COOK AND COLLINS—ECONOMIC PLANTS OF PORTO RICO. 177 
it should be planted by the thousand. From all I know of the hardiness and 
fruitfulness of this remarkable tree, I feel confident that if any individual (or com- 
pany), possessing the necessary capital, were to plant an extensive orchard of 
litchi trees, say where canal water would be easily obtained, or where well water 
is within easy reach, he would very probably make a good life-long business of it. 
On this testimony the editor of Watt’s Dictionary of the Economic Products of 
India comments as follows: 
This result has been abundantly attained in Bengal, and, although statistics of 
the extent of the trade can not be given, it may be said that in the lower prov- 
inces the litchi tree is almost coextensively cultivated with the mango. It comes 
into season a little before that fruit, and in the larger cities, such as Calcutta, is 
sold in every fruit dealer's shop, the streets for a month or six weeks being liter- 
ally bestrewn with the rind and large seeds, rejected by the wayside consumers. 
The fruit, to be enjoyed, should, however, be eaten as soon after being plucked 
as possible. When fresh the great bunches look like bright, pinkish strawberries, 
but they rapidly lose their bloom and assume a dirty, brownish color. The dried 
fruit, as sold in Europe, bears no possible resemblance to the deliciously bitter- 
sweet pulp of the fresh litchi. 
The fruit is nearly round, and about an inch and a half (37 millimeters) in 
diameter. The edible portion is the sweet, semitransparent, jelly-like pulp or 
aril which covers the seed, and the whole is inclosed in a thin reddish or brown- 
ish brittle shell, which is rough with warty protuberances. The Chinese dry the 
fruit. which then becomes blackish, and in this state it may often be seen in Lon- 
don fruit shops. The fresh fruit has a very pleasant acid flavor, and is much 
liked both by natives and Europeans in this country. 
With such definite and authoritative commendation, it would seem that the 
litchi is one of the fruits most likely to succeed in Porto Rico and likely to be of 
value when once generally introduced, The difficulty of propagation by cuttings 
is of course an obstacle, but it could easily be obviated by a few enterprising 
nurserymen. Little seems to have been written on the results of experiments 
which have been made with this tree in other West Indian Islands. The name 
“lichi’’ is mentioned in Maza’s Diccionario of Cuban common names, and the 
species has also been recorded among the plants growing in the Castleton Gardens 
in Jamaica, but nothing has been found to indicate that any attempt has been 
made at extensive propagation for general purposes. Quite a large specimen of 
this species exists in one of the greenhouses of the Department of Agriculture. 
The dried fruits described above are an article of considerable importance 
among the Chinese in this country, and are served in most of the Chinese restau- 
rants. Boxes containing about a quart of these dried fruits were selling in one 
of the Washington fruit stores at 50 cents apiece. 
Although these may bear no resemblance to the fresh fruit, they are by no 
means unpalatable. In appearance and taste they are not unlike raisins. 
Llagrume. See Didymopanax morototoni. 
Llanten. See Plantago major. 
Llume. See Aeria attenuata. 
Lluvia. See Duranta plumieri and Russellia juncea. 
Lobelia. 
Family Campanulaceae; a species of Lobelia is reported by Hill in a list of trees 
of the mountains. The species known from Porto Rico are all herbs except L. 
acuminata (Tupa acuminata), which grows to a height of about 10 feet. 
Lobelia acuminata. Tipey. Tupa. 
A shrub 2 meters high, found in waste places and on limestone mountains. 
(Stahl, 6: 29, as Tupa acuminata. ) 
Lobelia assurgens. CHICORIA CIMARRONA, 
An herbaceous perennial, 3 to 4 feet (about 1 meter) high, growing on moun- 
tains. Urban treats Tupa assurgens of Grisebach and Stahl as variety portort- 
censis under Lobelia assurgens. (Urban, Symb. 1: 454.) 
