Page:The naturalist on the River Amazons 1863 v2.djvu/37

tities, to make a drink or "wine" as it is called, which is considered a remedy in certain cutaneous disorders. The kernels are roasted and eaten. Another wild fruit-tree is the Murishí (Byrsomina), which yields an abundance of small yellow acid berries. A decoction of its bark dyes cloth a maroon colour. It is employed for this purpose chiefly by the Indians, and coarse cotton shirts tinted with it were the distinctive badges of the native party during the revolution. A very common tree in the Ilhas do Mato is the Breio branco, which secretes from the inner bark a white resin, resembling camphor in smell and appearance. The fruit is a small black berry, and the whole tree, fruit, leaf, and stem, has the same aromatic fragrance. By loosening the bark and allowing the resin to flow freely, I collected a large quantity, and found it of great service in preserving my insect collections from the attacks of ants and mites. Another tree, much rarer than the Breio branco, namely the Umirí (Humirium floribundum), growing in the same localities, distils in a similar way an oil of the most recherché fragrance. The yield, however, is very small. The native women esteem it highly as a scent. To obtain a supply of the precious liquid, large strips of bark are loosened and pieces of cotton left in soak underneath. By visiting the tree daily, and pressing the oil from the cotton, a small phial containing about an ounce may be filled in the course of a month. One of the most singular of the vegetable productions of the campos is the Súcu-úba tree (Plumieria phagedænica). It grows in the greatest luxuriance in the driest parts, and with its