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THE FORESTS OF ALAUSI 239
Unfortunately, the trunk never exceeds a few inches
in diameter, so that only small articles can be made
of it. I have secured a specimen of the wood,
and of spoons made from it, for the Kew Museum.
One of the most frequent trees at Lucmas, and
the most valuable for its hard wood (though the
young branches are brittle),
is an Escalloniacea
called Ignia.
It grows to a good size ; the
leaves are narrow-lanceolate and very long--the
lower ones always red and the reddish flowers are
borne in long pendulous racemes ;
so that the tree
has a very pretty aspect. It abounds along the
western slope of the Cordillera, and grows at
from 5000 to 9000 feet. It is accompanied by an
Amyrideous tree called Alubilla, which the people
hold in great dread, as they believe that to
touch it or pass beneath its shade is enough to
cause the body to swell all over. I had already,
at Barios, gathered flowers and fruit of it, and
stained my hands with the milk, to the great horror
of those who saw me, but without experiencing any
ill effects; and I believe that the swelling attributed
to it is owing more to sudden changes of temperature,
or to alternate scorchings and wettings, for
I have seen such an effect follow where there was
no Alubilla. Be this as it may, the young man
I took as guide felt one of his eyes begin to swell
the day we left Lucmas for Guataxi, and in a few
hours he was swollen from head to foot. In two
or three days he was quite well again, but there
are cases of the swelling lasting a month. As
might be supposed,
the blame was laid on the
Alubilla.
Lucmas takes its name from the abundance of