Byrsonima
(from byrsa, a hide, and nimius, much used; because the bark of some of the species is used in tanning, in Brazil). ORD. Malpighiaceae. Ornamental stove evergreen trees or shrubs. Flowers racemose, terminal, simple or branched. All the species thrive very well in any light soil, or a mixture of loam and peat. Cuttings made of half-ripened shoots will root freely in sand, under a hand glass, in a moist bottom heat.
B. altissima (tallest).* fl. white; racemes clothed with rufous hairs. July. l. ovate-oblong, covered with rufous down beneath, but beset with bristles above, which are fixed by the centre. h. 60ft. Guiana, 1820. B. chrysophylla (golden-leaved).* fl. yellow; racemes simple. August. l. oblong, short, acuminated, acute at the base, rather wavy on the margin, and revolute, smooth above, clothed beneath with silky down, which is of a rusty golden colour. h. 14ft. South America, 1823.
B. coriacea (leathery-leaved). fl. yellow, sweet-scented; racemes densely spiked, pubescent, erect. May. l. ovate, acute, quite entire and smooth. h. 30ft. Jamaica, 1814.
B. crassifolia (thick-leaved). fl. yellow; racemes erect, elongated, brownish-velvety. July. l. ovate, acute at both ends, at length smooth above, but clothed with brownish down beneath. h. 6ft. Guiana, 1793. B. lucida (shining).* fl. pink; petals hastately kidney-shaped; pedicels hispid; racemes spiked, erect, short, smooth. May. l. obovate, cuneiform, obtuse, or mucronate, smooth, veinless shining. h. 8ft. Caribbee Islands, 1759. Described as "a beautiful shrub."
B. Verbascifolia (Verbascum-leaved). fl. yellow; racemes terminal. July. l. lanceolate-obovate, quite, entire, downy on both surfaces. h. 6ft. Guiana, 1810.