Ilustraciones de la obra “Plantas medicinales de Yucatan,” y manual o extensively for weaving mats, especially those used as mattresses.
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FLORAOFYUCATANPAULC.STANDLEYSoonaftertheorganizationofFieldMuseumofNaturalHistory,in1893,theCuratoroftheDepartmentofBotany,thelateDr.CharlesF.Millspaugh,becameinterestedinthebotanicalexplorationoftheYucatanPeninsula.ItwouldhavebeendifficulttochooseapartoftropicalAmericalessknownbotanicallyor,probably,onewhichwouldprovemoreinteresting.PracticallynothingwasknownatthattimeoftheplantsinhabitingthelimestoneplainsandlowhillsofYucatan.Todaywearefarfrompossessingacompleteknowl-edgeoftheYucatanflora,butwhatinformationwedohaveaveryrespectableamount,astheensuingpageswillproveistheresultalmostwhollyoftheworkoftwomen,Dr.MillspaughandDr.GeorgeF.Gaumer,performedwiththesupportofFieldMuseum.Dr.MillspaughmadetwovisitstoYucataninordertocollectplants.Dr.Gaumer,whodiedasrecentlyasSeptember2,1929,forty-fiveyearsinthestate,andthroughoutthistimehemaintainedaninterestinnaturalhistory.Alistofhisearliestplantcollections,fromCozumelIsland,wasinsertedinthefourthandsupplementalvolumeofHemsley’sBotanyofSalvinandGodman’smonumentalBiologiaCentrali-Americana.Foryearshecollectedintermittently,butwhen,throughDr.Millspaugh’sigency,hisworkwasfinancedbyFieldMuseum,hedevotedanincreasedamountofhistimetobotanicalexplorationofYucatanandQuintanaRoo.Asaresult,ahugequantityofspecimenswasassembled.SomeoftheseweregatheredpersonallybyDr.Gaumer,andothersunderhissupervisionbyhissonsorbynativecollectors.Dr.Gaumer’sbotanicalactivitiescontinuedformorethanthirtyyears,untilhisworkwasmadedifficultbyphysicalinfirmitiesresultingfromadvancingyears,aboutthetimeofDr.Millspaugh’sdeath.HecollectedwithsomedegreeofcompletenessovermuchofYucatanandtheadjacentportionsofQuintanaRoo.Ofthefloraofthesouthernpartofthelatterterritory,unfortunately,westillknowabsolutelynothing,exceptbyinference.Dr.Gaumerdidmorethanmerelyassembleacollectionofdriedherbariumspecimens.Himselfapractisingphysician,hewaskeenlyinterestedinmedicinalpropertiesattributedtotheplantsbythenativepeople.Hegatheredassiduouslyallavailabledatauponthe157
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158FIELDMUSEUMOFNATURALHISTORYBOTANY,VOL.Illsubject,andhimselfemployedthelocalplantsintreatinghispa-tients.HiseulogiesofthesupposedtherapeuticpropertiesofcertainmembersoftheYucatanflora,especiallywhenfurtherembellishedbyDr.Millspaugh’sownsomewhatunorthodoxmedicalviews,arousemildamusement.Itisscarcelynecessarytocautionthereaderthatthemedicinalpropertiesascribedtocertainplantsinthepresentfloraaretobetakenwithliberalreservations.Itisunfortunateonlythatitisimpossibletodeterminefromthenotesatthewriter’sdisposalwhichofthesupposedcurativepropertiesoftheplantsareascribedtothembytheYucatecans,andwhichbyDr.Gaumer.Theformerwouldhavearealinterestfromastrictlyethnologicalstandpoint.