298 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 
Rajania cordata. 
Family Dioscoreaceae; called in Cuba *‘* alambrillo.”’ The variety scorpioidea 
has been found in the vicinity of Maunabo. 
Rama menuda. See Myrcia splendens. 
Ramon. 
On sale by an herb dealer in the market of Ponce; consists of the bark of a tree 
of the same name; a decoction with water is taken by women to assist in stopping 
lactation. 
Ramonillo. 
A tree from the interior Of the island; height, 25 to 30 feet (7 to 9 meters); 
diameter, 15 to 18 inches (37 to 45 centimeters). Wood, white, hard; specific 
gravity, 0.956; used in building houses. (Exp. 1857.) (Grosourdy, 2: 412.) 
Ramoncillo. 
A wood with a specific gravity of 0.89. (Captain Hansard. ) 
Randia aculeata. Ink BERRY. TANTILLO. 
Family Rubiaceae; a shrub or small tree, widely distributed in the West Indies. 
It yields a blue dye, and the wood is used for minor purposes when toughness is 
required. Bello calls this species ** cambron."’ (Stahl, 5: 38.) 
Randia formosa. 
From near Jayuya, where it is cultivated about buildings. 
Randia sagraeana. 
A species with fruits warted and much larger than those of aeuleata; the spines 
are also three-pointed. Collected at Guanica. (Sintenis. ) 
Raphanus sativus. Rapisn. 
Although of temperate origin and selection, the radish is one of the vegetables 
which does fairly well in the Tropics, its extremely quick growth offering little 
time for the deterioration suffered by many plants of larger and longer growth. 
Of course it is improbable that the quality could be maintained from the seed, if 
any could be ripened, but with good imported stock the radish is one of the tem- 
: . . f 
perate vegetables which it may be worth while to plant. 
Rasca garganta. See Parathesis crenulata, 
Raton. See Matayba domingensis. 
Rattlewort. See Crotalaria, 
Rauwolfia nitida. PaLo pre muNECA. 
Family Apocynaceae; a tree 8 to 5 meters high, found along the coast and in 
sandy places; flowers nearly all the year. Found in the Greater Antilles and in 
some of the Lesser Antilles. Reported from Guanica. (Stahl, 6: 69.) 
Ravenala. 
The so-called travelers’ tree, travelers’ palin, or travelers’ fountain, is one of the ' 
conspicuous tropical ornamentals which one misses in Porto Rico. It is a near | 
relative of the banana, and resembles that plant especially in the leaves; these are, ‘ 
however, two-ranked, so that the whole tree has the form of 2 gigantic fan. The 
sheathing bases of the leaves, instead of infolding each other to make a cylin. 
drical bundle like the ** trunk’ of the banana tree, are borne on a genuine trunk 
one above another, and are fitted so close together as to hinder evaporation of the 
water, which runs down the channel on the upper side of the midrib, By per- 
forating the sheath near the base one may draw out quite a quantity of water, but 
this is liable to contain dirt and larval insects. The oily edible arillus covering 
the seeds is bright blue, 
Ravenia urbani. Tortuco priero. 
Said to be a very beautiful tree, 10 to 15 meters in height; indigenous, but very” 
rare, occurring only in the higher forest region of Mount Jimines. in the Sierra 
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