34 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



43253 to 43257— Continued. 



eter, is green and white mixed or pale green on the outside, and the 

 surface is areoled, with a brown tubercle on eacli areola. Not until the 

 fruit falls of its own accord is it eaten, and then it is soft, so that it can 

 be peeled with the fingers. The yellowish pulp has an odor like fer- 

 mented bread dough to which honey has been added, with a sweetish 

 subacid and somewhat bitter taste. The seeds are oval, golden yellow, 

 glossy, smooth, and hard. This tree is a native of Brazil and Venezuela. 

 (Adapted from Safford, Contributions from the National Herbarium, vol. 

 18, pt. 1, pp. 25 to 28, and from Piso and Marcgravc's description of 

 araticu ponJiS, in IG-'iS.) 



43254. Cassia sp. Csesalpiniaceje. 



" Ornamental yellow-flowered shrub in low lands. San Martin de Loba, 

 April 16, 1916." 



43255. Geonoma sp. Phoenicacese. Palm. 

 "Cecilia palm. Low, very ornamental, Tierras de Loba, Bolivar." 



43256 and 43257. Malvaviscus sp. Malvaceae. 



43256. " Low annual, with red flowers, very ornamental, Tierras de 

 Loba, Bolivar. Cultivated also in the Philippine Islands." 



43257. " Ornamental, Tierras de Loba." 



43258. AcTiNiDiA cHiNENsis Planch. Dilleniacese. Yang-tao. 



Plants grown from cuttings sent to the Plant Introduction Field Sta- 

 tion, Chico, Calif., by Mr. D. W. Coolidge, Pasadena, and grafted on 

 seedlings of S. P. I. No. 21781. Numbered for convenience in recording 

 distribution. 

 " The yang-tao, a deciduous climber native to Szechwan Province, China, has 

 attracted considerable attention because of the high quality of its fruits and 

 the ornamental value of the plant. The leaves have a plushlil^e texture and 

 an unusual dark-green color, while their regular spacing and their large size 

 add to the beauty of the vine. The flowers are buff yellow to white, fragrant, 

 often 1* inches across, and are produced in great abundance. The fruits are 

 ovoid to globose and about 2 inches long. The outside is russet brown and is 

 clothed with villous hairs. The flesh is green, of most excellent flavor, resem- 

 bling that of a gooseberry, but tempered with a flavor peculiarly its own. The 

 fruit is excellent when fresh and also makes very fine jam and sauce." {Fair- 

 child. ) 



43259. CoRDiA sp. Boraginaceae. 



From Guayaquil, Ecuador. Presented by Mr. Frederick W. Goding, Ameri- 

 can consul general. Received September 5, 1916. 



43260. CoRDEAuxiA EDULis Hemsl. Caesalpiniacese. Yeheb nut. 



From Aden, Arabia. Presented by Mr. A. G. Watson, American vice consul, 

 who obtained the nuts from the Acting Governor of Italian Somaliland at 

 Mogadiscio. Numbered September 12, 1916. 

 The yeheb is a tree or shrub which has recently been discovered in Italian 

 Somaliland, East Africa. Its seeds, called nuts, have a high food value, con- 

 taining 21 per cent of cane sugar, 2 per cent of reducing sugars, 13 per cent of 

 proteids, and 37 per cent of carbohydrates. They form an article of commerce 

 and are brought to the coast by caravans and are eaten by the native Dolba- 

 hanta Somalis in preference to rice and dates. Though the climate of Somali- 



