The
i G-uarani name is Gurupicay. The viscous, milky juice is said to
I yield caoutchouc, and is used as a bird lime. The wood is light
and sometimes employed as a substitute for cork. Parodi states
that the juice is used by quacks on wounds and as a remedy for
; snake-bites. He thinks that it may serve as a substitute for
i Aconite and Rhus Toxicodendron, and is good as a corrosive for
| warts.
NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
04190739
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Det
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198
V
PLANTS OF SOUTH AMERICA.
Collected by Thos. Morong, 1888-1890.
Central Paraguay.
C'<2yt
04190739