MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 185 
Pachira campestris. Bombaceae. Silk cotton tree—A 
tree, native of Brazil, attaining a height of 100 feet and hav- 
ing flowers 15 inches in length. The seeds are involved in 
silky, wool-like hairs, firmly packed in a capsular fruit. 
When this opens the hairs expand and form a wooly mass. 
The hairs are not adhesive and are brittle, and are used for 
stuffing cushions but cannot be spun. 3 
' Phormiwm tenax. Liliaceae. New Zealand flax.—Fibre 
is contained in abundance in the long sword-like leaves of 
this plant. Various attempts have been made to separate and 
clean the fibre on a large scale, but thus far the product so 
obtained does not equal that prepared by the native Maoris. » 
Phormium tenax var. atropurpureum. 
Sansevieria zeylanica. Haemodoraceae. Bowstring hemp.— 
The plant is a native of Ceylon, India, and tropical Africa, 
and is found also in Mauritius and Jamaica. In Ceylon it 
is known as “niyanda” and in India as “moorva.” The fibre, 
which is very tough and elastic, is obtained from the leaves 
and was used by the ancient Hindus for bowstrings, hence 
the common name. At the present time it is used chiefly 
in rope-making, ete. 
WOODS 
Afzelia rhomboidea. Le inosae. Tindalo.—A native 
of Borneo and the Malay Archipelago. The wood is used 
for timber and cabinet-making. 
Berria Ammonilla. ‘Tiliaceae. Trincomalee wood.—A 
large, erect, handsome tree of southern Asia, used for timber. 
Citharexylum quadrangulare. Verbenaceae. Fiddle wood. 
—A tree of the West Indies with branches permanently four- 
angled. Its leaves are elliptic-oblong, and the flowers white. 
The wood is used for making musical instruments. 
Crescentia Cujete. Bignoniaceae. Calabash tree —A 
medium-sized tree, native of the West Indies and South 
America. The hard shells of the gourd-like fruits are made 
into numerous domestic utensils, such as cups, basins, 
spoons, bottles, etc., and are often elaborately carved or 
painted. The peculiar knotted growth is et and 
characteristic of this plant which should not be conf with 
the calabash gourds of the West Indies. > 
_- Elaeodendron orientale. Celastraceae. Olive wood.—A 
native of Madagascar. It is a tree attaining a height of 30-40 
feet. The timber is both hard and white, and is adapted for 
fancy and cabinet work. 