Dr.Gaumerexertedhimself,also,toobtaindataregardinggen-eraleconomicapplicationsoftheplants,andherehewaseminentlysuccessful.Itistoberegrettedthathewasnotatrainedethnolo-gist,thathemighthavesearchedforpossibleremnantsofritualusesoftheplants,orhaveinvestigatedtheirplace,ifany,infolklore.Asiswellknown,themajorityofthepresent-dayYucatecansspeakMayaratherthanSpanish,someofthemnothingatallofthelatterlanguage.Dr.GaumerdevotedagreatdealoftimetolearningtheMayaplantnames,andhissuccessisindicatedbythefactthataMayanameisrecordedherefornearlyeveryspecies.RalphL.Roys,whohasengagedinstudyofMayabotany,reportsthatthenamesrecordedbyDr.Gaumerareusuallywellwritten,andapparentlyexact.SomeofthenotestowhichIhavehadaccessstatethathisplaninassemblingthesenameswastoshowtheplantstoseveralMayas,recordthenamestheygave,andthenselecttheoneheconsideredmostaptorappropriate.Thismethodisnottobecommended.Itwouldhavebeenpreferabletoreportallthenamescommunicatedbytheinformants,andletthereadermakehisownselection,perhapswithanindicationofthepreferenceofthecompiler.Ifsuchacompletelisthadbeenpre-served,probablyitwouldnowbepossibletoidentifysomeoftheperplexingnamesoftheoldmedicalworks.ItwouldbeunjusttoleavethesubjectoftheGaumerplantswithoutmentioningtheirhandlingafterreceiptinChicago.ThelargecollectionsformedbyDr.Gaumerincludedgreatnumbersofduplicates,especiallyofhislaterseries.AtthetimeofDr.Mills-paugh’sdeath,theseremainedunorganized,alongwithmanydupli-catesofhisearlieryears.Inmanyormostcasesthedataforthe
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160FIELDMUSEUMOFNATURALHISTORYBOTANY,VOL.IllAtthetimeofDr.Millspaugh’sdeaththerehadaccumulatedalargequantityoftheGaumercollectionswhichneverhadbeenstudiedordetermined.BytheDirectorofFieldMuseumthepresentwriter,thenattheUnitedStatesNationalMuseum,wasrequestedtodeterminethecollectionsandtoprepareanenumerationofthem.Thelistherepublishedistheresult.ThegreaterpartofitwaswrittenattheNationalMuseumandduringsixweeksspentatFieldMuseuminSeptemberandOctober,1927.Themanuscripthaslainalmostcomplete,exceptfortheintro-ductionandcertainfinaltouchesofminorimportance,eversincethewriterbecameamemberofthestaffofFieldMuseum,inJune,1928.Onlyacertaininnateindolencehasdelayeditsfinalsub-missiontotheprinteruntilthepresenttime.TheverylargeaccumulationsofGaumerplantsrequiredalongtimefortheirdetermination.Theyconsistedprincipallyofmaterialgatheredfrom1917to1921,butincludedalsomanyearliernumbers,fragmentaryorotherwisedifficult,whichneverhadbeenidentified.Dr.Millspaughhimselfinhislaterpaperschangedmanyofhisearlydeterminations,andrecentsystematicworknecessitatesmanyothercorrections.InthefollowinglistanattempthasbeenmadetoindicateallpublishedYucatanreportsofspeciesincorrectlynamed.Inafewinstances,especiallyinthecaseofSelerplants,ofwhichthereisonlyapartialsetintheherbariumofFieldMuseum,ithasbeenimpossibletoverifyorcorrecttherecords,becausethespecimensonwhichtheywerebasedcouldnotbefound.InlistingthespecificnamesoftheYucatanflorafullbiblio-graphiccitationsaregivenonlyforspeciesdescribedfromthere-gion.Fortheseithasbeentheintentiontoreporteverygenerictransfertowhichtheyhavebeensubjected.Forotherspecieslistedtherehavebeencited,asarule,onlysuchsynonymsashavebeenemployedinreportingYucatanmaterial,besideserroneousdeter-minations,whenthesehavebeendiscovered.Inordertolessenthespacerequiredforthistiresomeand,likeallsynonymy,uselessrepetitionofdiscardednames,certaingreatlyabbreviatedformshavebeenusedforcitationofworkstowhichmostfrequentreferenceismade.Theseabbreviationsarethefol-lowing:FMB.,FieldMuseumofNaturalHistory,BotanicalSeries;BJE.,Engler’sBotanischeJahrbiicher;CNH.,ContributionsfromtheUnitedStatesNationalHerbarium.InthepreparationofthisenumerationoftheYucatanfloraanattempthasbeenmadetoexamineeveryspecimenfromtheregion
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FLORAOFYUCATAN161intheherbariumofFieldMuseumandintheUnitedStatesNationalHerbarium.Theformercontainsbyfarthelargestandmostcom-prehensiverepresentationoftheYucatanflora,andthefewothercollectionsdepositedelsewhereprobablywouldaddlittleornothingtothepresentlist.Theword”Yucatan”isusedhereinabroadsensewhichisfarfromaccuratefromapoliticalstandpoint.ThisflorahasbeenplannedtocoverallpartsoftheYucatanPeninsulalyinginMexico,thatis,thestatesofCampecheandYucatanandtheterritoryofQuintanaRoo.Theterm”Yucatan”asusedinDr.Millspaugh’spapersincludedYucatanandQuintanaRoo,thelatterterritorynothavingbeencreatedpoliticallyatthattime.Asamatteroffact,theuseoftheword”Yucatan”inthetitleisnotatallinappropriate,becausemostoftheGaumercollectionsweremadeinthatstate,withonlyoccasionalforaysintoQuintanaRoo,aregionshunnedevenatpresent,forthemostpart,asithasbeenforthepasthundredyears,byallexceptitssturdyMayain-habitants,whoarefarfromhospitabletowardstrangers.OfthefloraofCampecheourpresentknowledgeprobablycouldberecordedonasinglepageofnotverysmallprint.Inordertobringwithinthepresentpapersomespeciescertaintooccurintheoutskirtsofthethreestateswhichitisaimedtocover,therehavebeenincludedafewrecordsfromcollectionsjustoutsidetheproperlimitsoftheflora.AnumberofplantsfoundbyRovirosaontheborderofTabascoareenumerated,andasmallnumberobtainedby0.F.CookinnorthernPete’n,Guatemala.ThewritercouldaddasubstantialnumberofspecieswhichheismorallycertaingrowinsouthernQuintanaRoo,butsuchapro-cedurewouldscarcelydeserveapprobationinaworksupposedlyscientific.IftherehadbeenavailabletwoyearsagothecollectionsnowathandfromnorthernBritishHonduras,onlyafewmilesawayfromQuintanaRoo,IshouldhaveincludedthatregioninthefloraofYucatan.GEOLOGYANDCLIMATETheYucatanPeninsulaconsistsproperlyofthestatesofYucatanandCampecheandtheterritoryofQuintanaRoo,inMexico,thecolonyofBritishHonduras,andtheDepartmentofPete’n,Guate-mala.ThepresentflorapurportstodealonlywiththeMexicanportion,whichisremarkablyuniformgeologicallyandgeographically.
