50 BEEDg AND PLANTS [MPOBTBD. 



27950. Sapindus saponaria L. 



Prom Vera Cm/.. Mexico. Presented by Mr. William W. Canada, American 

 consul at Vera Cruz. Received May 19, 1910. 



"This berry-like fruit grows in clusters like the grape, and a tree will have at one 

 time ae many ae one hundred of these clusters. The tree generally attains a height 

 of fn >m 10 to 15 feet and is very leafy and spreading. They abound in the vicinity of 

 Vera Cruz, where the fruit is known by the name of ' Jaboncillo .' 



"The remarkable saponaceous properties of the fruit would warrant one to believe 

 that it may possess a commercial value. If one of the berries be cut open by passing 

 a sharp knife around its middle, a black, hard seed will drop therefrom, and the pulp 

 and shell are the parts that appear to contain the soapy properties. When rubbed 

 upon a wet hand, a good cleansing lather is immediately formed, one that to all appear- 

 ances has been produced by ordinary soap." (Canada.) 



2795 1 . Vaccinium vitis-idaea minor Lodd . Mountain cranberry. 



From Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Procured through Mr. 

 Frank Deedmeyer, American consul. Received May 19, 1910. 



See No. 26420 for previous introduction. 



27952 to 27954. 



From Honolulu, Hawaii. Procured by Mr. J. E. Higgins, horticulturist, 

 Agricultural Experiment Station. Received May 18, 1910. 

 27952 and 27953. Vaccinium reticulatum Smith. Ohelo. 



27952. (Root cuttings.) 27953. (Seeds.) 



"A shrub closely related to the blueberries of the eastern United States, but 

 bearing a larger berry of a light-red color. The fruit is described as edible, 

 though somewhat astringent. Preserves and jelly are made from it. The plant 

 is celebrated in the native song and ceremonial of Hawaii because of the beauty 

 of its berries and the occurrence of the bush on high mountain summits. These 

 roots and seeds have been imported for use in experiments on the domestication 

 of the blueberry." (Frederick V. Coville.) 



Distribution. — In woods on the upper slopes of the mountains in the Hawaiian 

 Islands. 

 27954. Claucena lansium (Lour.) Skeels. 



"The trees which I have seen in Hawaii are about 18 to 20 feet high and bear 

 quite freely, their fruits are about the size of a cherry, and straw yellow in color, 

 very much like the longan. The fruit is very highly prized by the Chinese." 

 (Higgins.) 



See No. 25546 for previous introduction. 



27955. Euphorbia resinifera Berg. 



From Algiers, Algeria, Presented by Dr. L. Trabut. Received May 23, 1910. 



"This is a cactuslike plant of the mountainous parts of Morocco, furnishing the 

 gum resin known to the crude drug market as euphorbium. In the month of Sep- 

 tember, after the rains have set in, the plant becomes very full of a milky sap con- 

 tained in numerous unbranched latex tubes. The plants are slashed with cutting 

 apparatus, and the milky juice, exuding in quantity, dries on the surface of the plant 

 in irregular masses. These are torn off by the natives and shipped to commercial 

 centers from the ports of Morocco. Owing to the irritating character of the material, 

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