JANUARY 1 TO MARCH 31, 1909. 35 



24659. Pistacia chinensis Bunge. Pistache. 



From Laotanchuang, Shantung, China. Collected by Mr. Henry S. Cousins, 

 Taianfu, Shantung, China, forwarded through Mr. Ernest Vollmer, vice- 

 consul, Tsingtau, China. Received February 8, 1909. 



"Description and habitat. — Pistacia chinensis (Chinese name ' Huang lien shu '). Seed 

 of a deciduous, dioecious tree, growing 40 to 50 feet tall, with a trunk 4 to 5 feet in diam- 

 eter, of spreading habit, bearing large, pinnated leaves which are of a wine-red when 

 budding out, of a vivid, glossy green in summer, and changing into naming scarlet 

 and yellow in the fall. The pistillate trees bear heavy bunches of small berries, 

 which are green at first, turn into red later on, but assume a bluish green color when 

 ripe. The seeds are not edible, but they yield an illuminating oil in small quantities. 

 This wild Chinese pistache looks strikingly like a gigantic sumac, and will be appre- 

 ciated as a new shade and ornamental tree, especially in the semiarid mild-wintered 

 regions of the United States. I observed in China that the male trees were invari- 

 ably larger than the females and were also handsomer trees. 



"Strong hopes are held that the Chinese pistache may supply a suitable stock for 

 the Pistacia vera, which produces the celebrated pistache nuts of commerce and for 

 which hardier, more easily handled stock is needed." (Meyer.) For fuller notes 

 and photographs, see "Ornamental Horticulture in China," by Frank N. Meyer. 



"Until Mr. Meyer secured the Chinese pistache the only hardy stock available was 

 the Pistacia terebinthus L. of southern Europe, of which it has proved impossible to 

 secure any considerable quantities of seed. The Chinese species, however, bids 

 fair to be superior to it in every respect, as it is hardier, grows more rapidly, and reaches 

 a larger size. It is the hardiest known species of the pistache (see S. P. I. No. 10285), 

 and Mr. Meyer's investigations have shown that it grows to very large size and is in 

 fact the largest species of the section to which Pistacia terebinthus belongs. The 

 latter is the stock upon which a large part of the high-priced Sicilian pistaches are 

 grown, so it is highly probable that the Chinese pistache will prove satisfactory as a 

 stock upon which to work the improved varieties of Pistacia vera. 



"Although this Chinese pistache was introduced into Europe from Central China 

 some forty years ago and a plant of it is still growing in the Botanic Garden at Paris, 

 it remained a botanical curiosity until Mr. Meyer secured scions and seed from north- 

 ern China, where the winters are more rigorous than in any other part of the world 

 where pistaches grow wild. 



"Large numbers of Chinese pistache seedlings have been grown at the Plant Intro- 

 duction Garden, Chico, Cal., from seed secured by Mr. Meyer. The young plants 

 have proved to be of remarkably rapid, growth, decidedly more rapid than any other 

 stock tested as yet. " (Swingle.) For further remarks, see S. P. I. Nos. 10285, 17734, 

 17735, 18272, 18273, 18605, 19391, and 21970. 



24661 to 24665. Anona cherimola Mill. 



From Chile. Received through Mr. Jose D. Husbands, Limavida, Chile, Feb- 

 ruary 5, 1909. 



The following seeds: 



24661. Lisa, or large smooth-skin class. 



24662 and 24663. "Puas, meaning graft. I am not aware why this variety 

 is called Puas.^ (Husbands.) 



24664 and 24665. u De Concha, meaning shell. The fruit is so called on 

 account of its having a rough surface; other varieties with rough, warted, 

 uneven surfaces are also called ' Rugoso ' and ' Escamosa ' (scaly like an oyster 

 shell)." (Husbands.) 



Distribution. — A native of America, extending from Chile north through Peru and 

 Central America to the region of Orizaba, Mexico. Cultivated in Florida and in 

 Italy and Algeria. 

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