MSAmer46

A clerk's copy of a detailed return providing a botanical description of Balsam of Peru, [Myroxylon pereirae (Leguminosae)], indicating its geographical distribution and climatic preferences, and describing three simple but effective Indian methods of gathering resin from different parts of the tree. Flores recommends the south coasts of Spain for growing both the balsam and copalchi trees. He regards the bark of the copalchi tree [Coutarea latiflora, or Exostemma caribaeum, both of the Rubiaceae] as a febrifuge as efficacious as cinchona. Noriega (1902) and Landa (1915) discuss the synonyms of copalchi and its therapeutic value.

Guatemala, Central America, 1791

Material: paper; 6ll; cm dimensions: width 20.5 cm, length 29.5 cm

Purchased 1962.

Spanish