On the myrospermum of sonsonate, from which the so-called balsam of Peru, white balsam and balsamito, are obtained / by Jonathan Pereira.

  • Pereira, Jonathan, 1804-1853.
Date:
[1850]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the myrospermum of sonsonate, from which the so-called balsam of Peru, white balsam and balsamito, are obtained / by Jonathan Pereira. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

    12/22 (page 10)
    ON THE MYROSPERMUM OF SONSONATE. ihl:.^'''^ describes the leaflets as beinjr ovato-lanceolate; whereas those figured by Lambert are oval-lanceolate. wi.? T ^f the pericarp as being nearly two inches in length; whereas Lambert has figured pericarps, which are from four-and-a- nali to nearly six inches long. The Myrospermum of Sonsonate so closely agrees in general with Pavon's M. halsamiferum, that I was at first led to believe the two plants to be identical; and I was the more inclined to this opinion from the cii-cumstance that, in one _ of the communications which I received from Sonsonate, the Myrosper- mum from that place was called My- roxylon halsamiferum Lambert's figure appears to have been made up from different specimens in Pavon's collection, and not from any one exclusively. Unfortunately there is rea- son to suspect that the leaves of at least two species are contained in the collec- tion under the same name, for in some of them the pellucid spots are exclusively „ , i, „ ■ round, in others rounS and linear. S'efe J^- Ihe principal points in which M. ferum, Unn.) halsamiferum diflfers from the Myro- A. Flower magnified. s;)erwj«m o/Sonsona^e, are the following:— ^- l^^^ curved ovary, 1. The size and shape of the Zeares.— curved ovary, sur- . at the base by the calyx. Many of the leaves of Pavon's specimens, those which agree best with Lambert's figure, are larger than those of the Sonsonate plant. The shape also is dififerent. While, in the Sonsonate plant the pre- vailing shape is the oblong, that of Pavon's plant is more oval. Again, the leaves of the Sonsonate plant are more generally rounded at the base and less tapering at the summit than those of Pavon's specimen. VVTien specimens of the two plants are placed side by side, the pre- vailing difference observed, is the larger size, and more tapering summits of the M. halsamiferum. ° 2. The size and shape of the fruit—The pods of Pavon's plant are longer than those of the Sonsonate plant. The average length of the latter rarely exceeds three inches or three-and-a-quarter inches, while those of Pavon's plant vary from four to six inches. In the shape of the fruits there is also a difference. In Pavon's plant the fruit is nearly of equal width throughout, the two margins of the wings being parallel, or nearly so, throughout the greater part of the length of the pod. Thus many of the pods are of the same width (about 1^-inch) for more than four inches of their length. In the Sonsonate specimens, on the other hand, the margins of the fruit diverge from each other in the direction from the peduncle towards the summit, and in no two parts has the pod the same width. Central America is the country of the Myrospermum of Sonsonate. It grows on the Balsam Coast (between 13° and 14° N. lat., and 89° and 90° W. long.) in the State of Salvador, where the black and white