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162FIELDMUSEUMOFNATURALHISTORYBOTANY,VOL.IllTheMexicanregionconsistsofagreatplainhavinganarea^ofabout55,000squaremiles,approximatelythesameasthatofthestateofIllinois.ItisformedbyavastsheetofRecentlimestonerockofporousandfriablecharacter.ThenorthernpartofthePeninsulaisauniform,almostlevelplain,butfarthersouththesurfaceisundulating,withalternatingdepressionsandlowhills,whichinYucatanandQuintanaRoodonotexceedanelevationof275meters,andinCampechebutslightlymore.Therearenomountainsandnoeruptiverocks.Thebedsofsedimentaryrocks,mainlycorallinelimestone,arehorizontaloronlyslightlytilted.DataconcerningclimateareavailableonlyforMrida,innorthernYucatan,whereconditionsdoubtlessaretypicalofthoseexistingthroughoutthenorthernpartofthePeninsula.There-cordswhichIhaveseenforthislocalitycoverfifteenyears.Theannualmeantemperatureis25.8C.Thehighesttemperaturere-cordedwas40.8,inMarch;thelowest7.2,inDecember,January,andFebruary.ThewarmestmonthsareMarchtoOctober,thecooleronesNovembertoFebruary.Theaverageannualrainfallis80.7cm.ThewetmonthsareJunetoOctober,followedbyaprolongeddryseason,fromNovembertoMay.Noneofthemonthsarealtogetherrainless,thelowestaveragerainfallbeingthatofMarch,withonly14mm.Accordingtoallwritersupontheregion,thesouthernpartofthePeninsulahasasubstantiallygreaterrainfall,anddoubtlessahighermeantemperature.PerhapsthemoststrikingphysiographicfeatureofYucatanistheabsenceofsurfacestreams.Nopermanentonesexistexceptintheextremesouthwestandsoutheast.Thereareafewstreambedsinwhichthereisrunningwaterforashorttime,butassoonastherainsceasethewaterquicklydisappears.Thelimestoneissoporousandthesurfacesolevelthatrainwatersinksimmediatelybelowthesurface,whereitformsundergroundreservoirsinthegreatcaveswhichaboundhere.Theseundergroundtanks,orcenotes,havealwaysbeenthechiefsourceofdrinkingwaterfortheinhabitants.Frequently,especiallyinthemorehillyregions,therearedepressionslinedwithmarlinwhichpoolsorsmalllakesareformedduringtherains,toremainsometimesalmostthroughoutthedryseason.Thereareseveralpermanentlakesofsmallormediumsize.ThebestknownisLakeChichankanab,nearthecenterofthePeninsula,whosewateris
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FLORAOFYUCATAN163stronglyalkaline.FarthersouthisLakeBacalar,asalt-waterlagoonaboutthirty-sevenmileslongandonlyonemilewide.VEGETATIONNotwithstandingtheconsiderablenumberofplantscollectedinYucatan,wehavescantinformationregardingthegeneralaspectofthevegetation.Thenatureoftheplantcoveringofthecoastaldunes,rocks,andbeachesitiseasytopicture,becauseitmustbelikethatexistingelsewherealongthewarmerpartsoftheGulfCoast.Inthedryregionofthenorthernplainstherearefewlargetrees,withonlyoccasionalpalms.Wherenotundercultivation,thelandiscoveredwithshrubsorsmallscrubbytrees,manyofthemspiny,andmostofthemsheddingtheirleavesduringthedryseason.Afewcactusesareplentiful.Itisherethathenequeniscultivatedsoextensively.Inthecentral,undulatingpartofthePeninsula,wherethereisasubstantiallyheavierrainfall,thereareextensiveforests,thetrees,apparently,seldomofgreatsizebutoftenindensestands.ThispartofthePeninsula,aswellasth6southernportion,isbutsparselyinhabited,byMayaIndianswhohavelittleintercoursewiththesettlementsofthenorth.TheforestsofQuintanaRooandCampecheyieldmanyvaluablewoodsandotherproducts.Theyarethecenterofthelogwoodtrade,formerly,atleast,anindustryofgreatcommercialimportance.Theregion^isalsothecenterofchicleproduction,andchiclegumisnowitschiefnaturalarticleofexport.Largeamountsofmahogany,Spanishcedar,andfustichavebeenexported,withsmallerquanti-tiesofcacao,sarsaparilla,allspice,andrubber.Themostimportantarticlenowexportedishenequenfiber.MostofitisgrownontheplainsofYucatan,andtothisstateithaslongbeenitsprincipalsourceofwealth.WithouthenequenthefarmersoftheUnitedStatesaswellasthoseofmanyothercountrieswouldfinditdifficulttoharvesttheirwheat,fornosatisfactorysubstituteeverhasbeenfoundforitinthemanufactureofbindertwine.Amongtheotheragriculturalproducts,maizestillholdstheeminentpositionwhichithasalwaysheldamongtheMayas.Therearegrown,also,rice,beans,sugarcane,cotton,agreatvarietyoftropicalfruits,andmanyofthecommonvegetablesoftropicalandtemperateclimates.
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